4 Prerequisites and 4 Parts of a Happy Retirement

This article was originally published in Travel Awaits on July 27, 2022. I have restructured and updated it for my blog. 

When I review the retirement goals I set, I realize I have achieved them. Maybe that is why I am happy. Burned out by a hectic (but fulfilling) computer career, I retired early, way ahead of today's trends great resignation or quiet quitting. These were my five goals: “Teach a little, paint a little, travel a little, write a little, and love a little.” 

That last one was a must. I was teaching at a university and two colleges. It ballooned into another full-time career (huge check) that my groom (big check) had to take me RVing full-time to re-retire. We travel a lot and I write about those journeys (two significant checks). But I still only have two paintings to my name so the check beside that is still pretty small. I don't know if photography can replace the original goal.

The big question is how did I get to such a happy retirement? For me, there are eight reasons. The first four are prerequisites but the last four are parts of what seals it. They are not guaranteed; they must be planned for and sought.

THE FOUR PREREQUISITES FOR A HAPPY RETIREMENT

1.    Setting Aside Adequate Retirement Funds

If we do not have enough retirement funds, we may not be able to retire at all, or at the time we want. Businesses prosper when they increase income while controlling expenses, thereby maximizing profits. The same thing applies to our personal lives. I focused on increasing personal profits (savings) for retirement.

When my marriage broke down, I had to work doubly hard to provide for my family as well as prepare for our future. My children and I lived so simply that when I got major advances in job or salary, whether in the same or a new company, I did not commensurately increase spending. Our expenses when I was a junior manager hardly changed by the time I became a CEO.

One focus I had was to save enough for a down payment to buy a new house near each new company that hired me. Besides not having the stress of the infamous Manila traffic, this strategy helped me own four homes by the time I retired. Their rentals became one source of  retirement income, albeit in pesos. When I moved to the US and long-distance property management became difficult, I sold them, bought two homes in the US, rented them out, for a retirement income stream in dollars.

2.    Maintaining Optimal Health

A more important kind of wealth is health. Wherever we may end up being and whatever the status of the healthcare system in that place, optimal health is the goal. It’s the best gift we can give ourselves. I entered the US down to 101 pounds at 5’2”, tired and burned out. But the American healthcare system brought me physically back into the game. I have learned to eat my fruits and veggies, exercise, and sleep well every day. There is simply no substitute.

3.    Changing Your Perspective

When my three daughters began successful careers of their own, and I reached C-level in management, I became accustomed to seeing the big picture. It led me to see the world no longer in terms of dollars and cents. My mind strayed from having to earn money to achieving life balance, quality of life, a higher purpose, and connectedness.

Luckily, I came across the School of Practical Philosophy that married the teachings of East and West. It pushed me onto a new course of self-discovery. I wanted to be a better person, citizen, mother, and grandmother. Most of all I wanted another chance at being a wife.

4.    Finding Life Companions

Being alone in retirement was not part of that worldview. I had been single and alone for twenty years, far too long, with no one to share my hardships and successes. To be closer to my children who had settled in North America (the youngest settled in Australia later), I migrated to the US. Having missed out a lot on parenting, I became a nanny to two new grandsons, three months to one and two years to the other. Those were some of the happiest times of my life.

But, just like children, grandchildren grow up to have lives of their own. The older ones accompanied me on a few trips, but a life partner was the companion I needed most. It was so important that I did not want to leave it to chance. I “projectized” it, set a goal, established a timeline, and plotted the steps.

And I found him. We had many things in common. A former CEO like me, he also hungered for travel, had homes that gave him rental income (plus more from investment funds), and was as temperamentally frugal. Together, we enjoy a very comfortable retirement.

These first four—saving, staying healthy, changing perspective, and finding life companions—are prerequisites to a happy retirement. If you have them, the next four—traveling, hobbies, some work, and giving back— will follow. It will not be automatic, however. We have to plan and prepare for each one.

