Where to retire, or not..

Aside from the junta it sounds like you're actually describing the UK, mate.

Unless we're talking the Oxbridge junta...😉

I probably will never retire from work completely asI love being a financial planner and have built a practice that compensates me handsomely. That said- I like the idea of traveling 3-4 months a year while maintaining my base here in NJ. I actually do not mind the seasons and I’d miss my community of clients, friends and family in the NJ/NY region if I left completely. This is my tribe. I do get a lot of enjoyment visiting my daughter in Asheville NC.. what a great area. Craft Beer, eclectic food and great hikes in the mountains ! I’ve had a house in Charleston SC area for seven years before selling it in the divorce. That was also a nice area. A provincial old South town with great low country food and culture .... I travel to SoCal often and really adore the weather and laid beach culture (Pacific Beach SD comes to mind) there too. I have clients in Malaga, Spain area and they go back and forth between the States and Spain. They say Spain is phenomenal... maybe my girlfriend and I will do the AirB thing in Europe and try different inexpensive cities ( think Croatia, Greece, Azores, etc ) for a month or so ... not sure if I want to buy a second place and deal with the hassle of owning more things. Experiences are what I’m after.

Texas, period.

Agree with your assessment of the DFW area. We are going to explore the hill country down towards San Antonio as that seems to be nicer.

Ret'd guy here. I spend about 175 days each year (Winter) in South America. Love it here, all that is required is an understanding of Spanish and a few pesos per month.

The other six months are spent in Canada - the western most province to be precise. Load up the camper with supplies and I'm off exploring.

I'm not a city guy, much prefer the wilderness and solitude of peace.

And no, no work for me - thank you.

Up here in the DFW area, I can roll out of my driveway and it seems to take 90 minutes to get outside the metroplex. The DFW area is gigantic. And flat. And boring. And I think there are at least a billion mcmansions built on huge tracts of barren land. There is stuff to do, but looking at pretty nature things is not one of them.

I have enjoyed reading this thread and the different perspectives

In 2017 I was lucky enough to take early retirement aged 57 and around the same time 3 long standing friends did the same. We had all had very similar discussions to the ones aired here about what we intended to do. 3 of us worked for corporates and the other owned his own company which he sold.

The guy who sold his company re located 200 miles to his dream thatched house overlooking the sea in South West England and he and his wife travelled to Europe/Australia and the States. 6 months into their dream they both started to struggle with being in one another's company all the time and the lack of focus. He got a job driving a delivery van for a craft brewery, which he has since bought and opened 2 Real Ale bars. His wife is now 200 miles from her friends and spends her time travelling back to see them

M sold up in the UK and moved to Southern Spain where he and his wife spent 12m renovating a Finca which is now complete. They are firmly ensconced in the ex pat community but have little to do with the local Spanish. They also have too much time on their hands and his wife therefore travels back to the UK frequently to look after the grandchildren whilst M seems to drink a lot.

D and his wife decided to stay in their existing house but created a detailed list of what they want to do and boy do they do things. They have travelled all over the globe,appeared as extras in films and TV shows, run marathons, created an Instagram following and lots of other things

Our plan was not well conceived and was based mainly on my desire to get out of banking which I had done for 36 years. We took my final 3 weeks vacation prior to my retirement date and did a road trip around Europe which allowed us to kick ideas around. I returned with a plan to move house to a more rural area, travel more and improve my foreign language skills. Within a week of retiring I had been approached by several ex clients to do consultancy work and decided I would take some of the offers up on a part time basis. This has now grown so that I now have 2 companies, work with my eldest son and enjoy everyday. I can travel on holiday when and where I want but I still have not moved house or improved my languages.

We all still talk and see one another on a regular basis. We have all been married to our spouses for over 30+ years but our biggest issue has been adjusting to so much time together with spouses. Just because you retire does not change your personality traits, It might give them a day off but they will resurface and whist doing nothing is appealing when you are busy it is not great long term. My advice is do not have rigid fixed ideas regarding your retirement, be open to new unplanned opportunities and understand what really motivates/stimulates you but more importantly have a good honest conversation with partners about spending 24/7 in one another's company