# Countdown to retirement **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653 "2023-03-25T17:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 43
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/841 "2025-03-09T22:21:35Z")
Thank you all. Real high altitude can be a bit of a PITA. Next up is March and April. The heaviest snow months. Just when you think you see the light at the end of the tunnel… well… here comes a freight train. And you can’t run. you have to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/842 "2025-03-10T00:53:56Z")
Congrats on finding such a good place to retire to! Guess you’re ready for a place that’s a bit less, um, _alpine_ than where you’ve been. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/843 "2025-03-10T01:22:40Z")
That’s terrific, **enipla**. But won’t you miss your mooses and bears? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/844 "2025-03-10T11:48:52Z")
Don’t forget the (mountain) lions, Oh my! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/845 "2025-03-10T12:20:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Congrats on finding such a good place to retire to! Guess you’re ready for a place that’s a bit less, um, _alpine_ than where you’ve been. 😉 Yeah, but I’m still going to keep my enipla handle (Alpine was the name of my dog when I moved up here) > [@teelabrown](#): > > But won’t you miss your mooses and bears? Oh yeah. They are our friends. But we really like the area we are going to. it’s got a bit of a mountain town vibe I guess. Well, with out the skiers thank god. And it’s not too metropolitan for us. In a bit of a state of shock I think. This summer is going to be crazy. Need to stop and take a breath. Wow. We will start moving personal stuff (art, clothing etal) by car when we take possession (In one month!). We are going to need help, but we can’t get movers to our house until May/June when the snow is gone. And then, we are going to be in Europe for 3 weeks in August. That’s a done deal. Paid for. That month may be the time that we will sell our house. August is good weather up here. We won’t be underfoot and the dogs will be boarded for that time anyway. My wife can technically retire in August. I need to wait until December, luckily, I can and do work from home. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/846 "2025-03-10T12:50:22Z")
Nextdoor is a good source for free moving boxes. Lots of folks have piles of them after they move and are only too happy to get rid of them by giving them to you. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/847 "2025-03-10T14:14:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve been hanging out with my current GF for almost a year. We get along great. To the point that we made noises about cohabiting. Problem is I’m retired and she has 10+ years to go. And she makes enough money that her simply quitting 10 years early takes too much off her table and leaves her much too vulnerable to any possible future flakiness from my side. I’m probably missing something, but why can’t she keep working if you’re living together? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/848 "2025-03-10T16:21:23Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Nextdoor is a good source for free moving boxes. Lots of folks have piles of them after they move and are only too happy to get rid of them by giving them to you. Thanks. We don’t use Nextdoor (we have no neighbors) While I like re-using and recycling, I just bought boxes from Home Depot when I sorted out my moms estate (I was staying in Denver). I guess that Lowes also sells them, they are only 45 minutes away. I should stock up, cause the drive alone, back and forth kills half a day. It will be interesting to have things ‘convenient’. Might even be able to get pizza delivered which would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/849 "2025-03-10T16:33:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m probably missing something, but why can’t she keep working if you’re living together? She works an inflexible night schedule with limited annual vacation. Between her high wages & high seniority, her changing jobs to something more flexible or elsewhere would be a huge downgrade. I want a companion who can travel for a few days to a month or more at will. And do it often, like 10+ days/month on average. By the time she retires, I’ll be too old to do much traveling at all. Hell, I might well be dead by then. If we cohabited and she worked, we’d see each other a few minutes per day as one of us is getting up and the other is going to bed. Even if I moved to be near her job and we cohabited there. Right now she lives near her work and I live well across a large metro area from her. Plenty close enough to do long weekends together (as we have been), but an impractical drive for a daily commute or for a night out. For reasons unrelated to dollars or occupations it’s not plausible for us to just marry and me take on her full financial support. There’s more, but that’s enough for the broadbrush. We could overcome one “immovable obstacle”. But we have about 5, some of which I’ve mentioned above and some that I haven’t and won’t. I do appreciate the attempted help though. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/850 "2025-03-10T16:42:45Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m probably missing something, but why can’t she keep working if you’re living together? Not speaking for @LSLGuy , but some jobs require a closer proximity. My wife for instance really can’t work from home as an appraiser. She must visit properties. It ‘worked’ for a while during the start of COVID, but some things have to be hands on. She also likes the separation of work and home. Even though she and I had completely separate offices, and it worked fine, I understand that some folks need that… change of I’m at work, I’m not at work. My wife and I are both on the edge of retirement, and both agree that we will want our own space (what I call an office for each of us). Make no mistake we spend a lot of time together playing chess/cribbage/traveling. But we both understand it will be a bit different. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/851 "2025-03-10T16:56:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > There’s more, but that’s enough for the broadbrush. Thanks. I figured there was more to the story. Makes perfect sense. Best wishes, ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/852 "2025-03-11T23:13:12Z")
