Group : The wife & I are only 4yrs away from being eligible to retire...however, we could work longer since (right now..) we are both only a tender 52yrs young.
Between our investments & pention, we should be able to make ends meet until age 60 when we will begin to receive retirement income from Canada & that will help with the old bottom line.
The plan is to sell the family (big) home & set up our son as a tenant in a smaller house (ours actually..but his one day anyway..) & then take our Airstream south for the winters & back to Ontario every summer.
Now, here's the question...
Since this forum has lots of retired folk as members...& I'm hoping to benefit from the experience of those who have already gone over this ground...
Would you stay working a while longer for the extra $$...or would (did) you cross over into the land of the retired at your first opportunity ??
Whatever your choice was...do you have any regrets ??
We are all for retiring when you can, and living your dream. You just never know what is around the corner, what life may deal you that changes your ability.
We retired at 58, took our somewhat reduced pensions and a monthly draw on investments and hit the road. We have a small home, and are not going to do without that to return to periodically. It was the right decision for a number of reasons, and
1 1/2 years later, not a moment of regret.
You really can live very inexpensively, and there is some great information in these forums on how to do that as well as how to pare things down before you actually get to this point. We consider ourselves reasonably frugal, but also do what we want to do, when we want to do it---living well within our means.
I retired early (60) due to physical condition, and glad I did. My wife, however, still works, and she does it by choice. We've discussed full timing, and have decided we wouldn't really like it. We do, however, enjoy our Airstream and we enjoy taking longer trips with the trailer. So, we really believe the full timing thing is a choice that must be made by each couple, and each couple's situation and desires will probably be a little different.
We have a different issue where we live from yours (heat in the summer vers. cold in the winter), so we feel the migration thing is not such a big deal.
Although we have no experience at full timing, we have thought thru the issue and made our decission, and so felt I could at least contribute. Good luck with whatever you decide.
We are both retired from the Federal Government. SuEllyn went out on her 50th birthday, and I stayed until 53. We have never looked back. It was the best move for us. We didnt find Airstreaming until about 4 years later. What a lucky find that was. We absolutely love our Airstream travels. We have been all over the country, 45,000 miles and 360 nights. We are about one third timers, keeping our home base to go back to.
We have never regretted retiring as soon as we could.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
We are half timers too. We bought two lots (one with a small cabana on it) at the Texas Airstream Harbor Inc. near Zavalla TX. Still have a duplex in Peterborough Ont. That is working for us now.
We pretty much full-time ( have a villa in airstream comunity).We stay on the road about 11 mo. a year. We too took early retirement and do not regret doing so. My suggestion is to get campground memberships as they do save money if you are going to travel around ...not helpful if you plan on staying 5-6 monthes in the same place. Also we work-camp because it allows us to go to places for extended times ....jobs are anywhere for approx. 10 hrs (each person) for FHU to 30-40 hrs for FHU , laundry , etc + wages.
I retired last spring after supporting my fully retired husband in the manner to which he wanted to be accustomed! we had bought a 22' Safari 4 years ago and traveled for a month at a time. We found that the 22' was adequate but we wanted more salon space and a bigger bed so we traded fort a 25' Safari. We are now gone for 3 months at a time and love it. Three months seems to be about right before stir craziness sets in. We have been volunteer campground hosts and lighthouse keepers which gives us lots of people interactions and allows us to stay free in beautiful areas for extended times. This winter was our first Florida extended time. We went to Land Yacht Harbor in Melbourne, FL and IT WAS WONDERFUL! Nice people, affordable prices and lots of things to do in the area. I do not regret early retirement and plan to get my money's worth during my 60's and 70's. We had thought of going back to houseboating if we get to feeble to drive aroud the country!
Are you just wanting to retire, or retire and travel. If you are not really into travel going full time makes little sense to me. I only mention this as I didn't get a feeling that travel was at the forefront of your mind as I was reading your post.
__________________ "If a man does not have an ideal and try to live up to it, then he becomes a mean, base and sordid creature, no matter how successful." Letter to his son Kermit, quoted in Theodore Roosevelt by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, 1915
Actually you're right...there's a bit more to it than I've said to this point...as we have an Airstream...and a sailboat.
