SFR Two years out....Retirement

Sorta fishing-related
NukeLDO

NukeLDO

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
I know we had a thread in the old place concerning retirement, but thought I'd resurrect it here if you're willing to contribute your thoughts and experience.

The wife and I are two years out from departing the workforce,
Me at 60, her at 55.
Looking to relocate from the hellscape of eastern WA to the green and cool of the Whidbey/Anacortes/Bellingham area.
We've been geographically separated for 10 years due to work circumstances, and it's worked fine for us as we're both independent and enjoy our time in our own environments. We get to see each other every week in current conditions, but maybe only for a day or two.
We each own our own homes, as we met well into our careers, and both unwilling to give up the compensation and stimulation our work provides each of us.
And now we're at the point where we are looking at selling both houses, relocating, moving in together, and finding our way in retirement.
We both enjoy hiking, camping, being on or near the water, mountain views, sunsets, an active artist community, good food, and liberal minded folks.
(and no, not looking for a political discussion.....just a live and let live environment)
Looking for your experience and advice about:

1) transitioning from work to retirement
2) our chosen location
3) anything else you can think of.
 
I cannot really contribute to this thread, but I will be following with interest as I will be retiring at the end of this month. I am trying to figure out if I will be staying in Washington or relocating.
 
Washington is becoming very expensive
We live in a nice place so I guess there is a trade off
My best advice is to bail as soon as you can
Don’t wait . Your health and mobility are wild cards - can change suddenly
Be careful with your $$ but not to the extent where you don’t want to do anything
Health insurance is an interesting game
Make sure you understand it
You will need some adjustments but the freedom retirement awards you with is priceless
Dr. Magill - GS
 
Congrats on approaching the finish line at work!
During our brief time on Whidbey we were fully unprepared for the intense noise of 'Growler' military training jets passing overhead low on the deck, an issue that has landed in federal court. Between that and the traffic it was a hard pass.
Bellingham is a fave of ours, liberal vibe, vg hospital, has a fine little port, good food, can get a 'fast pass' for crossing the border, and not many funner places to visit and fish than Vancouver Island.
When first hitting retirement there tends to be a catch-up on the backlog of doing the things you didn't have the time to do as much as you'd like during the work years. That eventually slows down and becomes part of whatever routine you develop, and eating right and keeping fit should be at the core of that routine, as nothing is more determinative to enjoying a long and healthy retirement.
Finding a good primary care doc after relocating who can help you manage aging is vital, cause issues you never expected will come up. My wife got tagged in her 60's with one such so requires reasonable adjacency to a specialist, otherwise Port Townsend would have been at the top of our relo list, right behind Port Ludlow.
We retired early and remain grateful for it.
 
Couple random thoughts:

If you can live off accumulated cash for a while and keep your income under a certain level (and I'm sorry I don't remember how much, say $55k or so?) your property tax is cut in half. At least it was in King County.

Keep combined taxable income under $89k ish and capital gains are taxed at zero.

I loved my 40 plus year career in retail but never let it define me. I walked away and never looked back. Do not miss anything about it except the people and I still see the one's I care about.

Health care costs.....Yikes!
 
On August 1st I will have been retired for 23 years, leaving the work force at age 62. I have some idea of what you are concerned with.

As far as transitioning from work to retirement, it took me about 20 minutes, the length of time it took me to drive home on the last day. I was born for retirement!

As for location, we wanted to be at least 200 miles away from I-5 and 100 miles away from the nearest freeway and got within 10 miles of our goal-close enough. Unlike you, we wanted to get away from the hellish west side crowding, confusion and crime along with the perpetual gloom of the wet and clammy winters. Settling here in the forest in extreme NE Washington was a dream come true until my beloved wife of over 50 years passed away unexpectedly in 2017. Now I need to relocate off of the frozen tundra myself and it is a daunting task to undertake alone.

