Retirement Plans and Dreams

[NM Golf]

So I am seven years from my pension and my wife and I have begun discussing retirement plans. We live in New Mexico, but my wife’s entire family lives in Michigan; once the kids are gone she would like to move closer to her family. That being said I am certainly not living out my golden years freezing my ass off in Michigan in the winter. My entire life I have had the luxury of playing golf 365 days a year, I am certainly not giving that up once I have the time to take full advantage of it. So we have come to a compromise, summers in Michigan and winters some place warm, maybe Florida.

Are there any snow bunnies out there that do this? Anyone else planning this in their future? I realize it’s a ways off, but it’s never too early to plan your retirement.

I would like to know the good and the bad of this type of lifestyle before I actually fully agree to move her to Michigan. I am not a winter person, I hate snow, ice, all winter sports, and I have never owned a pair of long underwear in my life. It is a complete deal breaker for me to get stuck anywhere cold. 

[Patch]

It' s not too early to start planning, but expect changes to take place before you make your final retirement plans. 

My wife and and I would take extended trips north to escape the desert's triple digit heat during the summer months. It was all good. We were never in a rush. Seeing a different sunrise, or sunset everyday was good thing. 

As for my golf game, if I wanted to play a certain course, or any new course we ran across, we just parked and did it. 

We elected to purchase a very nice, some what roomy,  motor home.instead of a second residence. Once we both retired, we leased our home out, and became full time travelers. We are now on our third RV. Doing the RV thing also allows us to do volunteer work for various government outdoor agencies when ever we want to. This helps when we get tired of traveling, and want settle down for few months. 

Although the key to sucessful retirement is a decent supply of disposable monies, the biggest problem I have seen from other retirees, is less than adequate, or high priced health insurance that basically keeps them tied down. Make health insurance the main issue.  

 

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, NM Golf said:

So I am seven years from my pension and my wife and I have begun discussing retirement plans. We live in New Mexico, but my wife’s entire family lives in Michigan; once the kids are gone she would like to move closer to her family. That being said I am certainly not living out my golden years freezing my ass off in Michigan in the winter. My entire life I have had the luxury of playing golf 365 days a year, I am certainly not giving that up once I have the time to take full advantage of it. So we have come to a compromise, summers in Michigan and winters some place warm, maybe Florida.

Are there any snow bunnies out there that do this? Anyone else planning this in their future? I realize it’s a ways off, but it’s never too early to plan your retirement.

I would like to know the good and the bad of this type of lifestyle before I actually fully agree to move her to Michigan. I am not a winter person, I hate snow, ice, all winter sports, and I have never owned a pair of long underwear in my life. It is a complete deal breaker for me to get stuck anywhere cold. 

Move her family to New Mexico! I've never been there, but it is certainly on my bucket list. 

I have friends that do it. They generally leave MA in October and return in May. They have property in both places. Two friends live in Naples and the other in Vero Beach.

My wife and I are near retirement, but I don't think we will own down there. We haven't made any definitive plans yet either.

[mcanadiens]

It's never too early to start planning to avoid The State Up North in the winter.

Best of luck.

 

[NM Golf]

25 minutes ago, Patch said:

It' s not too early to start planning, but expect changes to take place before you make your final retirement plans. 

My wife and and I would take extended trips north to escape the desert's triple digit heat during the summer months. It was all good. We were never in a rush. Seeing a different sunrise, or sunset everyday was good thing. 

As for my golf game, if I wanted to play a certain course, or any new course we ran across, we just parked and did it. 

We elected to purchase a very nice, some what roomy,  motor home.instead of a second residence. Once we both retired, we leased our home out, and became full time travelers. We are now on our third RV. Doing the RV thing also allows us to do volunteer work for various government outdoor agencies when ever we want to. This helps when we get tired of traveling, and want settle down for few months. 

Although the key to sucessful retirement is a decent supply of disposable monies, the biggest problem I have seen from other retirees, is less than adequate, or high priced health insurance that basically keeps them tied down. Make health insurance the main issue.  

 

The good thing is both myself and my wife should have excellent health plans in retirement. I have thought of the RV thing, we own one right now, but we fly for free and it would just be easier to fly back and forth.

19 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Move her family to New Mexico! I've never been there, but it is certainly on my bucket list. 

I have friends that do it. They generally leave MA in October and return in May. They have property in both places. Two friends live in Naples and the other in Vero Beach.

My wife and I are near retirement, but I don't think we will own down there. We haven't made any definitive plans yet either.

I wish they would move to be honest. I told my wife that people move AWAY from Michigan when they retire. Other than our ridiculously high crime rate fueled by the poverty level in our state it's a great place to live. Only place I know of where you can ski and play 9 holes in the same day.

