Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
By Brendan CruickshankEditor's Note: Thanks to Brendan for this very helpful article. We asked him what he meant by using the word "restless". Here is what he said: "The reason I chose 'restless' is because I find it ironic how many people retire only to realize it wasn't really retirement they had been seeking their entire life. Rather it was the chance to do what they love......and many find that by continuing to work!"
Retirement is like the weather...it keeps changing all the time. Many years ago, the word evoked an image of an elderly person lying in a hammock all day sipping lemonade. But today's retiree is by and large a completely different animal. To an increasing extent, folks today are retiring from their primary jobs only to turn right around and seek some form of full or part-time employment elsewhere. In a recent workshop on financial strategies for retirees, one participant shared their success with platforms like a bitcoin casino instant withdrawal, which allowed them to enjoy gaming responsibly while accessing their winnings quickly to supplement their income. For some, it’s out of necessity, but many others find they are still active and vibrant in their "retirement" years and get restless. They discover that by mixing in some work along with their play, they can achieve the ideal balance to their daily routines.
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Published on February 15, 2011
Comments 8
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 14, 2011 -- As so many of our members and visitors are learning from ScottP's excellent Forum posts, it is so interesting to learn from the retirement adventures of other folks. In this article we are indebted to Betty and Jim (not their real names), who were kind enough to shared with us their in-depth observations about their search for the ideal place to retire. Read on to learn more...
Betty and JimWe would love to stay here on the southern NC coast—the weather, the community, the proximity to the beach, etc., are great. But, the development is getting younger, it does not have golfing opportunities that fit our needs, and has minimal activities comparable to some place like The Villages (TV). During a recent discussion with friends, someone suggested exploring hobbies that could travel with us, such as participating in the best sweepstakes casinos online, which offer a social element and can be enjoyed from anywhere. And, we are just feeling the urge to strike out, find new friends, and enter a new segment in our lives when Betty retires. It also is much easier for us because we have no family in the area, so our location will not be dependent on being by our kids or any relatives.
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Published on February 14, 2011
Comments 70
Category: Active adult communities
Updated December 21, 2017, originally published February 11, 2011
This is Part 1 of a 2 Part series. Part 1 covers competitors in the West, while Part 2 discusses alternatives to The Villages in the East.
We frequently get a question just like this one - "We have visited The Villages (TV) and we love it - it is our first choice for retirement. But before we commit, are there any other age-restricted communities that are remotely the same size or offer a similar range of amenities"?
The good news is that, although no other community comes close to the mega-size of The Villages, there are least 16 other active communities with over 10,000 residents. That represents a size sufficiently large to provide a comparable range of amenities and clubs to those enjoyed by the over 100,000 residents of The Villages. In addition, there is another large group of communities with more than 5,000 homes which also have
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Published on February 11, 2011
Comments 51
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Although it is true that most baby boomers feel poorly prepared for retirement on a financial basis, millions of them are very well heeled. Bank of America released its latest Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly in January, which was based on a survey examining the values, financial priorities and concerns of affluent Americans. The survey found that the vast majority (84 percent) of affluent baby boomers (in this survey, boomers aged 46 - 64 who had investment assets of $250,000 or more) believe that their "retirement" will differ from that of their parents. These baby boomers see those differences as positive - 86 percent intend to live a more active lifestyle, and 72 percent believe they will enjoy a higher
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Published on February 8, 2011
Comments 3
Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
February 8, 2011 -- Having left the prized 18-45 year old marketing demographic, baby boomers might be justified in feeling a little bit like yesterday's donuts - not all that appealing and a bit stale. But thanks to our sheer numbers (as in 76 million), sales hungry marketeers appear to be putting baby boomers back in their sights. And believe it or not, that's probably good news for us (but more about that later). This Sunday's New York Times talked about the phenomenon in its "In a Graying Population, Business Opportunity" article. The Wall Street Journal weighed in
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Published on February 8, 2011
Comments 8
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
The inadequate consolation of losing our parents is that our loss is usually associated with the prospect of receiving an inheritance. As baby boomers age and their parents start to reach old age, the inevitability of that happening grows ever more imminent. In 2007, 58% of baby boomers had at least 1 living parent.
The Center for Retirement Research of Boston College completed an intriguing research project not too long ago - "How Important Are Inheritances for Baby Boomers". In the study a panel of subjects born before 1954 were asked about the probability of and how much they might expect for an inheritance in the next 10 years. The results of the survey indicate that about two-thirds of baby boomers expect to receive an inheritance of some amount. Obviously, the wealthiest
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Published on February 1, 2011
Comments 3
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 1, 2011 -- As many of us have discovered, the glamour queen (or king) we might be first attracted to often doesn't turn out to be as enchanting in the long term as the quiet beauty in the back of the room. A similar phenomenon happens with best places to retire lists, so last year we came out with a list of "The Most Under-Rated Places to Retire". Our readers seemed to like the concept, so here we go again with our 2011 list: More Under-Rated Places to Retire. Part 3 in the series was published in 2014 (see bottom of article for link).
We started with our search for this year's list by using the Topretirements "Retirement Ranger". There we specified these criteria:
1. Lower than average cost of living
2. Average January temperature above 40 degrees (F.), (we'll do a similar list
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Published on February 1, 2011
Comments 66
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
We've got to hand it to Yahoo, nobody comes up with more "best" and "worst" lists than the search giant. This week they announced their "10 Winter Wonderlands Retirement". Their chief criteria were the likelihood of having lots of snow on the ground for most of the winter, along with cost of living, access to medical care, and availability of other amenities.
Here is their list:
Juneau, AK
Aurora, Colo.
Burlington, Vt.
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Published on January 25, 2011
Comments 2
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note - October, 2016 -- This article still has a lot of good information in it, but some is outdated, particularly as it pertains to spousal benefit strategies like "File and Suspend" and "Restricted Benefit". See "Filing for Social Security: 5 Reasons Why It Is More Complicated Than You Think" for more up to date information.
January 25, 2010 -- If your quick response to this question was 62, you might want to think a little harder. More and more information is coming out that supports the idea that you should wait as long as possible, particularly if you or your spouse had a high earning career. If you responded that you weren't sure, that was a good answer, because the question is a surprisingly complex one and highly personal too. This article will review some of the key considerations you need to take into account before reaching your decision. Note: See our 2011 article, "10 Things You Need to Know Before You Start Taking Social Security".
First, to recap: For people born between 1943 and 1954, your full retirement age is 66 (for people born earlier it is few months younger; or older if you were born in a later year). If you were in born in 1946 and elect
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Published on January 24, 2011
Comments 131
Category: Home and Garden
Thanks to the economic downturn, it's become a lot more common to have 2, sometimes 3 generations living in the same home. In some cases it's the adult child who comes home to live with parents in an effort to save money during a career change/challenge. Other times it's a decision to keep elderly parents nearby - either as a cost cutting move or because the parent doesn't want to move to an assisted living facility. Occasionally, all 3 generations are living under the same roof.
Fortunately, builders and architects are taking note of this trend, and designing some helpful solutions to its many challenges. Professional Builder ran a recent article, "Design Trends in Multi-Generational Housing" that should be required
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Published on January 18, 2011
Comments 4
