Now That You Are Retired – Don’t Blow It!

Enjoyed it!

Here's a piece I wrote on just that subject - "Six Secrets for a Successful Retirement" http://www.lifelivedforward.com/2013/02/01/secrets-successful-retirement/

I would highly recommend someone near retirement to check out the "active adult" type of communities. My wife and I visited 11 such communities in CA, NV and AZ. We chose Del Webb's Sun City Festival in Buckeye, AZ. This is northwest of Phoenix. You can be as busy as you want and at times find yourself "overbooked". We play pickleball, bocce ball, water volleyball and table tennis. We also attend computer workshops via ASU program within our center, play chess and many card games to play. Then there is the wine and beer club we attend such club activities. About 35 charter clubs in our community. You can do "stay and plays" here where you stay in a vacation model house on site with full rights in the community during your stay. A great, low key sales associate is Ms. Elaine Ransom who can be reached at 928-252-6521. When speaking with her you can have her contact me and my wife and I happy to join you at the Indigo Grill (our onsite restaurant) for a drink or meal and you can ask us resident type of questions. We are so happy we retired to resort style living at our community, Bill Baptista

All good advice, although the comments about deferring on building your dream home are vaguely insulting. The best way to avoid building a too-big, too expensive and unsuitable-for-aging home is to use all the resources available -- like Jan's articles -- and don't build an unsuitable home. Sure, some retirees want to validate and show off all the money they've made by building a retirement McMansion, and they will be able to weather the expenses; not worried about them. But many of the rest of us have read the "Not So Big House" and similar books, and are well aware of the shortcomings of living in a large home. Also, in visiting and reviewing almost 200 golf communities in the Southeast over the last 10 years, every new home I've seen has a master bedroom and bath on the first floor and other characteristics relevant to 60 somethings; builders know their audiences. More importantly, most retirees are smart enough to balance their dreams with their best interests. Land is still extraordinarily cheap in most areas of the South; if you want to go straight from a career to your dream home, laid out the way you have always have envisioned it, enjoy it while your are still "young." You (we, I'm 68) deserve it.

As I approach "retirement" (I'm 66) as one who hasn't saved enough, the main thing that eats at me is "Do it Now". I have such a nice list of things I want to do but can not afford to stop working to do them. I need to wait until I am 70 to maximize social security, but worry about how my health might deteriorate in the next four years, cutting things I want and can do now from the list. Not to mention being a bit burned out on full time work...It's a problem with no real solution, since the solution lies deep in the past.

Tim,
Not sure what is on your list of things to do but maybe there is a way to do miniature versions of what you'd like to do now instead of waiting 4 years. Like if you wanted to go on a vacation, maybe you could take a long (4-5 day weekend Wednesday-Sunday) and try to do it as frugal as possible. If you'd like to take some college courses, you could take one course at a time so you wouldn't be bogged down with it and working a job too. Give us some ideas of what your interests are, maybe we can think of ways for you to get some bang from your buck now! There are so many free things to do that might not be on your list. My town has free concerts on our Village Green in the summer. You bring folding chairs, blankets, food and enjoy an evening of music. If you have any National Parks in your area or within a days drive you can buy a pass for $20 and you can use it for life for all the National Parks. Here is the application for anyone interested: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/upload/-Final-OMB-Approved-Senior-Pass-App80-pdf.pdf

I really enjoyed this article as I am struggling to "find my way" in this new part of my life....well written and helpful! love ur newsletter!

Tim, it really depends what sort of retirement you are needing. If you want to do a lot of traveling you'll need more money....but if you can get by with less you can start earlier than 70. If you have equity in a home you can downsize to make up the difference. For me retiring at 62 or waiting until 70 came out to be a difference of $78 monthly.....not much of a difference.....

Mary Jane, Good points you have made! Also, if Tim's house is paid for he could consider a Reverse Mortgage and take the equity in cash money to finance his retirement. As you pointed out, downsizing whether from a bigger house to a smaller one or from an expensive apartment to a cheaper one could help. Collecting SS and working part time could be an option too.

Tim,
If you live in an expensive city with over the top property values, income and/or sales taxes, consider moving. I did. I worked for the City of Portland, OR and lived in Vancouver, WA and realized that taxes and expenses were going to eat me alive after retirement so I moved to middle Tennessee. I found the property of my dreams for an extremely reasonable price. Not only could I not find what I have now but I couldn't have afforded it in the Pacific NW. I had visited a friend in TN half dozen times for the 10 years leading to retirement, so I knew what I was getting into. There was an adjustment period of about a year but things are going well now. I don't miss the rain, grey skies, high taxes, traffic or all the rude people. This is just my story and I realize relocation is not for everyone but I'm now living and not existing due to the cheaper cost of just about everything.