[dennyjones]

My wife and I are in the same boat but rowing a different direction.   My children have left Michigan but my wife's mother is failing in health.   I want to be a snow bunny when it's feasible but we haven't decided where or for how long.   You can't beat Michigan from May thru mid-October but I'd like to golf year round eventually.   

We've checked out Asheville, NC and it's nice, just not for us, especially during the winter.   Our next visit may take us to Lake Havasu, AZ.    We are just looking for some place nice, less expensive than San Diego and warm during the winter months.   

Whatever works for you, keep  us informed...🏌️‍♂️

[bkuehn1952]

My wife and I are Michiganders.  We are just in the talking stage. 

We are considering living in Texas, between San Antonio and Austin.  Probably a condo since we would be gone quite a bit and the condo management could take care of everything in our absence. My brother lives in Austin and one son and his family live in San Antonio so that works out well. We would want a location that has reasonable access to a state of the art hospital facility, just in case.  As a plus, Texas has no state income tax. 

We would visit Michigan and have a "vacation" condo in the Ann Arbor area.  As residents of Texas, we would hope to avoid paying Michigan's 4.25% income tax.  Currently Michigan taxes pensions and they would also take their 4.25% of required withdrawals from 401k/IRA plans (I think).  My wife and I have done well saving and investing and it is painful to think we might have to give Michigan a chunk of our nest egg.

All of my wife's family lives within an hour of Ann Arbor.  Our other son and his family live about 10 minutes away.  So we do not plan on abandoning Michigan.  Besides, it is a perfect golf area from mid-May to mid-October.

[NM Golf]

@dennyjones I too looked in NC, some nice places, just not sure it's warm enough in the winter. I really would like to sell all but one pair of my long pants upon retirement. The Socialist Republic of California is just not an option with the cost of living there among other things. I have friends in Arizona, but would like to live near a coast. 

I agree with you and @bkuehn1952 Michigan is tough to beat golf-wise May through October. Some of my absolute favorite courses are there.

Anyway its just the beginning of the conversation, we have a few years yet until we have to pull the trigger. Sure is fun to talk about it though.

[Effington]

I'm a bit younger, but my parents did this for a while.  The Pro's are essentially the reason you're doing it; you can be close to family (which I don't want to undersell as trivial).  The Cons that I saw were significantly increased expenses associated with moving and having two places.  I know you might be able to find a deal where you are only paying for half the year somewhere, but you're going to pay for that privilege with higher rates, etc.  Also, the hassle of actually moving back and forth every year could get tiring.  And to start off, I saw my parents have to buy multiple duplicate things, such as beds, kitchen supplies, etc., that you wouldn't want to lug back and forth.  Also, hopefully your agreed upon schedule works to achieve your goal.  For example, if your winter is in Florida, are you traveling back for Thanksgiving & Christmas?  That is another increased cost and something to consider.

If money is not an issue and you enjoy travel, it seems like the cons are not a big deal.

[dennyjones]

28 minutes ago, Effington said:

I'm a bit younger, but my parents did this for a while.  The Pro's are essentially the reason you're doing it; you can be close to family (which I don't want to undersell as trivial).  The Cons that I saw were significantly increased expenses associated with moving and having two places.  I know you might be able to find a deal where you are only paying for half the year somewhere, but you're going to pay for that privilege with higher rates, etc.  Also, the hassle of actually moving back and forth every year could get tiring.  And to start off, I saw my parents have to buy multiple duplicate things, such as beds, kitchen supplies, etc., that you wouldn't want to lug back and forth.  Also, hopefully your agreed upon schedule works to achieve your goal.  For example, if your winter is in Florida, are you traveling back for Thanksgiving & Christmas?  That is another increased cost and something to consider.

If money is not an issue and you enjoy travel, it seems like the cons are not a big deal.

Some of the seniors that I play racquetball with just rent a place in Florida that is completely furnished.      I do know people that buy a place in a warm climate with the intention of renting it out during the winter months which actually covers their expenses for the place.  

[NM Golf]

11 hours ago, Effington said:

I'm a bit younger, but my parents did this for a while.  The Pro's are essentially the reason you're doing it; you can be close to family (which I don't want to undersell as trivial).  The Cons that I saw were significantly increased expenses associated with moving and having two places.  I know you might be able to find a deal where you are only paying for half the year somewhere, but you're going to pay for that privilege with higher rates, etc.  Also, the hassle of actually moving back and forth every year could get tiring.  And to start off, I saw my parents have to buy multiple duplicate things, such as beds, kitchen supplies, etc., that you wouldn't want to lug back and forth.  Also, hopefully your agreed upon schedule works to achieve your goal.  For example, if your winter is in Florida, are you traveling back for Thanksgiving & Christmas?  That is another increased cost and something to consider.

