In the "why calculate net worth?" thread, MyOwnMillions wrote:



This reminded me of something I've been thinking about lately. We currently have a nice house just south of Portland. We love it. We don't have any plans to move. (In fact, we always say this will be the last house we ever own.) But in the back of my mind, I'd love to move someplace different once we've retired.

Several options spring to mind:

* Buying a condo in a city (Portland or elsewhere) and living that sort of lifestyle.
* Moving to someplace like North Dakota where costs are low and the money we've saved can go a long way.
* Going the expatriate route, moving to another country.

Have any of you thought about where you hope to retire? What makes you pick a specific spot? It'd be nice to have enough money that we could live anywhere, but that's putting the cart before the horse. Right now I'm still working on getting out of debt!

...it's good enough for me.
I'm definitely going the ex-pat route.
While I doubt I'll be wandering around Sri Lanka in a sarong like Arthur C, I could see myself in Thailand, Bali or Fiji.

- Bill

When I took a new job last year, we were willing to move in part because it's the sort of place that we would be willing to be buried (there were also other perks, like lower cost of living, better schools, way less traffic and congestion, a big raise, etc). But I'd be happy retiring where I live right now.

My life took a big turn a few years ago when I realized that my retirement plan was actually likely to work - I would retire at 59 1/2 and move to an oceanfront condo in Hawaii. As I saw the stars aligning in terms of my financial resources, the vision of my retirement future went to hell in a handbasket. What in the world would I do with myself all day? Would I wait out the day until 5:00 so I could start drinking? I also looked closely at the 15 years of work still yet to be done. I decided then to change everything.

Fast forward a couple of years, I had my first child at age 45. Now my plan is to work into my sixties or seventies doing something I love. If I make a lot less money so be it. I plan to send my son to French school. I would love it if he moved to France to work/live so that I can keep my house in Oregon (what better place is there in the world during the summer months?) and visit with him for part of the year in France. I love it there!

Friends of mine recently retired to Ireland, because they lived there for a time in the 1980s and wanted to go back to finish their lives there, but in fact it's turning out not so great. Ireland has gotten ridiculously expensive since the Euro, and the countryside is getting built up; the whole atmosphere has changed and it's really not the same place anymore. France is getting pricey too, although there are still deals to be found in some of the more remote areas. My girlfriend is from Brittany and she and her sister will inherit her parents' home near the seacoast, so we might end up retiring there. But it's the same problem: her town has become a tourist haven, overrun by thousands of obnoxious Parisians during the summer, so we'd probably only want to live there in the off-season. Maybe we'll just retire to some little island off western British Columbia instead!

My fiancee inherited a house on a small caribbean island. I'd like to retire there, and spend my days on my boat, fishing or snokeling or exploring the rain forest nearby. My goal is for us to be able to be effectively retied by the time that our childern start college (about 4 years till a kid, + 18 years of school), means that in 22 years, or when I am 50 years old, I will retire to an island. I got a few books I want to write, and I figure 30-40 years time I could do it.

Our dream is to spend half of our time on a sailboat traveling the world but also have a home somewhere near family.

I've been to the Orient twice and feel that it continues to call me back.
I'd like to retire to either Kyoto or rural China.

My parents are currently implementing their retirement plans. Instead of retiring to one place, they're going to spend 6 months in Hawaii, then find a place in New Zealand, then maybe Singapore, and so on...

That sounds like an awesome retirement plan.

If I could live anywhere in the world it would be:

Austin, TX
Toronto
Sydney
Wellington, NZ
Anywhere in the Netherlands

Maybe I will retire to one of those places - except Austin, (which is my favourite) as I wouldn't be able to get a visa or healthcare.

My mum is planning on retiring (in about 15 years time) to northern France. They're going to buy a house there shortly and once they retire they'll be able to sell there overpriced house in the UK and eat delicious French food everyday.
Baby boomers .

DC Portland:

I totally agree with your perspective here. "Retirement" isn't on my list of goals. However, I hope that I find myself doing fulfilling work throughout my life, until the day I die. Playing Euchre or shuffleboard every Tuesday evening, sitting on the beach for days on end, or being on a cruise for more than one week a year simply aren't on my wish list.

More important that where I hope to live is who I hope to be living with.

Ok, I'm hoping to retire at 45, but let me say I have a different view than most people on retirement. I don't want to travel all the time or golf everyday, but instead I just want my current life with more time to spend on my interests outside of work. So with that in mind I'm not looking for a large amount to retire on. I rather live on $25,000/year with 10 extra years in retirement than having less time and more money.

With this in mind I'm going to retire either in my current city or in a small town near by to reduce housing costs.

I rather retire happy than retire rich.

CD

I'm with CD. I like my lifestyle right now, and I like where I'm living. The idea of spending all day sailing a boat or writing a book doesn't appeal to me. I like the idea of simply having more time to spend with my children (and at some point, grandchildren), and volunteering for causes I think are worthwhile.

Having a purpose in retirement (as in life) to me is more important than having a "storybook" retirement.

Maybe I should have asked about "Financial Independence" in the Your Money or Your Life sense. That's actually what I'm striving for. I now have a two-year plan. A year from now, I want to reduce to half time at my day job. Two years from now, I want to quit to write full time. To me, that's as good as retirement. Better even. My plan may not play out like this -- I may decide to stay on at the box factory for several more years -- but it's headed that direction...

I could probably be quite happy retiring right where I am (Milwaukee area), but after another 10 or 20 years of Wisconsin winters, who knows.... If I retire in the U.S., I'll probably want to be in an interesting college town (like Madison or Burlington, VT) or a largish city (like Milwaukee or Portland, OR) or a largish college city (like Minneapolis or Columbus or Seattle). The idea of going expat also appeals; perhaps northern coastal Spain, Nova Scotia, and other idyllic places would be nice. But I don't know (and won't know for a while) how I would deal with healthcare, income streams, taxes, etc. in expat retirement. I guess I'll think more seriously about in my 50s....