An observation I made shortly after retirement was that the estimates for how much retirement income was necessary were overblown. If you have everything paid for at retirement it just doesn't take that much to live. Of course if you like to travel and spend a month's income on a week long outing several times a year you can drain the coffer quite easily. But being retired isn't scary at all, you will have the best boss ever and the best working hours you can imagine with none of the attendant BS of the workplace. I know, some people really like their jobs, I liked mine because it was fun and challenging but incompetent management can go along way to sour the work experience.

You are wise to start thinking about this early, perhaps your biggest challenge will be where to relocate after you both sell your homes. The rest is easy, it will just be one long endless vacation!
 
I retired in 2003 at 59 and a half. I think I have regretted it about 6 seconds since then. I had a plan and stuck to it. The markets were better than expected and I was able to finance some real luxuries later on. I went to high school in Mt. Vernon and college in Bellingham. I would have stayed there if I could have gotten a good job. Sweet places, fish, scenery... Also, not as expensive as the Seattle area.
 
I was in a similar situation several years ago when my wife and I agreed on an amicable separation. We sold our house in Redmond, and I wanted someplace that wasn't so crowded, had better weather, a lower cost of living, and nearer access to fishing. (Admittedly the first three weren't difficult...)

That was about 2 years prior to my own retirement, and thanks to Covid I was already working remotely. Like Talking Heads, I wanted to 'find a city, find myself a city to live in'. I made a list of all of the attributes I wanted and then went walkabout - - eventually landing in Hood River, OR. (Unfortunately the city is now closed. No more new people. Nuh-uh. No way. Don't even think about it.)

I am SO in agreement with the sentiment to stay in shape! It will become more difficult to regain any lost fitness as time goes on, and losing your ability to recreate will severely limit your leisure time options.

If your finances allow, sooner may be better than later. Life's too short...
 
I was fortunate to have been able to retire early from owning my own companies…if you can, do it as early as possible. I spent most of my working life working 70 hours a week, thinking about it constantly (even in my sleep)…my wife basically forced me to retire so we could travel in the manner she wanted to, with me not thinking about work while abroad. We take turns in choosing travel destinations (my wife enjoys luxury hotels and fufu locations, I choose fishing destinations)…and on occasion if my choice is too rustic for her, I go alone…and she now enjoys going to destinations with her friends or our daughter that I really don’t want to go to (like Paris for the umpteenth time)…

I’m heading to Tahoe City in a week to wheel the Rubicon with my offroad buddies and fish a couple high sierra lakes and the Truckee river (beforehand)…my wife is headed to Venice & Sicily with my daughter…

Long Live Retirement!
 
NukeLDO said:
Looking for your experience and advice about:

1) transitioning from work to retirement
2) our chosen location
3) anything else you can think of.
Click to expand...


Although I was not an early retiree at age 72 (3 retirements at 48, 70 and 72) the biggest and best decision I made was to DOWNSIZE and prepare for the inevitable day where life gets tough mentally and physically. To your questions:

  1. Downsize and begin shedding all those things that might have been needed for normal life and jobs. Keep and invest in your hobbies and pursuits. Make your hobbies part of your daily routine.
  2. Montana is full, OK to visit but there’s not much living space left.
  3. Yards you have to mow, rake and manicure, stairs you have to climb, unused rooms you have to clean all get more challenging the older you get. Wherever you settle, think about living there 10 years from now and what it will take to maintain it at age 70 or more.
 
Good idea to be thinking about what’s to come. A few thoughts
* plan on doing something as soon as you retire that will allow you to forget work. That could be moving into a new house or going on a vacation. At the end of that activity you will likely find you have made a good transition away from work.
* look to your future together, not the past
* find something to do to keep you busy. Hobbies or exercise or “more fishing”. You want to stay busy.
* You will have the added challenge of living together full time. I spent 1 1/2 yrs working away from home and only seeing my wife on weekends. Weekends were just a brief vacation lol. Both of us developed our own routines and the transition back to full time living together required adjustments by both of us. Talk about that ahead of time.
* because you’re moving to a new area get the medical figured out as quickly as possible.
* if you think you want to add expensive toys (boats, RV) and you can afford it acquire before retirement. Also toy storage needs to be considered when purchasing a house.
* make sure both of you have your “own space” in the new house. Places you can escape to, tinker with fishing gear, shop stuff, sewing, etc. Alone time will still be valuable.

