Travel in Retirement

[disneyseniors]

We're mid-50s, no kids, and while we've reached our retirement "number", we have decided to continue to work for another 4-5 years and reassess. The main reason being that my husband's father is nearly 92 and while he's in excellent health now, there are no other siblings remaining and so the bulk of kind of overseeing his life falls to us. We also have three dogs, two that are older with medical issues and not able to travel. So leaving the area now is kind of not possible.

Our desire is to spend our 60s being nomads, spending months at a time in places we'd like to visit. DH just received dual-citizenship with Italy and so we'd like to spend a considerable amount of time there. And we've been vacationing in other areas that are ex-pat friendly, like Costa Rica and also have an upcoming trip to Panama. We also have a bucket list trip to South Africa in 2024.

While we're sticking around in NJ we figured, why not keep working? We're making more money than we've ever made and while we've upped our travel game by staying at nice resorts and flying in the front the plane, we're socking away well over 50% of gross income. We also figured it's not a bad idea to get closer to 65 and medicare. We're unclear on whether we'll keep our home or sell it when we do head off to be nomads. Time will tell.

Sounds like a good plan, DVCgirl!
However, sometimes things don't work out that way.
I'm glad to see you are traveling some right now.
My advice since retiring? Do what you want and can do Now, and try not to wait til you are in your 60's.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Sounds like a good plan, DVCgirl!
However, sometimes things don't work out that way.
I'm glad to see you are traveling some right now.
My advice since retiring? Do what you want and can do Now, and try not to wait til you are in your 60's.

It's good advice, and we are definitely traveling more....now doing two big trips a year with smaller trips in between. We just extended our trip to Panama in January to two weeks. Then we've got the 16 day trip to South Africa next September.

We just have never seen ourselves retiring in NJ where we live and would like to be nomads early on. We've planned and budgeting for this for many years. The real issue for us is if we get 4-5 years down the road and my FIL is still with us (which I think is entirely possible). He's almost 92 and there's nothing really wrong with him. He drives, plays golf, grocery shops, cooks...etc. My mother will be 80 next year. She's also in great shape, and I have two siblings, one in NC where my mother has been spending weeks and even a couple of months at a time with her family. I have another sibling here and other relatives she visits with. So...we'd feel comfortable heading out for months at a time with respect to her. My FIL is another story. He's got a lot of friends and other family, but no other children and so not sure we'd feel comfortable heading off for months at a time without another solution.

I was reading an article about this recently....about how people are living longer and longer and people in their 60's and even into their 70s are needing to adjust their retirement plans/dreams because a parent is still with us. Some do this willingly, some reluctantly, but all seemed to harbor a bit of resentment or at least longing as their "good years" are ticking away with plans/dreams pushed to the side.

We do have another member of the family, still call her my sister in law as she was married to my husband's brother (he passed 9 years ago). She's remarried and still a part of the family. She's going to have to work until she hits 70...in 6 years as she and her new husband aren't great with money. The idea of the two of them moving in with my FIL has come up...with us then giving up our inheritance from my FIL, which is essentially the house. My sister in law rents currently. They really want to buy a home, but are pretty much priced out in our area. She also has young grandchildren in the area and so I don't see them leaving the area for many years. I guess we'll have to see what happens when we get there. A million things can happen between now and then.

 

[gmi3804]

We live in Chicagoland, and always thought we’d retire somewhere warmer. But we couldn’t find a place that hadn’t offended us. So we stayed put. And we’re 25 minutes from O’Hare.

And besides, with climate change, we’re actually in a good place now, weather-wise.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We live in Chicagoland, and always thought we’d retire somewhere warmer. But we couldn’t find a place that hadn’t offended us. So we stayed put. And we’re 25 minutes from O’Hare.

And besides, with climate change, we’re actually in a good place now, weather-wise.