THE FOUR PARTS OF A HAPPY RETIREMENT

5.    Enjoying Travel without Depleting Your Nest Egg

Retirement gives us a lot of free time. What better way to spend it than to experience new things, places, and people? Following some rules (like a second-hand RV and a membership in Thousand Trails), renting out our condos and RVing full-time to cover North America became a financially rewarding way for us. When we looked to travel more of the world, we used those savings to buy timeshares that enabled us to reach many countries and enjoy three months every winter at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico at reasonable prices.   

6.    Settling In a Place That Caters to Our Interests

Apart from the timeshares, we also bought a simple travel base in Viewpoint, a resort-lifestyle community in the Phoenix area. It has two golf courses, ten tennis and ten pickleball courts, a softball park, four swimming pools, five hot tubs, two saunas, four ballrooms, a restaurant, a library, billiards, card, craft, other rooms, and about 50 clubs. I joined the writing/editing, photography, computer, poker, Karaoke, and mahjong groups. My husband went into tennis and golf.

All those things I was interested in but didn’t have time for when I was so career-driven, suddenly became doable. I won photography awards, maintained a blog, and published travel books.  Give me more time and I think I might still become a real painter! And I would love to return to ballroom dancing, too.

7.    Finding Something to Do to Earn Some, Ease Boredom, or Find Fulfillment

We think we have enough funds not to have to work. But, with surging inflation, there may come a time when we will need to supplement what we have set aside. But retirement is not the time to engage in stressful work. It’s important to find something enjoyable that lets us earn some, ease boredom, and/or give fulfillment. Thankfully, I have found a voice at Travel Awaits.

8.    Finding Ways to Give Back

And when retirement is going well, we will have the time and inclination to share our good fortune and give back. My husband became a CASA, a court-appointed special advocate, helping youth born into dysfunctional families who have broken laws, to find their way out of the legal and social quagmire. I co-founded the UP Alumni Association of Arizona which became a chapter of the UP Alumni Association in America. Both organizations raise funds for deserving disadvantaged students back home. In Mexico where we spend three winter months each year, we join a feeding program for the poor.  

Your retirement goals may be different from mine. The details of your prerequisites may not be the same. You may use other specifics to complete the parts. But the eight reasons for a happy retirement are the same.  

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5 Things My Husband and I Practice in Retirement to Keep Us Young

5 Things My Husband and I Practice in Retirement to Keep Us Young

 

This article was first published in Travel Awaits. I have updated it here.

A 2017 article from AARP says that people over 65 think that “old” means being closer to 74. Well, my husband is turning 80 in two months, and I turned 75 two months ago! Luckily, people tell us we look young! I am Asian so that may be a reason, but my husband is Caucasian. The secret must be something we are doing together. Here are some possible explanations.

1. Keeping An 8-Hour Day

After we married, he sold his business, I retired from teaching at the university, and we went on an 8-year honeymoon running around North America in an RV. In other words, we postponed “settling down.”

Every day became an adventure. For me, it consisted of an hour at the fitness center (we always selected campgrounds with one), an hour of cooking, 4 to 6 hours of visiting one or two landmarks in the area, and an hour of journaling about them. He took care of maintaining the RV and made time for sports.

When we finally settled down, we chose ViewPoint Golf Resort, a 55+ active community. My day changed to 2 hours of social media and writing, an hour at the fitness center (including hot tub and sauna), an hour of cooking, 2 hours at clubs (computer, photography, karaoke, writing/editing, dancing, and poker clubs), an hour at the library, and an hour of arts. He continued in sports and joined me at the gym and library.

In both phases, weekends were devoted to preparing for the coming week, planning meals, shopping for groceries, doing other errands, and going to church. It was a smooth transition from working to “retiring.” Our weekdays remained as full 8-hour days, and our weekends stayed the same. The only difference is that we do what we want to do, not things we have to do. So if we even get stressed, it's the good kind...the one that comes with great satisfaction.

2. Creating More Special Days

To disrupt this routine, we created special days. And they didn’t have to be on the weekends. Weekdays are usually better because there are no crowds at movies, malls, or travel destinations. There are movies we must see in theaters, not just for theater popcorn but for the grand experience, especially during Oscar season. Classics at the Hale Theater have become part of our to-dos. To give my husband a break from my “excellent” cooking, we carefully research and pick exceptional places for both ambiance and cuisine to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, Easter, Mother/Father’s Days, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year.

