Category: International Retirement
Updated August 4, 2014 -- Editor's Note: In 2013 one of our Members, Glenn, shared his thoughts with us about his extensive travels in Puerto Rico. We think they give an interesting perspective about what it might like to retire there. A slightly edited version of his comments is published below. At the end of his comments we've added a few our our own, and then in August 2014 Glenn provided yet another update (see Comments) And Thanks Glenn!
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I have been visiting Puerto Rico about every three years from 1989 to 2012. I live in the Bronx with a wife of Puerto Rican descent, though she was born here in U.S. I am about as white/Anglo-Saxon as they come, growing up in a Queens, N.Y. neighborhood. When I moved to the Bronx to work for Social Security nearly 40 years ago, it was like moving to another country. I met many beneficiaries from Puerto Rico and learned much about the people of the island from my professional and personal contacts.
We wanted our children to learn much about their
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Published on April 1, 2013
Comments 13
Category: International Retirement
March 26, 2013 -- Note: This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on international places to retire. Part 2 is "The Pros, Cons, and Considerations of an International Retirement".
Our friend Dennis asked us recently where we thought the best place to retire was - internationally. The question took us by surprise, partly because it came from a man who has traveled the world extensively, and who also has a home in Costa Rica - wouldn't Dennis have a better grip here than us? The question got us thinking and looking back through our past Blog articles - just what do we think are the best places to retire internationally?
It turns out that, although we have written many articles about international retirements, most of them have to do with the issue of whether or not to retire abroad, rather than where to do it (see end of article for references). You will note that our list is quite different than what you might see from the usual providers of "best international places to retire", especially those aggressively promoted by International Living. We can't figure out what is so great about retirement in Latin America, other than perhaps the cost of living - so our list is much more Euro-centric. Call us conventional, but we like: stable
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Published on March 26, 2013
Comments 109
Category: Retirement Real Estate
March 19, 2013 -- The nation's builders think they know what you want as a home buyer, or at least they are trying to understand. A new study conducted by the National Association of Home Buyer's Economics and Housing Policy Group found that buyer's preferences are changing (Note: the study was conducted among people of all ages, not just retirement age).
What do home buyers really want?
-- Energy efficiency. Buyers are interested in features like energy-star rated appliances and windows, and an energy-star rating
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Published on March 19, 2013
Comments 31
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 19, 2013 -- We were pleasantly surprised by the high ranking our members gave to walkability in our retirement preferences poll of a few weeks ago (See full report in "Our Members Speak"). So that in turn gave us the idea of providing a list of 10 towns where walkability is excellent -- but are also swell places to retire.
Our criteria
If you research "most walkable towns and cities" on the Internet you will find a number of results - but almost all of the lists have the same cities on them. Yes, New York (rated #1 most walkable large city by walkscore.com at 85), Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco are great cities for walking. But, because they are expensive and congested, they will only appeal
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Published on March 18, 2013
Comments 50
Category: General Retirement Issues
Updated August, 2023 (Originally published March, 2013) -- As you might expect, we get a lot of retirement questions from our Members and site visitors. The same applies when new friends of your editor find out about Topretirements. This article recaps the most frequent questions we receive, along with our usual answers. We hope you find it helpful.
Frequent Questions1. What is the Best Place to Retire. This is by far the most prevalent question, so much so that it completely overwhelms any others we get. Since we get the question so often we have developed a stock response, one that we hope is helpful. So when people ask, "where is the best place to retire", here is how we typically respond: "Retirement is a very personal matter. The best place for us might very well be a terrible retirement destination for you. To make the best decision for you, you need to first answer a number of questions."
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Published on March 13, 2013
Comments 30
Category: Active adult communities
Note: See also Survey results from 2020 on the same topic.
March 5, 2013 -- Wow, talk about feedback - 753 helpful folks provided their valuable insights on their retirement status, housing preferences, and the future of active adult communities in last week's poll. Thanks to everyone who answered these 8 questions.
Your input provides so much to think about - we just wish we had room to highlight every comment! If there was one member statement that really struck us above all others, it was this one: "We love thinking about (retirement) and exploring our options. So many ideas, so many places to go, things to do. Can't wait!" We just love that attitude, prevalent among so many Topretirements members.
Highlights
There is no single one thing that folks are looking for - everybody has a slightly different recipe for retirement perfection. But all you builders out there, please note some key trends here! We've detailed the
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Published on March 5, 2013
Comments 45
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
February 26, 2013 -- If you search on the Internet for "live like a cheapskate" you will strike a frugality bonanza. There are authors like Jeff Yeager who have written best sellers on the subject ("The Cheapskate Next Door"), plus plenty of websites offering their advice. There's even a TLC show, "Extreme Cheapskates". Our friend Robert Powell over at MarketWatch had a particularly helpful article earlier this year, "How to Retire Like a Cheapskate and Live Well". This article will roll up advice from all over into our 15 top tips for living like a cheapskate.
First of all, a little etymology - if you are going to be a cheapskate you might as well understand where the term
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Published on February 26, 2013
Comments 66
Category: Retirement Real Estate
February 25, 2013 — We are curious to find out and report on what our members are thinking about when it comes to retirement living preferences – what types of towns, homes, and communities you are thinking about choosing for retirement. NOTE: Thanks to the more than 750 people who…
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Published on February 25, 2013
Comments 28
Category: General Retirement Issues
February 23, 2013 -- By now most are familiar and tend to agree with the modern adage - "Old age isn't for sissies". Wes Craven, the creator of the now classic horror film, "A Nightmare on Elm Street", has chimed in with an addendum - "Retirement is scarier than (his horror character) Freddy Krueger". It's a pretty funny Op-Ed piece he wrote in last Sunday's New York Times about his trial retirement, which we recommend to you.
It seems that Wes at age 73 was looking forward to chilling out
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Published on February 23, 2013
Comments 0
Category: General Retirement Issues
February 19, 2013 -- What's going on in Hollywood - retirement is the hot theme of the moment. Witness white-hot Maggie Smith, who is starring in 2 current movies ("The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "Quartet"), not to mention "Downton Abbey". We thoroughly recommend the former, and have heard great things about the latter. But have you also seen the 40 minute film documentary about life in a retirement community, "Kingspoint"? Nominated for an Oscar, the film is self-described as a "Tale of Love, Loss, and Self-Preservation". The Huffington Post said... "It’s a magnificent film. It is the wake-up call we all need to understand the mindsets of our parents and grandparents as they contemplate the final stages of their lives.” We'll provide a review of "Kings Point" here as a warm-up to next week's article - a summary of what our members think about retirement movies in general, including their favorites.
We had heard a lot about "Kings Point" since its subject is life in a retirement community. So when it came to a nearby theater as part of the Oscar "Shorts" package, we went. Initially we weren't sure how we were going to like it.
Kings Point is an active community that was built in the 1970's. At the time retirees from the Northeast swarmed in for low cost, non-stop fun in the warm Florida sun. But as the residents have aged together, so has the community. It looks dated, as do
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Published on February 19, 2013
Comments 7
