It has been said that “Success is living the life you
want…Happiness is wanting the life you live.” As we near retirement many of us
dream of that place where we can at last find our Shangri-La — a permanently
happy land, isolated from the outside world and its troubles; a place that will
grant us serenity and fulfillment as we age gracefully after the pressure of
jobs and careers have been finally lifted from our shoulders.
Freed from living in a location that our job required, we
often visualize yearningly that place where we feel our happiness would have
been more complete, but for our ability to have our career relocate with us.
Now we read the travel magazines, visit the Websites, and watch the cable TV
channels, all in search of that special place where making a living will no
longer have to be a consideration, no longer chain our bodies to somewhere
within “commuting distance” of our job.
When the time actually came, we needed to consider many
factors in making that choice and the remainder of this conversation is about
those very questions that may not be as enjoyable as wistful musings, but in
the end will likely acknowledge that our happiness will depend on the life we live
where we are.
In coming back to reality, we realized that there are
several essentials that must be met for any place. First, it must be affordable
because outliving your money can be a real bummer. Second, the climate should
be agreeable so you can enjoy all that free time out of the office. Third, it
should be a welcoming place where new friends are easy to make and you feel
accepted. There are many other factors to consider and here are some, not
necessarily in order of importance: access to excellent medical facilities, a
government that shares your political leanings, the financial stability of your
local and state government, ease of travel to and from, availability of
entertainment and outdoor facilities, local and state taxes, insurance rates, property
costs and neighbors who reflect your values.
When we began our search we tried to factor in all these
elements realizing that there would be no perfect place even if we had vast
resources, which we didn’t. We kept in our thoughts and deliberations the
wisdom expressed in the quote, “Let not the perfect be the enemy of the good”
meaning that insisting on perfection often results in no improvement at all.
Hawaii may have an ideal climate, but how long will your money last and how
long a trip is it to visit realities and friends. Everything is a matter of
seeking the best compromise, Aristotle’s principle of The Golden Mean.
So we began to examine what we had learned in out travels
over the years and to scrutinize the financial and other factors that would
lead to the best decision on a place to thrive in those golden years. We wanted
to remain within the United States for a host of reasons, including political
stability, the protection of our constitution and laws, closeness to family and
friends, and yes, just old fashion patriotism.
We wanted a climate with a real change of seasons, which we
had always enjoyed, but with milder and shorter winters than the Northeast
where we lived. With a pension as our primary source of income, we wanted a
state that did not have an income tax.
We wanted somewhere with a much lower cost of living so that the fixed
income we had would stretch further and a place with low property taxes and low
property costs so that we could have a substantial upgrade in our home and
still have sizeable cash surplus after the move. We wanted to be near a major
city with access to excellent hospitals, entertainment, culture and nightlife.
We wanted a beautiful countryside with light traffic and good roads for those
leisurely drives we had in our youth. We wanted a major airport close by and
easy access to interstate highways and a central location with many places we
wanted to go no more than a day’s drive. We wanted welcoming friends and
neighbors who shared our political and social values and a state government
that was fiscally conservative and sound.
After processing all these requirements, what we found out
was, we wanted Middle Tennessee. Here
you will find: no state income tax, great property values, low property taxes,
low auto insurance rates, affordable living, great medical facilities, four
distinct seasons with mild winters, rolling hills with farms near sophisticated
city life, many lakes for fishing and boating, well maintained interstate
highways and local roads, a healthy outdoor lifestyle, an abundance of
championship golf courses, in a place half-way between Florida and homes to the
North and Midwest with over 50 State Parks offering camping, hiking, rock
climbing, canoeing and more.
In 2005 we left our modest home where we lived for 34 years,
acknowledging that taxes would only continue to increase, traffic would only
get worse, winters would only seem longer and the opportunity we owed ourselves
would only slip away more and more with each passing year. Our new home is
three times as large, costs half as much and has taxes that are one fifth those
of the smaller Northeast home.
We live in a beautiful community with a full time fire
department and police department, and city parks, boating, fishing, golf and a
wonderful climate for all outdoor activities. We are minutes away from a
Nashville and the world renowned medical centers at Vanderbilt University,
along with entertainment, the Nashville Symphony, the Nashville Opera, and the
Nashville Ballet, all with the affordability that comes with a cost of living
that is a fraction of that in the Northeast.
Come and see us at RetireTN.com, and learn more about
joining us here.
