WWYD?

[spanky42]

I see a lot of people telling him to find a mate...I'm assuming it's mostly females telling him that! We don't know his full situation (kids, previously married?).
I'm in a similar boat (cold climate also) but I am recently single with two young adult children and one grandchild...I'm 49 and plan to retire in 1.5 to 2 years (as long as pension doesn't freeze before then!). I have no desire to get hooked up again, at least for 10-15 years...I want to stay warm, travel the world and not have to worry about anyone else's schedule/habits/etc. But I do want to hang out with kids/grand kids as much possible, so a permanent move to a warmer climate probably won't happen for a while.

 

[Mdlerth]

There's nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats

I see a lot of people telling him to find a mate...I'm assuming it's mostly females telling him that! We don't know his full situation

From a purely practical perspective, I suggested OP find a shipmate because my proposal for long-distance sailboat cruising, while it can be done single-handed, would be much easier and safer with a companion. Sharing it with a partner would also ease the initial capital outlay.

Anyone still smarting from the pain of a recent breakup may be gunshy about entering into another close relationship; that's understandable. OTOH, being alone at sea for days at a stretch can get old pretty quickly.

I'm in a similar boat

Then you must already know!

 

[stephenson]

Hmmmm.

Assuming you don’t want to live just one place, just north of Key West, Marina di Ragusa (Sicily), Costa del Sol (Spain), Colorado Springs-Aspen summers, Ontario fishing summers, Hermosa Beach, CA (but you’d need a job prob), Paso Robles and work part time in a tasting room ...

 

[Yarnstormer]

I’d pick up some equities with the house sale money. I’d buy a new truck and a vintage riveted body trailer (airstream, vagabond, etc) and hit the road. Move as necessary to meet weather requirements.
Unless healthcare requires you to stay 2 more years seems like you are to jump now unless you like to spend a lot of money.
Don’t get a gal - You’ll end up with babies!

 

[enjoyinglife102]

Some can travel extensively solo and have the time of their life. I thought I was one of them a few years back but that was not the case at all becoming old and lonely in a hurry. Investing is the easy part (Wellesley Income and done will do it conservatively), deciding what and where your life will be is more difficult. Try some things and don't commit too much until you feel really good about your path. Good luck!

 

[Kim451]

If I were in your situation, I'd downsize like crazy the next 2 years, hook up with a similarly solvent GF who wants to go halfsies in a live-aboard sailboat, and cruise up and down both coasts of the Americas.
Mdlerth

Ha! I was in exactly that situation but wasn't able to find a similarly inclined BF for the sailboat.

I bought a condo in Hawaii instead, but now my recommendation would be to buy a 55+ condo in Deerfield Beach, FL (they are CHEAP and the one I looked at wasn't too bad) and use it as a place to stash your stuff and as a landing pad when sick, sick of traveling, or wanting to hang out and regroup while otherwise travelling your heart out...

 

[OldShooter]

For solo travel/small groups take a look at Road Scholar (https://www.roadscholar.org/). They offer a staggering number of trips. We have taken four or five and the travelers have been a mix of couples and singles. Singles have been socially well-integrated in the groups, no one lonely that I was aware of. Costs of their programs are moderate and quality is quite high. We took this one: https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure/22069/cooking-in-sicily in February and about half the group of ten was singles. We also did one like this:https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an...e-american-diplomacy-with-the-foreign-service a few yars ago. It was more of a classroom program but we had some field trips. Speakers included current and former ambassadors and even one of the Iran hostages. Lots of options.

 

[isisdave]

No one's mentioned health insurance. Unless you retirement comes with some, that's your only big problem. It gets really expensive after 60.

If I were you and wanted to travel full-time, or nearly full-time for a year or two, I'd stash my stuff in an inexpensive no-tax state .. one of those FL cities, or SD or non-urban NV to establish residency there. You could have a cheap apartment, or an RV space, or even a room in someone's home. Then have fun trotting around the places you want to see.

If not, visit the top five or ten places you think you might want to settle, and choose one.

Meanwhile, don't load up with a lot of "stuff".

 

[ejman]

I'll second the notion of RVing full time, get yourself a nice used small (20'-24') class C motorhome and see the country. Learn how to boon dock on BLM land, and follow the sun....I don't think you will regret it, and may never want to live in a stationery home again.

I think living in a stationery home would be really difficult so totally agree

 

[Doribe]

I like having a home base, RV travel, and also international travel. I am currently in cold weather, but schedule travel during the cold months. I plan to buy or rent an apartment in the north as my home base.

In addition to the Southwest, you may want to consider the Northwest coastal or mountain area.

 

[2177V]

Suggestion:
Step 1: Imagine 10 retirement overseas countries or USA communities that you considered retirement.
Step 2: Sign a short term 6 month lease and enjoy yourself.
Step 3: Repeat for the retirement overseas counties or USA communities number 2.
Step 4: After living at the 10 retirement places, then make a decision which was the very best one. You really do not know which is the very best one until you lived there for 6 months.

 

[catii]

How about some input, OP? Without feedback, all we can do is guess.

 

[VungTau]

Why not try living outside the USA?. You can do so much for so little! I retired in 2013 at 53 and love it. A 2.5 year stint back home in Calif from 2015 to 2017 made me realize the USA is a wonderful place but not financially sensible when you weigh up costs vs benefits, especially with our health care system! You can get great world wide health coverage for around 2-3K a year but it of course excludes the USA.



If you like mild winters and less humidity you might try Ecuador or the Vietnam central highlands. So many great options out there and it keeps getting easier.


At 65 the USA might be a reasonable option again (for me) when medi-care kicks in...