Ha....yes, while we did have a cooler than normal winter in NJ, I'd imagine living down south anymore is going to get tougher and tougher. Last winter was super warm here too with little snow. 100% with you on where to live without being offended. We just took a vacation in Hawaii and could see spending some time there.

 

[Dakota731]

Ha....yes, while we did have a cooler than normal winter in NJ, I'd imagine living down south anymore is going to get tougher and tougher. Last winter was super warm here too with little snow. 100% with you on where to live without being offended. We just took a vacation in Hawaii and could see spending some time there.

We actually had coolest June on record here so depends where you live and cyclical weather patterns.
When grandkids come along it is super hard to leave them for long periods of time (at least it is for me) so we take them along and keep our travel to a few weeks a year.

 

[gmi3804]

We actually had coolest June on record here so depends where you live and cyclical weather patterns.
When grandkids come along it is super hard to leave them for long periods of time (at least it is for me) so we take them along and keep our travel to a few weeks a year.

Chicago had less than 20" of show ALL WINTER last year, and apart from a few sub-zero-degree days around Christmas, saw very mild temperatures the whole time.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We actually had coolest June on record here so depends where you live and cyclical weather patterns.
When grandkids come along it is super hard to leave them for long periods of time (at least it is for me) so we take them along and keep our travel to a few weeks a year.

This is what happened to my parents. They bought a second home in the Keys and spent a couple of weeks a year there with plans to do the snowbird thing there during winters here. Then came the grandchildren, and that plan went out the window. They sold the house when the first grandchild was around 5 or so.

 

[HopperFan]

VERY VERY interesting thread, thanks all for sharing. Even those with similar plans have different approaches. Even those that are likely same financial situations have different goals and ideas. Love all the ideas of things to do.

DH is one year off from retirement ..... and I get the feeling he thinks we are traveling. I think he forgot we bought a vacation home and that is our travel money tied up. He traveled internationally for work for years and really misses it. We also have DS who is disabled and lives with us. HE has to go to his program and can't venture around the world nor would he be interested in most of it other than the dining. And that adds the cost of another person, and changes some of what we could even do.

We planned for 15 years to buy a home at the beach big enough for the kids to visit us or use with their friends. We've had it 8 years now and love it! Helps it is 2 hours from Disney so we can do weekends there and Disney M-F. He works remote so he actually works from there a couple weeks a month (still home more than when he traveled for work). We are 3 minute walk to beach and have everything we need there.

This is what happened to my parents. They bought a second home in the Keys and spent a couple of weeks a year there with plans to do the snowbird thing there during winters here. Then came the grandchildren, and that plan went out the window. They sold the house when the first grandchild was around 5 or so.

My Mom and her husband had a condo in Fort Lauderdale and home by us. 6 months at each. But they also traveled the world many times over about 4 mos each year. So they were here a couple months in summer and couple months in winter. I know my kids missed out on having them around especially for some of their "extras" in life. I am so happy my Mom got the chance to travel the world but I want to be here to see my grandkids grow up, to watch them play sports or be in a play. My Mom tried hard to be there - but I just want to always be there for them. My first grand arrives in a few months and I already will be babysitting every Monday and backup for parents (both in sales) meetings. They are more important to me than traveling. Beach home is only 6 hours away so if something comes up, I can hop in car and be back home for them.

 

[disneyseniors]

It's good advice, and we are definitely traveling more....now doing two big trips a year with smaller trips in between. We just extended our trip to Panama in January to two weeks. Then we've got the 16 day trip to South Africa next September.

We just have never seen ourselves retiring in NJ where we live and would like to be nomads early on. We've planned and budgeting for this for many years. The real issue for us is if we get 4-5 years down the road and my FIL is still with us (which I think is entirely possible). He's almost 92 and there's nothing really wrong with him. He drives, plays golf, grocery shops, cooks...etc. My mother will be 80 next year. She's also in great shape, and I have two siblings, one in NC where my mother has been spending weeks and even a couple of months at a time with her family. I have another sibling here and other relatives she visits with. So...we'd feel comfortable heading out for months at a time with respect to her. My FIL is another story. He's got a lot of friends and other family, but no other children and so not sure we'd feel comfortable heading off for months at a time without another solution.

