early retirement?

2gypsies wrote:

MNGeeks61 wrote:


My wife and I are almost 50........ I've debated acquiring a used TT (less than 10 years old)....... We're looking for a park that does HOA, similar to what we've got up here. That way, my parents could also use the park if they wanted to.

A few things I note with your post... many parks in the Arizona snowbird areas such as the greater Phoenix/Apache Junction area are for 55+ and you state you're not quite 50. Although some parks allow younger occupants be sure to check on that.

Yes, by the time these plans are in place, my wife would be 55(I'm the younger man) so I'm ok with that :)

Also, unfortunately, parks are beginning to have that 10-year RV rule which is ridiculous but you'll need to check on that, too.

Finally, I'm not sure what you mean by a park with HOA so that your parents could use the park, too. Explain what that means to you.

A homeowners' association where you own the lot itself as compared to renting.

Your best option is to take the longest vacation you can swing - even by flying and renting a car - just to look around at the different areas and parks to find something that would work for you. Do this in winter when the parks are full to really get a feel of park 'activities' since your wife is interested in that. Many activities stop in April when the winter visitors begin leaving and start up again around November.

We were ousted out of our jobs at 52 yr of age and that's when we began full-timing. We had not problems dealing with 'old folks' and many of them are very active. However, we didn't sit in one place. We constantly moved around because our goal was to see this beautiful country of ours. We volunteered a lot for national and state parks for a couple months at a time. We've gone to Alaska, rafted the Grand Canyon, climbed mountains, 4-wheeling with our Jeep and we still continue to be very active with outdoor activities.

I would highly recommend that you join the Escapees RV Club and get involved with the Boomers. They are an awesome young and young at heart group. It also offers an excellent mail forwarding service and a great bi-monthly magazine written by RVers.

Good luck with you plans and we don't blame you for wanting to exit Minnesota!

I've been RV'ing for 8 years and my father is ex-military, so my wife and I have seen quite a bit. I do anticipate that she'll want to travel occasionally and will be budgeting for that.

The Escapees sounds interesting, I will check into it. Thanks!

edit:
additional info

We've gone to Alaska, rafted the Grand Canyon, climbed mountains, 4-wheeling with our Jeep and we still continue to be very active with outdoor activities.

I lived in Alaska, have been to the Grand Canyon at least 6 times (it's still beautiful, although the river is down), and have lived in 8 other states...so I don't mind settling down away from the snow. I just hope she can be happy if she stays in one place!

Very good comments, thanks to all and keep 'em coming!

2nd edit: Is there a "preview post" feature?

Unless you have current customers that you'll service remotely, don't count on computer work for much income. As long as there are people willing to help for free (even on this forum), you'll be the last resort. I'm also a computer geek and used to have a magnetic sign on the side of the truck. I got so little business that it wasn't worth it to me anymore to reposition it every week :-)

If you're going to settle at a destination southern park you may want to consider a park model instead of a TT.

I retired the day I turned 51,(10 years ago)and have never had any regrets. As another poster said, I was the youngest person in most of the RV parks that I stayed at in AZ, as most retirees seemed to be in their mid sixties and older. I didn't have the same tastes in music, and other activities(bingo, card games, shuffleboard, etc). I finally settled in Lake Havasu City, AZ during the winter months as there seems to be a wide age group of retirees here. Lots of different things to do, with lots of festivals and events going on that appeal to people of all ages. It is definitely a fun town!
Since you can work anywhere, it might be worth your time to check it out. The locals and snowbirds all seem to be a pretty sociable bunch, so I think your wife would enjoy it too. Having the lake 20' from the front of your RV to look at each morning and evening doesn't hurt either:)

MNGeeks61 wrote:


My wife and I are almost 50........ I've debated acquiring a used TT (less than 10 years old)....... We're looking for a park that does HOA, similar to what we've got up here. That way, my parents could also use the park if they wanted to.

