I am now 67 years old, and of course, thoughts of retirement are constantly in my mind. I currently have a part time job with the Prince William County School System as a GED teacher. I have held this position off and on for over 10 years, and it will be hard to leave it as I have enjoyed it very much and hopefully have made a difference in my student's lives. However, to quote an expression, "all good things must come to an end." It is time to move to another chapter in my life.
I am not just now thinking about what I need to do for my retirement. I signed up for Social Security and Medicare in 2014. I have already decided to live in Lynchburg, VA, for two main reasons. The cost of living is lower in Lynchburg than in northern Virginia. I also know some people there, especially my ex-wife. We are still good friends even though we have been divorced for over 10 years. I will rent a place in Lynchburg instead of buying one since it is easier to move out of a place that you rent. I will be moving to Lynchburg in June 2017.
Currently I have 4 sources of income: my GED job, Social Security, IBM pension fund, and rent income from a drive-in theater in Ocala, FL, which I co-own with my brother. Just last week I decided to transfer my GED paycheck to my savings account and live off the other three sources of income. If I can do that without any problems in northern Virginia, I certainly can do that in Lynchburg. I am optimistic that this grand experiment will work.
There are still things I must do to continually prepare for this transition. I need to start downsizing. I must draw up a living will and decide on an executor for my estate. I also must continue saving for the actual move, but hopefully that will be easy if my grand experiment works. I should have a nice nest egg by putting my GED paycheck in my savings account.
As I continue my preparations for my retirement, I will make updates to this blog. Hopefully writing this blog will help me crystallize what I need to do to make this major change in my life. I am excited about this transition, but I know some unexpected problems may come up as well. That is part of the fun of change. It would be boring if everything about change is smooth.
