<p>We might try camping again when we retire just to see how we feel but motorhomes, RVs, confined space like that are a not our cup of tea. We don’t even like cruises. It feels the same as getting stuck in elevator with lots of people. I know I’m exaggerating here.</p>
<p>intparent, you should include Mesa Verde National park, one of the best camp ground.</p>
<p>No tent and sleeping bag for me. I wake up sore after sleeping on a memory foam mattress these days. I wouldn’t be able to move if I slept on the ground. I love the idea of a motor home though! </p>
<p>I like to watch the show on (I think) the travel channel that shows the million dollar bus-sized rv’s with all the popouts that make it twice the size, with master suites and granite counters, etc, and I think to myself that wouldn’t be a bad way to travel.</p>
<p>Sadly, they are just a little out of range budget-wise. 
</p>
<p>I’ve seen the results of crashes involving those RVs and would never travel in one. Those things practically disintegrate when in a collision.</p>
<p>Though you see the folks driving those huge motorhomes - in their 70’s and 80’s. Do you really want to be driving a bus when you are that age!!! :eek:>>>>>>>>>></p>
<p>Well,why not? Much more affordable than motels and it’s you own space and all. Dh and I want to do this. Then again, dh is already 70. How old are you? LOL.</p>
<p>@iglooo, I have been to Mesa Verde a few times (took my 9th grade girl scout troop there a few years ago on a long road trip!). Have hit most of the national parks, and definitely want to go back to some. But I have also had some very peaceful, relaxed experiences in little national forest campgrounds that dot the west as well. I used to do a lot of backpacking, but probably will just day hike for the most part now. But I do like to sleep in a tent, at least when it is not too cold or too hot or raining. :)</p>
<p>We have camped in tents out west. Got a little itchy sleeping in tents at a state campground in South Dakota park with recessed in ground garbage cans that had stamped on their steel lids ‘Bear Shields’.</p>
<p>We like to travel but prefer to stay in hotels than in an RV or tent. H says his tent days are long past. Especially when there are bears, bugs, and snakes, we MUCH prefer hotels and similar NOT RVs or tents.</p>
<p>Read a Time magazine article–June 30, 2014 edition that talked about the Gen-Xers dire looking financial retirement unless some significant changes are made. The article mentioned that in 2016 CA will be having a 401K for folks who don’t otherwise qualify for one, mainly invested in index funds with low overhead cost.</p>
<p>" I think the will could be part of a trust." - True. At this point there is no need for a trust in our simplistic situation, but it is a good hint for others. </p>
<p>Lol, in my early to mid-50’s. I wouldn’t have the reflexes to drive a big rig now, let alone in my 70’s. And we do camp, but in our little teardrop-like trailer, which fits in the garage, has A/C and room for clothes storage and a queen-size memory foam mattress, and can be pulled by a little honda crv. Camping in comfort and style!</p>
<p>My dad knows a retired couple who set off from south Texas in their RV on Easter. They just got to Maine a couple of weeks ago! I went out to dinner with them. They were heading north, hoping to make it to Nova Scotia - that is a LONG trip! They really enjoy travelling this way. They’ve been all over the country.</p>
<p>For those who like it, I think it sounds wonderful to be able to pull your teardrop camper or whatever you want along with you and see the countryside. H is pretty adamant, so I think we’ll continue to drive and stay at various hotels/Residence Inns and other venues along the way. We are trying to stay a week or longer most places we visit these days, so we can really see where we visit instead of just the meeting rooms and can have more time to explore.</p>
<p>I’ve never been a fan of short jaunts–it already takes about 5 hours to fly from HI to CA or the West Coast, so I figure I might as well see something while I’m around.</p>
<p>I’m definitely not a camping fan. Did too much of it as a kid. Hard ground, bugs and no sleep, yuck. Sleep is so precious, I really want to get it. Give me a hotel any day. But…those teardrop campers seem pretty nice. We saw a few at a display, and if I was going to camp, that would definitely be the kind of camping I’d do!</p>
<p>I woke up in the New Hampshire woods one morning when I was about 27 and said, “That’s it. I’m done with camping.” And I have never camped again, nor will I.</p>
<p>Here’s the latest Time magazine article about retirement. No rose colored glasses here.</p>
<p><a href=“Joe Manchin West Virginia Senator Foiled by Gridlock | Time”>http://time.com/2899492/joe-manchin-west-virginia-senator/</a></p>
<p>Here’s another Time piece about retirement:</p>
<p><a href=“The Five Big Questions About Retirement - TIME”>http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1951190,00.html</a></p>
<p>I’ve learned a lot in this thread. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>I have no desire to RV around the country. But I did recently read an article about a couple who sold their house and belongings and lived a month in a different place, renting apartments in both cities and rural areas. I could see doing that for a couple years – a month in London, a month in Tuscany, a month in Hawaii, etc. I could easily come up with 24 places I’d want to live in for a month.</p>
<p>One of the main takeaways for me in this discussion is the difference between high and low tax states, which I’d never thought about before. My problem is that I have zero desire to live in any of those states that are favorable for retirees. Maybe I’ll feel differently in 15 years, but I’d rather settle in a high-tax state that I want to live in than a low-tax one that I don’t. </p>
<p>Working with the elderly, I hear a lot of RV stories. Those folks have a blast! The sense of community in the parks in AZ and Texas in the winter makes it a lot of fun. I’d not feel good about driving a big rig around either. </p>
<p>Inparent, totally with you on the camping across the country. A night is my tent makes me so happy, and the surrounding more so. Get up, make breakfast on a fire, read and hike. No obligations, total freedom. If in a hotel room, it is pleasant, but my goal is to get outside, and see or do. I meet so few folks in my age group that like camping to that extent. </p>
<p>Income tax is one factor. Property tax is another. We heard about a friend’s dad who was happily able to keep his beloved home near NYC after retirement… but property tax (real estate tax) was 21K per year. </p>
<p>“One of the main takeaways for me in this discussion is the difference between high and low tax states, which I’d never thought about before. My problem is that I have zero desire to live in any of those states that are favorable for retirees. Maybe I’ll feel differently in 15 years, but I’d rather settle in a high-tax state that I want to live in than a low-tax one that I don’t.”</p>
<p>I think that philosophy works well when someone is set on living in a specific area, or they absolutely don’t want to move. If someone has flexibility about where they’d consider living, I think you can live in many areas of the country, if not the exact state you want to, based on what is highly taxed. A high tax state may not be high tax for everyone, and a low tax state may not be low for everyone.</p>
<p>For example, say you want to live in the Pacific Northwest. If you are low income, you might do well in Oregon, even though it is considered a high tax state. No sales tax, fairly low property tax. Extremely high income tax but if your income is very low you can get plenty of benefits and pay little in taxes. If you were high income in retirement, you’d want to live in Washington. No state income taxes, but relatively high property and sales tax. Choose to live in a cheaper property and don’t buy a bunch of stuff and you’re set. It seems you really need to keep your personal circumstances in mind, and not only look at what is generally considered low/high tax state.</p>