And travel days are always special days. They sneak in throughout the year. Day trips to parks are rites of renewal, especially during blooming spring days. Summer sees us road-tripping to the homes of our children and grandchildren. Fall is the time for attending conferences or visiting new places to write about. And then we spend 3 months of winter in Mexico when Phoenix gets "too cold."

3. Living with Lots of Fun and Laughter

Socializing is a key part of corporate life, and it does not have to stop in retirement. At ViewPoint, we not only join clubs, but we also love hosting dinners, get-togethers, and parties. We added a large sunroom so we can have a better entertainment area.

During COVID, I switched to the Pro version of Zoom so I could host more and longer sessions. Now that we can again meet in person, my mahjong sessions with friends have resumed. So have the Friday dinners at home. And on our birthdays and Christmas/New Year, we host bigger parties. These socials are venues for a lot of fun and laughter.

And there are other ways to feel giddy and laugh. Although the urban myth that children laugh more than adults has been debunked, I still love being around children. It’s an absolute thrill to be with our grandkids. We seek younger (than us) souls to experience diverse interests and senses of humor. Finally, we have turned more and more to comedies.

4. Taking Care Of Health

I cannot emphasize this enough. In the first place, poor health will do the opposite of what we want: cut short our retirement days and make us look older than our biological age. There are several parts to this: exercise, nutrition, sleep, hydration, and grooming.

ViewPoint has three fitness centers, one of which is just six houses away from us. At times my husband succeeds in making me walk or hike with him. At other times, I succeed in making him walk the mall with me (with some shopping benefits).

But what we put inside our tummies makes the most difference. Since I am in control of the kitchen, my husband has gone with my flow. Our nutrition plan is based on three principles: portion management (don’t cook huge batches), diversity (don’t repeat anything in a month), and availability (don’t have in the house what you should not consume). And I have since joined the Longevity movement (more on this in a later article).

And then, of course, there is sleep and hydration. My Fitbit tells me my sleep score when I wake up, and I deliberately slow my day on a low score. I also try to drink a lot of water and cap my day with a large cup of chamomile tea with honey and vanilla.

We can also enhance our look by good grooming well. Wear colors that suit your complexion, cuts that complement your body, hairstyles that go well with your face, accessories that finish a look, and make-up that highlights or hides.

5. Living With a Purpose

But it’s something much deeper than the physical that will truly make the difference. Mental and spiritual health is sustained by living a life of purpose. I have found that helping others and not getting paid for it is far more fulfilling than just being useful. There are so many who need help, who cannot provide for themselves, or who need just a little push to make their lives better.

My first volunteer activity was at the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) to help small businesses that were just starting and did not yet have the means to pay for advice. The right tips can put them over the hump. My husband volunteered as a CASA, a court-appointed special advocate, who tries to save children from the grip of highly dysfunctional families and the trap of easy money, crime, and incarceration. Some focused attention is all they need.

My desire to meet Filipinos in America led me to fellow alumni of the University of the Philippines. We founded the UP Alumni Association in Arizona, and today we are supporting at least two scholars in the Philippines to graduate and help the country. The UP Alumni Association in America to which we are affiliated supports even more students.

In other words, looking and feeling young comes from a full life borne out of an openness to diverse experiences. Have full days, create special days, and fill them with fun and laughter. And don’t forget to take care of your health and live a life of purpose.

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We RVed Full-Time for 8 Years: Here are 10 Lessons We Learned

5 THINGS I LOST AND 5 I GAINED WHEN I RETIRED

 

When should one retire? This is one question that is truly difficult to answer. And that is because there are major losses, and they are easy to identify. However, as I look at my life now, I realize that all those losses were nothing compared to what I gained when I finally did.  

5 THINGS I LOST

In 2004, I retired early and migrated from the Philippines to the US. I was then CEO of BayanTrade, an e-procurement solutions provider and lost many things to which I had been accustomed. They had provided me with a comfortable life. Here are five of them.

Money, Money, Money

First, I lost my income, huge even in pesos. Given the low cost of living in the Philippines, it was so much more than what I needed because my children were already working at the time and no longer needed support. Except that we all lived in the same house.  