If money is not an issue and you enjoy travel, it seems like the cons are not a big deal.

Thanks for the reply, the good thing is my wife and I are minimalists. We would be looking at having two small places at around the same cost as our house we have now. We won't need much with the kids gone. We are also contemplating making the winter home someplace where we could possibly rent it out in the summer to recoup some of the costs.

Also, we fly for free, so getting back and forth wouldn't be an issue. 

[Effington]

3 hours ago, NM Golf said:

Thanks for the reply, the good thing is my wife and I are minimalists. We would be looking at having two small places at around the same cost as our house we have now. We won't need much with the kids gone. We are also contemplating making the winter home someplace where we could possibly rent it out in the summer to recoup some of the costs.

Also, we fly for free, so getting back and forth wouldn't be an issue. 

How do you fly for free?  I believe you I'm just intrigued...

[NM Golf]

23 hours ago, Effington said:

How do you fly for free?  I believe you I'm just intrigued...

My wife is a flight attendant.

[Sandy Divot]

I'd love to find a place on the east coast where it doesn't snow or have hurricanes. Not sure if that place exists.

[dennyjones]

18 minutes ago, Sandy Divot said:

I'd love to find a place on the east coast where it doesn't snow or have hurricanes. Not sure if that place exists.

Good luck with that!

[GolfLug]

On 1/20/2019 at 8:24 PM, NM Golf said:

Thanks for the reply, the good thing is my wife and I are minimalists. We would be looking at having two small places at around the same cost as our house we have now. We won't need much with the kids gone. We are also contemplating making the winter home someplace where we could possibly rent it out in the summer to recoup some of the costs.

Also, we fly for free, so getting back and forth wouldn't be an issue. 

I think you are doing (planning) it right. I am bit a ways from retirement but there are a few members at my CC who do this - believe it or not VA Beach has real winters..:-). Whenever I have talked to them they don't seem to think there any real cons of a migratory life. Just like anything else there's a short learning curve. A really short one when there is family nearby.    

On 1/19/2019 at 4:36 PM, NM Golf said:

I agree with you and @bkuehn1952 Michigan is tough to beat golf-wise May through October. Some of my absolute favorite courses are there.

Oh yeah, I think the best part might be the summer months in Michigan. What part of MI are you planning, if you don't mind my asking?

I commuted weekly between Virginia Beach and Detroit (northern suburbs) for three years back in 2004-2007 and probably 3 most fun summers of my working life. I rented an apartment then and on my working weekdays there I would get off work at 5-5:30 pm and still manage a full 18 holes most of the time. 

Good luck on the final stretch!    

[Lihu]

On 1/18/2019 at 9:00 AM, NM Golf said:

So I am seven years from my pension and my wife and I have begun discussing retirement plans. We live in New Mexico, but my wife’s entire family lives in Michigan; once the kids are gone she would like to move closer to her family. That being said I am certainly not living out my golden years freezing my ass off in Michigan in the winter. My entire life I have had the luxury of playing golf 365 days a year, I am certainly not giving that up once I have the time to take full advantage of it. So we have come to a compromise, summers in Michigan and winters some place warm, maybe Florida.

Are there any snow bunnies out there that do this? Anyone else planning this in their future? I realize it’s a ways off, but it’s never too early to plan your retirement.

I would like to know the good and the bad of this type of lifestyle before I actually fully agree to move her to Michigan. I am not a winter person, I hate snow, ice, all winter sports, and I have never owned a pair of long underwear in my life. It is a complete deal breaker for me to get stuck anywhere cold. 

Yah, most people move from Michigan to NM. Your wife will love Santa Fe. Open up a few Air BNB and fix them yourselves.

[NM Golf]

17 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Oh yeah, I think the best part might be the summer months in Michigan. What part of MI are you planning, if you don't mind my asking?  

My wife's family lives all around the Detroit area. Her Aunt lives in Bloomfield Hills which I have always liked.

15 hours ago, Lihu said:

Yah, most people move from Michigan to NM. Your wife will love Santa Fe. Open up a few Air BNB and fix them yourselves.

I told my wife that people don't move TO Michigan when they retire, the move FROM Michigan when they retire. I still have doubts as to wether or not we ultimately end up there. None of our kids will be there, and when the grand-babies start showing up I don't see my wife wanting to live thousands of miles away.  

I guess when you live 45 minutes from Santa Fe it loses it luster, I never have understood why people like it there. They have one good restaurant and one nice golf course. You can have the rest of it, just a bunch of overpriced art studios. 😜

Edited January 23, 2019 by NM Golf