Retirement is awesome. The stress just bleeds away. Enjoy it!
 
What a great thread, so much great advice here. "Retirement" is an outdated term, almost suggesting you are departing this world. Leaving life as an employee or business owner is a transition (one of many in life). Having 2 years to plan a vision of post-employee life with your spouse is invaluable. Talk about it each month. Get rid of excess material possessions (they are an anchor and a chore). Add people, organizations, communities, hobbies, etc that will build your new life transition. Draft and revise financial budgets that will enable your vision and elder year needs. Eliminate debt and build quality assets. Continue your education into new areas and explore the planet often. The world is a welcoming place and is waiting for you.
 
I always thought I would be more than ready to retire. I thought I was going to retire at age 66. How was I to know that I would experience "retirement anxiety?" I liked my job a lot, I wasn't married to the job, but my profession identified and still identifies me. Anyway, I realized I would never get any younger, so I retired at age 67+. I thought I could cope with anxiety by maintaining my routine. I don't know if that was really necessary or not. I kept my work email for two months into retirement, so after breakfast in the morning I'd take my coffee to my computer to check emails and then transitioned to no business email, just personal email followed by the fly fishing forum. Apparently it worked because the anxiety of being retired dissipated in about two weeks. As Ive posted, you can't beat the hours, and the new boss is the best you'll ever have. I've been retired over 7 years now and seldom miss my job, although I think about it fairly often and stay connected to many of the fishery issues that consumed my life. That's become my routine. Oh, and that upside of going fishing whenever I feel like it is better than work life any way you slice it.

Location might be tricky. I've been happy with or resigned myself to the western WA climate for a very long time. Living near Olympia has allowed me to access north sound (the Skagit River being home to me), the OP rivers and mountains, and SW WA rivers that I also like to fish. So I built my bucket list house here in 2009-10. What I wasn't counting on is that the fishing I love so dearly would fall into such a decline. It's been easy enough to resign myself to buying non-resident fishing licenses for other states, but I hadn't really thought that I would need to travel frequently to fish as much as I want. If anadromous fish are not key to your fishing, you're that much further ahead.

Other location details that I consider important: locate at least 1, preferably 2 miles from RR tracks, and even more miles from any airport flight path. Never live on an arterial street. The farther from busy traffic, the better, but still have easy access to a major highway.

It's said that medical planning is important, but I haven't given it much thought. There are hospitals in every city of modest size or larger. I used to go to the doctor every 5 years or so because it seemed like something would happen. Now I go more than once every year because I read that I'm supposed to get checked up, poked, prodded, inspsected, and detected for more things than I can remember. I have health insurance and rarely have to pay for anything - except a root canal I had last winter. I apparently exceeded my annual dental insurance benefit amount, so I had some out of pocket expense. This reminds me that it's important to keep some savings on hand. You're likely to have some expenses you weren't planning on.

It looks like one of the major things you're in for is for you and your wife getting used to living with each other full time. Wow, not sure what to say about that. Maybe you'll want to "transition" back to full time on that. Best of luck!
 
NukeLDO said:
I know we had a thread in the old place concerning retirement, but thought I'd resurrect it here if you're willing to contribute your thoughts and experience.

The wife and I are two years out from departing the workforce,
Me at 60, her at 55.
Looking to relocate from the hellscape of eastern WA to the green and cool of the Whidbey/Anacortes/Bellingham area.
We've been geographically separated for 10 years due to work circumstances, and it's worked fine for us as we're both independent and enjoy our time in our own environments. We get to see each other every week in current conditions, but maybe only for a day or two.
We each own our own homes, as we met well into our careers, and both unwilling to give up the compensation and stimulation our work provides each of us.
And now we're at the point where we are looking at selling both houses, relocating, moving in together, and finding our way in retirement.
We both enjoy hiking, camping, being on or near the water, mountain views, sunsets, an active artist community, good food, and liberal minded folks.
(and no, not looking for a political discussion.....just a live and let live environment)
Looking for your experience and advice about:

1) transitioning from work to retirement
2) our chosen location
3) anything else you can think of.
Click to expand...