I had so much discretionary income and it was pure manna from heaven! At only 54, I could expect ten more years of the same by continuing to work. That decade would have guaranteed a golden retirement.

But I said goodbye to the black Volvo sedan, together with allowances for fuel and a full-time driver. I gave up all the paid-for trips, domestic and international, that came with the job. And what about all those free lunches and dinners at business meetings?

Money-wise, I surely lost a lot!

Status and More Status

Secondly, I lost the status associated with my position. Having been lucky enough to break the glass ceiling, I had earned the right to sit in organizations like the Management Association of the Philippines, the country’s prestigious club of CEOs. I was even invited to sit as a pro bono en banc consultant to the Commission on Elections while they were automating the country’s electoral processes. I loved it when I was doing important work for the country and the Filipino people.

A Way of Being Useful

Getting off the career train (a risk even if for just a short break) would make me lose my credentials built through many years. The information technology industry is a fast-paced one, and I would immediately lose my brand of being able to launch innovations in the country, like the banking ATM network MegaLink and the automation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

My Community and My Country

And because I moved to the US, I lost the comforts of living in my own home, community, and country. This was a big loss, bigger than the previous three. I was born in the Philippines, was raised, and flourished there. It was good that the US has a dual citizenship program or I probably would not have recovered from the utter sense of betrayal I felt at the beginning.

The Company of Loved Ones

And my best friends (elementary school, high school, and college mates) and colleagues in the industry are still there. And, though I had lost my parents earlier, I still have two sisters there, all my aunts and uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews. It is good that technology somehow bridges the gap. I was able to visit every two years in the beginning, but now that I do not enjoy long-haul flights anymore, I haven’t been able to visit for the past five years. Let me tell you: the ache and longing have only grown.

5 THINGS I GAINED

The gains were not as readily apparent. Those that I wanted were not even guaranteed to happen. You have to first imagine all the possibilities that are opened and move to make those you value most happen. I did, and here are the five that have materialized.

More Time with Family and at Home

This was the main reason I migrated to North America at the age of 54. My daughters married American and Canadian citizens and moved to Seattle, Washington, and Calgary in Alberta, Canada. My house became an “empty nest.” My solution was to live with one and visit the other often.  

Some of the happiest times of my life were when I took care of my newest grandsons (after four sisters, three daughters, and two granddaughters, this was The Prize)! One was born in Calgary (I took care of him for three months) and another in Seattle (I ended up takng care of him for two years) seven months later. I showered them with the love and care I could not offer my daughters when I was too busy with my career.  

When I was not traveling, I loved prettifying our small Arizona home and tending a small garden, keeping both the flowering shrubs and fruit-bearing dwarfs alive and well. I have learned to cook in 13 cuisines from my travels. It was a far cry from the Philippines, where I left the household to cooks, nannies, and drivers.

A Travel and Life Partner

There was a second motivation for me to retire in the US. Since there is no divorce in the Philippines, my Boss, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, intervened to get my annulment, a costly and long process. But even after the annulment was finally granted, there were no available partners. At my age, they were either confirmed bachelors or plain adulterers. The good ones were all taken. 

It was the best of luck when I married someone I fashionably met on the Net. Had I been in the Philippines, I would not have had the chance to meet him. One of his requirements was that the lady be no more than 25 miles from him so that substantial dating could happen. He had gone through a divorce and was living alone in Puyallup, Washington while I was with my daughter in Renton (a Seattle suburb), just 24 miles away. I barely qualified!

A New Way to Be Useful

While I was taking care of my grandson in Seattle, I volunteered for the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). They assigned me to conduct Marketing Seminars for Small Businesses. Word got around and I was invited to teach at three institutions of higher learning. I thought that could be my new career; but after just one year of teaching, my groom took me away in an RV to explore North America.

That got me blogging about our travels which led me to write two travel books on Amazon: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream and Cruising Past Seventy It's Not Only about Outer Journeys. It's Also about Inner Ones. Afterward, I landed a freelance contract as an expert/contributor at the online magazine Travel Awaits.  I found a new way to be useful as a travel writer and photographer!  Because I enjoyed it, it was not like working at all. And it was part time.

