Course ranger seems like a good job!
OT: Retirement plans
- Thread starter JayDogSmooth
- Start date
My wife can take her health care into retirement so we're covered there. But health care is one of the biggest factors for when people retire.
We lived in Wilmington 1990-92--my has it grown --direct flights to EWR from ILM?!!!Mrs. Screw, if you need any local
knowledge to generate your report let me know
We’re in Leland as well, in Brunswick Forest, where is your friend? Places other than Leland to consider are Southport, really cool little town at the mouth of the Cape Fear river, but not much going on outside the town; Porters Neck, Hampstead which are north of Wilmington; several golf communities between Leland and Myrtle Beach.
I’d avoid MB, crowded and imo pretty Red Neck Riviera. Further south towards Hilton Head is Bluffton, lots of northerners there as well though obviously further away from NJ.
ILM, the Wilmington airport now has non stops to EWR, if that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
We worked at the Corning, Incorporated fiber optic manufacturing plant on College Road/Highway 132. We loved our time in Wilmington.
At least back in 1990-92, we got the sense that many locals still had the Civil War in their head. I remember looking at houses with a local realtor, and when we drove by a Civil War battlefield, after I asked which war the battlefield was related to, and she said: "The war y'all lost." My reply was something like, "Y'all wasn't there, neither was y'all's ancestors--they were somewhere in Eastern Europe." We found a new realtor. They were also very much into church down there, and maybe that has changed. I remember when the church ladies all came to our apartment to get my wife to go to tea with them, and when she told them she worked, their jaws dropped.
We went car shopping somewhere west of Leland, I think it may have been Whiteville. I remember when I introduced myself to the car salesman, and he said, "That doesn't sound like a Columbus County name." I restrained myself from replying with, "Are you all related in this county?"
I also remember that on the drive down 17 to Myrtle Beach there seemed to be a pawn shop, a church or a boiled peanut stand on almost every corner, but not much else.
Myrtle Beach was a popular destination for bachelor parties for the younger crowd in Wilmington. The Crazy Horse in North Myrtle Beach was quite a crazy place. I see it is permanently closed. What a shame!!!
But we loved our time in Wilmington. The city was much smaller. UNCW is a beautiful campus. Wilmington had (and I believe still has) a strong movie industry. Carolco Studios shot the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Sadly, Bruce Lee's son, Brandon died on the set of the The Crow in Wilmington. Dawson's Creek was filmed in Wilmington.
That was 30 years ago. I know someone whose father retired from Long Island to Leland, and it apparently has become quite the destination for NY and NJ folks, and it sounds totally different there now. They really like it a lot.
Yup. I'd bail out now if it was not for health insurance. Both my wife and I have a cancer history too. Neither of us live in fear of the cancer monster, but it is a consideration to make sure we have good health insurance. For the time being, we both like our work and are OK with continuing to do so, continuing to build more savings that we can give to the kids or do some more charity work.
Mrs. Screw, if you need any local
knowledge to generate your report let me know
We’re in Leland as well, in Brunswick Forest, where is your friend? Places other than Leland to consider are Southport, really cool little town at the mouth of the Cape Fear river, but not much going on outside the town; Porters Neck, Hampstead which are north of Wilmington; several golf communities between Leland and Myrtle Beach.
I’d avoid MB, crowded and imo pretty Red Neck Riviera. Further south towards Hilton Head is Bluffton, lots of northerners there as well though obviously further away from NJ.
ILM, the Wilmington airport now has non stops to EWR, if that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Funny, my friend Lori and her husband Andy ( @ChrisNalwasky in-laws actually) live in Brunswick Forest too! We looked at Bluffton.....definitely liked the area, but it's really going to be too far from Lancaster for me.
I need beach within 45 minutes (preferably less), restaurants, things to do. Husband needs golf course and bars. We're not afraid of an active over 55 community.
While we can afford to retire I’m trying tog eat my wife to continue teaching simply for health insurance. I’d like the kids to be out of college before we go back to sh$t insurance.
+1. Finding a second act is important. Some will keep working, some will find a job for fun, some will invest in their kids/grandkids. I’m hoping to do a combination of the above
My Leland friend tells me that the water company is installing a water treatment processor the will be cleaning out the water in the area. Supposed to be finished this spring. She said in the mean time, people use either bottled water or they install filtration systems (full house or kitchen/fridge). By the time we are ready to get down there in 5 years this should all be straightened out...I hope.
