retirement age?

[ill.plainsman]

well I think I have finally reached old age. the DW reached it a couple of years ago cause she worked for the state but I have always worked construction in private industry. i know what i want to do but how to do it is my problem. other than last year i have never been sedimentary. you see last year i fell off a roof and fractured my pelvis in 3 places. took a long time to heal. 14 months. now I'm wondering how the seniors on here get along with coming to an active stop . we love camping and I love traveling but I was wondering how you all deal with your mail, how your house holds up, and where do you go and do what? when winter gets here. I can't understand leaving Illinois at Christmas time. wintering in Florida, Texas or Arizona all winter does not sound like fun though a couple of weeks or a month at a time might be fun once in a while. so what do you guys do and where do you go and how expensive is it to travel all the time? Wanting to enjoy it now , Ill. Plainsman and Mrs. PlainsWoman.

 

[swordfish]

I was wondering how you all deal with your mail, how your house holds up, and where do you go and do what? when winter gets here.

USPS can hold your mail for a couple of weeks. Stop paper delivery. Have your neighbors or friends check on your house. (I am thinking of getting a remote monitoring system for a tablet or smart phone). So, it's all about cost. A 1,000 mile trip to the lower states would cost $350 on gas alone. Campground $25-50 a day depending on the facility. For that reason, we haven't done any winter camping, but that could change.

 

[ill.plainsman]

yeah that's what i was figuring. I thought I should get a security system for when we are away. they have cameras and everything that can be linked to your phone. didn't know how expensive that would be. and as far as gas wise i get 9 to 12 miles per gallon towing or not.probably close to 3000 miles for a trip to the west coast and back. 4000 miles if we don't go straight out there. and last don't they have some kind of mail forwarding system out there. I didn't know what it was called so i couldn't look it up to see how expensive it would be. I am hoping seeing new areas every couple days will keep it fun. hope i meet some of you out there.

 

[swordfish]

So, your gas cost will be higher. My estimate was based on 20 mpg for my Honda Odyssey.

If you google "mail forwarding service", you'll get choices from $10-15 a month. Some full-time campers may know which one is better. But they are camping at the moment in their class-A RVs. Do a search on reviews.

 

[ill.plainsman]

I'll do that, thanks. I want to be full timing but never in a class a. pop up or nothing else.

 

[swordfish]

Check out this site http://escapees.com/
Credit for this link goes to @phranc.

Also http://full-time-rving.com/

 

[bropaul]

Funny you should ask and I had to think about my response ... My husband retired 3 years ago and I thought it would be difficult to adjust to him being home all day, every day. We also loved to camp but only got out a couple times a year when he was working. We discovered the Portal and started attending rallies and meeting some wonderful new friends. We now camp from April until late October, attending rallies, sometimes just planning a weekend with other Portal members, camping by ourselves, whatever comes up. There are so many wonderful parks here in the Midwest, there is no need to travel far unless you want to. Many will either set up their bills for auto-pay or pay from their smart phones. We try to disconnect when camping, family and friends have our cell numbers in case of emergency. We have no desire to visit the SW and taking our P'up to FL is senseless because we have so much family there, if we missed seeing anyone we would be in so much trouble! We spend our winters planning our camping trips for the next year and conversing on the Portal. I can't imagine winter without cold and snow, that's what makes the Spring so wonderful! They say the cold makes us live longer ... providing that shoveling the snow doesn't kill you.

Happy camping!
Diane

 

[ill.plainsman]

thanks Diane. thats what i was talking about. i can't imagine winter without snow either. we have had a few down here but we usually get some. we will be looking for more people like you. we enjoy a good story and like to here about other peoples experiences. we to enjoy the midwest but God gave us a lot of beautiful scenery, views and such and i have only dreamt about them. one time we went to California and on the way home we stopped at the grand canyon. i saw all of 20 minutes of it before it got dark. breathtaking but not enough. drove out the east side of Arizona and saw a big old canyon, WOW. went out to Arizona one time and saw a wind farm in Texas that must go on for 20 miles off of I10 i think it was. to far away to be sure. magnificent. I want to see more of that stuff.
we already know we like each other for long periods of time. i fell off a roof last year and was laid up for 14 months with her. love that lady. but like i said we want to meet new friends and have some new experiences. with the pop up instead of motels and our own refrigerator and stove instead of restaurants i figure we can stay on the road a lot longer than my poor social sec. can afford other wise. I can't wait till we can disconnect too. we just both got smart phones and are trying to learn how to use them but we wouldn't mind being totally detached from the world. so if any one else has any advise or opinions of how we should go about this let us know. it will be January or February before we try our first run.