So, my wife and I were the opposite of you, we worked from home together in different rooms for the last 12 years together (corporate aerospace). But here are things I have advised several friends upon approaching retirement.

First, your wife is not an employee or coworker, she doesn't have to do what you tell her or accept your answer as the decision.

Next, You are NOT your job (I hope). Many engineers had a crisis of identity when entering retirement because, being and engineer was WHO they were.

Start planning your hobbies, activities, and joy NOW, because otherwise it is just one more stress, when you retire. We had hobbies (fishing, camping, family, gardening, movies, dates) each had other interests and some activities were together and some were not. We loved the HUGE benefit of going to the movies mid-week and the first showing of the day, most of the time we were the only people in the theater (felt like a private showing!) Do all your shopping mid-week. Don't go fishing on the weekend unless your fishing buddy still works. Always travel mid-week, it's cheaper and easier to find a flight.

Start dating again! Share your joy! My wife loves waterfalls, so I try and find them, that are accessible for both of us, when we're traveling or I just plan a day date (multi purpose fish/lake/stream scouting) to go see a new waterfall and exploring an area. Share HER joy as well, go with her and be happy that she wants you to go see/do something she likes to do or see.

(The next dances to the political line)
When looking at places to live, keep the long game in mind. We moved to a rural area, farming and logging community, because that is the community we wanted to live in, leaving behind the city and all that "mindset/voting". We don't and didn't plan on changing our rural area, to the "townee" mindset. If you want city/townee friends and mindset probably should choose to stay in town and travel to recreate.

Now that being said, when looking for someplace to buy, really look at and be REALLY honest, what you want to do both short and long-term. If you want to travel a bunch don't buy a place with big garden/field to take care of or you will need to be home, come planting (spring fishing) or harvest (fall fishing) time. Maybe look at condo or small maintenance include home (resort or senior living community). Also, don't get a new pet as this can limit places you go or cost a bunch for boarding.

Anyway, retire as soon as possible! We never know how many wakeup's or "growing" seasons we have!!

Tight lines
(PS... this is just my $0.02 because it is working for us!)
Screenshot_20230718_105014_Facebook~2.jpg
 
The Skagit-Island-Whatcom county appeal to retirees is high. Great medical services, ease of access to family with I-5, the wide range of outdoor and leisure activities... it's a hell of a place to retire.

One thing to consider is that you are not the first person to plan on retiring there, and it is a very expensive place to do so. Even owning a home outright is coming with constantly climbing property taxes, and the cost of living is the reason I'll be unable to retire here. I've seen many people get squeezed out by rapid inflation here when on a fixed income.

And no Snohomish, King and Pierce county folks, I'm not saying it's worse than how you have it!!
 
Shawn Seeger said:
So, my wife and I were the opposite of you, we worked from home together in different rooms for the last 12 years together (corporate aerospace). But here are things I have advised several friends upon approaching retirement.

First, your wife is not an employee or coworker, she doesn't have to do what you tell her or accept your answer as the decision.

Next, You are NOT your job (I hope). Many engineers had a crisis of identity when entering retirement because, being and engineer was WHO they were.

Start planning your hobbies, activities, and joy NOW, because otherwise it is just one more stress, when you retire. We had hobbies (fishing, camping, family, gardening, movies, dates) each had other interests and some activities were together and some were not. We loved the HUGE benefit of going to the movies mid-week and the first showing of the day, most of the time we were the only people in the theater (felt like a private showing!) Do all your shopping mid-week. Don't go fishing on the weekend unless your fishing buddy still works. Always travel mid-week, it's cheaper and easier to find a flight.

