Good points. But… it does seem that net worth calculations usually include full value of 401K and IRA accounts, even if taxable. (And of course many investments would trigger tax if sold.)
My husband has for decades maintained a jumbo financial spreadsheet (which I used to joke was the “how many ways can you slice/dice the data to prove we are NOT ready to retire?”). Many years ago I pointed out that the 401K dollars would get taxed, not worth as much as say money in the bank. So he added some adustment factors.
Sounds like you have worked very hard to keep the wild animals in nature ‘at bay’.
A friend who lived in a suburb in W VA had mice that got into an exterior wall (her kid’s bedroom could hear the scratching around) - and that kind of situation, the animals can chew through wiring - and like you say, dying in the wall and the possible smell.
Mice can squeeze in very small crevasse areas. I have a friend who has a house cat (interior only) to keep mice from coming in from a nearby field. She is ‘in between’ cats, and a mouse got in - but fortunately they trapped the mouse in a bathroom along with a mousetrap, and the mousetrap got it.
My sister in WI was a few blocks from a field, and somehow an animal got down the chimney flue and tore up a room (I don’t remember if it was a squirrel or a bigger wild critter).
Speaking of retirement places and the benefit of socialization , my 91 year old mother is headed to the theater room at her place to watch “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. She says everyone claims it’s really funny.
Man, she should’ve seen it with 14yo me! My group never dressed up, but we threw toast and sang and danced throughout. I hope I land in a retirement place that shows Rocky Horror!
IMHO you balance off how long you want to remain in your home - to me, the home may appreciate but you want to be able to sell at ‘tip top condition’ but also move into a place that makes sense with renting. It sounds like there may not be options of owning a condo with reasonable expenses in your area. It is a ‘big move’ with downsizing, so emotionally and physically when you are ready for that step.
If we plan for our retirement communities as hard we did for our kids’ going to college (talking to us long-time CC’ers) we will have the best amenities, “dorm rooms”, and movie nights.
Years ago on the prep forum, we fantasized about creating a retirement community that would mimic an idyllic boarding school or LAC experience:
DH and I were so enamored of our son’s time at boarding school, we thought it would be nirvana to duplicate for retirees, only no grades, just the ability to live and learn in small, iconic New England communities. You know, snuggling up in a wing chair with a sherry and a classic next to the walk-in sized fireplace in the reading room of the 19th century library. Meals in the Hogwarts-like dining room. Days of stimulating small-size classes of only those subjects you enjoy with happy conversations spilling out into the quad as you travel back to your room under the eaves for a nap before tea. Afternoons on the lawns watching/playing games, hours by the lake admiring the rowers, walks into the nearby town for ice cream or drinks at the charming town pub. Evening musical or theatrical performances by your peers in the white-columned auditorium. Sigh. I guess I want to retire to a cozy LAC. A Shady Acres version of a place like Choate or Bowdoin – with a bookstore that carries reading glasses, heartburn medication, colonoscopy prep, etc. Anyone else in?
Yes, we have friends in that community, and I’ve posted about it elsewhere. Unfortunately, ASU, though a fine university, does not offer a New England LAC vibe.
I’m not interested in buying a condo. I want to get away from the responsibility of taking care of a house. I am 68, I’ve owned homes for over 40 years and I’m over it.
ShawWife has a similar vision and would absolutely love your plan, @ChoatieMom. Smaller apartments, shared event space and major kitchen and extra rooms in a main building for when family visit, gym, massage, chiropractor, plus communal tools that can be taken out (like a library). Not sure if she is into shared studio space though.
Lots of friends say that is great and they would be interested but … There is a huge wealth differential between our friends. Some already have two houses that they don’t want to give up. Some want to be near grandkids (one friend moved to NC and another to the Berkshires/Florida where they are weekend destination and vacation destination for kids/grandkids in NY) or near their elderly parents.
@FallGirl, as a Canadian, ShawWife loves cold weather. Falling snow makes her very happy. Every time. Years ago, I took her on tours of other places that I thought we could move to that I thought would be movingly beautiful and very outdoors-oriented. Boulder CO (good friends lived there but she did not think the arts community was up to snuff and did not want to give up the east coast), Tucson (you could buy a house in the mountains above the city with amazing views for $1 MM but too hot, too dry, bad politics, weak art), Sausalito (SF art scene was better than Boston, expensive but I found a house with great views that was affordable and she would not look), Canmore AB (too remote, art problematic, too close to relatives), etc. She just wanted to stay on the East Coast. So, I gave up and we looked for six years to find our dream house here. Alas, not much snow anymore.
I will have a hard time dragging Mr. B out of this house… the backyard is his playground! Just when you thought all that needed to be cut down has been cut down, a windstorm brings more things to play with! I’m looking at the giant dilapidated maple that fell down a week ago… technically, it is the neighbors’ tree, but it is now in our backyard, so Mr. B is excited! Another storm is headed our way, so maybe there will be even more stuff to cut.
I think that it’s great that you recognize your priorties.
On retiree planning class instructor (FA) said many of his retiree clients have kept their homes, even in the super pricy Boulder (not as affordable as our town a half hour away). He advised that if you can comfortably afford it, stay there…. until the day you pull up to the garage and say, “I just don’t want to deal with this house anymore”. Of course ideally both spouses will be on the same page there. Not sure yet how that will play out at our house.
I just spoke my friend who retired from NJ to Arizona. She spends time in both the Phoenix suburbs and Flagstaff. I retired from NJ to outside Boston. She envies my easy access to culture and says culture is the one thing she misses most.
Well, if Mr. B really needs something to cut, we just bought ten acres in Bothell that is covered in trees, some of which need thinning. And when we wandered onto a part of the property we hadn’t been on before, we found a whole bunch of old growth Western redcedars, likely over 200 years old, they are huge. It’s like finding a hidden treasure, property that’s never been logged! We will not cut those trees down, that’s for sure!
I’m not sure how I would relate to a place like this. I was a professor for the first six years of my career and still have an appointment at that university and get asked to teach at universities (now in a one or two class segment in a business school or public policy course or in an executive education program though I normally decline). So it would be odd to go back in as a student. I continue to learn all the time in what I do, but why not embrace it in other fields?
And when we wandered onto a part of the property we hadn’t been on before, we found a whole bunch of old growth Western redcedars, likely over 200 years old, they are huge. It’s like finding a hidden treasure, property that’s never been logged! We will not cut those trees down, that’s for sure!