One thing that COVID-19 revealed is that, in many nursing homes, employees are dissatisfied and distrustful of their employers, which is cited as the reason many of them refused COVID-19 vaccines when they were offered to them (early, due to working in health care). The result was that many nursing homes had employee-based COVID-19 outbreaks, preventing family members from visiting, and increasing the risk to the residents (who typically tended to choose vaccination at high rates, but also tended to have a higher percentage of medically vulnerable people who did not get strong immunity from vaccination).
The nursing homes/senior faciliites I talked with required vaccines for residents but did not require them for employees. So it wasnât a matter of residents tending to choose to be vaccinated (other than the choice --if it was an optionâof going to a nursing home/senior facility).
We went from 3,450 sq ft home to 935 sq ft condo. We had previously lived in a 4,300 sq ft home. We have since upsized from 935 sq f to 1,650 sq ft with 3 BR and 2 BAs. Still in a condo. We feel this size is perfect for us. I like having a bit more elbow room. Dh had retired but went back to work during Covid. It was tight in 935 sq ft with his working from home. Ds had an extended 6.5 week stay over the holidays, also working from home. Would not have worked in 935 sq ft. with both of them working from home.
We did move to a tax-friendly state (Florida) when we downsized. Saving on state income taxes is nothing to sneeze at. Itâs an immediate raise.
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WA is a no state income tax, although our legislature managed to pass an income tax on capital gains over $250k (which is already being appealed). We plan to stay here for as long as we can⊠although retirement in Hawaii sounds good to me.
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We plan to retire right where we are in our high income tax state, CA. Weâre VERY happy, fantastic climate year round, close to beach, and other amenities.
No plans to leave the state to save on state taxes. Weâre amongst our âpeeps.â And our family lives here too.
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Our state doesnât charge for funds from pensions so our state income tax has fallen significantly since H retired and much of our income is from his pension. Theyâve threatened to start taxing pensions but that always dies in the leg or is vetoed by the governor.
Most of my extended family and friends live on our island. I like the mild, temperate climate. The only thing that would get me to move is if my kids permanently settle elsewhere. Right now, S lives in DC (has been there a decade) and D lives in LA, whereâs sheâs been for a decade. Not sure where they will ultimately stay, so in the meantime we stay put.
If they have kids (GKids to us), we will likely have more frequent and longer visits. Our home is the same 1200 soft 3 bedroom, 2 bath place weâve always had, on one story itâs comfortable and fine for aging in place and a few visitors.
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My H equates living in a high tax state to living in Europe. We get lots of cultural, culinary, and geographic perks with living here ; )
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We will stay in retirement outside of Boston. MA does not tax my pension, by far the biggest chunk of our income, and I like being less than an hour from some of the worldâs best hospitals.
And I actually prefer winter over summerâcannot stand the heat! I rank the seasons in this order: Fall (best)âspringâwinterâsummer (worst)
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I donât want to live in Europe either. Everyone has different preferences.
I rank the seasons in best to worst order as Fall, Winter (and its really close to Fall for me), Summer and Spring (cold and wet and no leaves on anything).
I like this seasons ranking diversion ; ). My favorite is Winter, then Spring, Fall, and then Summer. I hate the heat!
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@1214mom Roth conversions when it fits in with your earnings/year and tax situation. We bit the bullet and paid the taxes but it didnât move us into another earning level/higher tax % either. The sooner you do it the sooner all the money grows tax free.
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Roth conversion does require some planning. There are some âfive year ruleâ restrictions.
For those of you considering landlording (which has been discussed here)âŠ
Have to say, the realtor is very honest in their description.
https://www.redfin.com/CO/Colorado-Springs/4525-Churchill-Ct-80906/home/34515765
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I work in skilled care/rehab. Our facility (one of 50, most in one state) gave employees a $50 gift card each Pfizer Covid vaccine they took at the facility. Some people are very reluctant and have these fears and some employees did not get the vaccines.
All employees required to wear masks. If a new resident has 2 covid vaccines they do not need âisolationâ; we do not accept anyone who has tested positive until the time frame they are no longer contagious. We operate under CDC and state requirements.
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Oh well, New Zealand is off the cards for awhile. Global Housing stats worse than the 2008 mortgage bubble.
So it seems there may be a bit of âbargain owningâ in places like Japan and Italy â however there are âremoteâ type places in both and then depending on how much you like the country and can deal with the language and cultural issues. A friendâs military retired H got a great US government job in Italy so they have been living there rather nicely, although distance from their 3 adult children and now grandchild.
Have you gone to that immersive Van Gogh exhibit? I heard itâs amazing.
You are definitely right that we have lots of culture and every ethnic festival you can possibly imagine.
My birthday is next week and we are finally trekking downtown for the first time to go to ABA to see what all the hype is about. My daughter hasnât shut up about it either since they have one in Austin of all places, so we shall see how that goes. My husband said traffic is back to normal to the city - that didnât take too long. 
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This may be the year for people to seriously consider converting to their Rothâs because if Bidenâs tax plan gets passed in any form, then many people will owe more in taxes and better convert while weâre at the lower capital gains rate, etc. I need to wait to the end of the year to figure out our income and may convert the last of my SEP IRA money, but I have a substantial 401k and donât think this is the time I can get hit with those taxes, but at least getting rid of the SEP I think I can handle. Smart move that you did convert it.
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Why wouldnât Austin have an art exhibit? lol
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The reference to the art exhibit in that post was not related to an art exhibit. It had to do with a particular restaurant of which there are only 2 of in the country.