Tag: location

RECAP – Retirement Resources

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A Treasure Chest of Tips for Living the Dream!

Are you retiring soon? Thinking about “taking the plunge” and “Crossing the Rubicon” into your “second beginnings” or “next chapter” of senior life?

No matter how busy you are now, you need to “take five” from your work or personal to-do’s and review the following recommendations from past blog posts at this site. Consider this a personal toolbox for the retired and soon-to-retire professional… and assigned HOMEWORK!

A good starting point would be to pick-up “The Myths of Retirement” and “Three Exit Lanes to Self-Help Retirement Guides,” or if you prefer to tackle everything at once, check out the omnibus “monster” resource guide posted here.

Now the top-ten list – a well-balanced collection of online essays. The more you read, the better you will be able to embrace a healthy transition through this major life passage!

1. Plan ahead for retirement: “It’s Not Only About the Money”

Read the entire article here.

It is agreed that a period of adjustment will occur during the first years of “interning” as a retiree, especially critical during the “pre-retirement” stage (believe-it-or-not, as many as six to ten years prior to “taking the big leap” to FREEDOM!). The solution to a smooth transition is to be prepared: communicate your intentions with your family members, and reflect on the vast considerations of the “who, what, when, where, how, and why” of retirement. This prep to your “golden years” is the perfect time for a little self-assessment and self-reinvention in finding new purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in your life.

2. Identify and take steps to alleviate the stress of leaving your job:
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

Read the entire article here.

The phases of retirement are discussed in greater depth here, as well as different departure scenarios and the usual post-employment “cycles of emotions.” This piece is particularly good if you have ever felt pushed into early retirement or experienced being unappreciated, disrespected, uninspired, unsupported, or “burned out” in your career.

3. Are you really ready? “Signs it is time to retire… OR “Signs is NOT okay.”

Read the entire article here.

This “countdown to retirement” article poses the essential question “Are you psychologically (or emotionally) prepared to retire?” and offers a “road map” of seven easy steps towards closure for prospective music teacher retirees.

For more insight, you should also peruse “When Should You Retire.”

4. Determine your retirement destination:
“Do you know where you’re going to…?”

Read the entire article here.

This early blog post proposed several factors to consider for the choice of where you want to live in retirement… both geography and floor plans. Another good source to read on this topic is the book that was published two years later by the retirement guru and former PMEA session presenter Dave Hughes: The Quest for Retirement Utopia – How to Find the Retirement Spot That’s Right for You.

5. Maintain your professional associations:
“Ask not what PMEA can do for you, but what you can do for PMEA!”

Read several articles:

A retired educator is a valuable resource. If you care about the profession, there are many ways you can continue to contribute your experience and wisdom, albeit less stressful and time-consuming moments, but still assist your colleagues who continue to “fight the good fight” in the field.

6. Acquire a more carefree attitude: “It’s Not Your Sandbox”

Read the entire article here.

It may be at times a challenge to surrender your urge to continue as “an agent of change” or, as E.A. Wynne has written in “The Moral Dimension of Teaching” (Teaching: Theory into Practice, 1995), habits of “moral professionalism.” Learn how chill out and NOT to stress out over someone else’s supposedly poorly run “sandbox” and limit the need to provide unsolicited advice or major problem-solving for other organizations. 

7. Make music: “Dust off your chops” and 8. “Sing your heart out…”

Read the both articles here and here.

What led you to select a career in (and the “calling” of) music education? Retirement is the perfect place and time to expand on your love and skills in creative self-expression. When a music educator retires, among the many joys and fruits of his/her career in the arts is a sudden life-style change – the glorious transformation of being set free from those things you no longer want nor need to do (routine day-to-day drudgery, paperwork, meetings, etc.), embarking on new journeys to explore and embrace revised personal goals – hopefully including a renewed refocus on making your own music!

9. Explore mind-stimulating engagements: “Have you fed your brain today?”

Read the entire article here.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste, even during retirement. Discover something new every day! Maximize your “brain health” with a host of these ideas to consider for your bucket list.

10. Take time to “give back” and volunteer:
“What does it mean to be eleemosynary?”

Read both of these articles here and here.

In the scheduling our free time in retirement, it is important to feel “needed” and find activities that foster “mattering” to promote a positive self-esteem, good mental health, and stable life balance. Are you making choices to contribute to the musical and personal success and welfare of others? For the realization of the mission of this blogger’s retirement pastime: “I refuse to sit idle, binge-watch movies on Netflix, or view hours of boring TV.” To quote the song’s lyrics, this “senior citizen” will never lament…

Life is so unnerving
For a servant who’s not serving
He’s not whole without a soul to wait upon
Ah, those good old days when we were useful
Suddenly those good old days are gone
Ten days we’ve been rusting
Needing so much more than dusting
Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills
Most days we just lay around the castle
Flabby, fat, and lazy
You walked in and oops-a-daisy!

– “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast

Stay Connected with PA Music Education

PMEA Annual Conference April 6-9, 2022 at the Kalahari Resort (Poconos)

PMEA retired members, please take note of these special events especially geared to YOU:

  • Free Retired Member Breakfast Meeting (including take-away gifts) on April 8 at 8 a.m.
  • Retirement 101 session on April 8 at 11:30 a.m. – Retired music teachers are encouraged to participate on the guest panel to “tell your own story” to help any interested soon-to-retire colleagues.
  • Three keynote speakers will join this year’s event: Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, Lesley Moffat, and David Wish.
  • The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” will be featured on Thursday evening (April 7).
  • See last month’s blog for more details on the conference, tentative session schedule and exhibitors, AND the PMEA website.

