Life change

Hello,

Just retired last week, age 51. I was planning on another 5 years +-. My wife is working another 18 months, then she is to retire. Looking forward to new activities.

Any comments/thoughts on 1 st phase of "retirement" are appreciated. Best wishes to all.

Earlyout

[arrete]

My best advice is to dabble. Unless you already know exactly what you want to do, messing around for awhile allows you to see what you are really interested in.

And keep track of your expenses. You'll be surprised what you spend money on and what you don't.

Of course, if you're like Dory36, you'll already know what you want - but not all of us are that clever.

arrete

[MRGALT2U]

My wife and I (like Dory36) have a pretty solid idea of
where we will end up and how to get there. The
"plan" was developed before we married in 2001, and has not been altered much since. However, we are
having a great deal of trouble actually putting it into
action. Even though our life together has been
simplified by selling possessions, etc., the level of
involvement/entanglements here is still a bit daunting.
It's a combinations of illiquid investments, family
obligations, and employment issues (my wife still works).
We'll get there eventually, but our sense of the rapid
passage of time is most acute. This raises the
frustration level. More to follow...................

[earlyout]

Part of our plan is to relocate to Florida in 18-24 months. We currently live in Michigan and the cold weather is no longer attractive. We realize Florida is hot, but we have visited in summer and will do again.

We expect a slight lower cost of living (5% +-) in Florida.
Anyone else in Florida with their experiences?

Have a great day!

earlyout

[MRGALT2U]

We also (both former Michiganders) are Florida bound.
We hope to relocate this year. Love Michigan, but not
the winters. We have looked at other states in the
sunbelt and finally decided Florida offered what we
need for our "golden years". We also expect the
COL to be lower there, although I confess this is based
more on "feel" than any scientific analysis. One item
which appears to be more costly in Fla. than many other
places is health insurance. We're going anyway........

[earlyout]

John,

Where are you looking at in Florida? We have been in the Sarasota area, and will probably settle there. We are going down in April for 12 days to vacation and look at some possible areas around the Gulf Coast/Sarasota area.

earlyout

[MRGALT2U]

Hello earlyout! We want to be close to the Gulf Coast.
I lived in Texas for 4 years and also have connections in Florida. Have been to both on scouting expeditions
and have kind of settled on Florida. We want to be
way out in the country, away from any city, but close to big water. In Florida, we have it narrowed down to
somewhere around Palatka on the St. Johns River, or
between Carrabelle and Panama City in the panhandle.
Both areas have the big water, good fishing, affordable
real estate, and woodsy out of town areas, away from traffic and congestion. The panhandle people call themselves the "forgotten coast". Some of the real estate is quite pricey, but if you get back inland a ways it is affordable.
Pretty area too!

[JWR1945]

I live in the Florida panhandle. IMHO, it is much, much better than on the peninsula. The Gulf has gentle waves. The water is warm (much different from the Pacific). Temperatures are not as bad. (Beware of Miami in the summer time!) The beaches along the Emerald Coast are all beautiful. Nearby, Panama City has done an outstanding job with their public beaches. Not so locally.

I generally think in terms of hurricanes. I put a priority on being able to escape. That came in handy during hurricane Opal. In Pensacola, you are trapped.

Thank God for air conditioning.

Have fun.

John R.