Poll: Would you trade away living at the beach to be able to retire early?

[Zooport]

Cast your vote in the poll above.  (Mostly doing this just for fun, so thanks for your patience and participation)

If I stay here at the beach where I can surf every day, I'll likely have to work until I'm 70.  If I move to North Carolina (3 hours from the beach) I can retire immediately at 60.  What would you do?

[Evan Lloyd]

That’s what I did and I don’t regret it. AZ is close enough to the beach that it’s easy to sneak away on the weekends. I sure don’t miss the traffic.

[surf4food]

Ha ha.  Before too long I will be looking at moving far away from a coastline to avoid living below the poverty line.   

[Rider]

We moved away from the coast a few years ago. Happily residents of Wa. State. Got to admit we still spend six months a year on the California Central Coast.

[spirit4earth]

Zoo, retire at 60.  There are no guarantees about your health.  I feel like from 60 on, one should really LIVE, not toil.  NC isn’t California, but it’s not that bad.  Totally worth having 10 extra years of freedom.  Many of us would be elated and relieved to be able to retire at 60.

[Bean]

I voted to stay. 

There is of course no one right answer for everyone, but there is one right answer for you. 

[Subber]

Maybe split it down the middle - wait until 65 to retire. 
Then, you'll have Medicare (if they don't move the age up).
Then, you can move to NC if your relatives are still there or to somewhere else.

Bummer you'd be able to surf everyday in Zooport Beach and work till you "retire."
 

[surfcowboy]

I vote for gratitude. Most can't choose either option. Count your blessings and do what you feel.

[808sup]

I tried to commit to a vote but couldn’t do it. I kinda think why, as a lifelong surfer, would I retire somewhere I can only occasionally surf. I was part of the blackies crew before moving here to Maui many yrs.ago. While it is expensive to live here I enjoy the weekends to the fullest. I don’t know if I can afford to retire here. I’ve been to NC and enjoyed it quite a bit. The wife and I enjoy NASCAR which is home to NC. There are many enjoyable things to do in NC however I feel I need contact with water or I will go nuts. Not sure a lake would work for me . I need breaking waves. Also not sure if they would satisfy my needs being in Hawaii for so long. I hope you come to a solution that works for you with no regrets. That would be my fear.

[Zooport]

I vote for gratitude. Most can't choose either option. Count your blessings and do what you feel.

Very good point.

[Quickbeam]

I struggled with this one and I’m glad I don’t have to make the choice. But you asked for opinions, so I voted for early retirement. I agree with Spirit. You don’t know what the future will hold, so make the absolute most of the time you have right now. Retire and enjoy it 

[TallDude]

I still have kids to put through college, so I work enough to pay for that. I'm 55 and have considered myself 'semiretired' for years. I'm two years into a new part time teaching job that is fun for the most part. I've pretty much lived my entire life at the beach. A side from a few years living in the mountains, I've always been able to walk to the beach from my house. I design homes and smaller hotels/ restaurants for a living. It's enjoyable work, sometimes a grind, but it's always changing. My wife and I talk about retirement. Our idea is to rent out our house here near the beach, and travel.  We want want to live in different states, and maybe different countries? Surf does not dictate my life, but I love being on water. Even frozen water is a blast. Health, happiness, and time to read books is good anywhere.

I say it's time for a new chapter in your life. I'm sure you will find plenty of opportunities surf.   

[Califoilia]

Zoo, retire at 60.  There are no guarantees about your health.  I feel like from 60 on, one should really LIVE, not toil.  NC isn’t California, but it’s not that bad.  Totally worth having 10 extra years of freedom.  Many of us would be elated and relieved to be able to retire at 60.

See, I thought the same thing, but voted just the opposite.

Because life is short, you never know what tomorrow holds, and I'd rather surf everyday, and work until 70, instead of surfing occasionally, and hope that I even make it to 60 (although I'm getting pretty darn close already ).

Who knows what the future holds financially, work, or health wise? Hate to make a move, and not surf that often...only to unexpectedly come into money, and find out that I can retire at 60 anyhow, but I'm in a place I never really wanted to be anyway, and now I've got lots of free time on my hands, but I'm three hours from the gosh darn waves....ah geez.

There just seems that there has got to be a better compromise between CA surf, and NC whatever it would seem. Just saying....

[Dwight (DW)]

Live 30 minutes from the beach. Same cost of living as 3 hours from the beach. Retire now.

[Wetstuff]

Zoo, I am well past both your benchmarks.  If your work was not onerous —and— you had decent surf available at will...  C'hit, that's easy!  I think both work and play keep you healthy.  I don't ever expect to totally stop playing at working. ...besides, Long-Term care insurance for-2 is currently costing ~$8k a year. (an officer's perk)

I never had the nerve to do it (leave the business/properties idle), but wintering in Sayulita or Panama woulda, I suspect, coulda, have made life very pleasant.


Enjoy whichever - your clock does not stop ...'till.

Jim