Looks like we made it _

[Pdw1960]

We’re here! How did you adjust?

I am 61 and my husband just turned 60. I’ve been on disability for health reasons since 2000 - there’s good days and bad. During Covid my husband worked from home and I realized what a stressful job he had. The company offered an early buyout in January, and it took about 30 seconds for us to decide to take it. We had already spoken w/our financial advisor and had our retirement ducks in a row. He retired at the end the end of March.
We intend on moving to either the St Pete area or somewhere with an hour or so of Vegas (our son will be in 1 of these places). We are thinking of selling our home soon and either renting or using air B&B until we make our decision. We want to take advantage of selling in this market. We would like to travel, short trips and maybe 1 or 2 more extensive trips a year.

Any opinions on which area you think is better?

Did you “test drive” a location before buying somewhere, if so, how did you go about it?

Was there anything you were not prepared for when you retired? How did you meet new people?

Looking forward to living the dream!

 

[Dtail]

Congrats on the retirement. Welcome to your best part of your life.
We live in Tampa and visit St. Pete from time to time. Nice place.
We rented for a year in Tampa as a test drive and then bought a house after a year and love it in FLA.
Be sure you are comfortable with the 7 month summers.

As for meeting new people, we live in a gated community which sponsored many events before Covid and that was the main opportunity for us to meet new folks.

 

[cbo111]

We retired in Bradenton about 5 years ago. Love it for golf, tennis, pickleball, biking, water activities. You might try staying in one of the Del Webb neighborhood for a test run. We don't live in a Del Webb, but we stayed in the Nocatee and Apollo beach neighborhoods. They offered killer deals on renting a house for a couple nights, complete with golf cart, bottle of wine and complimentary dinner. Very low pressure sales. The summers are hot and we find it necessary to bug out for a month or so around August when the stickiness gets too oppressive. Canada is our go-to escape location.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Congratulations on retirement.

If Vegas area turns out to be where you want to head, I have a friend who retired to Mesquite Nevada. It is not far from SW Utah border and is less than an hour from Vegas, I believe. He and his wife love it there. I get the impression it is a retirement mecca for many retired folks.

 

[ivinsfan]

Congratulations on retirement.

If Vegas area turns out to be where you want to head, I have a friend who retired to Mesquite Nevada. It is not far from SW Utah border and is less than an hour from Vegas, I believe. He and his wife love it there. I get the impression it is a retirement mecca for many retired folks.

Have you personally been to Mesquite, I've been there or gone through there many time in the last 20 years. I can't endorse it as a place to retire but maybe that's just me. It's basically a big housing project that sprung up in the desert.






I would point you to St George Utah except it's outside your one hour limit.


Personally I'd hold on the my house not a good time to be out of the housing market IMO.

 

[RetireeRobert]

....., I've been there or gone through there many time in the last 20 years. I can't endorse it as a place to retire but maybe that's just me. ....

It's just you. My retired friend who lives there loves Mesquite, Nevada.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

How did you meet new people?

Looking forward to living the dream!

Enjoy your new location and retirement! We live in an areas with a number of senior clubs and that is where we've met most of our retired friends.

 

[Bamaman]

You state you live in Franklin. If it's Franklin, Tennessee you should choose St. Pete, FL over the Las Vegas area.

Moving to a desert area might prove to be too much of a culture shock. Las Vegas is in the process of reopening local businesses, however things are not working so well out there right now. Despite very high unemployment, businesses cannot get sufficient labor to work. We just returned from there last week.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Congrats! I'm a 20+ year resident of St Pete and love my city. A lot of others have caught on over the last several years and rents and prices reflect that (as is the case in most areas people are migrating to). Its very walkable if you are anywhere near downtown/Central Avenue corridor. My car stays mostly parked unless I'm doing a major grocery run (can walk to several for the occasional item) or going on an excursion somewhere. Happy to answer any questions I can.

 

[ivinsfan]

It's just you. My retired friend who lives there loves Mesquite, Nevada.

And that's why living somewhere for a year before deciding to retire is a good idea.


I once ran into a couple at a hotel in Kanab, Utah from the East coast. They said they saw a story about the town on TV and decided it would be a great retirement spot, sold their house and moved.



Maybe your friend is a golfer or a gambler who loves roasting in the Summertime....

 

[Kragness]

I am not retired but I have 2 homes that I spend 6 months each in. One is in St. Pete. I rented in a suburb of Tampa before I bought anything just to get a feel for the area and where I really wanted to be. St. Pete is a great area, always lots to do. Don't underestimate the summer months though; it can be brutal. I love the desert too, but the dry air really doesn't agree with my body. I will take humidity over the dry air any day.

 

[pacergal]

Congratulations and Welcome to retirement--it's a great place to be if you have planned well.
Local community centers, and senior centers that have classes are good places to meet new folks. Walking around your new neighborhood is also an opportunity.
If you have never been to either location you are considering, I would follow others recommendations to rent and live there for a bit first.
Is your only criteria for moving being your sons work/living circumstances? What if he changes jobs or locations? Make sure you really want to be where you are going. Moving later in life is not as easy.
This is a great forum, hope to hear more from you!

 

[mistermike40]

Congratulations - enjoy retirement!

 

[RetireeRobert]

Maybe your friend is a golfer or a gambler who loves roasting in the Summertime....

He did mention in last email about it was getting close to time to head over to play the slot machines! And how good his home's AC felt.