Retirement

 I know some of you are anxiously waiting for the day you can "RETIRE"!!
It's a much anticipated time for all of us. I would like to share some thoughts with you on the subject.
First off, I have been retired for 5 years now. Before that, my wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to take the winter off for 5 years before retiring. We went to AZ. every winter and just couldn't hardly wait for the "day". Well the year we retired we were planning to head out in Nov. for Big Bend in TX. Spend Thanksgiving there and then head for AZ.
Well my wife's eye sight was getting so bad I told her "it doesn't make any sense to go some place when you can't see any of it. So we stayed home that winter and Barb had cataract surgery on both eyes. She can now see!! 
We went to Big Bend the next year. In the mean time I sold our new HH 5er and purchased a Lance over the cab, which we took to TX.
After sitting home that first winter waiting for Barb's eyes to heal, we realized that maybe this wasn't so bad as we had thought. Ya know, when you're not working any more, there really isn't any thing to run away from. (THE JOB)
We, like a lot of others had planned to sell the house and full time it. That winter woke us up to the fact that just maybe we were making a mistake.
We've seen a lot of people who have done just that and then one of them got sick and couldn't travel any more. I have also seen people well into their 80s still going strong.
Point is----make SURE, before you sell the house and put the furniture in storage that this is what you want to do. Because once the house is gone and you have traveled for what ever time you do, more then likely the money will be gone also. Plus the personal belongings in storage will more then likely be garbage. By that time the MH or 5er and truck won't be worth much either. So unless you have more money then you will ever spend, stop and think about it!!
I'm not trying to throw water on any one's dreams. Just trying to give you another way to look at it. So, please don't take offense. Just take it with a grain of salt an go on.
I could add more but this getting pretty wordy the way it is.
Lloyd

Well I think I will chime in a bit... Lloyd I hear what you say. We full timed while working to see if we could survive. We can and we love it. Since that time we have moved into a town house due to a job change and we just can't wait to get back to our "home". You have to be able to live in a small space and enjoy it, some can't, we can.

 All Good Point Lloyd, We will be Retiring in 9-12 Months. Our thought are to keep the stick home & travel..... lets see.. I guess 1/2 to 3/4 time is how you would say it. Spend 2-4 months on the road, come home for a while, then go back out. South in the Winter months (not in one spot) & North in the Summer months (same as above)with a break at home in between. So much of the USA to see & SOooooo little time!    

i'll add my two cents...in about 20 years from now

As Hunter11 knows, I retired 6 yrs ago as soon as I reached 55. Our house is a DW on 1.5 acres of beautiful Texas hill country land with tons of Live Oak trees. Other than mowing the property a couple times each year, the place can sit idle for months at a time, landscaping is by God. Taxes are minimal and with 2x6 walls, utilities are low as well. The Cruiser sits under an RV port and with a circular driveway, getting in and out is ez. Monthly expenses are no worse than what some RV owners pay for RV storage.

We are on the road about 50% of the year and most of that time is spend doing volunteer construction with the Texas Baptist Men organization. The group has 9 tool trailers, 35ft triple axle gooseneck units and we can set up a temp RV park for 15-20 units just about any place. We experience the people and places in this great country in a way different than most RVers or retirees. There is no commitment to show up at any job or stay a specific length of time, but anywhere we work, we will already know the majority of the other team members. With utilities and many meals provided, our biggest travel expense is fuel. I'm one of the youngest at 61, most of the men are in the 70's and some in their 80's. Most jobs are in Texas, but there are plenty in the surrounding states and elsewhere. We have out-of-state members that are like snowbirds, escaping Northern winters. One significant trip was 3 months, 6 weeks vacation thru Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and 6 weeks working at a 4-H camp in upstate NY. Also worked in England and Romania, just had to leave the Cruiser home.

What we do, keeps us very busy in retirement and with low living expenses at home or on the road, we have not used any of our retirement assets over the past 6 yrs.