<p>to DrGoogle re " It’s bad enough to own one home and go on vacation, let alone 2 and go on vacation."</p>
<p>I would agree in general re owning two homes giving twice the worry, BUT IMO if one is a condo in a multi-unit building, one big plus is that it does provide wonderful “turnkey” living. I would have zero concern leaving our condo for a month or two. However, every time we go away for a substantial time I do worry about our main free-standing house.
That aspect is one of the many appeals to me of condo living when retired – the greater freedom to travel worry-free of property concerns. </p>
<p>(It happens that our post-college son lives in our main house since his job is in that area, and it seemed silly for him to get an apartment when we have room. We also feel better having somebody living in the house when we both are in the other place. But he will be getting married at some point and we may try to time H’s retirement and our downsizing around that – lots to juggle re this retirement stuff, and we have not yet agreed on a location.)</p>
<p>And S will be joining us on vacation this summer so the house will then be “all alone” and I will worry, even though we will have neighbors keeping an eye on it. At least it will be summer, though, and not the awful winter we had this past year (power lost for several days, worry about freezing pipes, etc. ARGH!!!)</p>
<p>@JEM, I agree with you if it’s a multi-unit building, then I think it’s ok. In my neighborhood, the condo is often a small house with very little yard space front/back but otherwise it is a home with HOA. The HOA takes care of the front yard. So there is risk of the home being empty.</p>
<p>My mother is widowed and lives by herself in a very large house, which she could well afford. She has thought about moving to CA to be closer to my brother and the weather is nicer, but she said all of her friends are where she is now. She rather be closer to her friends while she is mobil. She has something to do everyday with her friends. She also thought about down sizing when my father passed away, but she is very comfortable at the house and the cost of moving her to a smaller house would be 100k+ for closing costs. I am close by, so I could check up on her often.</p>
<p>I am currently living in an apartment in NYC. I expect I will live here for the rest of my life. I find it a very easy living compared to a suburban house. The staff takes care of everything, from trash to snow shoveling. I walk to most places now, but at some point when it gets to be too difficult to walk, I could take the bus or taxi. In NYC, one could get almost everything delivered. In the suburb one would need to load the grocery to one’s car, then bring the grocery into the house, a lot to do for an older person. As far as the cost, what I pay is all in. My maintenance includes property tax, water, gas and general maintenance of the building. I have a car, but I could easily do without it.</p>
<p>while these may not interest those of us here who have other options, it is nice to know for those who dont know where they could live on a low fixed income.</p>
<p>I have never been to daytona beach, so dont know how desirable/undesirable it would be…but for someone who wants to escape cold, it could be a snowbird second home location. </p>
<p>You can get groceries delivered in the suburb where I live, but not in others or in small towns where my parents and in-laws live.
H and I have not made any decisions as to where we will live. We plan to work for several years and with our youngest child just starting college and 4 parents in their 80’s with varying health issues, we know that the next five or so years will bring lots of changes. We hope that around that time we will have a better idea where our kids will end up, etc. and maybe start to plan. Meanwhile we work and keep saving money.
We also struggle with different ideal living situations. Mine is city living ( a la oldfort), H always wanted to live out on several acres. He is beginning to see that it may be very impractical to live “away from it all” and my own plan is very expensive. We will have to work out some sort of compromise. </p>
<p>My parents rented for a month in the mid-March/mid-April timeframe for years – first near a ski resort town, then eventually in a beach area in Florida. They rented a place with an extra bedroom or two, and we spent out spring breaks with them most years. It doesn’t necessarily get you out of a cold place in the heart of winter, but worked well for them and us.</p>
<p>The only places on that list that are remotely appealing are Greenville, and Louisville. The rest…meh.</p>
<p>We have crunched the numbers on owning a second home for the winters. We would MUCH rather go to a different place for a couple to few months every year than own…and it is cost effective to do so. Owning would be far more expensive, and we would feel compelled to go to THAT place each year. Not likely. I can see us going to different places…so many to choose from…San Diego, Sedona, Tucson, places in Texas, Florida, NC, SC, NM, CA. So many choices.</p>
<p>And when I get too old to travel, I’ll be happy to be in my comfy home…like oldfort’s mother.</p>
<p><<<<
And when I get too old to travel, I’ll be happy to be in my comfy home…like oldfort’s mother.
,<<<</p>
<p>considering that you are a very young-looking 62 year old lady, I don’t think you will be too old to travel anytime soon. :)</p>
<p>the daytona bch mention above has caught my attention. only an hour away from WDW…which we love. If the area is nice, I could be interested in buying an inexpensive property to be a vaca-home/short-term rental. I know my kids would also love to use it.</p>
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<p>I totally agree…but it can get people thinking that these certainly are not the only 10 cheap spots to live. In our new subdivision, nearly everyone is retired, and to live here is cheap. A couple of my neighbors are widows that i dont think have much money, but they have a nice 3bed/2bath garden home. Although the city is not an NYC hot-spot, it is on a lovely river, there is major univ 10 minutes away, so great sports to watch, and the univ has a program where seniors can take various classes for almost NOTHING…crazy cheap. you join the univ-run senior club ($25 per year…lol). The senior club also arranges trips abroad (Italy trip is now booking)</p>
<p>the point is…there are many other cheap places to live…if that is necessary, or if a second home is desired.</p>
<p>I dont know where pocatello idaho is, but if it is near skiing or has nice summer weather, it could be a seasonal second home. My chicago uncle wintered in a cheap-but-nice Las Vegas home because he loved to gamble and the shows. </p>
<p>I really liked Greenville when we were looking at Clemson. Cute little funky artsy town. If only it were closer to the beach - but then it probably wouldn’t make it on the list. </p>
<p>A big reason to get a second place is for the tax benefits. We do think about 6 months and 1 day elsewhere. I do like a bunch of the ideas put out there. Right now my more immediate goal is get the kids through college and sock as much money away as I can. Then I can figure out what to do next. </p>
<p>The picture of pocatello idaho looks lovely. If you are an outdoor type, you’d be happy there. Not too far from Idaho Falls. All that and you could live off SS alone.</p>
<p>cold and arthritis
slipping on ice
dealing with a car when weather is bad
maybe heart/lung issues are more challenged in cold weather.
heating the home would be pricey</p>
<p>I think winter is tough. I’ve never been a fan of cold, wind chill and snow. I know my daughter has a screw in her foot and she’s miserable when it’s cold. I think as you get older it can be more difficult to do activities that require you go outside. I know it bothers my mom’s breathing and her joints. Plus if you go on blood thinners you’re even colder. My mom is wearing heavy fleece pajamas and freezing here and my house is 71.</p>
<p>one thing i have found out (that directv may not want you to know)…</p>
<p>If you have a DTV dish on the roof of two homes, you just move your boxes back and forth as needed. i recently found that out. I didnt even call the company when i moved. the new home had the same type dish, so just plugged in and everything worked. I dont know if your boxes have to be newish…mine were less than a year old.</p>
<p>then I went online and changed my billing address.</p>
<p>since maintaining more than one home can get pricey if you have to pay for satellite, internet, etc for more than one home at a time. </p>
<p>but now I’m changing to Uverse (cheaper pkged with amazing-fast internet)…and moving the DTV boxes to another home that has a DTV dish. </p>