Category: Adventurous retirement
October 20, 2022 -- Our retired friend EZ loves a great train trip, and hates everything about flying. He resents getting to the airport hours early, parking in a remote lot, shuffling through security lines, worrying that some delay will make him miss the flight - all to have the airline delay or cancel it anyway. So when he visits his grandchildren in Colorado, he takes the EZ way. That means the Shoreline Express to New Haven, where he switches to the Acela to Washington. From there it's the Capitol Limited (with roomette) to Chicago. There he pickes up the California Zephyr. He enjoyes everything about that train trip too - resting in his roomette, eating in the dining car, chatting up interesting passengers, and enjoying the view from the observation cars. It takes a little longer, but is so much more pleasurable. BTW, his wife flies out to Colorado separately!
Many people in retirement are looking for an adventure, and a train ride makes for an exciting one. From around the world, here are 10 of the best train rides you might want to try in retirement. Some are fairly short and not that expensive, while others can go for days and can be quite costly. One advantage that most train rides offer is that you can get off and spend a day or more at as many stops as you would like.
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Published on October 19, 2022
Comments 10
Category: Medicare
October 17, 2022 – Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period just started on the 15th, and runs through Dec. 7. In case you forgot to enroll in Medicare when you first became eligible, now is when you can sign up for it, and either avoid a penalty, or minimize it, if you…
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Published on October 17, 2022
Comments 8
Category: Active adult communities
October 13, 2022 — Retirement communities can be interesting and intriguing places. Although a lot of people think there is only one kind of active adult community: places that offer cookie cutter homes, a clubhouse, golf course, swimming pool, tennis and maybe pickleball. Commonly these retirement communities are restricted to…
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Published on October 12, 2022
Comments 10
Category: Medicare
October 13, 2022 — It has been four decades since the Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) was this high. The government announced the increase today, which came in as widely expected at 8.7%. The rate was calculated on a formula based on current rates of inflation. For a…
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Published on October 10, 2022
Comments 15
Category: Medicare
October 5, 2022 — The Open Enrollment Period for Medicare starts soon, October 15, and runs through December 7. During this time you can join, switch, or drop a plan. Your coverage will begin on January 1 (as long as the plan gets your request by December 7). The Medicare…
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Published on October 4, 2022
Comments 3
Category: Real Estate Listings
October 4, 2022 — The loss of human life and billions of dollars in property damage from last week’s Hurricane is tragic. The storm also brought concerns for snowbirds – will their rentals still be available, or were their homes seriously damaged? Folks have been calling their friends and scouring…
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Published on October 3, 2022
Comments 17
Category: Travel
Sept 30, 2022 — If you are a fan of Scotland and/or love fiddles, we have a great armchair visit in store for you, complete with short videos of mini-concerts on scene. Mrs. Topretirements, aka Lucy Burdette, set up this tour for us and 5 friends last month with one…
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Published on September 30, 2022
Comments 0
Category: Family and Retirement
September 28, 2022– As a follow up to our recent article, “There Might Be More Than One Kind of Home for You in Retirement“, this one concentrates on the latter stage of retirement. What you will do when you are a little less active, and your abilities are not…
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Published on September 28, 2022
Comments 11
Category: Snowbirds
Updated Nov., 2023 – The leaves are turning and there is a chill in the air in the Northeast and Midwest. So it’s time we once again link to the “Snowbirds Leaving for the Winter Checklist” that we originally published in 2010. Every year we add to it in different…
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Published on September 27, 2022
Comments 1
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Sept. 22, 2022 — Thanks to the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other factors, inflation is raging here in the U.S. and everywhere in the world. While early estimates are the 2023 Social Security COLA will be one of highest in history at 8.7%, that will not be…
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Published on September 22, 2022
Comments 13