Retired in Atlanta since 2012 - No regrets

[5Miler]

I first registered here when I retired in 2012 but actually, I was a lurker for many years before that. I do owe my decision to retire at 58 to this community. I usually keep pretty busy but this Covid 19 situation has suddenly afforded me a bit too much spare time so I thought I would take the opportunity to finally do an introduction.

I was mostly a mid level manager in a technical field and moved around the country quite a bit as I didn't mind relocating for work. Landed in Atlanta and finally stuck somewhere as I have been here 29 years now. Seems like just yesterday. I just turned 67 this week and my DGF of 28 years just turned 61 this week. She has been retired since 2014 after some coaxing from me. We live off our retirement accounts at approximately a 3% withdrawal rate. No bills of any kind for many years. I'm considering taking Social Security next year which is actually more than I take from my retirement accounts each year now. We do live below our means.

We usually take multiple vacations each year but have not this year obviously other than a cruise in January before everything went goofy. We should be packing for our annual 4 week scuba diving vacation in Bonaire but that doesn't look like it will happen either.

Not really looking for any advice as our retirement is essentially on autopilot at this time. I just want to thank the members from years ago who gave me the information I needed at that time to take the leap. As you hear so often here, I should have done it sooner.

 

[ckelly78z]

Welcome to the forums...finally ! It sounds like you have a good, simple life, but like everyone else, are now dealing with life's curve balls.

 

[Wupot2020]

What has been your experience managing health insurance costs?

 

[Markola]

What a good story. Congrats on your lifestyle!

 

[5Miler]

What has been your experience managing health insurance costs?

For the first few years, I was covered by DGF's mega corp insurance until they dropped coverage for unmarried partners that were not same sex. (Go figure) Fortunately, VA coverage opened up for me in the nick of time so I used the Veteran's Administration coverage. I was lucky to get assigned to a very good doctor at a nearby clinic so I didn't have to go to the main Regional Hospital in Decatur. Obviously, I'm now on Medicare but still get my healthcare through the VA as they will do labs and pretty good semi-annual exams without any fuss. I did enroll in a Plan G Medigap plan so I have coverage if needed.

 

[5Miler]

Healthcare for DGF has been very different from my story though. When she retired in 2014 she was only 55 and retired in the middle of July. That was important for ACA income purposes. She decided to use Cobra the rest of the year at a phenomenal cost. I did some research on ACA and by reading posts here, discovered the wonders of income management, cost sharing and Silver ACA plans. DGF was seeing a physical therapist when she transitioned from Cobra to ACA and her fee for physical therapy dropped from $50 per visit to $10. No deductible and low premiums. Costs have continued to rise over the years as it has for most and income management is not her strong suit these days. She sees her 401K balance and would love to buy a new SUV as her's is 19 years old. But I'm now rambling.

 

[Bamaman]

Congratulations on using a low COL area to allow you to do so well in your retirement years.

I too lived in Atlanta for many years, but left 17 years ago just as our beautiful swim/tennis community was having a periodic resident turnover.

We had found traffic debilitating out in Gwinnett County and moved to the Tennessee River in our front yard. We still hang out on weekends at our place in Helen, GA, however.

 

[5Miler]

Congratulations on using a low COL area to allow you to do so well in your retirement years.

Yes, I can't complain about the cost of living in Georgia and I also live in Gwinnett county in the same house I had built 3 months after relocating to GA. I moved here from St. Louis and before that it was Milwaukee and Chicago. Gwinnett county was a breath of fresh air after that.

Gwinnett county and Georgia are also very friendly to seniors and veterans. Since turning 65 my real estate taxes have dropped from $2700 per year to $800. State taxes are non existent for me as my income is from pension (won't pay my electric bill) and IRA proceeds which are all exempt. I don't pay for driver's license, only the tax portion of my truck tags which is minimal since my truck is 19 years old. Until I retired, I never really took advantage of many of the benefits available to me but now I have time to look into these things and manage to get it done. Like the National Parks Senior Pass which I learned about on this forum. Got it just before the price went up to $80. It all adds up. These things allow us to travel as we like and usually fly first class because, why not.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Yes, I can't complain about the cost of living in Georgia and I also live in Gwinnett county in the same house I had built 3 months after relocating to GA. I moved here from St. Louis and before that it was Milwaukee and Chicago. Gwinnett county was a breath of fresh air after that.