Once we finally retire, the plan is to head south with the boat (for a couple of seasons) & spend our winters down in the Keys & over in the Bahamas.
When we get tired of being Yachties...then the plan is to sail the boat in the Great Lakes during the summers & head south with the Airstream during the winters.
We plan on going exploring with the Airstream in due course, however, we really have to scratch the cruising itch before we get too old to embrace that sort of adventure.
Of course, we're pretty sure our plans are going to make retirement a huge amount of fun...it's just that I have this nagging concern of how final it is to stop the cycle of going to work & take the big step to begin a new way of living our lives.
That's the real issue I guess...
How scary was it for you folks that retired...especially those of you that retired early ??!!
...............we're pretty sure our plans are going to make retirement a huge amount of fun...it's just that I have this nagging concern of how final it is to stop the cycle of going to work & take the big step to begin a new way of living our lives......
P.
I'm not retired, but I do know this: life is terminal. Before I went back to grad school, I was a medic. I spent a lot of time around people who were in the last days of their lives. None ever expressed regret over not spending enough time at the office. By in large the regrets were things they had not done. If you can afford it, get out on the water without delay.
__________________ "If a man does not have an ideal and try to live up to it, then he becomes a mean, base and sordid creature, no matter how successful." Letter to his son Kermit, quoted in Theodore Roosevelt by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, 1915
It wasn't scary at all for us, elation is a better description. You have to be ready financially, though, also ready to leave whatever line of work you have been in. We left two very high-stress positions, so enough said there. Blood pressure is down, other medical issues have disappeared, weight is off---it was a very good thing or us. It would be simple enough to pick up retirement employment of some type or another, if one needed extra income or just couldn't handle living without the regimentation of a job. I must say that we documented every expense for probably the first 3-4 months, having some concerns that traveling for weeks on end would stretch our monthly income beyond its' limits. That is probably a good idea for anyone who is not just filthy rich. We found it not nearly as expensive as initially feared, especially after we joined Passport America for overnights and moved from full service campgrounds to more state and federal sites. It is such a wonderful way to live, deciding every day where to go and what to see (we are still in the serious wandering phase). We get home regularly to see our kids and 9 grandbabies, talk with everyone on the phone at least weekly, send lots of postcards, etc. to help stay connected to the little ones. We are home from late October into January, too, for the major holidays and extra family time. It works for us, we have not regretted it for a moment. You have to be ready, in all areas, and then the world awaits!
I retired from my professional position at 52. I am now 60 and have a new profession. I teach art to adult developmentally disabled adults. I t ok up art when I retired and a whole new world opened up for me. My kids complain that they can never get hold of me and I am so busy I wear myself out. We recently bought a 65 vintage AS and its another "project." The point being retiring doesn't have to mean retiring from life. I truly believe the key to health is less stress and being happy. I know finances is also a big concern but I believe if you live within your means whether that means hot dogs and mac and cheese or steak and champagne - you will be ok. A 50,000 "new" AS was out of the question and approximate $5,000 investment (including refurbishing this particular AS) is certainly something we an do-one project, one month at a time. Try making a list of pros and cons for all your different options, sometimes putting it in black and white helps you from getting overwhelmed. Good Luck with what ever decisions you make and have a happy life!
He ( in my opinion ) is a guru on the art of fulltiming. Bottom line......
He was very handy, very smart, and he spent about $22k a year on the road. Did his own repairs and maintenance. He work camped, and boondocked to keep costs down. And the $22K is in 8-10 years ago dollars. He sold everything and planned to take 2 years off to live on the road. He made his money last and spent five years on the road before he built his own base camp from scratch. He talks about the good and bad emotional issues of living on the road and the good and bad issues of returning to a roots based lifestyle. A must read for you in my opinion.
I have another friend who was a professional airstream mechanic. He averaged $8 a night for camping alone. Sometimes sleeping at Wallmart,
friends driveways, gameland parking lots, and sometimes at more expensive camp grounds or more costly ralleys and festivals.
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Blood pressure is down, other medical issues have disappeared, weight is off---it was a very good thing or us. It would be simple enough to pick up retirement employment of some type or another, if one needed extra income or just couldn't handle living without the regimentation of a job. 
Hybrid Mode