 

[Breila]

We're not quite to retirement age yet, but my parents retired and bought a class A 5 years ago. Since then, they have traveled 6-8 months out of most years. Based on their experience:

-they pay all bills online
-they have a wonderful neighbor that keeps an eye on their home for them. This past year they were in Arizona for the winter and there was an ice storm that did some damage at home. Said neighbor contracted out for the repair and my parents paid them back.
-My dad says they spend less on the road than they do at home, but he can't articulate why exactly. He theorizes that they just live simpler on the road than at home. But even given gas and campground fees, he says overall costs are less per month when they are gone for several months.
-They alternate between travelling frequently and staying put for a bit. They tend to stay a month here, a month there, maybe a week or two here, etc. depending on what interests them at the time. A month is a good time, in their opinion, because most campgrounds won't make you pay water/electric if you are there a month or less, and you have plenty of time to enjoy the things that the area has to offer while balancing that with just chilling out.

HTH!

 

[yetavon]

I have about 5 1/2 years left, and planning....A close camping friend is about 9 months away from "times up" and I'm liking his game plan....
TV is a express cargo van, AWD and is making one side to hold his Harley, drop rack above for his kayak and other storage.
R-pod 172 camper is his home away from home. He can travel just about anywhere in the US with half a road, already tested pulling in the sugar sand of SC...his 1st trip is leave from NC, go to Maine, and back....via CA...figures it will take him about 6 months....half the time visiting friends and family at there camp driveway....He already has most of his bills set up via email/online, cell phone laptop and an air card keeps him in touch.
current home will be watched by his son until it sells some time in the next few years....and then the most interesting part of his plan...
He has a few acres near a nice river, and wants to build a insulated steal building, with a camp hookup.....inside and out.. He can live in the camper INSIDE during the winter, or take off and lock up everything secured near family to just keep an eye on his place while he wanders where ever.

 

[nancyanddan]

We both retired at 62 and never looked back. Have camped a LOT in our pup and loved every minute. Currently on a 4 month long trip around the country. Life is good!

 

[Fordiesel250]

From personal experience I would tell you that whenever you feel financially sound and have become tired of the working grind to go for it and enjoy the time because the day will come and you will not be able to. Go and smell the roses

 

[bfahs]

I'm 42 and not enjoying reading this thread. Would love to do this. One of my best memories is the 4 week trip (1/2 camping, 1/4 hotel, 1/4 with friends) my wife and I took across the country right after graduating college. Hoping we don't hVe to wait another 25 years to do it again.

 

[novagirl]

Plainsman, we retired about five years ago. We are doing a lot of long trips now while we can. We stay home all winter and save our money so we can camp and travel the rest of the time. The hardest thing is learning to save on a fixed income but once you master that, it's great! Best wishes to you and your wife.

 

[dmskayaks]

I loved reading the valuable input you have all provided on this topic. Today, I turned 67, and am eagerly looking forward to retiring from the USPS after 20 years, on March 31, 2016. Following my divorce 18 years ago after a long marriage, I treated myself to a new Jayco Heritage Laurel, which I used for 5 years, then sold when my work schedule changed. After one weekend's return to tent camping, I was driving back to the dealer to buy a used Jayco 1206, with a floor plan and options identical to the Heritage Laurel ... slide out dinette, bath w shower and toilet, etc. I had such fun outfitting it to suit my needs, which were few, as I mainly camped on the Maine coast, an hour's drive from my place in NH.

Now, I own a nice 40' park model home in a seasonal park in Maine, where I shall spend my summer months, and am wondering if I am nuts to consider buying a small pop up with which to fulfill a lifelong dream of driving cross country, taking my time to explore the national and provincial parks, and spend the 6 months when the park is closed in traveling, or perhaps going to Florida's SW coast for the winter. I love everything about the pop up life ... the closeness to nature, the wide open feeling inside, the ease of towing and setting up, with all the creature comforts of a Class A, but for a far more reasonable cost!

