Find the Perfect Place to Live
Retirement couldn’t come soon enough for me. I have enjoyed every day of the last seven years and most people in our community have a similar point of view: that retirement was the best thing that ever happened to them. Even people who loved their jobs are having the time of their life in retirement. We live in a community that is about two hours north of New York City and many people came from Long Island, New Jersey or the city itself on a search to find the perfect place to live. We all feel that we have found it in this small lake community in the middle of the Hudson Valley. At a gathering last week, as the leaves were just beginning to change, the conversation turned to how lovely this part of the country is. There are no hectic commutes, and the country roads are a far cry from the bumper-to-bumper highways that surround the city. Our retirement feels like we escaped the intense city life and found refuge in a sleepy town along the Hudson River. It got me to thinking that everyone should take the time to find the perfect place to live in retirement because it can make all the difference in the world.
It's worth planning out your retirement so that you can find the perfect place to live.
You don’t have to have a lot of money to find the perfect place to live if you get a little creative. You may have dreamed about having a beachside bungalow close enough to the shore so that you could hear the waves crashing at night. Is that expensive? Yes, but you might be able to find a reasonable home that’s in walking distance of the beach. You don’t need to build a castle to enjoy a great view. Drive around this great country for a while and you’ll realize how beautiful it is and how many small towns there are that will provide as much charm as a Hallmark movie.
To find the perfect place to live, you need to define perfection, and, by that, I mean that you need to know what will make you happy. Keep in mind that what you think will make you happy may not be all you thought it was when you finally make it a reality. Friends of ours put a lot of thought into where they were going to live in their golden years and one very wise thing that they did was to rent before they actually bought a house and it turned out to be a very smart move. They realized Florida is great in the winter, but it can be unbelievably uncomfortable in the summer. They would have to stay indoors from May to September just to survive the heat and humidity.
Of course, everyone is different but everyone should take the time to consider where they want to spend their retirement. Nearness of family and friends is a definite consideration but don’t overlook the possibility of being near enough to visit but also find a location you’ll be happy in. Many people have a winter and a summer residence and, if you can afford it, that might be a good solution. We live in a beautiful area but we also knew that escaping the severe cold months of the winter was something that we were interested in doing. Our solution was timeshare and it has worked out well for us. It isn’t cheap but neither is a second home and we get to go to a number of different places each winter rather than the same place that has to be maintained every year. It’s true that maintenance is’nt cheap but neither are those Home Owner’s Association fees. You need to add everything up to see if it makes sense for you. We love the seasons but don’t mind escaping the cold and the winters we have spent in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Florida have been extremely enjoyable. When we set out to find the perfect place to live, Hudson Valley topped the list so that is where we built our retirement home and we compensated for our indecision about the winter months with enough timeshare weeks to get us through the coldest part of the winter. We are very happy with that strategy but we also understand it’s not for everyone.
The bottom line is that you really should try to find the perfect place to live out your retirement. It might be a college town filled with arts, culture and weekend sports or it could be a 55+ community with activities for almost everyone and the opportunity for new friendships very easy to come by. It’s worth taking the time to plan out your strategy and consider all the possibilities. Don’t rush into any decision and take the time to think about the retirement lifestyle you want to have. You only retire once, so make it the best it can be. Planning and dreaming is the best part of the whole process. Go ahead and dream. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
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