Gwinnett county and Georgia are also very friendly to seniors and veterans. Since turning 65 my real estate taxes have dropped from $2700 per year to $800. State taxes are non existent for me as my income is from pension (won't pay my electric bill) and IRA proceeds which are all exempt. I don't pay for driver's license, only the tax portion of my truck tags which is minimal since my truck is 19 years old. Until I retired, I never really took advantage of many of the benefits available to me but now I have time to look into these things and manage to get it done. Like the National Parks Senior Pass which I learned about on this forum. Got it just before the price went up to $80. It all adds up. These things allow us to travel as we like and usually fly first class because, why not.

Georgia is VERY friendly to oldsters and pretty good to vets. I am a Cobb Co. native but moved out of state a couple years ago when I got tired of the massive influx of people moving into the metro area. There are some things I miss from there, but not the 6 million people and terrible traffic!

Welcome to the forum, it's good to have you!

 

[5Miler]

Traffic in Atlanta can be gruesome. Fortunately, I worked from home my last 15 years or so before retirement and I never lost anything in downtown Atlanta so I never go back to look for it unless speeding through on my way to the airport. It took some getting used to as I was born and my extended family is still in West Virginia. We were a bit remote and I could go an entire summer as a child never seeing anyone other than family. Yes, we did have indoor plumbing but there were always other options from the old days. Probably has a lot to do with my LBYM lifestyle, that and my over 9 years of military service. If you didn't have it, you probably won't miss it. I'm getting a bit spoiled these days though.

 

[CardsFan]

Traffic in Atlanta can be gruesome. .

I drove through Atlanta twice. To/from FLA. Will NEVER do it again. 2-3 hours to go though downtown. OK, once was a Friday at rush hour, but the second time was Sunday morning!

 

[5Miler]

When I first left the service, i ended up in Chicago for some reason. I bought a house in Lake in the Hills, IL and worked daily on South Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago. Now that commute was interesting. Learned a lot about commuter trains. The express trains took an hour and fifteen minutes to get to my stop and if I worked late, it was about two hours. I attended some college at night so it afforded lots of study time each day.

 

[HI Bill]

We should be packing for our annual 4 week scuba diving vacation in Bonaire but that doesn't look like it will happen either.

Sounds cool! I've only been there once (Divi Bonaire) and did a combination of hotel reef dives, and two boat dives a day. Do you stay at a hotel, or do you rent a place and dive truck? I loved the diving, but it was after a typhoon had destroyed a lot of the inner reefs.

 

[5Miler]

Sounds cool! I've only been there once (Divi Bonaire) and did a combination of hotel reef dives, and two boat dives a day. Do you stay at a hotel, or do you rent a place and dive truck? I loved the diving, but it was after a typhoon had destroyed a lot of the inner reefs.

We always stay at Buddy Dive Resort except one time 10 years ago and I hear about it to this day from DGF. We have been there 18 times. A pickup truck is part of the package as well as boat dives. Until about 5 years ago we used to only do shore dives using the pickup but DGF has proven prone to injury in the surf so we limit things to boat dives and dives of the resort dock these days.

We usually meet up with several other people during our 4 week stay, some stay all 4 weeks and others come and go for lesser times throughout our trip. They come from all parts of the US and some from Spain and Norway. It's a diverse group and all are people we met over the years on the island. We also know several residents that we keep in contact with and look forward to seeing while we are there. The dive staff and dive manager know us and take care of us like friends. It is the part of the year we look forward to with great anticipation.

Covid-19 has really changed the rules and procedures there now so I'm concerned it just won't be the same experience we have come to know. But it looks like we may not find out for sure for quite some time.

 

[HI Bill]

Covid-19 has really changed the rules and procedures there now so I'm concerned it just won't be the same experience we have come to know. But it looks like we may not find out for sure for quite some time.

I feel your pain. I had planned to FIRE in May, then travel this year to Europe, Japan, Bali and Galapagos.....2022? We did a couple dives on the south island of New Zealand, on the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov in March.

 

[5Miler]

HNL Bill - I would like to try some South Pacific diving and both of my DDIL are Filipino which I hear isn't bad for diving either. Reality is the Florida Keys are now open for diving so we will probably take another Keys trip with our local dive shop this fall just to get wet.

 

[pb4uski]

Welcome out from the shadows.