A few things I note with your post... many parks in the Arizona snowbird areas such as the greater Phoenix/Apache Junction area are for 55+ and you state you're not quite 50. Although some parks allow younger occupants be sure to check on that.

Also, unfortunately, parks are beginning to have that 10-year RV rule which is ridiculous but you'll need to check on that, too.

Finally, I'm not sure what you mean by a park with HOA so that your parents could use the park, too. Explain what that means to you.

Your best option is to take the longest vacation you can swing - even by flying and renting a car - just to look around at the different areas and parks to find something that would work for you. Do this in winter when the parks are full to really get a feel of park 'activities' since your wife is interested in that. Many activities stop in April when the winter visitors begin leaving and start up again around November.

We were ousted out of our jobs at 52 yr of age and that's when we began full-timing. We had not problems dealing with 'old folks' and many of them are very active. However, we didn't sit in one place. We constantly moved around because our goal was to see this beautiful country of ours. We volunteered a lot for national and state parks for a couple months at a time. We've gone to Alaska, rafted the Grand Canyon, climbed mountains, 4-wheeling with our Jeep and we still continue to be very active with outdoor activities.

I would highly recommend that you join the Escapees RV Club and get involved with the Boomers. They are an awesome young and young at heart group. It also offers an excellent mail forwarding service and a great bi-monthly magazine written by RVers.

Good luck with you plans and we don't blame you for wanting to exit Minnesota!

2oldman wrote:
I retired at 55, and I knew that was early, but, I never knew *how* early until I snowbirded.

You may have a bit of culture shock if you visit most southern RV parks. People are old. Most over 65. They will consider you a kid, which is ok, but you may feel you've gone back in time about 40 years. They won't like the same music as you.. or just about anything else. Do you like hanging with your parents or their friends?

I'd suggest you work hard now and retire for good when possible. Part-time working the rest of your life (if that's your plan) may not pan out as well as you think it will.

I don't mind big-band, but music isn't the only thing that draws people together. I am my father's son, for sure. As for the age, even in the existing campground, there are plenty of older folks; two neighbors are over 80, three are over 65, and there is only one person on the street that is younger than us. We get along with all of them and play cards, etc. I do also keep busy doing other things that "older" folks might not do.

Working hard is what she's been doing, which is why I'm even considering doing this. I could certainly put in a few more years and get a bigger nest egg. Part-timing would probably just to be able to travel more often. She seems ok with sitting in one spot.

sdianel wrote:
Are you open to other areas like south Texas?

I go where she goes :) But Arizona is also where a few of our neighbors are, so having a few friends close by would be advantageous. I don't know of anyone in South Texas but I've been looking for real estate or a lot to snowbird on for about 2 years - FL and TX, while nice, seem to have higher prices. I did not look all that hard at South Texas, though.

Still in the planning stages. Working on selling all the things she's collected at this point. Even if we don't go at least the house will has fewer display cases! :P

I have no useful advise about your destination plans but I can tell you that retiring as soon as possible if a wonderful idea if you can afford it. I left a job with 26 years seniority at age 44 without ever looking back. My parents instilled in me to save all I possibly could so I left the workforce with quite a knot. I did pick up odd jobs such as hardware stores and absolutely loved it because I could pick my hours and if I didn't like the atmosphere I could just pack up and leave.

Are you open to other areas like south Texas?

I retired at 55, and I knew that was early, but, I never knew *how* early until I snowbirded.

You may have a bit of culture shock if you visit most southern RV parks. People are old. Most over 65. They will consider you a kid, which is ok, but you may feel you've gone back in time about 40 years. They won't like the same music as you.. or just about anything else. Do you like hanging with your parents or their friends?

I'd suggest you work hard now and retire for good when possible. Part-time working the rest of your life (if that's your plan) may not pan out as well as you think it will.

You seem to have very specific "wants" in a long term park, and that is good. After you get a list, make sure you take the time to visit each candidate.

It is amazing what a personal visit can reveal. This is what we do when choosing a winter spot and it works well.