Maureen,

Would you mind reveling the name of the city/town you moved to in Tennessee? We now live in Portland Oregon and are looking for a much cheaper place to live, as you well understand.
thank you.

How about coastal Oregon? Apts start at $500.....

All,

It is not necessarily just the selection of a State but where in the state. We relocated to South Carolina when my job moved me here. We considered North Carolina but their tax structure and other costs are way to high for those of us on fixed incomes.
Now that I am retired I find that the area around charlotte is lacking in cheap things to do. Everything we like is 2 to four hour drive. Property near the coats is very reasonable. Property in the Greenville area is also reasonable and close to the mountains and Lake Hartwell which is a huge lake on the border of Georgia and SC.

Politics are very right wing unless you live in a city area like Greenville or Hilton Head... Temperature os hot hot hot in the summer and nice in the winter.

Jodeen, Coming from Portland, one thing to consider is simply terrain. I have moved many times including from the mountains of western Virginia near the TN state line. The move that I made from that area to No. Va. near Washington DC (basically flat land) was surprisingly difficult. I very much missed the mountains though I had only lived there for two years. I think this is generally temporary, but in my case, the feeling lasted for years.

Tennessee has huge differences in terrain. East Tennessee has some of the highest mountains in the eastern US (though low compared to the Sierras). Western TN (Nashville and west) is basically flat land. I personally like the area from Knoxville east and particularly Johnson City.

As with every state, you would find differences from OR. Basically politically conservative. Low income tax, but high sales tax.

Ron: Are you planning on going East or West (or maybe even North again?) I was relocated to the Charlotte area for work too. I'm 1-2 years away from retirement, and trying to figure out where to go next. There are some great things about this area, but it is also a little too congested for me.

Kate, Charlotte is by far the most congested area of NC. Fayetteville and the Research Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) have some traffic issues also. But when we moved back to this area from No. Va. with a commute into Washington, we laughed when we heard about what the radio said was a backup. We found four cars ahead of us at the point described.

Get out of the cities or even simply avoid rush hour and most of NC is relatively congestion free.

Kate,

I have been looking around a lot, obviously that is why we are on this blog. Moving North seems to have huge tax disadvantages. The two states that seems best are Georgia and South Carolina.
I've lived in south Florida for several years and I loved to be able to walk to the beach and have my boat in the backyard but prices have skyrocketed in Boca Raton and nearby areas.

I'm researching the Hilton Head area, and also southern Georgia but have not found anything that really entices me yet.

I don't think I could ever get my wife back into snow country.
I'll post if I find that ideal area.

I have heard Tennessee is a retirement friendly state but have not done enough research.
Has anyone out there reviewed the Pro's and Con's of Tenn? Iknow they have no income tax but there are a lot of other taxes that can really bite into your limited retirement funds.

Ron, last time I tried to answer on this forum I wrote out an informative, lengthy and detailed post. Took about an hour to gather all the information. When I went to post it the website told me I was too "spamy", they are not to "big on spam", and deleted the entire post. Didn't even leave it on the screen so I could slice and dice it into smaller posts... just GONE. That post was an answer for a lady asking about retiring in Virginia and asking about certain cities.

I have some things I wrote about retirement costs and Tennessee that I can send you if you want. Just encrypt (to avoid email harvesters) an email address here and I will send it to you. Something like john smith attt someaddress dottt kom, where I know to replace the attt, dottt and kom with the correct stuff.

Hi Art,
I'm wondering if i'm the 'lady' you wrote that post for. Whether i am or not, i'm so sorry we all never got to read it. I value the information in your posts (and Rich's) so much! One thought on writing a long post is to do it in MS Word first. Then, you can save it and not have to start all over again.

Another thought - Elizabethton compared to Jonesborough or Greeneville TN? I never visited the latter as i heard a negative, but yesterday it was brought back to my consider list.

Thanks!

Art, I've had various issues with several sites on losing large posts. I bet you've already learned to save or write those responses in a simple editor first and then try to post. I use Notepad, but any editor or word processor can work.

I think I responded to the request you got from Va, but my information on TN is limited. I'm very interested and hope you'll send your info to me also. That would be richpbg att gmail dtt kom. I suspect the lady in Va. may contact you also. :<)

Hi Ella. The lady in VA *if I remember correctly* was from the North East and wanted information about a few cities in VA. Husband was retired Navy. She lived there (VA) quite a few years ago and wondered if it was now too crowded. All I had was a bunch of links to things like housing, utilities, expenses, etc, nothing that could not be dug up using Google Fu. No first hand knowledge at all from me.

Hey Rich your message is in the email. If I put enough epostage on it you should receive it esoon.

Art

ella, sorry but I have no specific personal information on any of those towns, other than I can say I have at least passed through Greeneville. The other two I haven't even driven through.

