anybody just want to stay home?

[52andout]

When DH left work after 30 years of rotating shifts, weekends, holidays etc. as he was walking out the door someone said "so where are you going?"

He replied "home." Like in to read the paper, go to the YMCA, tend the gardens etc. They meant like move to SC or Florida (we live in the snow belt).

In this past year, neither of us have felt like travelling anywhere or moving anywhere, we are very happy with our lives. We did travel all over the US and several places abroad during our work years, but the thought of getting on a plane just doesn't interest us. Even in this awful weather I am so happy not to have to get up to shovel and fight the traffic to the city it makes my day. Someone even told us we were depressed. Of course I think we are happier than we ever have been. We do visit the kids and enjoy that, both are less than a days drive away, which is fun but I wouldn't move to be closer to them, they have their own lives and could relocate at any time.

So, with all the talk about travel, motorhomes, moving to warmer climates how many people just stayed put? This is where our life is.

 

[Dawg52]

I have traveled very little over the years so I'm in the opposite camp. I plan to do more in the future. But, saying put is not all bad either. As long as I can play golf regularly. Got to play yesterday and looks like the weather might cooperate again today.

 

[frank]

me and the wife have traveled some in the u.s. during our marriage and have been around this country. I have no wish to travel extensively with an rv or anything else. I like where I live and family is here. why leave. when you go rving to my estimation, after a while it just becomes another job. moving from place to place with no one place being that much more spectacular than where I live and I live in the midwest. I have to shovel snow and cut grass, but other than that, i'm living the dream.

 

[VaCollector]

Homebody here....

I prefer home to anywhere else that I've ever been....here in Virginia we normally get to experience all 4 seasons so weather is not a problem....with the exception of an annual trip to the Outer Banks, I don't think that I've ventured more than 3 hours from here since I slowed down....and come to think of it, Kitty Hawk is less than 3 hours away too!

 

[73ss454]

We did move to Fla to get away from the cold and snow. Yet we are very happy to do nothing and stay in our home.

 

[Nords]

So, with all the talk about travel, motorhomes, moving to warmer climates how many people just stayed put? This is where our life is.

We seem to have trouble traveling for no reason. Spouse likes to travel for a non-profit meeting or with a friend, and we enjoyed visiting our daughter at her college. We don't really seem to be much for "pick up and go".

Maybe that'll change when our daughter finishes college (and visits cool liberty ports) and our pet bunny goes to his great reward.

 

[haha]

When DH left work after 30 years of rotating shifts, weekends, holidays etc. as he was walking out the door someone said "so where are you going?"

He replied "home." Like in to read the paper, go to the YMCA, tend the gardens etc. They meant like move to SC or Florida (we live in the snow belt).

In this past year, neither of us have felt like travelling anywhere or moving anywhere, we are very happy with our lives. We did travel all over the US and several places abroad during our work years, but the thought of getting on a plane just doesn't interest us. Even in this awful weather I am so happy not to have to get up to shovel and fight the traffic to the city it makes my day. Someone even told us we were depressed. Of course I think we are happier than we ever have been. We do visit the kids and enjoy that, both are less than a days drive away, which is fun but I wouldn't move to be closer to them, they have their own lives and could relocate at any time.

So, with all the talk about travel, motorhomes, moving to warmer climates how many people just stayed put? This is where our life is.

I stayed put, and like it best. It did move into the central city from an outlying area because my kids were grown and my wife had flown. Even if she were still around, if we could have managed the cooperation we would have moved into the city.

A retired doctor friend (GP) told me he thought for most people it was best to retire not only in your same city, but the same neighborhood. He retired in his same house, as did my parents as well, in big cities. Some people like towns and the countryside, but I would have to leave often if that were my situation because I would get bored and lonesome.

It happens that my kids live within a max of 4 miles from me and from one another, which is also a strong plus.

Travel is a separate issue, and for some involves RVs. For me it definitely would not, as driving an expensive, hulking bus around to places that necessarily must be determined at least in part by facilities for the bus does not appeal!


Ha

 

[Telly]

..snip... Someone even told us we were depressed......

Well of course you are! You're supposed to be going off on ocean cruises left and right, stuffing yourselves with food and getting the Norwalk virus and puking your guts out! That's the REAL life! None of this sitting around the house!

I travelled some in business, including some international. As a family, we made it a point to travel at spring break and at the start of summer vacation once the kids were of age that they could appreciate the sights. Mostly driving trips, but some via air to visit relatives.

But my idea of retirement is to putter, and to sleep at night in my own bed with my DW. Priceless!

 

[rescueme]

My DW/me have traveled much, both foreign and CONUS for the last fifteen years or so (I just know it will soon be time to renew our passports for the second time).

