We will be covering many interesting subjects and each of the ladies listed below will have a post about this subject today.
This is a big consideration when you are in the researching and planning phase of retirement. It’s important to make of list of what you need to be near. When we were in our 40s we bought a piece of land in a remote area in the mountains of Western North Carolina. As a matter of fact we still own that piece of property. We spent a lot of time designing a house and finding the perfect location with a view of the mountains. It was fun to drive out there on the weekends and dream of living there. We fished in the stream and hiked in the forest. But when we got a ‘little’ older and sat down to make our list, we realized we would rather live in a place closer to all of our favorite conveniences.
My list of places I like to be near included, the library, a nice park with walking paths, a good grocery store and a hospital. Our home here in Florida is less then 15 minutes away from all of these. We've lived here 7 years and haven’t had to ‘visit’ the hospital but it’s nice to know it’s there in an emergency.
We even chose a house in a walking community. I just got back from a Zumba class and I walked! We can walk to the pool, Fitness center, an auditorium that hosts lots of wonderful events and a restaurant.
(this is my street)
Many of you plan to retire to live near family and that’s important, too. My husband and I have six 'grown’ kids and they are scattered all over the country so for us that wasn’t an option. But when you can, that’s wonderful.
Now that we don’t need to drive to work every day we are more flexible about running errands. We group them together and sometimes make a day of it. When you’re together all of the time, it’s also important to get out on your own to do your own shopping. I like to ‘make the loop’ as we call it…stop by the library, shop at the Thrift store, run into CVS or Walgreens to check on their specials and then pick up items at the grocery store. (we’re very close to Walmart, too but I’m not going to brag on that…it’s not my favorite place to shop although the prices can’t be beat on some items)
(This is the street I drive to go to Walmart. I don’t live in a BIG city!)
I will end by saying that being retired means having the time to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do. I would rather buy a tank of gas and go on a ‘day trip’ and have a little adventure than go out to eat at a nice restaurant. We pack a picnic lunch, lots of water and some snacks and take off for the day. That is a very good use of gas, when you are retired and live in the sunshine state of Florida!
Please stop by and visit the others….
Brenda of Cozy Little House
Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Elaine of Sunny, Simple Life
Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams
Remember to ‘make the loop’
when you have errands to run
and save your gas for an adventure!
I’m linking to Katherine's Corner !
42 comments:
Thanks for giving the 'retired' view. I am enjoying this series and learning so much.
you live in such a beautiful spot, we retired to a spot quite the same, right across from the library, grocery jus down the street park across the road, hospital just down the road, and we also have property we planned to build on for our retirement but when we reached retrement it was to far from town, maybe we are sisters! Thats a lot in common!!!
Your view on your way to Walmart is MUCH prettier than mine!
Those are very good tips and could apply to those of us who are not retired. No need use more gas and money than is necessary. Have a good walk today!!!----Shannon
Hello name mate! Wow! I'm beginning to envy the kind of life you have. Everything seems to be so slow and relaxed. You also gave me a better and brighter understanding and appreciation about retirement. I believe you have worked so hard in your early age, you have lived to the fullest that is why you are now reaping its sweetest harvests :) wishing you more happiness !
It is what you make of it, isn't it. We are enjoying it, love the long drives & no rush for anything unless we so wish.
Have a gorgeous day~
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
We love being able to enjoy our retirement years also. We love to do day trips too. I always try to do the loop, definitely saves on the gas and wear and tear on the car. Hugs, Marty
Great tips, Diane! Planning where you want to retire to is a great idea. Right now, we're in the country and we have to drive a distance to get anywhere. I love it here, but it has its drawbacks!
xo
claudia
This just makes me more excited about my near retirement day! Love your photos. Keep having the time of your life - you truly deserve it my friend!
Hugs
Pat
This is an awesome post Diane, and great insight. The only thing major we have planned for at this point is our boys college education. They are both paid in full, room, dorm, books. That is the reason we moved out of Florida, was to cash in on our house and utilize the Florida prepaid college plan. It was a real piece of mind decision for us.
I make the loop all the time! I spend my extra gas money on going to see my Grand! It is worth it to me. I do not drive everyday either. Good post! I am close to most things I need but might move one of these days. hugs, Linda
Love this post... Nothing can drain a bank account faster than a gas tank! Thanks for sharing your views on choosing your home and location to retire. My hubby and I talk about this frequently now. I think that our families look at us like we are crazy, since our plans evolve with our age. I see our path heading in the same direction as yours. It is nice to be able to have other's view points on retirement. No one in our family even gives a thought to relocating. :)
We are also retired and although we cannot walk to anything, most stores and library are only a five minutes or less drive. We also try to stop at places that are "on the way" if we are going somewhere else. We share a car (Honda CRV) which is quite economical on gas. Where in Florida are you? We used to have a mobile in Bradenton.
I have to say I'm lucky to live in what is considered Mid-town Tulsa. I am close to most everything. I could walk to the bakery and several other places. And I always "make the loop" whenever possible!
Brenda
Since we happen to live 35 miles to the big city where we get our groceries we are forced to do 'the loop'. Nice thing about it is that the 3 main stores we go to are all within 1/2 a mile from each other.
Now in the little town of 1200 people we live in, I walk or bike since we live one block over from Main St.
Thanks for your kind comments on my blog!