Thanks, Art! House is close to being sold, so i'll discover the answer to those questions soon myself. Then i can share!

Art, As I responded directly to you, I much enjoyed your thoughts on TN and how it relates to VA and NC. Well worth the read. It confirmed for me what I had decided and showed me better than ever before that the choice between the three states is largely what appeals to you individually.

Ella, it's well worth asking Art for his information. Also, I have traveled through Elizabethton many times over the past 40 years and, while it is an attractive nook back in the mountains, I have to say that traffic is a real thorn. Residents may have ways around, but I've done some Google searching and still end up going through the strangle downtown. Road updates have occurred, but just seem to increase the burden.

I can't help with Jonesborough or Greenville, but certainly neither town is a little Chicago. My own thoughts bolstered by Art's (though he barely mentioned the place), lead me to Johnson City. A small city with beautiful scenery (just down the road from Elizabethton), continuously evolving while retaining its essential character, home of East Tenn State Univ and Mountain Home National Cemetary (where my parents are interred -- I always knew I would keep returning to this beautiful part of the country), I think the location is near ideal (and only an hour at most from VA or NC). While completely happy with our decision to retire here in central NC, Johnson City is the one place that I continue to look back on with any regret that we never specifically gave it a try.

Rich
We have been looking at Eastern Tennessee and central to western North Carolina now for several years. I've been able to get a lot of information from here and the posters do give good information!
WWe need to stay fairly close to a VA HOSPITAL. Where in central North Carolina did you decide on?

Rich, Thanks so much for reaching out to me! I'm surprised about traffic in Elizabethton. I would have thought it would be Johnson City that had the traffic. The person who inspected my house plans to retire to Elizabethton. I was so surprised to find someone here (NYS) who knew about the town. What he liked, and what appeals to me, is that you would have the amenities and conveniences of Johnson City, while having the rural environment of Elizabethton. He also mentioned downtown cafes, etc. in Elizabethton.

Your thoughts on the above would be much appreciated. Thanks, again!

Virginia,

http://www.mountainhome.va.gov/

Johnson City, TN.

Virginia, Conveniently, Art listed the major VA hospital at Mountain Home. In NC there are VA hospitals at Durham, Salisbury, and Asheville. I don't have experience with any of these, but I can say that the Natl Cem at Mtn. Home is very well run and has kept improving its standards over the years. We laid my father there in 1980 and my mother just three years ago, so I have continuous awareness of the area in that time. I also have had good support from the VA (not the hospital per se) in Durham. I tend to believe that good service in one area of an organization tends to suggest good service in other areas within the same vicinity.

Ella, My knowledge of Elizabethton is limited to passing through -- over and over through the years. I find it to be attractive and apparently thriving, but two major local arteries -- 19-E and US 321 cross/merge at Elizabethton leading to the traffic. As I said, locals may know how to get around, but if you are interested, I would suggest the west side toward Johnson City might be better for the interest you have. Be aware that both towns seem to be growing toward each other.

And I must hasten to add that I'm not talking about DC or Atlanta level traffic. But locally, it has always been surprising and a little frustrating to me. Over the years, the attempt has been to improved the throughput (widening, improving) but not to bypass.

Louise, Mary Jane, Marueen, Thank you for all the thoughts. It comes down to two things for me I think - champagne hobbies with a beer budget (pardon the old expression) and location. Today I'm thinking that the next time you pass a beater truck pulling a rusted out trailer driven by a guy who looks "homeless", that'll be me ;-)

Art Bonds - I may be the woman asking for any current info on Williamsburg, VA. I lived near there in the 90's, my husband was in the USAF stationed at Langley AFB in Hampton and I now live in Connecticut. I did not check before typing this (from my cell phone) but my previous post may be under the blog that compares VA, NC, & SC. My husband wants (or should I say is determined) to move to Williamsburg area (Yorktown, Toano, New Kent etc., not Newport News, Hampton, or south of Williamsburg) when I retire 1/2018.

I want to move to a less expensive area than how I perceive Williamsburg will be. Looking for anyone that may have recently researched the area, know of someone that lives there now and may want to comment or has even been through there lately and can comment on local traffic now that there are even more entertainment attractions. Not really interested in the 55+ communities or golf. Art, did you have any comments (that we previously lost before posting?

I was person who has also recommended the Trulia.com site for looking at some really specific crime stats by homes for sale or rent. If you see a property you are interested in on that site, scroll down to crime star area and click on it for very detailed info.

The other site that offers a lot of demographics on towns is City-Data.com.

Thanks for your info. on traffic in Elizabethton, Rich. Much appreciated! I will make an extra effort to check out the intersection (several times) you described when visiting.

