<p>In HI, property taxes are generally considered pretty low. For example, a rental home on a 5000 square foot lot with a 800 square foot house (with the lot & house valued at $600K or so) will have property taxes of $2K or so/year. If you live on a property worth that much or more, expect your property taxes to be about $1K, after homeowner exemption & elderly exemption after you reach “a certain age.” If you’re blind, I believe you qualify for additional exemptions.</p>
<p>They zing everyone with the nearly 5% “excise” tax on mostly any purchase, as well as income taxes, which are higher than many other states. The good thing is that so far, there is NO state income tax on pensions.</p>
<p>We’ve never had a timeshare, but the good ones probably make sense for people who like to go back to the same places and don’t like shopping around for rentals. H and I like to try out different places and he’s really good at shopping around, so for us I don’t think a timeshare would make sense.</p>
<p>I’ve been lucky to have a career and not just a job however I could easily retire now no problem. Where’s that thread on pursing passions? My bucket list has well over 100 things on it which includes a bunch of ongoing hobbies/activities. At some point I know I’m going to slow down and I have a TON of stuff I’d like to do before then. I say this before grandkids have entered the picture … adding them into the mix … and visits, games, concerts, babysitting for them, etc …no I see NO problem with being busy in retirement. (And the location of our kids and grandkids will probably drive where we live in retirement)</p>
<p>I don’t think of myself as retiring as much as slowing down one job and shifting to something else. I’m self-employed, so is H. At some point, it would be good if I didn’t have to go into the office every day. I think I’ll still need to carry everyone for a while (at least for 6 years til S’14 is through college). I look forward to lowering our overhead by getting out of the school district. I live in one of those towns mentioned a few posts back – $22k/year in property taxes and I have no yard! But it’s a very short commute and when the kiddos were little, I didn’t want to miss a moment with them.</p>
<p>If my writing ever produces some income, ideally I’d do less of my office job and more of that.</p>
<p>Any dream of moving away from winter, permanently? is a pipe dream for us. Like most have said; being near kids is a priority, but for us, so is being near parents.</p>
<p>Based on family history? our parents will be here late into their 80’s. That’s another 15-20 years, and plenty of time for our kids to grow roots here (youngest is a sophomore in HS). I despise winter (only now that I’m past the point of “winter fun” stuff), kids, siblings, nieces, nephews, parents, grand parents, cousins, uncles, on both sides of the family, all live within 45 miles of us (ground zero :)) and have for generations… so, I’ll have to resort to renting in a southern climate for 3-4 months a year (being a “snowbird”). Which isn’t half bad. We have all the amenities here (health care, affordability, jobs), which is probably why nobody ever leaves.</p>
<p>As for working? I’m fortunate enough to work for a Fortune 500 company, while being home-based. I can do what I do anywhere, as long as there’s an internet connection. And I can see doing it for as long as they’ll have me. No fear of outsourcing or being replaced. I’m in a highly specialized, technical field. Unless I totally become incompetent? I can do this well into my 70’s. I don’t know why I’d ever decide to stop.</p>
<p>Wow. I have not been on for a few days and just read this thread (original op). There are so many things I agree with and some good ideas.</p>
<p>Our house is paid for and fairly small. We never upgraded, just added on. So we could probably live on the first floor. The only obstacle is the family room (would be our bedroom) is two steps down. Could probably be accommodated.</p>
<p>But I like thumper’s list (#33). Our area is an hour, at least, away from a good airport, has a harsh winter and is limited in arts and cultural events (but has some as we are in a college town). So I would prefer to be closer to a good airport in a more moderate climate.</p>
<p>I too would like to be near at least one kid and/or my sister. All kids are now out of college. (D2 graduated in May). Two are still unsettled. One lives in Manhattan. I would love to live there, but too expensive. Maybe we will see where the other two land.</p>
<p>We are east coast people. Family is here, as are kids at the moment. I use to live in New Mexico, and loved it. But I’m leaning towards the east. Some of you make North Carolina sound very good. </p>
<p>So maybe living where we are now (no mortgage) and renting in warmer climates for several months in the winter is a good idea. We should probably try renting in various locations (Carolinas, Florida, etc) to determine where we really like. </p>
<p>Anybody have opinions about retirement communities? Know of any good ones on the east coast?</p>
<p>My parents moved to a gated community in NJ. It had a lot of positives. One floor single family homes maintained. Lawns mowed, snow shoveled. There was a Community Center w/ pool and a golf course. It was nice living. Only have to be 55 to move there.</p>
<p>I’m on the west coast, but everyone I know from the east that have parents still living, finds themselves taking frequent trips to Florida.