Do any of you know any solo female travelers who have done this? Are there nice parks in SW Florida that allow pop ups? I expect to travel alone for part of the time, and be joined by various friends along the journey ... and am looking at pop ups similar in layout to my two earlier ones, also the hardsided Aframe styles by Clipper and Rockwood. I enjoy hiking, biking, and kayaking and loved the ease with which I could gently toss my toys on top of the pop ups ...

Life is way too short, and far too uncertain to not savor each and every moment of being outdoors! I just spent the weekend in Acadia ... in a hotel which was far too expensive and meant eating all meals out. Did I let that deter me? Oh, no, and I brought my electric frypan and some fresh swordfish and spinach and fixed dinner for us in the hotel room ... made me miss my pop ups even more!

I will appreciate any input you can provide with regard to nice places in SW Florida, as well as any experiences with the Aframe style of pop ups!

Thanks, and happy camping!!!

 

[LjohnSaw]

I was planning on working until 62... Then they changed the retirement plan from a SEP-IRA (you invest money they give you) to a defined benefit plan (pension). So the plan changed - retire at 60. A couple years later we all got to vote - take more now for a better payout. So the plan changed - retire at 55! Unfortunately, I lost my spouse. Social Security started paying me to take care of my son from my wife's earnings. So the plan changed - retired at 54 (actually, 53-3/4) after 27-1/2 years at that company. I have to watch my spending which it is much easier to spend money now that I have all this free time. Been off work now for 15 months and spending my time with my DS (10).

 

[smw526]

I'll do that, thanks. I want to be full timing but never in a class a. pop up or nothing else.

May not matter in your situation, but when I reviewed the warranty coverage on my new PuP, it specifically stated that it was not designed for full timing, and that doing so would void the warranty. Now I surely do love camping in my PuP, but FWIW I could not imagine full timing in a PuP...

 

[ill.plainsman]

WOW so many to comment to. i love it. Nova Girl looks like what we want to do but i would like to get started about February or March. i don't mind the cold but i do get board with cold temperatures if there is no snow. that means leaving in February or March. then it will be a slow boat to warmer weather. and yeah i know what some of you are going through everything changing all the time they used to tell me 63 or 64 i could retire and and then they changed it to 64 -65. now they say 66. the heck with the ones in the know I'm retiring now in November at 66 before they change it again. my back won't take the heavy lifting and the pressure to keep up and not get paid what i'm worth means it's time to go. and Nancy and dan where are you now and what do you plane on going next? when cold gets here do you plan on staying out or dropping in and visiting family or friends. i have seen some people go out to Arizona and boondock on government land. by the look of it they are almost on the side of the road even if it's not really a road. they just set up campout in the desert and come spring they move on. i don't think i want to do that. and dmkayaks i don't have any single females in my phone book any more. heading to Florida will be one of my last places to go, not because of your post but to many seniors down there. i don't know if i can do that. hah ha! if i can get a couple of covers for the ends i think we will be warm enough. if the sun shines. we won't stay out more than 2 months at a time we have to many birthdays to celebrate. with 16 grandkids it takes a lot of stamps to stay on their good sides. lol.

 

[nancyanddan]

ill.plainsman, we're now in Ogden, UT heading to Jerome ID in the morning for a visit with friends. So far we've had great weather the entire trip - which started on June 19th when we left home in Redondo Beach CA. After Jerome, we head to the Pacific Northwest - Seattle and then Anacortes. We'll probably be pulling some warmer clothes out of the cartop carrier at that point. And yes, we've been visiting family and friends along the way as well as overnight motel stays - we just never set up for just one night. After WA State we'll head down the West Coast planning to be home by the third week in October. I'll be summarizing our trip (with photos) here on the Portal once we get back home. This has been our dream vacation with the pup and we're enjoying it totally!

 

[bropaul]

Retirement Age? As soon as you can. We were lucky enough to pay off the house and be debt free at 65. 50 years in the work force is enough for anyone. As long as we can turn the crank, pull the bunk ends out, and set up the add a room , we'll be camping. After that maybe we can con the nephews in to towing and show them how to set it up for us. They are welcome to set up a tent on the site and make firewood/adult beverage runs as required. Retirement rocks.

Paul