I was reading an article about this recently....about how people are living longer and longer and people in their 60's and even into their 70s are needing to adjust their retirement plans/dreams because a parent is still with us. Some do this willingly, some reluctantly, but all seemed to harbor a bit of resentment or at least longing as their "good years" are ticking away with plans/dreams pushed to the side.

We do have another member of the family, still call her my sister in law as she was married to my husband's brother (he passed 9 years ago). She's remarried and still a part of the family. She's going to have to work until she hits 70...in 6 years as she and her new husband aren't great with money. The idea of the two of them moving in with my FIL has come up...with us then giving up our inheritance from my FIL, which is essentially the house. My sister in law rents currently. They really want to buy a home, but are pretty much priced out in our area. She also has young grandchildren in the area and so I don't see them leaving the area for many years. I guess we'll have to see what happens when we get there. A million things can happen between now and then.

I admire you for getting some traveling in now
We are in the same situation with older family My Mom is 95 y/o and lives alone in a senior housing unit. She is pretty independent. But I am her only caretaker, but we have family to help out when we go on vacation. However, we don't feel right about staying anywhere too long. So I know how you feel. I'm definitely not resentful. We have just had to adjust our traveling somewhat.

 

[wabbott]

I admire you for getting some traveling in now
We are in the same situation with older family My Mom is 95 y/o and lives alone in a senior housing unit. She is pretty independent. But I am her only caretaker, but we have family to help out when we go on vacation. However, we don't feel right about staying anywhere too long. So I know how you feel. I'm definitely not resentful. We have just had to adjust our traveling somewhat.

We had that situation with both my parents and Mrs. Wabbott's parents for about 10 years. We managed to go and do, mostly in the Eastern/Southeastern US. Nowhere that we couldn't get back home in one day.

Fortunately, we are still blessed with decent enough health that we can do extended trips now.

 

[Frwinkley]

VERY VERY interesting thread, thanks all for sharing. Even those with similar plans have different approaches. Even those that are likely same financial situations have different goals and ideas. Love all the ideas of things to do.

DH is one year off from retirement ..... and I get the feeling he thinks we are traveling. I think he forgot we bought a vacation home and that is our travel money tied up. He traveled internationally for work for years and really misses it. We also have DS who is disabled and lives with us. HE has to go to his program and can't venture around the world nor would he be interested in most of it other than the dining. And that adds the cost of another person, and changes some of what we could even do.

We planned for 15 years to buy a home at the beach big enough for the kids to visit us or use with their friends. We've had it 8 years now and love it! Helps it is 2 hours from Disney so we can do weekends there and Disney M-F. He works remote so he actually works from there a couple weeks a month (still home more than when he traveled for work). We are 3 minute walk to beach and have everything we need there.


My Mom and her husband had a condo in Fort Lauderdale and home by us. 6 months at each. But they also traveled the world many times over about 4 mos each year. So they were here a couple months in summer and couple months in winter. I know my kids missed out on having them around especially for some of their "extras" in life. I am so happy my Mom got the chance to travel the world but I want to be here to see my grandkids grow up, to watch them play sports or be in a play. My Mom tried hard to be there - but I just want to always be there for them. My first grand arrives in a few months and I already will be babysitting every Monday and backup for parents (both in sales) meetings. They are more important to me than traveling. Beach home is only 6 hours away so if something comes up, I can hop in car and be back home for them.

Congrats on your first grand baby! We just had our first granddaughter in March and to say I am hopelessly in love would be an understatement. There is nothing like it.

 

[gmi3804]

No kids here.

 

[dvcgirl67]

No kids here.