LOL, yea you probably wouldn’t recognize much of Wilmington now, though the Corning plant on College is still there. The area is pretty much overrun with people from NJ, NY, CT, MD, Northern VA, and the city is thriving, and has become somewhat pretty liberal. A 7200 amphitheater opened and have some pretty big big acts.We lived in Wilmington 1990-92--my has it grown --direct flights to EWR from ILM?!!!
We worked at the Corning, Incorporated fiber optic manufacturing plant on College Road/Highway 132. We loved our time in Wilmington.
At least back in 1990-92, we got the sense that many locals still had the Civil War in their head. I remember looking at houses with a local realtor, and when we drove by a Civil War battlefield, after I asked which war the battlefield was related to, and she said: "The war y'all lost." My reply was something like, "Y'all wasn't there, neither was y'all's ancestors--they were somewhere in Eastern Europe." We found a new realtor. They were also very much into church down there, and maybe that has changed. I remember when the church ladies all came to our apartment to get my wife to go to tea with them, and when she told them she worked, their jaws dropped.
We went car shopping somewhere west of Leland, I think it may have been Whiteville. I remember when I introduced myself to the car salesman, and he said, "That doesn't sound like a Columbus County name." I restrained myself from replying with, "Are you all related in this county?"
I also remember that on the drive down 17 to Myrtle Beach there seemed to be a pawn shop, a church or a boiled peanut stand on almost every corner, but not much else.
Myrtle Beach was a popular destination for bachelor parties for the younger crowd in Wilmington. The Crazy Horse in North Myrtle Beach was quite a crazy place. I see it is permanently closed. What a shame!!!
But we loved our time in Wilmington. The city was much smaller. UNCW is a beautiful campus. Wilmington had (and I believe still has) a strong movie industry. Carolco Studios shot the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Sadly, Bruce Lee's son, Brandon died on the set of the The Crow in Wilmington. Dawson's Creek was filmed in Wilmington.
That was 30 years ago. I know someone whose father retired from Long Island to Leland, and it apparently has become quite the destination for NY and NJ folks, and it sounds totally different there now. They really like it a lot.
Just have to watch out for the church ladies when they say “Bless Your Heart”, they really mean “Go F**k yourself.” Have to go outside our community to hear a southern accent.
Now go west a few miles and you’re likely to see a Confederate flag or two.
You do know that your full social security retirement age is not 65, right?
And medical costs in Medicare are significant.
BF isn’t 55 and over
BF isn’t 55 and over and while most people are, I like seeing a few school busses driving around. We also have one of the nicest golf courses around and it’s about to go completely private that we THINK will be good, the corp that bought it has a good rep.
Let me know if I can help with any questions
I found the same about Delaware. When one sees a state by state rating for retirees, what often isn't emphasized enough is how much is dependent on the retiree's individual situation ... particularly income levels and property (RE) values they expect to hold in that state. Delaware has very low property taxes, but fairly substantial income taxes. If you expect to have more than a moderate income in retirement, DE income taxes can be quite onerous. In neighboring PA, you will pay more in property taxes, but they don't tax retirement incomes (pensions, 401(k)s, etc), and only tax other income (CGs, dividends, int income) at 3%, regardless of income level.
I'm about to retire this summer, after serving as a Director of Instructional Technology at a school district in NY. As you can imagine, dealing with COVID, for anyone who works in education, was brutal. I do love most of my work and all of my work colleagues, but I want to do a job where I'm not working on projects, answering emails for hours after work, and going to late night Board meetings.
Unlike NJ, the NY public pension system is financially solvent because politicians are not allowed to touch it, so I'm fortunate in that regard. I have a few projects that I hope to complete, including a book about Rutgers that will definitely impress all of you! I'm also planning to do some educational technology consulting, write about edtech, and also do some adjunct work. The key is for me to stay active in my field, but scale things back so I have time to relax on most nights and weekends. I hope that I can pull that off.