PKF

© 2022 Paul K. Fox

Graphics from Pixabay.com:

WHERE Should You Retire?

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This article was first released in the Fall 2018 state journal of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, PMEA News.

 

Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to, do you know?
Do you get what you’re hoping for?
When you look behind you there’s no open door.
What are you hoping for, do you know?

Lyrics to “Do You Know Where You’re Going To?” and the “Theme from Mahogany” by Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin

Sung and recorded by Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, and Tina Arena

 

What are the three most important factors to consider before choosing your retirement destination?

  1. Location
  2. Location
  3. Location.

 

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Much has already been discussed and archived here at this blog-site about definitions (“the what”) and strategies (“the how”) for a happy retirement. And deciding to retire (“the when”) is a very personal issue, something in which only you and perhaps your closest family members may have a voice at the appropriate time and setting.

Now, what about “the where?”

According to many advisors, including Melissa Phipps in her The Balance blog-post “Find Out Where You Should Retire” (https://www.thebalance.com/where-should-i-retire-2894254), your deliberation may be affected by a number of influences:

  • Personal preference: stay local or go elsewhere?
  • Housing
  • Mortgage?
  • Taxes
  • Your health and mobility
  • Proximity to family, children/grandchildren?
  • Human services, recreation, history/cultural attractions, shopping, and transportation

The US Census Bureau reports that 49 out of 50 people over the age of 65 stay right where they are when they retire. Phipps advises, “If your current hometown is affordable, close to friends and family, and near activities and entertainment you most enjoy, why move for the sake of moving? Instead, consider whether the need for change can be satisfied through more frequent brief vacations, or by purchasing an inexpensive weekend getaway home.”

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However, are there advantages to downsizing and leaving your current abode?

You may want to read “Should You Downsize in Retirement?” by Casey Dowd of Fox Business at https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/should-you-downsize-in-retirement. I also recommend https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/your-complete-guide-to-downsizing-for-retirement-12-tips-for-a-happily-ever-after/.

Posted on The Motley Fool is Christy Bieber’s article “Where Should You Retire? These 5 Factors Will Help You Decide” (https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/19/where-should-you-retire-these-5-factors-will-help.aspx). She focuses on that scary “e” word – economics.

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“The world is your oyster once you no longer need to work – you could technically move anywhere. But there are, of course, practical considerations in deciding where you’ll live – and while dreaming about a mega-mansion on the beach may be enjoyable, it’s also important to make a viable plan. Your choice of location can affect how much you need to save, how long your money will last, and even what happens to your health and to your legacy.”

Most of the online retirement gurus recommend careful and comprehensive research, even spending time to visit and “live awhile” in the places on your “short list,” and educate yourself in these areas:

  • Population, economy, attractions, and general info (visit the Internet sites of the local Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Agency, and visitor bureaus)
  • Climate (review interactive climate data tools from the National Climatic Data Center)
  • Cost of Living (see “cost of living comparison calculator” of the Council for Community and Economic Research)
  • Crime Rates (read the PBI’s annual “Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports”)
  • Health Care (check out the U.S. News & World Report “Guide to the Best Hospitals” data base)

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If you are looking for a book on the subject of “where to live in retirement,” there are many. At least, be sure to check out the 2007 revised edition of The New Retirement – The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life by Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald (Rodale) with more than 30 new recommendations for specific communities to consider for retirement, plus updated home prices and cost-of-living figures for existing communities, new niche lifestyles including club living, spa living, communities that are also cities, and moving where there is free land, and an expanded section on second homes.

If you are still a little “unsettled on where to settle” and enjoy taking online quizzes, check out these links (to which, although fun, I cannot vouch for their validity):

Although geography may play a crucial role in this debate, so does your choice of floor plan. (One could argue that the other three most important factors in choosing a retirement destination are mobility, mobility, and mobility!) When I retired in 2013, I suffered severe pain in my Achilles heels requiring ten weeks of challenging physical therapy. During recovery, I walked my two puppies past numerous one-story ranch structures in my neighborhood, feeling a little jealous that I had to return to a split level with its multitude of stairs – four sets of five steps! The trend in our area for new construction for retirees is a one-floor patio home with a “great room” (kitchen, dining and family/game room areas) that incorporates the safety and ease of future “senior access” while accommodating the needs of multi-generational use of the residence, with these practical design elements:

  • Wheel chair access, especially in the bathrooms
  • Pull-out and pull-down shelving
  • Multi-level counters
  • Remote control blinds and windows
  • Slip resistance floors
  • Open floor plan
  • Bright, functional lighting
  • Flat-panel light switches

(Source: https://houseplans.co/articles/planning-for-retirement-house-plans-for-seniors/)

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Finally, this is too important an issue to “pull any punches” without a few more resources (below) for your consideration. Good luck, and happy trails, retirees!

 

PKF

© 2018 Paul K. Fox

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Photo credits from Pixabay.com: “hands” by stokpic, “people” by MabelAmber, “early morning” by werner22brigitte, “polynesia” by Julius_Silver, “portugal” by larahcv, “panorama” by pixexid, and “venice” by kirkandmimi.