Need Advice As We Get Closer…

[shane1]

Need some advice. Just semi-retired, down to 1-2 days per week for benefits. Now we are in the final stages of getting ready to sell our house. This is the scary part and we are not sure how to move forward the most economical way. We want to simplify our lives and possibly travel while we are relatively young. We are 50/52. Our choices are:

1. Buy RV and travel around the US. Issue is RV’s are inflated and fuel prices are high.
2. Travel Internationally. We have not travelled Internationally before and don’t know how to make the move. Keep a home or buy a condo for when we are back in US?
3. Keep doing the same old things.

I have enough so I don’t have to work again but not enough where I am comfortable wasting money. Can spend a total of $75-$100k per year. Anyone have experience with this and how have you handled it?

 

[pacergal]

I have not experienced your specific question, but here is what I would do:
Rent an apartment or condo for a while, probably a year lease. Give yourself time to explore what you may decide to do long term.
Rent an RV for an extended trip to see how well you enjoy it, before buying.
Check out various RV websites to understand the different sizes, etc.
Go on an international trip and see if you like the "lock and leave" of a smaller home/apt/condo community.
Explore your options.

Good Luck, enjoy your travels and Welcome to ER forum!

 

[TheWizard]

I think it's actually rather helpful to develop some on those interests BEFORE getting close to retirement, so that you have a good idea where your compulsions lie...

 

[njhowie]

Now is certainly a good time to sell a home to get top dollar.

However, you are quickly getting to the issue of where next?

pacergal is correct - you want to rent an RV before committing to buy. Renting will be expensive as well. But, it could save you from a much more expensive mistake. I will tell you something that was told to me after buying our RV..."The two happiest days of the RVer's life is the day you buy the RV...and the day you sell it". It is very true. RVing is wonderful, but it's not all fun and games - there's a lot more to it that you will not know until you experience it. However much you figure it's going to cost, double it. Then base your budget on that number. When we purchased our Class A RV, gas was $1.25/gallon (2001). I hadn't considered budgeting for $2+ gasoline. Now, we all deal with much higher gas prices today and manage. However, when your beast gets 8 to 10 miles per gallon, that gets extremely expensive very quickly. If you're not boondocking, camp fees have also gone crazy - as much as a decent hotel room most times.

As far as traveling internationally, I think it's similar - having never done it, you should take a few short trips to see how it goes before committing to anything more extensive.

My suggestion - find a low cost of living place in the US where you'd be happy and rent a house or apartment to call your home base for a year or two and see how things go. You can travel anywhere from anywhere. So take some international trips from your home base and learn what works, what doesn't work, what would make you happier. Things will develop from there.

 

[Sunset]

OP has not said where they are located, it makes a difference.

I would not be too quick to sell, as rents are high and in US go up about 10% per year recently.

Also OP may find they hate RV traveling and international travel.

I see the question of RV traveling and International travel as separate from selling the house.

If OP wanted to move overseas, then selling the house would be part of the process. But right now, I see it as lock the door and go travel (rent an RV) or travel to some other country for 2 weeks -> month and return.

 

[shane1]

OP has not said where they are located, it makes a difference.

I would not be too quick to sell, as rents are high and in US go up about 10% per year recently.

Also OP may find they hate RV traveling and international travel.

I see the question of RV traveling and International travel as separate from selling the house.

If OP wanted to move overseas, then selling the house would be part of the process. But right now, I see it as lock the door and go travel (rent an RV) or travel to some other country for 2 weeks -> month and return.

Currently own a home in CT.

 

[38Chevy454]

Do you want to move to a different area of the US? Or stay in your current area, but just downsizing your homebase? I think the idea to rent an apt or condo for a year is good while you investigate some of your travel interests.

I have a motorhome and it is really a lifestyle choice more than a money saving vs car/hotel travel. The main thing RVing can do is get you close to areas where you could not with a hotel. Plus can cook your own food, stay in your same bed and space. As mentioned the fuel costs with RV park fees are kind of similar to car and hotel.

 

[Sunset]

Do you want to move to a different area of the US? Or stay in your current area, but just downsizing your homebase? I think the idea to rent an apt or condo for a year is good while you investigate some of your travel interests.

I have a motorhome and it is really a lifestyle choice more than a money saving vs car/hotel travel. The main thing RVing can do is get you close to areas where you could not with a hotel. Plus can cook your own food, stay in your same bed and space. As mentioned the fuel costs with RV park fees are kind of similar to car and hotel.