I’m going to, again, put this here. Since I shared so much about a new home, and retirement. The words are from Voltaire. “Perfect is the enemy of good”. This is important to understand. I, my wife, my best friends will never find perfect. It’s a fools errand. You will only find disappointment. Our current home is about 80% ‘perfect’. That is why I named it ‘Cloud 8’ It’s not ‘Cloud 9’. George Harrison would agree. The new one is Cloud 8.5. Close enough. As my Dad said when I bought our current house (Cloud 8) “You didn’t buy a house, you bought a job”. This is true for any house, or project or relationship. Life is work. You never really do retire. No one can. My wife and I are already planning what to do with the new place. We want a vegetable garden (can’t do that at our altitude). A music room. My cousin has a very nice Yamaha piano that will be our… guest (she has no room for it). Don’t look for ‘perfect’ would be advice that I would give anyone. And, as a Hhaahahhah. The guy I was working on loan papers asked me if I had any other questions, I said, “What do you think of electric lawn mowers?”. Yes, I can be a sarcastic ass. But we then talked about battery lawn mowers. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/853 "2025-03-12T12:19:31Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > As my Dad said when I bought our current house (Cloud 8) “You didn’t buy a house, you bought a job”. This is true for any house, or project or relationship. Shortly after we bought our first house, I was asked what I thought of being a homeowner. I said, it means I never, ever again need to go looking for a new hobby to fill my spare time. 😁 ETA: > [@enipla](#): > > Yes, I can be a sarcastic ass. But we then talked about battery lawn mowers. Probably a subject for another thread, but I bought a battery-powered lawn mower a few years ago, and have been very happy with it. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/854 "2025-03-12T13:19:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I bought a battery-powered lawn mower a few years ago, and have been very happy with it. We bought one last year when our gasoline-powered mower wouldn’t start. We’ve also been extremely happy with it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/855 "2025-03-12T14:02:46Z")
When I moved to a condo, getting rid of the massive paraphernalia and ginormous task list needed to care for a house and grounds was a _very_ freeing step of pre-retirement. Both logistically and psychologically. By comparison, when I moved to an apartment, getting rid of the smaller paraphernalia and shorter task list needed to care for a condo was a less significant change logistically. But still a very freeing step of post-retirement psychologically. The _only_ household maintenance chore I have now is to remember to flush. And even if I skip that a time or three there’s not much consequence. IMO I’ve finally figured out the right way to live. For me; others may prefer all that hassle. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/856 "2025-03-12T16:12:34Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > This is important to understand. I, my wife, my best friends will never find perfect. It’s a fools errand. You will only find disappointment. Especially because when you look at a house you don’t know the definition of perfect. When we moved to California from NJ we had only one week to find and make an offer on a house. We did okay, we’ll still here almost 30 years later, but we missed some stuff that could be better (like no heat in the addition) and weren’t aware of some things that turned out to be great, like the floor plan and being close to doctors and lots of stores. It’s much easier when you move within a town and have a better idea of the environment. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/857 "2025-03-12T16:30:29Z")
I’m a little bit confused - in my area, “condo” ( or “co-op”) is a form of ownership and you can have free-standing condos or co-ops that look like a single family house or apartment-style ones. Obviously, if everything outside is a common area, you don’t take care of the grounds, but aside from that, I don’t understand the difference between a free standing condo and a single family house in terms of tasks. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/858 "2025-03-12T16:51:36Z")
For your flavor of condo I pretty much agree w your assessment. In a condo as free-standing residential building, you may be responsible for the exterior paint & roof and gutters & such. Just like a house. Or the Association may be, in which case you’ve dropped those tasks and direct expenses. “Condo” in the way I have experienced it means a unit inside a large multi-story building. Basically you own the interior paint on your perimeter walls and ceiling. You own the flooring atop the bare concrete floor. And you own everything inside the 3D perimeter of those things. it’s your fridge & sink, but it’s the Association’s plumbing feeding it. It’s your chandelier, but their light switch & wiring. etc. Which reduces a lot of your tasks & special tools needed. But you still have maintenance, mostly associated with appliances. When the HWH gets old, you need to buy a new one & have a plumber install it. In a good quality rented apartment, like where I live now, the only maintenance tool one needs is a phone to call management and tell them to fix something. e.g. they change the HVAC air filters. And they track when to do it. Not my problem. Punchline being that from single family home to my kind of condo you lose all the exterior tasks and most of what could be called “reasons to visit Home Depot” or “DIY”. But you retain responsibility for appliances and systems like HVAC & HWH. Going rented apartment you lose even those smaller responsibilities. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/859 "2025-03-12T17:02:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Especially because when you look at a house you don’t know the definition of perfect. Yup. When I bought this current place, it was perfect. But perfect changes. Perfect for a 30 year old me is a lot different that perfect for a 65 year old me. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/860 "2025-03-12T17:24:54Z")
I thought legally a condo means all the land is owned by the condo owners in common. The individual owners, even if they have a yard surrounding the house (in case of a detached condo) or just in front and behind the unit (in case of a townhouse-style condo), do not actually own that land, even if they have near-exclusive rights to use it. And they don’t own the land under the house either. We have several communities near us that look like single family detached homes but are in fact condominiums. They exist because it is almost impossible to subdivide a 10 acre lot into 20 buildable lots and get them permitted for single family homes. But it’s much easier under state law to get a 20 unit condo developed. One legal battle vs 20. This may be specific to my state. In the four states I’ve lived in before I never saw a standalone condo. But I do know in Canada my aunt lived in a detached home but apparently the whole neighborhood (probably over 50 houses) was legally a condo development. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=44)