There are many places that I would rather be than where I am. The place we are buying is one of them. I am not into politics; but I realize that we are little more than puppets and that politicians are pulling the strings.

With that said, the strings will pull much gentler on our money once we get to Mexico.

 

This topic hits home with me and I'm currently struggling with it. After my divorce, I sat in this 4,000sf house with me and 1/2 custody of son #2. Son #1 had already moved out. I decided to stay here to maintain some continuity for my boys after the upheaval of the divorce. Same room, same neighborhood, etc. I felt strongly about this and figured I would just wait to see how things played out in the next year or two (son #2 graduates from HS in 2006). I already have the Myrtle Beach place and am about finished with the changes/redecorating there. Long term goal was to downsize the Ohio house and probably move into a condo here. Then, depending on what the kids decided to do, spend summers here and winters at the beach.

But, alas, the best laid plans...I now have a little girl in the oven and need to maintain some type of residence here for school. We've decorated one of the bedrooms here (very cool!) so we're ready for her arrival. Having said that, there is no reason we can't still downsize. Real Estate taxes here are going crazy. My monthly taxes are more than my house payment was not too many years ago. . Plus, the yard is getting to be too much. I used to enjoy that kind of thing but now it is a pain in the arse. Lastly, I love this house. I love the architecture, the layout, the way we have it decorated, the lot, the neighborhood, blah, blah, blah. It took me 4 tries to get this right and I'd hate to give it up. I sat down one day and listed my requirements for a condo and I basically described my house. Plus, I have yet to see a condo with a 3 car garage.

Signed,

Still struggling with the decision

 

They definitely exist in some areas ... though it may be called either a patio home or a town home ... do a search in realtor.com with advanced search parameters.

Another option would be to buy two adjoining units and put an entrance between the two of them.

 

This sounds so much like me. I gave up on the yard work. We are getting in estimates now for the full yard clean-up and multching, etc. We are going through some remodeling, a new roof and new furniture. How can I move out now??? Every time I sit down to figure out where I want to live, I come up with a house as big, or bigger, than the one I am in. This seems crazy. I am not taking this lightly. I saw this happen to my mother. She was alone in her house and I could not get her to sell it. "Where would I go?" she would say. As you get older, you start to believe your house is the only place on the entire planet you can live in and be happy.

The one thing I have always wantewd was a garage big enough to hold my cars and work on them. I plan to retire with automotive hobby to pass the time and I will need a facility. I have given up on finding the perfect house with all the buildings in place. I need to find the right house with enough land that I can build the garage to my own specifications.

 

Charlie,
A quick answer, I absolutely love where we live. When we went house hunting we had a few requirements and this house fit them all and then some, but...when I retire it will be to a place where I never have to wear socks again.

We have been looking at Latin America and the Carribean (stable governments only) and will start actively seeking out options in the next year or two. We will be in the area for at least 7 more years, but I can't see us in the "cold climes" much beyond that. As far as cities, I am not a good crowd person, but a small warm city might be nice for cultural reasons.

 

When the time comes you might find some of the plans here interesting:

http://bgsplanco.com/

I had them design a garage which was a modification of this plan:
http://bgsplanco.com/index.cfm?go2=plan&ID=4360M01

with exactly your thoughts in mind... then we eventually decided to heck with it.

 

Great thread, Chaz....I'm impressed that you're thinking this far ahead This thread touches on a lot of issues for us slightly older vintage folks:

1-Great disappointment in the conservative drift of the country and all that goes with it. If this continues over the next 3-4 years (with a Bush-clone elected in 2008 ), then I think we might seriously consider moving out of the country.
2-I share Eliot's concern about the direction of local taxes. The $8k per year that we now pay w/o a second thought will become a large item when we stop working (and it takes $10-11K in pre-tax income to fund that item).
3-W/o a pension and/or healthcare, we also will continue paying $10-12 per year for health insurance....maybe less after age 65 but who knows how one's health will go? Again, it takes $12-15K pre-tax to fund that expense...

Assuming that we stay in the ol US of A over the long term, we think that a college town would be a neat place to live...hopefully one fairly near the E or W coast Anybody have any ideas in that category

 

Medical costs in Mexico are very reasonable -- and excellent medical care is available.

The "Sharp Hospital" is less than 2 miles from our place in Mazatlan .. and is one of the better, if not the best, hospital in Mexico. Jackie had emergency plastic surgery on one of her eyelids when we were there in February. I was able to call the plastic surgeon on her cell phone in her car -- she met us at her office -- total bill $135.00 .

Just as an example, here is a diagnostic facility in Mazatlan:

http://www.maztravel.com/enrique/

you can have a house like this in Mazatlan for less than $400,000.00 :



This house is for sale for $289,000.00 :

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/santagadea399.htm

this house went for $150,000.00

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/roosecarn.htm

this house is for sale for $70,000.00:

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/privadofv13.htm

this house, on the beach, is $260,000.00:

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/eldelfincasas.htm

$90,000.00:

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/playaros307.htm

four car garage, $195,000.00 :

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/latamboralosarcos.htm

huge, $480,000.00 :

http://www.mazinfo.com/mazhomes/donalfonso.htm

But the real beauty of these places is that the taxes on most of them is less than $300.00 a year !! People work down there for $10.00 a day -- so if you want a gardener one or two days a week -- no biggie.

Mazatlan has not been hit yet by the high prices spreading X Mexico in such places as Puerto Vallarta and Cabo . You can still get in at a very reasonable price. In five years I predict the prices will be at least 30 % more. In fact cruise lines are now running real estate tours; 30 -50 people at a time are being bused around Mazatlan being shown properties. Sometimes mini-bidding wars are taking place right then and there.

As my sig line says -- (Jerry) "procrastinate later."

 

Oh - and I should add that yes -- medical insurance is available to US citizens living in Mexico.

 

Thanks, Jer. Karen and I mull this over frequently. Part of it is that I/we get occasionally overwhelmed just maintaining what we have, and part of it is that I think I was just born old.

I appreciate your responses, everyone! The whole idea of what to do "next" is unsettling.

Carm, Bill, I for one will certainly follow your progress over the next few years. Carmen, I can't really imagine the family "round 2" concept. Honestly, I really don't think I could ever do that -- more power to ya'. The last 10 years or so, with my two boys, have really been hard on me. I love 'em, but I wouldn't do it again.

Ken, guys, the politics and the retirement taxation thing are a serious, serious matter. I definitely hear you. I watched my folks get priced out of Long Island, and I can surely imagine the same thing happening to me down the road on fixed income. Property taxes are out of control in so many places. You know, I may eat my hat on this, but there's a crash coming. People simply can't afford to live like this. It happened in Japan, and it'll happen here. We'll see, I guess.

Eliot, I wish you well on your adventure to Mexico. Whether we're all pawns of politicians is perhaps a subject to debate someday. I refuse to accept that, but I do understand your point. Your affinity for moving away reminds me of Ayn Rand and her utopian city in Colorado... Ironic how Colorado has actually turned out.