Rethinking Retirement? Ideal Living Magazine Wants To Hear From You
Ideal living wants to feature you and your stories on retirement/relocating on the web and in upcoming issues. If the current economy has changed your position on retirement, then this forum is for you.
Send us your stories on retirement, finding a second job, your search for your second home, building your dream home, green living, cost of living, taxes… or whatever else may be on your mind as it regards to finding your ideal lifestyle in these changing economic times.
Simply submit your stories to leeh@livesouth.com and if yours is selected, you will see it under a new special section called “Ideal Living’s Rethinking Retirement” in the coming months. Your article may even be featured in a coming issue of our magazine.
Tell us your thoughts and we’ll share them with readers just like you. Hope to hear from you soon!
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Four basic needs, at least for me, have caused me to re-think retirement in a positive way:
The need to simplify and truly downsize- get rid of all extraneous possessions and feel good about donating them to people who actually need them. Buy a house that really means downsizing by omitting formal dining and living areas and concentrate attention to the important spots to the two of us such as the master suite, the kitchen, the great room. Find a location that makes driving a car on errands an option not a requirement, a walking community with all the retail and professional services you need literally at your feet.
The need to remain productive and make a difference- from looking at things through profit potential to now lending a hand and volunteering whether that’s teaching an art class for children, working at a hospital, volunteering at a shelter or another civic venue.
The need to stay healthy- establishing a strong health regimen that is fun, effective, and helps me expand my world rather than close it in by sampling new activities and sports.
The need to become a couple again- years of raising kids had focused us both on that task to the partial exclusion of each other. Parents have always sacrificed for the good of the family. We will take up golf together, art classes, jetskiing, traveling, and other new interests but together as much as we can. We will relive those early years when we were just the two of us and largely focused on each other.
Reinventing Retirement:
The original plan:
Figuring out how to retire is not easy. Even though I feel I have done the right things to secure a reasonable path to retirement, life has created new challenges. My plans were to sell my house in a few years when I reached my 60’s. Then move south and buy a house in a retirement community. Make use of my pensions, Social Security, 401k and savings to cover all my living expenses. At the time, it sounded like a reasonable plan. Well there is an old saying, you make your plans and you live your mistakes.
The SH_T hit the fan:
With this plan in mind, spring of 2007 I started fixing the house up for resale. During the rest of 2007 everything seemed to hit the fan at the same time. My job was out sourced, the value of my house had drop 20%, and the 401K started to drop 25 then 35%. I can only hope that my pensions will remain unchanged and my faith in capitalism is renewed. The only comfort I have now. My families (brothers, sister) are going through similar hard time, as is the rest of the country. Reminds me of another old saying, misery loves company.
Diminished social status:
The drop in my net worth I thought was really going to hurt my retirement plans. Financially, in all reality it probably did. But something else happened to me as well. I had to take a job with a 66% cut in pay and work in a field completely different than what I was doing for the past 34 years. I found myself working with a completely different type/class of people. Although, not as polished as the people I have worked with, I found myself surrounded by hard working, trust worthy friends. Although, always financially challenged, there lives were happier than those I had worked with in the past. They have unknowingly encouraged me to not give up the hope of retiring happily some day. When selecting a retirement community I would look for the same happy people. I guess you do find inspiration in some of the strangest places.
Healthcare:
In principal, I like what Obama is promoting. Just wish I knew more about the details of his plan. What ever it is, it is likely to impact the cost of retirement medical plans.
Technology – Some good – Some Bad:
I worked in the Information Technology world for 34 years. I have watch everyday as it was able to accomplish ever more remarkable tasks. Helping to develop new applications in this field, I couldn’t help but pause from time to time and wonder how Robert Oppenheimer felt rushing the world into the nuclear age. What good is all this power without the intelligentsia of some governing body to guide it? I am looking forward to retiring in a well crafted cabin out in the woods some place were people are more important than having the latest and the greatest.
The ever changing retirement plan:
My plans for retirement at this time would pretty much stay the same accept I may have to retire later in life and with less money. But hopefully in a place were I can find a happy group of friends. Some people I can tip a few with while watching a ball game, playing cards, share a memory or a hobby.
Bob
New Jersey