I agree with you on this. You always deal with uncertainties and probabilities.

But if you are looking at Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, then perhaps several decades ahead of retirement is precisely the right time to lay the groundwork and anticipate those decades of development.

I'm glad this thread has been resurrected, as it's amusing to see how much my ideas of retirement have changed in the intervening years.

Having spent so much time juggling elder care issues I now think more about planning for my 'inactive' senior years rather than my active retirement days.

Afterall, as long as I'm healthy enough I can travel to wherever in the world suits my current fancy. I can spend as much time as visa restrictions and the bank accounts allow here, there, or anywhere. But I see now that I will need a base that can provide the infrastructure I'll need when my wobbly knees finally give out.

So I'm now thinking not of a farm on the rural shores of Lakes Michigan or Champlain, but back to Chicago. A city full of easily accessible cultural offerings, excellent health care facilities, relatively affordable housing options - and Lake Michigan is still in view.

In fact, I see that my dream house is currently for sale...

You forgot space for rescue dogs

yes, healthcare is a biggie. for me, i think i got this part covered and will likely spend it in a ground floor apartment in london, which is conveniently a short walk from the hospital

Hope you've got somewhere lined up for a side trip once in a while!

Attached Thumbnails

 

-14? For a true Chicagoan, that's merely 'button your coat collar' weather.

It's not until we hit -20 that we start to call it 'character-building'.

yeah. first day i landed in chicago was -40. but you get used to the colder weather. within 2 weeks, i was wearing short sleeve t-shirts when it was -20.

My kind of town Chicago!!!!! I had the good fortune to live there for 6 months (many years ago), and consider it to be one of the greatest cities in the world! 612 Michigan Avenue is where I worked, not far from the Wrigley Building. I rode the "L" every day, learned to speak American English, and had the time of my life whilst I was there. I returned 12 years later, and it was just as magical as ever.

Yes, Chicago is definitely my kind of town, and always will be! If you need any help with your doglets Melancollie once you are Stateside, just let Rookie and I know, and we'll be there!

In her defense (not that she needs someone else to do it), she did write:

If she's infirm/house bound, won't matter what the temperature is outside!

Well said. We definitely tend to think of our active retirement more than our last years, maybe because planning for life after disease and dementia sets in isn't that exciting.

I see it with my parents, they got that beautiful house beside a lake in the Laurentians. But it's 10 km away from the nearest grocery store and only accessible by 4wd in the winter. The one time my mother had to call an ambulance for my dad, it didn't find the place straight away, even with GPS. I can't see how they could stay there if they start needing care.

I have no idea where I want to be when I get old enough to need care, I should probably look into it. But having been away from Canada for so long, I'm not even sure I could get healthcare there anymore (I believe you have to pay tax for a while), so I guess I'm restricted to wherever I will have a residency permit when I get there.

Link for later reading:

http://internationalliving.com/2015/...o-retire-2015/

Ireland makes the top 25 - even with a "climate" score of 57.

I will retire in a village, surrounded by mountains and grützi's, on my rocking chair in Swizterland unless they kick me out before that

I've heard the quality of life is vastly superior in all ways in Ticino - so I'm going to retire there.

My wife's home area of Vancouver, Canada is my retirement goal. It wins out over Switzerland only because it will be good to have family near as I fall down and can't get up. Both Vancouver and Switzerland are very scenic. Going back to the States is way down on my list.

Retirement...I always thought I'd retire in my hometown in Italy, but if I can convince my parents to move here and if my brother remains in South America, we might settle somewhere in southern or south-west USA, maybe a smaller town with local art/culture, easy access to international airport(s) to make travel easy, etc.

If we have decent money on retirement, I wouldn't mind staying in DC. Lots of free stuff, beautiful livable town, walk-able, easy public transit, 3 major airports, excellent hospitals, and so forth. Weather is awful, but whatevs.

Tempting, but dodgy neighbours

I have just completed my first year of retirement, I spent my time in 4 countries as follows:-

29 weeks Malta
11 weeks France
10 weeks UK
2 weeks CH

I did 8 days of work.

Are you hiring?

Time to settle now ? Where will SHE take you?