EddieG
Dryer sheet aficionado
Hello all. The wife and I are lucky enough to so be able to retire VERY soon (The sooner the better) We should be able to comfortably spend about 45,000 a year and make it last as long as we need it.
I am 42 and I've been pretty much working full time since I was an early teen(Along w/school until 19). Lots of 80 hour weeks! I'm sure glad that's over! The wife is closer to 50 something, but looks 42 (She didn't tell me her real age until I had already fallen in love, and by then it didn't matter).
We live in WI now, and the house is paid off, and we owe nothing to anyone. Kids are moving around the country soon, and we don't have a big social life here, so we want to explore living in different areas of the U.S. We like to travel, and we want to check out different areas in hopes of finding a couple great locations to live. Maybe splitting the year between a couple. Here's my main concerns right now:
Health insurance - any ideas on where to get good private health insurance rates? A couple of the usual pre-existings - hbp, family history, etc. We haven't quit our jobs yet, but we want to withing a month or so if possible. Any thoughts about COBRA vs private insurance? Any other things we might want to considere BEFORE quitting, so we don't regret not thinking of something important first?
Own or rent? - We have heard different ideas about renting vs buying. We're not into all the home maintainance chores like we used to be. We used to like all the yard work, etc, but now it's more of a chore than a pleasure. I would enjoy some gardening, but that's about all I enjoy doing around the house much any more. But, we wouldn't mind getting a rural place where we could ride 4 wheelers, raise some small animals, have a dog, do some gardening etc. I could probably hire someone to do the stuff I don't want to do, but I don't want our house to become a big drain on our time or budget.
TENNIS!!! - I love playing tennis. I just started a few years ago, but I'm decent and I love to keep improving. I could see myself playing a LOT for fun, as well as training for age appropriate tournaments, taking lessons, etc. We would like to find a community that offers a lot of opportunities to join tennis leagues, have plenty of available practice partners, etc. Any ideas from retirees who love tennis as much as I do would be appreciated. (Please no info about recent tournaments. I tape them all and I just finished wtching the Australian open from Jan!) I still have to watch the French and Wimbledon, so no spoilers please!!! The wife is not a big tennis junkie like me, but she likes to play for fun at a very beginner level. She would be more interested in more sedate, social activities, so I would like an area where she would have fun during the times I am doing the tennis thing. I will probably get into golf at some time also. I've never played, but my Dad was a golf lover, so maybe it's lying dormant like tennis was.
- Having said the whole tennis thing, we do not want to live in a big city. I grew up in Chicago, and we enjoy the rural life better. A rural area within a short commute of all the tennis stuff would be great.
Weather - We like warm, but not extremely hot and humid. We don't mind a little chilly, but we're sick of waiting out the long WI winters. Ideally, a place like parts of California where the weather is pretty moderate the majority of the year would be great, but I don't know if there are parts of Cal where the weather is nice, the rent or home prices aren't crazy, and there are lots of tennis opportunities. The same priorities in other states would be just as acceptable.
So basically, we are looking for affordable, nice weather most of the time, lots of tennis and other social activities, preferably in a rural area close to all of the above.
We are just beginning the process of making all these choices, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Eddie
I am 42 and I've been pretty much working full time since I was an early teen(Along w/school until 19). Lots of 80 hour weeks! I'm sure glad that's over! The wife is closer to 50 something, but looks 42 (She didn't tell me her real age until I had already fallen in love, and by then it didn't matter).
We live in WI now, and the house is paid off, and we owe nothing to anyone. Kids are moving around the country soon, and we don't have a big social life here, so we want to explore living in different areas of the U.S. We like to travel, and we want to check out different areas in hopes of finding a couple great locations to live. Maybe splitting the year between a couple. Here's my main concerns right now:
Health insurance - any ideas on where to get good private health insurance rates? A couple of the usual pre-existings - hbp, family history, etc. We haven't quit our jobs yet, but we want to withing a month or so if possible. Any thoughts about COBRA vs private insurance? Any other things we might want to considere BEFORE quitting, so we don't regret not thinking of something important first?
Own or rent? - We have heard different ideas about renting vs buying. We're not into all the home maintainance chores like we used to be. We used to like all the yard work, etc, but now it's more of a chore than a pleasure. I would enjoy some gardening, but that's about all I enjoy doing around the house much any more. But, we wouldn't mind getting a rural place where we could ride 4 wheelers, raise some small animals, have a dog, do some gardening etc. I could probably hire someone to do the stuff I don't want to do, but I don't want our house to become a big drain on our time or budget.
TENNIS!!! - I love playing tennis. I just started a few years ago, but I'm decent and I love to keep improving. I could see myself playing a LOT for fun, as well as training for age appropriate tournaments, taking lessons, etc. We would like to find a community that offers a lot of opportunities to join tennis leagues, have plenty of available practice partners, etc. Any ideas from retirees who love tennis as much as I do would be appreciated. (Please no info about recent tournaments. I tape them all and I just finished wtching the Australian open from Jan!) I still have to watch the French and Wimbledon, so no spoilers please!!! The wife is not a big tennis junkie like me, but she likes to play for fun at a very beginner level. She would be more interested in more sedate, social activities, so I would like an area where she would have fun during the times I am doing the tennis thing. I will probably get into golf at some time also. I've never played, but my Dad was a golf lover, so maybe it's lying dormant like tennis was.
- Having said the whole tennis thing, we do not want to live in a big city. I grew up in Chicago, and we enjoy the rural life better. A rural area within a short commute of all the tennis stuff would be great.
Weather - We like warm, but not extremely hot and humid. We don't mind a little chilly, but we're sick of waiting out the long WI winters. Ideally, a place like parts of California where the weather is pretty moderate the majority of the year would be great, but I don't know if there are parts of Cal where the weather is nice, the rent or home prices aren't crazy, and there are lots of tennis opportunities. The same priorities in other states would be just as acceptable.
So basically, we are looking for affordable, nice weather most of the time, lots of tennis and other social activities, preferably in a rural area close to all of the above.
We are just beginning the process of making all these choices, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Eddie