They’re regulated at the state level in the USA, so there are at least 50 definitions of what a condo is. But in general the point is there are some aspects of the total development owned by a central corporation and there are other aspects of the total development that are owned by the unit/home owners seprately. And those homeowners/unit owners are also the only owners of the central corporation. So they all own that too collectively. The act of buying a unit in a condo amounts to also buying a proportionate share of the central corporation.
At least in FL, areas are legally termed common, limited use common, and individual. Everyone had unrestricted access to the common areas. Like pools, gardens, parking lots, etc. Limited use common was stuff like assigned parking spaces, patios, etc. Everyone collectively owned those, the Association was responsible for maintenance, but a named specific unit owner was delegated the exclusive use of, and control of, that e.g. parking space or patio. Finally “individual” was the stuff inside your perimeter that was exclusively yours, both in ownership and in right of control.
I recall my first week of retirement. My project was to go through 40-ish years of tax forms, utility bills, mortgage paperwork, receipts and manuals for stuff I have not owned in decades, etc. etc. A full file cabinet full of long-neglected papers. I took my time, working a few hours a day at it, pushing my paper shredder to its limits.
Office Depot and the UPS store both offer shredding services, 99 cents a pound at the Depot. A useful option when you’ve got more shredding to do than you really want to feed into your home shredder.
My dad had so many file cabinets full of crap, much of which were old taxes and financial statements, that my stepmom hired a company to come out after he died and shred them on site. This big ass truck came that had an industrial sized shredder and storage. She was charged by weight. Similar trucks came to my old workplace for stuff with IP or private employee information.
I’m currently planning on getting out as soon as the ongoing contract negotiations at my job finish up. There is some discussion about upping our subpar retiree healthcare in some modest, but probably non-reciprocal way (i.e. retirees under the new contract will get it, current retirees will not). So it would be foolish for me to pull out right this instant. I’m currently hoping for July at the latest.
But man, my (now mostly retired themselves) family are panicking about the economy and are harassing me to keep going for another year or three or indefinitely . sigh I don’t wanna.
I’m relatively young (late 50’s), so I could. But I think I’ll be fine, for some variable definition of fine, barring a complete economic meltdown. And if a complete economic meltdown, we’re all kinda screwed. Might as well enjoy a couple of years before the roving hoards of ravagers hunt me down for food.
I dunno. I’m successfully resisting the scare tactics so far, but they’re coming at me in waves .
If your savings are reasonable, you won’t regret it. I was like four months from retirement when the Covid drop hit. I freaked out and my financial planner talked me down.
I’m thinking that the crappy economy kind of benefits my IRA in the short term since my stocks are cheaper. But that’s only if they go back up before I retire. I’m thinking that I may have to put in a few more years past 30 if the downturn lasts longer than that.
I just noticed the date. I retired two years ago as of yesterday. Wow, it doesn’t seem like that long. I’m still having dreams of trying to organize and manage vast piles of paperwork back at that law firm.
I had my one and only remember-able work dream about 2 weeks ago. If I’ve had others I didn’t remember them on waking, but I rarely remember dreams regardless of topic. And yes, it was about the petty daily vexations of the work. Like yours.
I hit five years on Jan 1. I think I had one workplace nightmare (that I remembered) in all that time, and it was the classic not ready for a meeting/meeting was on unexpected topic. I had the wrong PowerPoint!
If I’ve had any work-related dreams since I retired (Dec. '23), I haven’t remembered them after waking up.
In general, I’ve been surprised by how fast the thoughts of work have faded. Not just the details of the actual work, but the physical environment, the commute, all that as well.
My last boss but one said he was sure I’d come back as a contractor, and really wanted me to do so. But however happy I may have been with my career, when I got to the end, I was ready to let go.
Yesterday morning was an absolutely beautiful weekday morning. “Too good to waste,” I thought, and off I went on my bike. So many mornings like it when I was working, I’d be looking out the window, wishing I could. Now I can, and do.
I’ve loved my job for … 33 years. Sure there have been bumps and bruises, but has been great. I sort of consider myself semi-retired. I’ll be out for good in about 8-9 months.
I will help after I have retired, but I don’t now how much I can. There are so many moving pieces and so many new projects.
I’m ‘over the hill’ and don’t want any part of the new stuff. And I feel like I’m being a glass ceiling to two other people. It’s time.
I haven’t even retired (I’m at least 3 years away) but I’ve already replaced the dream I’ve had about finding out that I hadn’t passed an exam in high school in a regional language and there all my subsequent qualifications (four college degrees) are all void.
I’ve replaced it with a dream that they didn’t complete a background check when I got my current job and now I’m ineligible for the pension.
The irony is that I don’t have a pension. I’ve never worked for a company with a pension plan for white collar workers (I’ve worked for a couple where the frontline workers had union pensions, but I was always management/corporate).
One thing I keep meaning to ask, is how many of you who’ve been retired for a while stay in contact with any of your old coworkers. I worked at the same company for about 20 years, and there are three people I see three or four times a year, and one person I see about once a year. That’s more than I might’ve guessed, to be honest, because I didn’t particularly like most of my coworkers (I mean, I didn’t dislike them either, other than a couple of people, but they’re not people I want to hang out with).
I stay in touch with the two people I was closest to right before I retired, and I’m in a Facebook group of retired and active employees. At some point, someone will probably start a monthly breakfast group or something. There are some now, but I don’t fit into any of those groups - they’re either much older or geographically distant.
. sigh I don’t wanna.
.