Extensive Travel

The kind of travel we had was much better than I ever had with my jobs in the Philippines. We RVed full-time for eight years. Now that we have a home in Phoenix, Arizona, we travel six months a year, still a lot for two septuagenarians. Together we have visited all 50 states, ten Canadian provinces, and seven Mexican states, plus 28 countries around the world. Extensive travel gave me all the fresh material I needed for my writing and photography.

A New Ministry

My hunger to mingle with fellow Filipinos led me to meet two other alumni of the University of the Philippines in Phoenix. Together we co-founded the UP Alumni Association in Arizona. We applied to be the first chapter of the UP Alumni Association in America, a nationwide organization. Both gave me the fire to help the disadvantaged in the Philippines through scholarships we award.

It's a full retirement life I found. It may not give me back the five things I lost but it has substantially given me five significant things in return. How do you think your list will stack up?   

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Great Lifestyles for Those Who Love to Travel

Great Lifestyles Perfect for Those Who Love Traveling

 

It’s almost the beginning of another year, the time we think about priorities and how we want to move on. You may be preparing for retirement or want to make a change in how you work from home, especially since there are many portable careers available now. It’s time to make another pause.

My husband and I have used such pauses well over the years. In 2007 we met and married more than a year later. We retired embracing one retirement lifestyle; in 2013, made a change; and in 2017, went through another. Now it’s time to do it all over again. Here are the lifestyles we tried and what we dream of doing next.

Full-time RVing

About six months after we married, we decided to live in an RV full-time. We rented out our homes, sold some of our belongings, gave away others to family, and stored the rest in the garage of my daughter’s house and the shed of my condo in Seattle. We set out to conquer North America.

For the first three months, we simply tried it out and bought a small used 24-ft. Class B motorhome. When we were convinced it was the lifestyle we wanted, we bought a membership at a national campground network and upgraded our “home” to a 37.5-ft Class A. The network enabled us to stay at a campground (one of almost 200) for three weeks at a time (daily camping cost turned out to be less than ten dollars).

Fulltime RVing is perfect for the avid travelers that we are. We cris-crossed the continent six times in five years, staying in all 49 American states, ten Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states. We visited 35 national parks, 34 national monuments, and hundreds of other national, regional, and state landmarks. It was even more perfect for me: I had just retired and migrated to the US. I felt I truly deserved the citizenship I was granted.

We also found out that it was a very economical way to live as long as you invested in a good brand second-hand RV from a national chain, joined a reputable campground network spread out over the continent, mostly dined in with the majestic backdrops you found, and loved the outdoors and its bounty.

Snowbirding and World Travel

In 2013, when we discovered some health issues, we had to tweak our retirement lifestyle. We shifted to snowbirding, staying put for a few months, and having annual check-ups with a team of doctors. Starting that Christmas season, we parked our RV at the Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort and wintered in the Phoenix area. The rest of the year, we stored the RV and visited family, held family reunions, and took off to explore the rest of the world.

To do this, we invested in two timeshare memberships: one that gave us many resort options around the world and another that had extensive properties all over the US. As a result, traveled Europe extensively, spending a week in different towns, making them bases for wandering around and touring nearby countries.

The other allowed us to host week-long family reunions for each of our families in many scenic states. And, since our children’s homes are spread out over three countries and four states, we have gotten to know those locations and their adjoining areas well.  

Resort Living

We loved this snowbirding phase so much that we decided to stay permanently in Viewpoint and sold our RV. In Christmas 2017, we gifted each other a brand new three-bedroom unit. Three months later, we moved into our new home, getting “lost” in the 1,200 sq. ft of space, having lived in a cozy 350-sq. ft. RV for eight years.

Viewpoint has everything you need for an active 55+ lifestyle. I choose from two fitness centers every day; after which I go to the pool, hot tub (there are four available), and sauna. We tried our hands at the tennis courts (there are ten) and when we did not do well, contemplated a shift to pickleball (also ten courts).  Bill settled on golf and I, writing. We take walks around the park in the evening. There are movies, bingo, concerts, dinners, games, parties, and about 50 clubs to choose from. I chose the Photography, Writing, Painting, Texas Hold’Em, and the Computer Clubs.

