retiring to the carribean .. nervous

[momager1]

ugh. we are so nervous..excited.. terrified. not sure how to really describe. After a really tough year healthwise for me (much improved) we have decided to take early retirement (we are in our mid 50's) Our grown kids are not on board with it...they are upset we are leaving the country even though they have their own families and are always SOOOOO busy that we do not see them much other than the odd drop in during the week. so feeling a little selfish also. We have 3 showings on our house here tomorrow.. we bought our new apartment already and take possession of it Dec 1. not sure what my point is, think i just needed to do an information dump hahaha. bottom line we love the country we are moving to and have been there over 50 times in the last 20 years, and the cost of living is FAR less than here (canada) I want to enjoy my retirement and marriage. I am so afraid that if we wait 10 more years , while yes we will have an even bigger nest egg, what good is it if you are too sick, burnt out, tired to enjoy it?

Wow sounds amazing, congratulations!

This is our plan too, we have bought a house and are slowly doing it up on every visit. Life is too short - enjoy the ride! You won't know what to expect until you do it.

I will add, the only difference is that we will keep our house here in the UK and rent it out for extra income. Can you not do that so you have that little extra security at home incase it doesn't pan out the way you want it to?

we have bought the apartment from our savings.. here in canada house prices are falling again and our investment advisor told us to get the money out now of the house and into a secure fund, that way if we want to come back we have the money to buy again, without taking the hit on our equity. 3 months ago our house was worth about 700 and we could have sold overnight with bids over asking..now.. we are listed at 635 and projections are within 2 years my house will be back to a more reasonable 500. so we will cash in on that now . our home is mortgage free

Is it a pension you have for living costs? What will you do with the money from the house sale

we have investments that are making enough to live before our pensions kick in. Our proceeds from house are going into another property down there that we will rent out to vacationers, and the rest into a secure investment account here. terrified lol. I am normally one that lives on the safe side of the street, this is a major gamble for me.

Sounds wonderful OP!

It’s a massive change so you are bound to have some wobbles, but don’t let them make you second guess yourself.

Good luck to you !

Sounds lovely. Not sure where in the Caribbean you will be living, but do note that a lot of stuff, foodwise and non food, need to be imported. Not only makes that things more expensive, but I noticed, living in the Caribbean for the past 11 years, it also encourages you to adapt to the availability of things. What is present in a shop one week, can be sold out for months afterwards.

Sounds like you have it all figured out! Very exciting!

thank you everyone. we do understand that we won't have every luxury of home.. i am happy with fresh fruit and veg, fish right off the boat (as long as my husband learns to clean them blergh) chicken. we don't drink much at all, so alcohol is not a consideration in budget. It is Punta Cana in Dominican Republic.

I understand, just wanted to mention that compared to living in Europe or Canada, it is different. Not worse but different indeed. I love it, I live on Curacao btw.

I prefer the north coast- closer to my beloved blue amber, and a close friend - but do it. When I retire next year I'm off too... there may be some "luxuries" I can't get. There also won't be snow and ice, and I can definitely do without those. Your kids will get over it, probably the minute they realise you have a spare bedroom/ know some bargain local places to stay. And half of Canada seems to be in Florida which is, in my opinion, far less pleasant. Enjoy...!