Start dating again! Share your joy! My wife loves waterfalls, so I try and find them, that are accessible for both of us, when we're traveling or I just plan a day date (multi purpose fish/lake/stream scouting) to go see a new waterfall and exploring an area. Share HER joy as well, go with her and be happy that she wants you to go see/do something she likes to do or see.

(The next dances to the political line)
When looking at places to live, keep the long game in mind. We moved to a rural area, farming and logging community, because that is the community we wanted to live in, leaving behind the city and all that "mindset/voting". We don't and didn't plan on changing our rural area, to the "townee" mindset. If you want city/townee friends and mindset probably should choose to stay in town and travel to recreate.

Now that being said, when looking for someplace to buy, really look at and be REALLY honest, what you want to do both short and long-term. If you want to travel a bunch don't buy a place with big garden/field to take care of or you will need to be home, come planting (spring fishing) or harvest (fall fishing) time. Maybe look at condo or small maintenance include home (resort or senior living community). Also, don't get a new pet as this can limit places you go or cost a bunch for boarding.

Anyway, retire as soon as possible! We never know how many wakeup's or "growing" seasons we have!!

Tight lines
(PS... this is just my $0.02 because it is working for us!)
View attachment 73448
Click to expand...
There are several nuggets of truth in your post...pets being one of them. We have two very old dogs that require more than usual doggie care...we are fortunate that we found a very responsible person to care for our dogs and home while away; not easy to find, and not in everyone's budget. We only dine out or go to movies mid week...and I try to plan all of my fishing trips (except remote locations) mid week as well...

Live Long and Prosper!
 
great thread. I see retirement in the near future as well and many of these things have come to mind, but not all of it.
keep sharing please
 
I retired early at 62 - 9 years ago. My wife will keep working for 5 more years because she wants to. Our 2 kids recently graduated from college and are staying with us. Not as I had envisioned...

Some food for thought:

Work with your current medical teams and get thoroughly evaluated. Get up to date on everything including colonoscopy, female exams, vaccines, eyes, hearing, allergies, etc. Really understand what is your current status is and how it may change over time.

Work with your legal, financial and accounting teams to understand what is coming tax and expense wise. For example when RMD kicks in, do not get surprised when your income tax rate goes from 15% to 28% or higher. Work with your teams on types of changes that could be made now to help alleviate/minimize/soften big surprises in the future. If you are selling 2 homes, Capital Gains could be very surprising. Maybe look at making them VRBO/rentals that are managed by a professional company. Shift the places you live to be income producing rather than a tax hole. If you meet the requirements, a 1031 exchange could be looked at.

Be close to good medical services. One's health can change quickly and out of nowhere. Old age kicks in quicker than one might think. So the better shape you are in and maintaining that is so important.

Realize you can not do or may not want to do home/yard maintenance. Build that into your budget. Multi-level homes, while are easy to get around now, may not be as easy in 5 years.

As others have said ---> really get a handle/understanding of Medicare. Not cheap and once you select a insurance company you are locked in (with a couple of exceptions). An insurance broker (not a company sales person) that understands the in's and out's of many insurance companies is a very valuable source for sure.

When one works there is a lot of socialization that occurs. More than you probably realize. When you retire and especially if you move you will need to re-establish a social network. Easier said than done but very important. You may want to consider volunteering. You get to meet people, help others, provide a schedule of commitments to look forward to. Helping others will also 'replace' what happened at work and could re-energize your well-being.

Where to live... That is a hard one. They all have their pluses and minuses. Create a list and priorities. I would recommend taking a vacation to an area you are considering. Spend a week or two and really understand the area and how it feels. Traffic, noise, amenities, access by vehicle/air/water, what is nearby hobby-wise, etc.

Since the OP mentioned it, Bellingham, especially the Fairhaven area, is high on our list of places to move to. College town and benefits provided by that e.g. music, plays, etc., good medical nearby, interesting and quite diverse mix of people, Fairhaven is a walk to everything area from grocery, post office, to very good restaurants and boutique places to eat/shop/drink and is a small local area within Bellingham.

Two years may seem to be lots of time for planning, but it will go quickly...

Enough for now, but you get the idea...

RCF
 
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