Scarlet Jerry
Unlike NJ, the NY public pension system is financially solvent because politicians are not allowed to touch it, so I'm fortunate in that regard. I have a few projects that I hope to complete, including a book about Rutgers that will definitely impress all of you! I'm also planning to do some educational technology consulting, write about edtech, and also do some adjunct work. The key is for me to stay active in my field, but scale things back so I have time to relax on most nights and weekends. I hope that I can pull that off.
Scarlet Jerry
Shack it all depends. I do know this. I met up with about 20 former co-workers last summer; all retired except for me as I am younger than all of them. All of them retired between 57 and 62. Some retired recently and some as many as 13 years ago. Every single one of them are enjoying retirement and many look like they haven’t aged. The people who have a plan on what they will do in retirement, will enjoy it. The ones that have little or no plan may not enjoy it. I have been in the same line of work for 36 years and am getting tired of it. For people who still enjoy their line on work, working longer has a lot of merit. But for me, when I look back on life, I don’t think a will wish that I spent more years staring at my work computer 9 hours a day. I have a plan to get out at 59 later this year…..if I get bored, and want to work, I will do it….. but on my own terms.
3 homes is my wish. Hawaii (Maui or oahu), NJ, and somewhere in London...or whereever my buddy and I buy a league 1 or 2 team.
Lived in MA for 25 years, and we still own our house there in a very desirable beach town. Renting it out now. Wife and I moved to DC two years ago. I have a very interesting, exciting job but it is high pressure and a ton of work. Looking at another 4-6 years depending on how things go. Son is out of college, house in MA is paid off and we’re getting the extra income from renting, and my wife has a nice job where she works from home. Right now we’re socking money away. We like the Savannah, Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head area and may buy a condo somewhere down there. Live in MA May through October and down there November through April. Or forego the condo and do air B and B’s and try different spots for the winters - Scottsdale, San Diego, St. Augustine, Austin, etc. My wife and I were out last night talking about this very topic. One thing we’re both in total agreement on - we’re done with New England winters.
Before we moved down here we had to put our beloved old coon hound down. It was so sad we thought we could never get another dog. But now we see another coonhound in our retirement future, possibly two.
43, married with boys 6 & 9.
Depending on where they end up, that’s where we will likely be as well.
Retirement calculator says I’ll need 3.5+ to be comfortable.
I’ve crunched my expense numbers in my spreadsheet and can’t fathom why I’d need all that money unless I need to live at a facility for an extended period of time.
My parents and their friends are all in their 70s and 80s and I can only name one person from that group that spent the end of her days in a facility.
Anyway, 3.5+ is still my goal even if it means we can’t keep with the Jones’s. I’ll loosen the reigns a bit once I bank away my first million. I’m told it gets easier from there.
Depending on where they end up, that’s where we will likely be as well.
Retirement calculator says I’ll need 3.5+ to be comfortable.
I’ve crunched my expense numbers in my spreadsheet and can’t fathom why I’d need all that money unless I need to live at a facility for an extended period of time.
My parents and their friends are all in their 70s and 80s and I can only name one person from that group that spent the end of her days in a facility.
Anyway, 3.5+ is still my goal even if it means we can’t keep with the Jones’s. I’ll loosen the reigns a bit once I bank away my first million. I’m told it gets easier from there.
Agreed. This is why many people in their 60s and 70s continue to work in my district. I’ll probably be one of them in the next 20-25 years.
At least the anti state workers here will be happy to know that the district is phasing out full time employees and replacing them with “per diems” who work the absolute max (I believe 31.5 hours weekly) so they won’t have to pay for benefits. I’m probably The Last of the Mohicans.
Meanwhile the Top Floor Admins just voted themselves 5% raises so that they can be in the Above $150K percentile….
PRIORITIES, PEOPLE… PRIORITIES!!!
For sure. My wife and I pay $2600 monthly for ACA, plus $33 for vision, and $80 for dental. 'Merica!
Question for the people in NC;
A relative has a home on the outer banks and while it's at risk of hurricane wind damage, the flood risk is low where they are (Corolla). It seems the coastal areas of the mainland are more susceptible to flooding when severe storms go inland and fill rivers that drain toward the coast. Is this accurate and if so, is it true for the Wilmington area?
A relative has a home on the outer banks and while it's at risk of hurricane wind damage, the flood risk is low where they are (Corolla). It seems the coastal areas of the mainland are more susceptible to flooding when severe storms go inland and fill rivers that drain toward the coast. Is this accurate and if so, is it true for the Wilmington area?