View attachment 776727

This made me chuckle....no kids either. Truth be told....I know couples without kids who aren't great with money, and most of our friends and my immediate family have kids and are doing well. With children, their lifestyle is a bit different and many may not be able to take longer trips in their 40s/50s with kids in high school and college, but they're still doing it up for the most part.

Both of my sisters have children and they don't take the same kinds of trips that we do, but they've bought second homes for family vacations. So, it's just different priorities I think.

 

[HopperFan]

Congrats on your first grand baby! We just had our first granddaughter in March and to say I am hopelessly in love would be an understatement. There is nothing like it.

All plans factor in the baby. We are already working in the back yard to be kid safe and preparing conversion of DD's secret garden that is all fenced in to a child safe (dog free) playground (with astroturf). You know for two years from now! I'm already picking up Little Tikes playground stuff at garage sales.

And already planning first Disney trip for sure!!!

 

[Dakota731]

Everyone is different I’m sure, but I wouldn’t trade the experience of being an involved grandma for all the money in the world. When you are parents you’re often so busy that you don’t always have time to enjoy every little moment of joy and fun like you do when you’re older. Plus I can give them back at night!
I always used to scoff when friends said that’s it’s even more amazing than being a mom. I couldn’t believe it since I loved being a mom of little ones and tried not to take anything for granted, but it is extra special being a grandparent. One of God’s greatest blessings in my opinion.

 

[Frwinkley]

All plans factor in the baby. We are already working in the back yard to be kid safe and preparing conversion of DD's secret garden that is all fenced in to a child safe (dog free) playground (with astroturf). You know for two years from now! I'm already picking up Little Tikes playground stuff at garage sales.

And already planning first Disney trip for sure!!!

I can definitely relate to this!

 

[Darcy03231]

DH retired 9 years ago, but I'm still working. Our plan once I retire is to spend January, February and March in warmer weather climates (we live in the Northeast) to escape the worst of the winter. We plan to rent and explore the area that we decide to go to for the three months. There are a lot of places in the Carribean that you can stay for 90 days.

We've also planned to do one vacation in the spring and one in the fall. Since our home is on a lake that takes care of the warmer weather months for us.

We haven't been to WDW for a full vacation since 2015. We did tack a couple of days onto a cruise in 2017. Our grandson will be turning one next month so we will probably plan a Disney trip when he's 4 or 5.

 

[Happyjen27]

For retirement planning we planned on a set travel budget annually. If we underspend on other categories we divert that money to travel.

We retired a year ago at 50 and last year (our first retired summer) we were go go go.
1 week in NYC during Feb break
2 weeks in Alaska by land and by sea
1 week in the mountains
1 week Caribbean cruise

This was the retirement we dreamed of! We’ve still got high schoolers at home and so we’re limited to school vacations. And packing their summer with almost 5 weeks of vacations was just too much for them.
This year I’m realizing that I don’t need to plan a bunch of vacations because I don’t need to escape from my life anymore. Now that my whole life is stress free, I don’t check vacation prices half as much as I did while working.

This year’s vacations are scaled way back at the request of the party poopers, I mean teenagers.
Universal during spring break
Next week in the mountains
Just my daughter and I coming to Disney in Aug.

I’m still glad we did gobs of travel all of our lives, and I’m sure once the kids are in college and beyond we will travel more. I’m more surprised than anyone how lovely a simple life at home feels right now.

 

[2TxAgs]

. I’m more surprised than anyone how lovely a simple life at home feels right now.

What a great revelation

Thanks to all for your contributions to the conversation. Since we don't have any grandkids, we have yet to experience those happy days - all the more reason to get on the travel train now!

 

[kathy884]

We will also spend the first week in September in WM Victorica BC. The place in right on the inner harbor.

It's many years back, but that's where we stayed when we did a week long trip to Victoria with an extended family group. We loved staying there and really enjoyed our week in Victoria!