With a big kitchen, I have enjoyed cooking more; tending to my plants has been a new pastime; and I have enjoyed time with valued friends. Staying home has allowed me to get renewed for the demanding and exciting world travel and family visits ahead.

Making Another Country a Second Home

In 2017, one timeshare reminded us that we still had three weeks that we would lose if we didn’t use the points by the end of the year. We quickly decided to spend that Christmas season in Cozumel. On that Caribbean island, we got a chance to change our retirement lifestyle yet again.

The truth is Bill would love to retire full-time in Mexico. It was where he had enjoyed months with his family before his first wife passed on. As a compromise, we gifted ourselves with an all-inclusive three-month leased timeshare we could use in any of the seven resorts in Mazatlan, Puerto Morelos, or Cozumel. This has turned out to be more practical than maintaining a house in a foreign land.

In 2018 and 2019 (impossible in 2020), and 2021 we went to Mazatlan where we never had to cook or clean, with ten restaurants available, a country club, and a short drive to downtown Mazatlan.  In 2022 we shifted to a resort on the Riviera Maya in Puerto Morelos with nine restaurants and many new landmarks to explore. We are returning there this December.

Long-Term Cruising for Life-Long Learning

In 1926 its first ship sailed from New Jersey for a voyage of seven and a half months to 90 ports. It was called the University of Seven Seas; later it came to be called the World Campus Afloat. Then the Institute of Shipboard Education shifted to its successor program, Semester at Sea. We had a taste of this when we sailed the Baltic countries, Iceland, and the UK in 2015.

The program was made available for non-students, as Enrichment Voyages first and then the Lifelong Learning Program. For a minimum of 30 days, visits to ports are complemented by seminars or workshops: political, economic, historical, geographical, and art and architectural discussions of the ports/regions, while at sea. The same professors with PhDs in their fields who teach the students are the seminar leaders. Some workshops include arts and crafts, writing and book clubs, dance, yoga, tai chi sessions, etc.

The ship’s facilities may not be as luxurious as regular cruise ships but adequate for the 700: 10 classrooms, 1 large seminar/showroom, another large seminar/ballroom, a piano bar, two dining rooms (buffet and waiter service), a pool and poolside bar, three viewing decks, a gym, spa, sauna, and massage wellness center, a library, a computer lab, a cruise ship store, and a medical clinic. Wifi facilities were formerly very limited but now that problem has been solved.

Other cruise lines have followed suit and offer living options on cruise ships. This new lifestyle has attracted some.

Making Another Country A First Home

This is what we have not yet tried. There are places where the cost of living is such that you can pretty much live at the same cost as home but be at the backdoor of other dream destinations. You can stay at a Spanish “castle,” a French chateau, an Italian vineyard, a South American pueblo, or “own” an island in the Philippines! But, at 75 and 80, Bill and I may have run out of time for this last lifestyle. What we can do is still dream!

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We Sold Our RV and Bought a New Traveling Lifestyle

We Sold Our RV and Bought a New Traveling Lifestyle

 

Last week I told you about how and why we chose to settle in Phoeni, first every winter and then three years later permanently, after eight years of RVing. The winters of the last three years were spent at Viewpoint, a large RV and golf resort in the city. In the third year, at about this time around Christmas, we decided to gift ourselves a change in traveling lifestyle. We bought a small, simple house and sold our RV.

WHAT LED TO OUR DECISION

1.    Completed Goal: North America

By that time, we had visited seven Mexican states, ten Canadian provinces, and 49 American states—had also gone to Hawaii although the RV could not take us there! We realized that we had essentially covered our North American bucket list, chronicled in my first travel book published in 2015: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream.

2.    New Goal: The World

Meanwhile, our travels abroad have mainly been trips back to the Philippines and to my daughters’ homes—they live in three separate countries: the US, Canada, and Australia.  As we toured all the areas around where they lived, a thirst for the rest of this wonderful world set in. But going home after each trip had become increasingly difficult. Enduring jet lag, we still had to haul our RV from storage, drive it back to Viewpoint, and refit it into the hook-ups.  We couldn’t just turn a key, drop our luggage, and plop into a nice comfy bed.

