Retire In Style Blog Too

I bought these pink chairs for our town home in Arizona.  We have lived in two condo/townhouse location. They are the perfect solution for someone that cannot or doesn’t want yard work. Exterior maintenance is taken care of and, in many cases, amenities are very like a resort kind of living. But, you need to be aware that you do not have the freedom that you had when you lived in a single family dwelling While there is very little maintenance, in some cases there is not enough. If you are accustomed to living in a single family home, you might like to make your home your very own even from the outside. But if you happen to buy into the wrong location with the wrong association president you are in big trouble. At the very least it can be annoying beyond belief. In our particular case, the association was confident that they could keep our condo looking like a motel with each unit like the other. We were not allowed screen doors or plants near the steps. We were not even allowed to ...

Christmas Is Coming...Happy Holidays! I told you recently that my husband and I were selling our townhome and moving to a house on the golf course that my husband plays. It has occurred to me that we might have too much time on our hands. I told my daughter about the move and urged her to come and take us away if we began building doors to nowhere like the Winchester heiress did in San Francisco.  How do you fill your day when you have time on your hands? We do really have a lot of interests and are not moving because it is a whim. We are fulfilling a dream while we can.  Books are my passion...good books, meaty books, hard to understand books. I have always been that way for reasons that I cannot explain. I also love to watch a good TV series or a wonderful movie and those two interest intersect. Many times those really good books are made into movies or TV shows.   Last year we watched The Handmaids Tale  on Hulu. I don’t believe that I personally have ever seen a ...

Wow! You are retired...that day is finally here when you wake up in the morning as late as you want and do what you want all day. The reality of this life will slowly settle in and you will establish a routine that works for you.  This is that time that you can make all those dreams come true. And, in many cases, that dream includes some changes. For example, some of you have always dreamed of travel or selling your house so that you can live full time in an RV. And some of you have dreamed of having a second home in a warmer place for your winters. That is what I am going to talk to you about today...a vacation home. The life that you live in retirement can progress through many stages. I want you to see that the life you might choose in the beginning will probably not be the same life you choose to as the years go by. I call it growing up in retirement...infancy, adolescence and finally, full adulthood. There are many stages even as you grow older. So lets suppose you have prog...

 I have been retired for over 24 years. If I were to tell you that my life is just the same as it was in the beginning, I would not be telling the truth. Change will happen even if you don't like it. Thankfully, I do. My husband and I retired when I was 55 and he 59. We are very young. It was not until we had been on this journey for 10 years that I began to understand how long we might live. We are now 79 and 83. That was when I began buying the good paint for the walls and taking care of my body. I had been getting the cheapest paint possible saying, "It will last longer than I will." Then it came time to paint again and all I could think was shoot...I don't want to paint this place again. The solution was at that time...lets move. We don't think that way anymore. We repaint and stay put in Oregon. Arizona has turned out to be a different story. As for my body, I have only recently began an exercise program. I am diabetic and have high cholesterol. Honestly, the...

When I read the news and see something that seems just wonky, I always wonder, "Can they really do that...can that be true?" Don't you do the same? But when it comes to our real life, the thought very seldom enters my mind that I might not be allowed...I think I can do what I want as long as it is legal. See, I do know that many people of our age have their lives taken over by their children. Maybe not legally but emotionally. Control over us is very possible. In many cases, it is not a choice for the children. So here is where my husband and moving...again...at ages 79 and almost 83... does not seem questionable. What I love about our family is that they will be calling us for help on the day we die...Mom would you watch the kids? Mom I need help cleaning...can you come? and the list goes on. They are excited for us and the extra bedrooms they can have when they visit. They are what keeps my husband and I healthy and, best of all, happy. As for the move, it has been abou...