[quote=temeculaguy]The future Mrs. TG and I recently discussed our retirement plans as they are only 6 years away and the first discussion point was do we want to stay in Temecula. We don’t need the idyllic setting to raise children or the great schools. Between us we have 6 adult children with only one still in college that comes home intermittently, the rest visit only for holidays and most have families of their own. None live here, 2 live in SD and the rest in No. Cal. So over Easter they were all here, one of the few times 3200+ sq feet came in handy. The days and nights were spent at wineries, the casino, old town, etc. and all the “kids” said they love coming to Temecula, it’s like a vacation for them and if they could, they would move here. They begged us to never leave.
We talked for a while that we will probably never leave because this little town offers us more than most other towns or cities could ever offer us. The most important thing it has offered us is amenities without the expense that has allowed us to retire early (55) with a retirement war chest that others would envy. If I laid out the details you’d be mad but the gist of it is that at retirement our nut (housing, utilities, expenses) will be but 25% of our income. Disposable income could reach 5 figures monthly, we’ve plotted a course of a 7 days cruise and a 7 day Euro vacation on a monthly basis in retirement and at an age 10 years before most. Dying is our only enemy.
Isn’t that the goal? Lower your overhead, enjoy life and do so without moving to a place too far from grandkids or the things you enjoy.
So yes, I’m staying in Temecula, it beats Palm springs, Florida or Arizona, despite the high taxes of California. I am not surprised that the article
came to the same conclusion we did.[/quote]
I’m not persuaded that the goal is to enjoy life. Suffering for purpose, struggle, duty…seem more like the goal. I cannot visualize myself arriving … I see my life as perpetual trekking. Like moses, never making it to the promised land.