I think you can save on the monthly premium by using a very high deductible plan ($10-20k). Depending on your needs, you may end up paying the same amount, but at least it gives you an opportunity not to pay up front on services you may not need during that year.
Everyone has a "plan" or perhaps a "hope". However, at the end of the day, just save as much as possible for as long as possible and then figure out what type of retirement you can afford.
It does get easier. If you have 100K and make 10% return in a year you made 10K in interest, but if you have $1MM and made a 10% return it's 100K in interest alone. So getting from 0 to your first million will take longer than getting from 1 -2 million all things being equal.
Who makes 10% return in today's market? See people over estimate their returns, especially those who have never experienced a bear market. We estimate 3-5%, and if we do better, that is a gift.
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Ocean Isle Beach is the place we spent 5 weeks this winter. 10 hours in off season and no traffic in Wash DC. Friend has a nice big house on the beach. All to ourselves. About 45 mins south of Wilmington. Love the area. 15 mins and your in SC. 60 in Myrtle Beach. If you like to golf..oh boy.
For tax purposes IF I were buying the area I'd probably just go across the state line but not down to MB.
Last few years most people have been 8-10%. Not so much lately.
Gonna need 18% return just to offset the -15% return YTD!
But see what you do is what I suggest when kids, folks ask. You force save as much $ as you can while earning. You estimate your returns less. And when time to withdrawal you take out 15% less than the model says you can?
One day you look and get to say...wow. Let's have a big freakin party.
BTW. the new I Bonds are paying nearly that for the next 6 months. But you can only invest $10k each ($20k couple) plus some more via other channels (i.e. another $5k if from your tax return refund..but then I ask who lets the government hold their $ like that for a year?)
I use 7% in our calculations, which is perfectly reasonable. That's a good conservative # for equity-based portfolios. If you are using a significant amount of bonds and other fixed income allocations, then you should adjust downwards.
Most of my funds were up 500-800% over the past decade. Buy and hold investors can easily deal with a down year.
Power of compound interest is one factor. Probably the most significant.
Getting the mortgage paid off, seeing the kids leave the nest, and getting into your prime earning years were others were other major reasons people say this.
Of course none of that is guaranteed. People upgrade instead of downsize, some folks hardly see raises, and I know of 30 year olds still living with their parents because… I have no idea.
Lot of mitigating factors here. Pensions, kids, health insurance, etc.
I think one of the main things is to stay active, whatever that may entail. We plan to exercise daily, eat healthier, and hopefully relax more
Also agree that living in NJ during the winter is not enticing (to us at least, as the clouds and cold weather don't appeal to me), while the humidity in the summer (prolonged at that down south) is also not appealing.
Hence the reason I'd love to get two places, but if that's not possible we'll still go to Florida as we prefer the heat to the cold, being active with FSU, cheaper taxes / pension & state income and SS being taxed less or not at all, and overall relaxed athmosphere.
If New England isn't an option due to price, I wouldn't mind Delaware as the beaches are great, or the mountains of North/South Carolina on a lake (Hartwell, Keowee and Norman).
Staying in NJ for 3 months would be the last resort, but would consider it (depends on where our child resides and my wife's parents longevity). As a lifelong resident I'm ready to move on, but still love it here from June - September.
I think one of the main things is to stay active, whatever that may entail. We plan to exercise daily, eat healthier, and hopefully relax more
Also agree that living in NJ during the winter is not enticing (to us at least, as the clouds and cold weather don't appeal to me), while the humidity in the summer (prolonged at that down south) is also not appealing.
Hence the reason I'd love to get two places, but if that's not possible we'll still go to Florida as we prefer the heat to the cold, being active with FSU, cheaper taxes / pension & state income and SS being taxed less or not at all, and overall relaxed athmosphere.
If New England isn't an option due to price, I wouldn't mind Delaware as the beaches are great, or the mountains of North/South Carolina on a lake (Hartwell, Keowee and Norman).
Staying in NJ for 3 months would be the last resort, but would consider it (depends on where our child resides and my wife's parents longevity). As a lifelong resident I'm ready to move on, but still love it here from June - September.