While I did much more travel (primarily international) during my wor*ing years, we did take many international vacations over the years since I was comfortable with foreign travel. I know that a lot of folks (especially older) don't desire to get out of the U.S., however since my various jobs over the years required me to do so, I became familiar with various modes of travel overseas (e.g. air/train/ferry/etc.) and didn't have a problem with non-English speaking places, generally (but I do have some good "stories" in that area).

Being retired (4 years May 1st), I've come to desire travel less and less (international or CONUS). At the same time, DW has gone in the other direction, pursuing more travel than I over the last few years.

Luckily, she met a woman slightly younger than her (single) that also had the passion for travel. They met during our month "down under" two years ago and since that time they have traveled together quite often. While DW/me went for a few days in London, followed by a two-week Baltic cruise last June, DW and her "travel buddy" went on tour to the Canyonlands/Vegas later on in the year, followed by a two-week Nile cruise (land/boat combo) this past September (yes, three trips for DW last year alone).

This has turned out quite well, for both her and me. She has somebody who shares her passion for travel, and I get to stay home with the pups and putter around the house (something I missed when I wor*ed and traveled often). It has worked out well for both of us.

Not to say that we won't travel as a "couple", but if we don't that's not a problem for me, and apparently not for my wife ("they" have already scheduled two trips for this year (spring down south to see the "gardens" and Switzerland in the late spring). I've already been (with my wife) to Switzerland, so I don't feel that I will be missing anything. However if any place of interest does come up, we will still continue to travel together.

As far as travel expenses, it has always been our largest budget line item, both in our accumulation and now in retirement. Since we did not delay travel until retirement (as a lot of folks do), it was not a financial impact to us at all, since our retirement income target was 100% of pre-retirement net income.

Both of us were raised in lower middle-income families, where travel was not done at all (seriously). Vacations were staying home from work/school, not travel at all. For my wife, the idea that one day she would be getting on an airplane and flying to anywhere in the world she desired is a dream come true for her. As for me (traveling for wo*k), the idea of staying in a hotel room (regardless of surroundings) turns me off.

So each of us get to follow their own desires in travel. I guess we are lucky.

 

[Westernskies]

Looking forward to traveling less and staying closer to home when I finally ER. In 25-years w*rking my current j*b, I've filled (3) 50-page passports, averaged over 100K miles/year in the air, and slept in ~3000 hotel rooms. Sleepingin my own bed is starting to look better all the time (even if it happens to be in an RV )

Off to the airport.

 

[W2R]

Like others here, we had to travel for work and have already traveled enough for three lifetimes. Most travel holds very little appeal or glamor for us, and it certainly is no novelty in our lives.

We do plan to move away from New Orleans at some point, as about a quarter to a third of New Orleans residents have already done in recent years for obvious reasons. However we plan for this to be our last move. We have no problem keeping ourselves busy, entertained, stimulated, and happy, at home.

 

[FIREd]

In my family, most retired people seem satisfied with just staying home. They might take a two-week vacation in a warm, sunny location in the spring to chase the winter blues away and go on a few week-end excursions throughout the year, but that's it. After a few days on the road, they are usually ready to head back home. I tend to be that way too. DW travels by air quite a bit for her work, so I don't think she'll want to spend much time in airports once she retires. But she likes to travel more than I do and we plan on buying a RV in a couple of years and taking several short RV trips a year to explore the US and Canada. After that, we dream of exploring Europe by RV from our home base there.

My aunt and uncle travel constantly though. They've always enjoyed traveling, though they don't really venture far from home and rarely go abroad. But they spent way too much of their nest egg on travel during the first few years of their retirement and they had to go back to work so that they could continue indulging in their passion. They worry that, one day, they won't have the means to travel anymore and will have to stay home.

 

[travelover]

I've mentioned this before, but I think the most important part of my post ER growth has been to turn off the volume on other people's expectations of me.

Perhaps some people that like to stay at home are depressed, but I suspect that many people who are constantly on the go are just fighting some other demon.

 

[sheehs1]

After 35 plus years of work and raising children ...working (slaving) from 5:00a.m. until after midnight, I'm happy to report that I love being a homebody! Two to three trips within the good old U.S.A a year does it for me. Accumulating more stuff...does not appeal to me either. Meaning, while I can afford a 2nd home, I choose not to have one (pursued being bought out of a shared ocean front beach cottage about 4 years ago). Worrying about renters, maintenance, hurricanes, etc.....was not my idea of fun and relaxation. I realize it is for some. Just not for me. Neither of us are "maintenance people" except for our home and my husbands office building. I've often considered a condo...in Virginia Beach...to put us closer to nicer resturants and things to do on the week-ends.... but am afraid the novelty would wear off in about 2 years. We are only about an hour away as it is. This has happened to some friends of ours who now wish they had not bought that overpriced condo with those hefty condo fees.
Simpler and being happy with what we have seems to work for my peace and serenity.

