Change your life!
Do you really want to live in the home your kids grew up in just because it's paid off? How often are all those old bedrooms occupied? And just because there is no mortgage, you still have taxes, insurance, utilities, all those weekly trips to Home Depot or Lowe's, mowing and everything else. So you still have significant housing expenses to go along with food, groceries, transportation, healthcare and many others.
When we retired 3 1/2 years ago, our son lived about 20 miles away and our granddaughter lived 45 miles away. And we hardly ever saw them except on special occasions. They had their own lives and weren't our little babies any more.
When we retired, we really talked about what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. We researched all sorts of ideas. We even visited a couple of places. And in the end, we sold our house, cars, furniture, yard equipment, and anything else someone would buy. The rest we gave to our family. We left Houston with 4 suitcases, and two backpacks and headed south to Roatan, Honduras. As you can see, the beach was beautiful - in fact, West Bay Beach is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, and the snorkeling is amazing! We enjoyed almost everything about the place. But after 3 months, it was time to move on and see something new.
Since then, we have lived or spent significant time in 5 other Latin American countries. We found we prefer the higher elevations because it is cooler without being cold. And perhaps that has something to do with Houston being a mere 50 feet above sea level and flat as a pancake.
We also found out that no matter where we go, our granddaughter has come for a visit. We bought the plane tickets, but we had her all to ourselves. When we couldn't be with her, we had so many ways to communicate. We actually talk much more with her now than when we lived across town.
And what we really like about our life is the adventures we have had, and all the friends we have made. So why not start thinking about how you want to live the rest of your life after you quit work. It is a big world, there are lots of places to explore, things to do, and people to meet. And this may shock you but it will cost much less than you can imagine.
Think about it.
Recent Comments
11
Sounds like fun. However, I hate to travel any more. It's wonderful once I get there, but not the travel part. This fall I'm going on a trip from Alaska to the East coast with friends, and to tell the truth, I'm rather dreading the travel part. The rest will be fun.
Maybe I'm getting old???
I honestly don't blame you. We took our first trip in a year last week. It was fun, but I kept thinking of all that I needed to be doing and was really glad to get back home to our cute apartment in Medellin, Colombia. Lord willing, this will be home for many years (or muchos años en Español).
Way to go..after im done with the 9 to 5 i have always wanted to rv across the u.s. doing the national and some state parks while i still can. Abroad..the only place i have really wanted to go was the virgin islands ..Australia and maybe a trip to my heritage Italy
We lived in Mexico from 2005 to 2010, then came back to the US. Likely we will stay put but who knows? Hubby has a dental appt in Mexico, less than 2 hours from here, in a few days, and I'm going along just to have a taste y platicar un poco en espanol!
Rosana and I have had this discussion several times. She's holding out, but I sense some weakening in her position. 😊
I am so impressed!! I have always admired people who live life to the fullest and just go for it!! You're amazing!!
Start thinking about it now. And don't wait until you are 64 like I did. Start planning to retire at 55 and then gradually move that forward a little each year. Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, especially Viet Nam and Thailand as well as the entire continent of South America are awesome places to consider.
We have actually been there twice, many years ago. The main thing we learned in our 3 months of island living is that it was a beautiful place to visit, but an incredibly difficult and expensive place to live. These things will be different from island to island, but here are some of our not so good experiences:
1. We lost electricity for hours very frequently. Of course, when that happens, you also lose the internet.
2. Almost everything has to be brought in to the island which adds transportation costs and increases the price of everything.
3. Salt in the air attacks everything and significantly increases maintenance costs - more frequent painting, daily washing of windows, continuous sweeping and mopping.
4. Ants and other critters attack every crumb. If anything is left out, expect several hundred ants from nowhere.
4. And of course, sand is everywhere and in everything.
See more comments
It must be exciting. Unfortunately I live in Africa where the salary doesn't allow you to plan anything for your golden age.
That's why I'm here to try to turn things around.