I love your pictures. Beautiful thunderheads, as we call them.
I would love, love to have everything within walking distance..., a cool coastal town (grocery shopping, stores...) and the beach! I'm aiming for that!! Truly, I hope we can leave here soon(ish)! Thanks for sharing this!
wonderful tips Diane, We too save on expensive adventures, we would rather drive around the lake, with my dogs and enjoy the scenery then go spend alot on a meal out. Our vehicle drinks lots of fuel no economical at all, so our trips are not often, it helps to live a short drive down to the waters edge to enjoy fishing.
brenda
I am in Florida too, a native actually. Your street and the way to Walmart look very familar. Are we neighbors?
I have been in Florida since Dec. 18th but my trip is ending soon. You are right, FL is a nice place to retire, lots of conveniences. We might retire in FL too, would love a waterfront property someday...Christine
great post my dreamy friend ! I will remember this. The clouds look so dreamy and amazing !
-KAT-
We are making things around our home easier and more convient for our golden years. Although I wish a hospital was closer than the 30 miles to get to, if needed, we love the peace and quiet of retirement in the country.
What a beautiful place you live in! Just gorgeous..and you are living the American dream. You just plain look so healthy and happy! Makes me smile!!
We definately save our gas for adventuring...every Saturday! :)
You are so cute! By the way the previous post makes you look like you are 40.
I love what you said about saving the gas money for an adventure. Isn't it funny how we change as we get older. I just turned 63 and I can't believe how different I am. I always love your posts.
Have a lovely day in your beautiful home.
Karen
I always make a point to do several errands when I go out and about making the loop around town! A penny saved is a penny earned!
Shoot, I thought of long afternoon with good books, sittin' on the deck and watchin' the birds, long lunches with friends and 'spare' time would be part of retirement when I retired from the classroom.
I feel right into elder care with parents, farm activities, eight grandchildren, secretary to businesses connected to the farm, my spare time is just a runnin' joke 'round here!
I'm so happy your enjoyin' your retirement and these are great tips to follow sweetie. Thanks
God bless ya and have a joyous day my friend!!! :o)
I like how you think! These are such important ideas, my mind doesn't always think so efficiently.
Nice to set your priorities. Yes a nice daytrip can be a lot more fun than dinner in a nice restaraunt! It's a lovely place you live!
I like your idea to save the gas for an adventure! Fun!
We too use to think about moving out to the wildness areas to be away & just enjoy Nature, but then we got to thinking about health care. If I feel while hiking, if he had a heart attach when swimming in a stream, if one of us (heaven forbid) got truly ill how would we get to the medical community easily. We even talked to a woman who's Mother actually died while waiting for a MedVac Helicopter to fly into the remote island area she lived in. I think this is my priority since I do work in health care...we do have to think of these things. So instead of buying that piece of property to retire on way out in Southern Utah or Montana, we are staying here in Ohio. We'll take that money & go on trips to those places we enjoy.
And to say this...when we first built our house it was considered "country" but now the city has come out & taken over. We still have many parks and tree lined roads, but the Mall is close by along with two hospitals, thrift store, bead shops, and high speed internet connection!
We also thought we'd like to be out in the wilderness of beautiful NC. Have some land there, but it looks like we will relocate to be near our kids. They will end up in CA and that's our next goal. Need to sell NC land though! And Orlando home! You have some great ideas. Ann
Lots of good sense suggestions. I like your idea of a day trip over a meal at a restaurant. A lot.
Can I also say that I am impressed with those clouds? They are the fluffiest, whitest clouds I've ever seen!
Great tips and it is important to be close to town in retirement I feel. My mama is from western N.C. and
I spent all my childhood summers there. Thanks so much for visiting me.
Oh and following you now!
My husband just retired. We have a lot of trips planned. I enjoyed your post. Doylene
Love this series! I'm retired, and my husband thinks he is retired! We try to make the loop when we run our errands. Making a list helps. Funny how our priorities change.I'd rather go on a little day trip than have dinner out, too!
We seem to be VERY BUSY in retirement but definitely have more "down time". We have three grandchildren in town and I wouldn't miss their activities for anything so that keeps us busy... and driving! Everything is close by so driving is not a big problem. I too thought I would love country living but being able to WALK to places is more convenient, healthier, and cheaper on gas.
I teach workshops to help women discover what they REALLY want and it helped ME to plan my life in the way it is currently. I feel like I'm really living my passions and living within our means at the same time.
Enjoying your series...Also thanks for stopping by my blog. ;) sandy
You have so much fun! Yep, I do that, make the loop. I seldom run out for one thing I usually group them together!
Carol
All very good advice. A very good informative post.
We do live like this,but maybe a lot of blogerettes out there are about to retire and this is good to know.
Thank you also for visiting me and for your nice comments,much appreciated.
xx jeanetteann
Oh, your photos are just gorgeous! I'd say you live in a paradise!!
love this post and the photos too. We ( my hubby and I) speak of retirement often. Just this morning we were discussing it again. I know exactly what you mean. Thank you for your bloggy friendship and for participating in the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop linky Party xo
These are some great tips, Diane. Sometimes when the hubs and I venture to a different area we'll decide to hit the local thrift stores. We use an online map service to chart a route so we don't waste gas by getting lost or doubling back.
Thanks!
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