 

[beowulf]

Since I still go to wo*k pretty much daily, I really enjoy a chance to stay home. A couple of long distance trips a year with DW are fine, though she would like to travel more. Last year was really different as I telecommuted from a warmer climate for 4 months and we took a 2 week international vacation and several shorter in country ones. I tend to burn all PTO as soon as I accumulate it and the company I work for knows I don't care if I have to be on LWOP from time to time.

Not sure what will happen after I retire - DW has already done so. Kids are long grown and gone, dog is dead, so we can pretty much do as we please. I do think we will be happier staying where we live now than moving to a retirement part of the country.

 

[FinanceDude]

We did move to Fla to get away from the cold and snow. Yet we are very happy to do nothing and stay in our home.

Didn't work out too well this year, has it?

 

[walkinwood]

For me, having active social connections - neighbors, friends, family - is more important than travel. However, we do like to travel & plan to do more of it.

We have friends who dropped out of corporate life - sort of Semi-ER. We visit each other about once a year for what we jokingly refer to as an audit. Just to make sure we're not morphing into couch potatoes or becoming anti-social or dropping our hygiene standards.

 

[Moemg]

We usually take two large trips a year and then I take an additional one or two trips to visit my daughter and grandson. We like to explore so we thoroughly enjoy the trips but we also enjoy returning home . I did move in retirement at the request of my husband who then passed away a year and a half after the move . Luckily I was still working so I formed a lot of friendships but it was no fun(actually I ended up having fun but it took awhile to get to that point ) to be in a new area all alone and having to begin again at 51.

 

[73ss454]

Didn't work out too well this year, has it?

Not as I had planned but warmer than up north in the tundra.

 

[freebird5825]

Travel? Love it!

My perspective is a lot different due to the local weather and the cultural void in East Nowhere. I already have some 1 day and multi-weekday trips planned once the weather warms up, sometime in July.
All I have to do is board the dogs and off we go.

I am happy to do local trips as well as medium and long distance trips. The destination choice is more of a budget consideration than anything else.

I've been on cruises, to Europe 3x, and traveled all over the US while w*rking. There are several domestic locations I want to return to where I can actually spend some time getting there and enjoying it versus the quick plug-in/plug-out on w*rk travel.

Mr B has not traveled much in his previous life, so I am the official destination picker and navigator. He's not crazy about flying, so we will switch over to driving instead. No biggie.

 

[Alan]

We love being home and have traveled a lot over the years with work and on vacations. Our plan in these first years of retirement is to travel to a location and live there for a month or more. Last year we drove to Colorado and lived in a house for a month, and we also drove to Canada and stayed in 2 different houses in Ontario. Our 6 week trip to England turned into 10 because of a bereavement but was still very enjoyable.

On each trip we have loved the feeling of getting home and getting back into our usual routine. I expect this pattern will continue until we get tired of it.

 

[aaronc879]

Even in this awful weather I am so happy not to have to get up to shovel and fight the traffic to the city it makes my day.

Around here, even if you don't need to leave home you still need to shovel. Local laws require you to shovel the sidewalk in front of your home within 24 hours of a snowfall or pay a rather high fee to have the city contractors do it. Also, the mail carriers are not required to deliver if the snow is not cleared and they don't. I am still looking forward to not having to drive in the snow, ever. That will be nice.

 

[cj]

When DH & I travel, we like 4-5 day trips, not extended ones. Part of that has to do with the critters we have - we don't like leaving them alone for long. DH is not much for travelling at all, and I prefer 2-3 day getaways. I don't think we'll do a lot of travelling when we're fully retired. We do live in an over-55 community and there are plenty of day trips. We do like those. But just hanging around at home works fine! My favorite thing is just having breakfast or lunch with friends.

 

[52andout]

Lots of interesting replies here. As we were reminiscing the other day I think our happiest times in our 35 year marriage haven't been related to spending money or doing fabulous things. We've had some great trips but really like being home. We spent a couple of days doing a puzzle, read a lot, I sew and DH does some woodworking but for the most part nothing fabulous.
I think an awful lot of it is just not having to go to work. Every few days I think in the past year we have said "we're so lucky". In the past year we were lucky with our nest egg, not like people who retired and faced huge financial downturns- things have been pretty good for us financially which has helped.

 

[rescueme]

Local laws require you to shovel the sidewalk in front of your home within 24 hours of a snowfall or pay a rather high fee to have the city contractors do it.

What's a sidewalk? ...