3.    Lasting Friendships

In addition, even if we met interesting people in the many campgrounds where we had stayed, we often lost contact with them afterward. It’s a not-so-happy consequence of regularly changing our neighborhoods and one of the cons of the full-time RV cruising lifestyle. Meanwhile, in Viewpoint, we were adopted by kindred campers. They included us in their tennis teams, golfing groups, and social events. Four decided to buy homes in the new golf resort phase featuring great-looking, good-sized brand-new manufactured homes. We followed the lead of our new lifelong friends.

4.    Good Healthcare

It was healthcare that led us to stay put at a central location every winter for our medical needs. Fortunately, we found Dr. Rustin Crawford of Cornerstone Family Medicine who diagnosed my two nascent issues and prescribed half of the smallest dose of medications for maintenance. They were quickly arrested. He referred my husband to an excellent cardiologist who fitted him with a pacemaker and a great dermatologist who is controlling skin cancer issues. We wanted Rustin to take care of us until the end. His small clinic has grown to three branches in the East Valley Phoenix Area.  

It all made so much sense. We had to have a permanent home here.

WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING

1.    Buying a House

We chose one of the model units close to the newest clubhouse complex (photo), giving us thousands of dollars of upgrades. The 1,200-square-foot three-bedroom home was more than three times the space we had in the RV. When we moved three months later, I almost got lost! But the biggest thrill was that I had a bride’s dream of being carried over the threshold—at the young age of 70—after a never-ending honeymoon.  Imagine furnishing and decorating our little home— with tastes that are cultures apart and attitudes so stubborn!

2.    Selling Out RV

Selling our RV proved to be a cinch, too. We bought our moving home that took us all over North America for $40,000. It was an 11-year-old Newmar Mountain Aire, one of the best brands and models in the market. On the day we listed it on Craigslist, it sold before noon! With the $10,000 in hand, the math meant that our first home had cost us just $312.50 per month over the previous eight years. It was the best travel investment we could ever have made because we even found the lifestyle more economical than living in an apartment. On top of that, we had rental income from our properties, giving us hefty savings!

WHAT WE GOT WITH THE CHANGE

World Travel

We had wanted to explore more of the other continents. After the house, we invested the balance of our savings in timeshares for our new “traveling lifestyle with a base.” So far, we have made trips to 28 countries, have annual reunions with both of our families in resort destinations around the US and enjoyed an awesome all-inclusive winter vacation for three months each year in Mexico.

Resort Lifestyle

Between trips, we had a resort lifestyle community in Viewpoint. Amenities include three clubhouses, two golf courses, an onsite restaurant and pro shop, four heated swimming pools, five hot tubs, two fitness centers, ten tennis courts, nine pickle ball courts, a shuffleboard court, a ball field, multi-purpose rooms, ballrooms, craft rooms, fifty clubs, and weekly dinners, concerts, and dances. The golf courses are right after the clubhouse near our house. It was a great place to relax and be with friends.

Visits from Family and Friends

The pleasant surprise was that, with more space in our home, lots of resort amenities in Viewpoint, and Arizona endowed with great landmarks such as the Grand Canyon National Park or lovely Sedona— many of our favorite people have come to visit and stay with us for vacations. This has been the additional blessing of owning a home. Family and friends now have a place to stay to be with us. Consider yourself invited!

A Covid-19 Sanctuary

And when the pandemic upended our lives, our home became a great sanctuary for the tiny bubble I shared with my husband. We have added a 200-square-foot Arizona room for my writing area and our playroom that converts into a guest room. Yes, that’s where you’ll stay!

I must admit that I miss RVing, every time I see one going down a freeway or parked at Walmart, especially when it became the safest way to travel during COVID-19 days. But not my husband— neither the driving nor the hooking or unhooking. I guess we can’t have it all; not forever. Anyway, a change always settles on being good again. 

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How We Chose to Settle in Phoenix After RVing for 8 Years