Too bad, as I imagined I'd want to RV, since tenting is out of scope for us. But while hotels are variable, it does allow the faster driving and one less expensive thing to maintain (and pay to store here, as cannot store on driveway).

 

[shane1]

Do you want to move to a different area of the US? Or stay in your current area, but just downsizing your homebase? I think the idea to rent an apt or condo for a year is good while you investigate some of your travel interests.

I have a motorhome and it is really a lifestyle choice more than a money saving vs car/hotel travel. The main thing RVing can do is get you close to areas where you could not with a hotel. Plus can cook your own food, stay in your same bed and space. As mentioned the fuel costs with RV park fees are kind of similar to car and hotel.

We are open. Probably keep a home base in CT as I have kids and family here even though I thoroughly dislike the winters.

It is just a little scary as it was a big step going from full time to 2 days. I also feel like the current house is an anchor. A condo would probably work better because we will not have to worry about maintenance as much as well as grass and snow.

 

[OldShooter]

... 1. Buy RV and travel around the US. Issue is RV’s are inflated and fuel prices are high.

I suggest that you rent first. We have rented in Alaska and in New Zealand and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but became absolutely certain that we would never want to live in one full time. Others love it.

... 2. Travel Internationally. We have not travelled Internationally before and don’t know how to make the move.

Easy. Go here: https://www.roadscholar.org/ We traveled to 40+ countries alone or with guides, but our four or five Road Scholar trips have been among the best. Zero intimidation factor. National Geographic group tours, same story, but hellishly expensive/IMO not good values vs alternatives.

... 3. Keep doing the same old things.

Of course not.

 

[Aerides]

I suggest you allow a good 3-6 months after you retire, before you put the house up for sale. Sure, the market is great, but that's a LOT of change at once. And the place you think you want to live or the things you want to do will almost always be different after you actually retire.

Both fully retiring, and moving, are far bigger life changes than going from FT to PT alone.

So I vote for #3, and then revisit that decision once you've been fully retired for several months.

 

[brett]

We retired early ten years ago.

We had three givens. We wanted to sell our large home. We wanted to downsize considerably. We wanted to travel internationally at least twice a year.

Real estate was high. So we sold. Gave away all kinds of things and furniture to people who needed more than we did. We only kept what could go into an 8X8X16 container. Placed that in heated indoor storage.

Traveled for 7 months. Europe, Africa, Central America, US. Then rented a furnished apt for 3 months. Did not buy after that...we rented for four years because the market was going down.

Now....pre covid we do two international trips per year. Two months each. Why two months? Firstly my pension out of country medical covers us for 60 days. Secondly, DW finds three or four months too long to be away from grandchildren. It is all about practicalities and compromise. We eventually bought a lock and leave..no pets, no plants. Not bothered with snow removal or gardening.

Two other things. Almost a year of travel changed our opinions of what sort of housing we eventually wanted to buy. We also found a significant change in our focus from 'things/possessions' to experiences.

In between those two month trips...one in fall, one in winter, we often pick up last minute AI's or cruises for a week or two.

Longer international trips are mostly planned very generally and complemented with spontaneous travel. Just booked for six weeks in Portugal in May/June and a resort in Thailand for a week next March. Looking at Greece/Turkey or Malta/Sicily for Sept/Oct depending on covid.

Started with DW's long standing wish for an African safari. Enjoyed that so much,plus several weeks driving around South Africa that we intend to go back. Our bucket list is actually growing, not shrinking.

 

[Music Lover]

2. Travel Internationally. We have not travelled Internationally before and don’t know how to make the move. Keep a home or buy a condo for when we are back in US?

If you haven't done it before you don't even know if you'll like it. Or you might like it for a couple years and then the fun wears off.

 

[skyking1]

Prune your belongings down as Brett suggests above. If you are not ready to leap into either the international or RV thing, come on out to the other coast and check it out from this home base, for example.
https://www.rent.com/washington/sequim-houses/oak-ct-4-r3288807

There are places all over to rent for less than 2000 per month that are not just holes in a nasty neighborhood.

That is what I would do if you really wanted to sell and kick off with a major change of scenery.

 

[38Chevy454]

We are open. Probably keep a home base in CT as I have kids and family here even though I thoroughly dislike the winters.

It is just a little scary as it was a big step going from full time to 2 days. I also feel like the current house is an anchor. A condo would probably work better because we will not have to worry about maintenance as much as well as grass and snow.