The intersection is one thing, ella, but the issue is the volume of slow-moving traffic from that intersection out of town toward Johnson City. The last time I was through there was two years ago and despite a nice road, the traffic was the same. Problematic enough that, with memories of slow trips through town, I spent time on Google maps searching for a way around that I didn't find. If you go there, I would suggest stopping to ask a local resident how they get around (if they do). And you never know -- what bothers me may not be a concern for you.

Thanks, for that update Rich! And, yes, sadly slow traffic is an irritation to me as well!

BeckyN, yes your name sounds familiar, it probably was. I don't have any personalized information for you having never been there, all I had was things I looked up on the internet, Google searches for cost of housing, taxes, utilities, crime. But it sounds like you have a fairly good handle on that... you mention city-data, one of my go-to sources for demographics and crime data. In fact I learned of a new source of information from you; Trulia.com. Thanks! Part of what I typed was a recommendation to take a look at Johnson City, TN, with it's VA hospital, reasonable prices and (IMO) great weather.

ella, for some reason your discussion with Rich about slow traffic being an irritation now has an older song rolling through my head that I can't get out... "It's the little old lady from Pasadena..." ;)

BeckyN - my wife and I moved to Williamsburg about 18 months ago from the north and we love it here. Housing prices can range from moderate to extremely expensive, depending on where you live and what kind of community (age restricted, gated, etc.) you are looking for. We have found it significantly less expensive here except for sales taxes and personal income taxes, which are higher. There are so many things to do here, it's hard to keep up. Regarding your question about traffic, I-64 is a mess heading to and from east of Williamsburg. They are in the process of widening it in both directions.

For you people living in the Phoenix area. Could you please describe in detail how you deal with the extreme heat? Do you "sleep during the hot hours" and stay up at night? I tend to be a night owl and love to stay up at night and sleep into the late morning. I ask because I am a few years away from retirement when I hit 66 since I have had many years of the dreaded 3 hour commute into Silicon Valley and I have had enough of that. So, do you just stay indoors and avoid heat? Do you swim? Is there enough shade? When do you shop for groceries and essentials? Speaking of that, how is produce in the area stores? I am used to getting Costco fresh strawberries most of the year, fresh broccoli, etc, do the stores carry down there? It seems there are good areas to live and retire as well some not so good areas in the Phoenix area, once just needs to be able to afford a decent place. I am fortunate, I can buy due to my current home equity in California, yet most of the homes seem too large but on the other hand I want some decent space in the place I am living, large kitchen, large master bedroom, large bathroom with a whirlpool bath. Maybe even my own small pool or spa. Maybe dreaming. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I suppose I will have to also learn card games!

Another question for those living in Florida. Are mosquitoes under control or are they an ongoing constant problem? I know they LOVE to bite me when I travel for whatever reason. I was looking at Cape Coral and Sarasota but I read some about mosquito issues and especially now with the Zika issues. Also, is insurance a problem for a new owner in those areas?

Bruce, sorry for being five months late in responding to your questions about living in Phoenix. I have lived in Phoenix for 21 years, both while I was working and now that I am retired. I love it, including the heat in the middle of summer. I would rather endure the heat than endure the freezing cold temperatures that much of the rest of the country deals with each winter. Remember that the temperature is wonderful for eight months of the year, and it's usually sunny and rarely rains year-round.

You mentioned that you might like to own a house with a small pool. I highly recommend it. A pool is a godsend in the middle of summer. Most apartment complexes and many residential subdivisions have them, too. We have a couple large shade umbrellas next to our pool, as well as a triangular sail that we string up between two of our palm trees and one of the pillars on our back porch, so parts of our pool are shaded. Speaking of shade, yes there is some, but not as much as in most other areas of the country. Covered parking is fairly common.

Here are several other adjustments we make in the middle of summer. If you enjoy hiking, biking, golf, or tennis, you either need to get up really early, or just forego those activities in July and August. We keep a large insulated bag in our trunk for transporting refrigerated or frozen food home from the grocery store during the hot months. Shopping in the morning and evening is helpful, too. You will want to use a fan-folded sunscreen in the windshield of your car for about six months out of the year. A lot of cars have tinted windows. Car batteries only last 2-3 years. On the other hand, cars never rust here and potholes in the roads are very rare.

Regarding produce, we have excellent produce here year-round, and it's plentiful and cheap. A lot of it comes from Mexico and California, and some is grown here. Costco is relatively expensive for produce. We have a chain here called Sprouts that has wonderful produce at great prices. We have Winco here now, and their produce is good and really cheap. We also have farmer's markets on weekends.

I hope this helps!

Dave, thanks. Although I now know that Phoenix and AZ are not for me, your post was really good -- sharing some of the common benefits that people are interested in. You make a good case for the right people.