Retirement and moving away

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo101 I notice a lot of retirement dreams include moving away to some distant locale,sometimes tropical sometimes European and it got me wondering (uh oh)What about all the friends you've made over the years? i find in my case i really appreciate the social dynamics of doing stuff with all my friends,As i have family in Florida i now have time for extended stays down there but find myself doing everything alone and wishing i were back in Montreal hanging out with my buddies. Any one done the "move away after retirement" route then regretted the decision?

We plan to do the moving away thing but as you say it can be fraught with problems if not properly thought out, particulary with no exit strategy in mind. I have seen it work well and also seen it fail. In fact some friends of ours retired, bought a house on Hawaii and moved there 6 years ago. While they have no regrets and have enjoyed their tropical adventure they have missed the social interaction with friends and family and are now planning on moving back.

DW and I have moved quite a bit through our marriage and have always managed to make friends wherever we've lived. Joining a gym, refereeing soccer, doing evening classes always works for us. We always like to find a regular place to go to for breakfast on a Sunday morning and usually make casual friendships that may or may not develop into something outside of Sunday mornings.