Choose Your Retirement Lifestyle Now: Don’t Wait for Your Future to Become Your Present

If you are reading this website, you have probably reached the age of thinking about your retirement years, even if you haven’t actually arrived there.  Hopefully, you have planned well for your golden years so that money won’t be a problem.  Have you actually thought about your daily life when you no longer work a regular job or are no longer consumed with family care?  How will you spend your days?  Planning for your future includes more than finances.

When Jim and I first moved to Florida in 2001, we knew it was to be a semi-retirement.  Jim had no wish to retire.  We spent our first year in “paradise” acting like tourists and enjoying all the activities our newly-adopted state had to offer.  We had fun, felt like kids again.  And then reality intruded.  We were not tourists, and we could not afford to live like them for the rest of our lives.  We began building our new lives and became involved citizens of our new community.

Jim played a lot of golf in those early years, until an old high school knee injury reminded him that he needed to find less taxing pursuits. I played bridge until I accepted the fact that I was bored.  Jim began working part time, and that morphed into full time.  I volunteered.  I worked with my church; I worked in the animal welfare world and soon I, too, found myself fully employed.

Years later, we feel like true Floridians.  I run a 501(c)3 non-profit that helps financially-challenged seniors pay for basic veterinary care for their pets.  Jim and I created this non-profit group as our way to give back to our community. It is solely a volunteer job and gives me purpose.  My freelance writing and blogging allow me to stay as busy as I choose…or not.  Jim’s part time consulting business keeps him occupied, and we are both content with our choices for our golden years.

Each person must choose the life he or she wants, but it’s a lot easier if you begin working on those plans before you retire.  You’ll likely have more options than if you wait until the future becomes your present.

Think about location.  Visit areas where you think you might like to spend your senior years.  Study weather patterns to be sure the climate suits you.  For example, if the idea of a year-around life in South Florida sounds like paradise to you, visit in July or August to be certain you can handle the heat and humidity.  If there is a retirement village in Maine that appeals to you, visit in the winter months.  You may not like the cold Maine winters after all.

Check the cost of living in your chosen area to be sure it fits your retirement budget.  Locate hospitals, physicians, supermarkets, churches and other businesses you might frequent to know you will have easy access to those amenities that matter to you.

Some places charge a state income tax.  If that won’t work for your retirement budget, know before you move.

Finally, talk to your financial advisor to ascertain that you are on track to afford the life you want.