DW and I snowbird in the winter. I grew up on west coast (CA) and I really don't like the cold although I can tolerate it. Of course as mentioned we already have a nice motorhome to facilitate the snowbirding. This year we decided to buy a deeded RV lot with a small house in FL where we can go each winter and whenever else we want to. Yes it is more money than just having the motorhome and renting a space, but we have more room and a nicer RV park to be located in than most rental parks. We will always have our home in OH.

Buying a nice big RV is also not cheap. Depending on what you might decide it can be a $50-500K choice. Check out the sister site to this E-R, for all the RV questions and info you might want to know:
www.irv2.com

 

[braumeister]

2. Travel Internationally. We have not travelled Internationally before

Without the experience under your belt, you probably don't have any real idea what international travel is like, so dip your toes into those waters very gingerly. We have a lifetime of international travel, so we know we enjoy it greatly, and do it every chance we get. But we have many friends who are terrified of it, scared of the language issues, different customs, etc.

My advice would be to take a couple of guided tours in places you find interesting. Rick Steves would of course be a good source, but there are so many outfits that will provide enough support. You don't need anything in depth, just a taste so you can discover places you might like to go back to later.

 

[Koolau]

Need some advice. Just semi-retired, down to 1-2 days per week for benefits. Now we are in the final stages of getting ready to sell our house. This is the scary part and we are not sure how to move forward the most economical way. We want to simplify our lives and possibly travel while we are relatively young. We are 50/52. Our choices are:

1. Buy RV and travel around the US. Issue is RV’s are inflated and fuel prices are high.
2. Travel Internationally. We have not travelled Internationally before and don’t know how to make the move. Keep a home or buy a condo for when we are back in US?
3. Keep doing the same old things.

I have enough so I don’t have to work again but not enough where I am comfortable wasting money. Can spend a total of $75-$100k per year. Anyone have experience with this and how have you handled it?

1) I would suggest you travel by car for a while and stay in decent but relatively inexpensive motels (think Holiday Inn Express/Best Western, etc.) My gut tells me that will be way less expensive than renting or especially buying an RV.

You may find out you really are more in love with the idea of RVing (and "Seeing America First") than the reality of being on the road a lot. Keep the home base and keep your "loops" to 3 weeks or so. You may find out you REALLY like "coming home." That will tell you a lot.

2) Same thing. Go first to a couple of countries you've always thought you'd like to see. Keep the home base while traveling.

3) There are tons of data that suggest you should never do two "big things" in a short space of time. You'll recall the papers that started coming out 35 years ago suggesting retirement, death of a spouse, moving, etc., can have deleterious effects on you physically. I wouldn't sell the house and buy an RV for at least a year.

I'm no expert on any of this stuff so take it as the musings of a long-term retiree who moved 5000 miles after retirement (but it was 2 years later.) Therefore YMMV.

 

[DrRoy]

I would keep the house for now, and explore the RV and travel options. DW and I planned to move on ER and build a new house. We decided to stay where we were and remodel instead. We travel extensively, and are renting an RV this spring for the first time.

 

[shane1]

This is all great info and helps a great deal and we talk about our options as we move forward. We are very open on our options. We want to see and do things while we are fairly young and want to do it the most cost efficient way. Hearing from you guys is helping us have more meaningful discussions. Look forward to hearing more.

 

[pjigar]

OP has not said where they are located, it makes a difference.

I couldn't agree more! I live in Texas so my RV ownership dreams are crushed due to driving time. We choose to just fly somewhere North West and rent an RV. If I lived somewhere around North West, let's say Utah, then I would buy an RV.


But back to OP's question: Don't jump the gun. Try anything and everything before you "buy". Lot of people realize that they like "normal" life anchored to a permanent place after the initial honeymoon period of travel is passed. There are some who love nomad lifestyle. You wouldn't know where you belong until after few years of RE life.


Disclaimer: I am not RE so my views are not based on personal experience but they are formed based on my years here on this forum. DW wife and I are the "anchor" type and do not plan on moving anywhere after RE.

 

[38Chevy454]

Just to add a little more on the RVing. You can go cheaper if you boondock at free sites. Boondocking (or dry camping) meaning you have no hookups (electricity, water, sewer) and are self contained. Most all RVs are capable of some length of time, based on tank sizes. Plus you will need a generator or maybe solar to keep batteries charged up. You can stay on BLM (Bureau of Land Mgmt) for free, plus there are many other free locations you can find. But eventually you need to dump tanks and refill water and propane. So figure there will be need for some costs. It is nice to have the full hookups, but there is higher cost for that.