Which is a long haul from Seattle!</p>
<p>After having lived in this house for over 20 years, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that some things which were factors in our decision to buy it have faded into insignificance, while other things we gave no thought to at all have turned out to be huge. The physical, north-south orientation of the house is very important to our enjoyment of it - sun in the windows of the kitchen and breakfast nook in the morning, shade trees to the west blocking the hot afternoon sun - these have made a big difference compared to our neighbors right across the street. Who knew? Growth in the area made homes one block west of a certain intersection much more pleasant than those a couple blocks to the east. Again, who knew?</p>
<p>I don’t think overall climate really makes that much difference. Most people - particularly retirement-age people - spend most of their time indoors. Sure, Tucson in summer is a no-no for outdoorsy types, but outside of extremes, I doubt that local temperature ranges are actually going to make as big a difference in enjoyment of life as people tend to talk about.</p>
<p>Things I’ve recently come to like: Nearing retirement age myself, I’ve been able to relocate my office into my home. Another thing I didn’t think about 20 years ago is that there’s a shopping area less than a mile away - a grocery store, drug store, etc. I can walk there. That’s a great break from routine, and it’s free. (Even saves the cost of gas.) We have open space nearby and can go for short but vigorous hikes a couple of times a week. And the community has an active adult sports and recreation program with leagues ranging in seriousness from competitive to fun-loving. We didn’t participate much while raising our kids, but we just signed up for one this Fall.</p>
<p>I used to think about downsizing a lot. I don’t like owning more house than two people need, and the financial benefit of moving down in size also appealed to me. Now, I’m inclined to think that I’ll need a real reason to move to some other place, rather than seeing a reason to move away from this one. So my suggestion is that you look around the community you’re in now, look at the opportunities that will be available to you in the future (even if you’re not using them now) and if you’re thinking of moving just to be moving, ask yourself if what you’ll get is really better.</p>
<p>No serious plans yet (except for diligently funding the retirement accounts). I’ve wondered about setting up kind of a group living situation at some point, so that I or the spouse (whoever survives ) and some sympatico friends could share living space and split expenses for a housekeeper/occasional home health aide/driver/etc. Our home is large enough to manage this, is in a walkable neighborhood, and is on one level. Could be less expensive and more pleasant than some assisted living situations.</p>
<p>Another pipe dream is living part-time in Israel. I’ve seen several retired couples manage this, including some where all of the children and grandchildren live in the states. Like I said, a pipe dream.</p>
<p>We are living in our " starter" house, and because of various time & money constraints never did much to upgrade it. ( but the historical landmark people are interested because it has the original floorplan) It’s a pretty small two bedroom and id like to remodel and add on space so that there is room for guests/ live in help with seperate entrance.
Walkable neighborhood, & if I get a knee replacement I might be able to walk! Yesterday I had to call H to come and get me from the grocery store and it is only a few blocks away :o</p>
<p>About 5 years from retirement. Since things havent turned out the way my husband and I planned, I’ve had to rethink they whole thing. Just sold the big family home (money suck that it had become) with the large yard. About to move into a small duplex in a lovely planned community with active HOA. I am within a few hours of the daughters, and soon to be within half hour of both sets of parents. Because it’s in the town where I work, I have a network of profession and personal friends established, my church, doctors, etc are here too. Its a historic, walkable neighborhood. My house is one level, planned for aging in. </p>
<p>Life is short, I do plan to retire when I have the time in. Have been working hard to pay off everything and save for retirement. I will work or volunteer partime for my sanity. Am developing hobbies and activities for the long run. Who knows what the future holds, but those are the current plans.</p>
<p>Regarding buying a timeshare, I’ve used VRBO several times with success. There are many condos in Fla., right on the beach, that can be had a month at a time in the winter for $1200 more or less. That’s less than the maintenance fees for many timeshares, and you can pick a different condo/location every winter! I’d look into that (along with the aforementioned Priceline/Hotwire) before spending $$ on a timeshare.</p>
<p>Friends are seriously considering this. They have recently built a very large lake front home they use for family holidays and vacations. They are discussing with good friends moving to the house with a full-time caregiver as they age. They are imagining three to five couples. It is a really interesting discussion.</p>
<p>I’d love to do that, but it would have to be with the right people. I envision it more as a college dorm experience than an assisted living experience.</p>
<p>VH - I could be one of your “right people.” It would be great coming downstairs every morning to my favorite breakfast. The cleaning staff could take care of my room while I’m out for my morning walk. And at noon I could pass along some suggestions for my evening meal. It’d be really nice to be free from the mortgage and maintenance woes of home ownership. Say, will the parking spot be assigned? I don’t want to park my Mercedes on the street. And I’ll need another parking spot in case I have overnight guests … nod, nod … wink, wink.</p>
<p>(Yes, I’m absolutely guilty of trying to prompt a discussion on what makes the “right people” right.)</p>
<p>Shared living communities are popping up all over. The ones that are most appealing to me allow each family their own freestanding unit/house, but then they also have shared outside/garden areas with a shared area for meals/events.</p>
<p>H isn’t interested ( yet) however, he is afraid he would have to give up his mancave. ;)</p>
<p>It would really depend on the mix of people though & your own expectations.
Both H & I are on the quiet side and I like lots of time to myself, or at least not talking. Extroverts might think I am rude. :o</p>
<p>No one responded to my retirement community question. Have suggestions for any good ones?</p>
<p>These are not nursing homes folks. These are communities where over 55 ( usually) folk live. I think it is kind of like going back to college. We live with people our own age and there are activities ( clubs, classes, exercise, etc.) geared toward us. And of course this is in no way a restrictive community. ( Other than age) </p>
<p>I think it is appealing. Maybe because I saw my Mom thrive in one of these communities after my Dad died. They had just moved there from my childhood home before my Dad died. My Mom was still fairly young (60’s). She was able to get involved in many activities and develop a new group of friends. She traveled extensively (China, Alaska cruise, Europe, etc) with these friends and had regular dining out nights. She had a bridge club.</p>
<p>So I am thinking these communities aren’t so bad. Any suggestions?</p>
) and some sympatico friends could share living space and split expenses for a housekeeper/occasional home health aide/driver/etc. Our home is large enough to manage this, is in a walkable neighborhood, and is on one level. Could be less expensive and more pleasant than some assisted living situations.</p>