Anyone planning to retire in two locations?

[gbbi_977]

Hi everyone,

I'm Australian and my husband is American. Something we've often daydreamed about is what retirement will look like. We know that life throws curveballs, and we have no idea if our parents' circumstances will require us to be in one place or the other for retirement, full time. But putting that unknown to one side, we would love to one day divide our years between Australia and America, spending six months-ish in each place, so as to get the best of both worlds and be close to both sets of extended family.

This is a pipe dream, we don't have firm plans and of course there will be various push/pull factors we can't predict now (retirement is at least 20 years off), but I'm curious - any of you retirees do this? I know many people are nomadic, but we're home-bodies who love to have a nest. So I'm wondering, anyone out there have two nests that they split their time between? How does it work? Do you rent or buy? Home-swap? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

[daverobev]

Lots of Canadians 'snowbird' to AZ or FL.

Biggest issue AFAIK is residency requirements. But Canada and Oz will be different on that, I'm sure. Things like healthcare coverage is lost if you're out of province for more than half the year, for example, plus part of retirement income, etc.

You'll probably find you're better off 'residing' in one country but keeping a 'holiday home' in the other. Hrm. Except most Canadians are visitors, rather than expats, to/from the US.

Interesting topic though as I'm British and have family in France, would love to spend some time there rather than here.

[Trudie]

I'm from the U.S. (Iowa) and my husband and I are discussing whether to have a place close to family and another in Colorado.  We are about six years from FIRE.

I have watched my parents maintain two residences in Arizona and in Iowa for about 15 years.  The challenges haven't been financial.  I do think people need to consider if they want to live a "divided life."  I think my parents have a difficult time feeling "rooted" and being content staying in one place too long.  Also, because they're on the go so much they tend not to extend themselves in ways (socially, through volunteerism) that develop deep and lasting attachments.  Everyone is different that way, but I can see how it limits my parents.

I think I'm the kind of person who would be more comfortable being rooted in one place.  I am an introvert and would find it difficult to try to maintain such a lifestyle.  Also, as a person who prizes depth over quantity of friendships I would find it difficult the spark and nurture new friendships.

[YK-Phil]

We will FIRE in October 2016 and are actively preparing for that. My wife is Japanese and has all her family and relatives in Japan, I am Italian/Spanish with French nationality and most of my relatives in France, Spain and Italy. However, my four adult kids and both my parents are in Canada, so we plan to have our permanent home base in this country and spend 6-8 months of the year on our little acreage on one of the Gulf Islands. Our original plan also included the purchase of a small property in Spain for the winter months, but we decided not to tie ourselves and our financial resources in one spot. Instead, our plan will be to do some slow and frugal travel during the winter, hitting a different country every year so we can visit our friends and relatives who are scattered all over the world.

[parkette]

We are an Aussie/Canadian couple. We're currently based in Canada but we're planning on splitting our time over the next 4-5 years between the two countries before our boys are in school. We have flexible jobs that are or can be seasonal so that works out well.

I think we'll end up with maintaining our cdn home as primary residence (hopefully renting it out when not there) and finding some creative housing in Oz. We've discussed renting/buying in a caravan park close to the beach, living in the family summer home (we'll do that this year), home swap, house sitting or traditional renting. We also own a home there but I think we're better off renting it out year-round, and it's not really in a location we'd like to live.

[lizzzi]

I am FIRE in a small, flat ranch-style house in the Midwest of the U.S ....a very low cost-of-living area. The house faces a 4,400 acre metropolitan park, with the walking trails just across the road from me. Many relatives live in this state, anywhere from around the corner to an hour and a half drive away. Being close to family is kind of a mixed bag for me, but at times it is a good thing. I was from here originally but left  40 years ago to go into the military, and ended up in New York state for 25 years. So I am really torn between living in New York or here. Currently I rent a room in New York, on the Hudson around 60 miles up from Manhattan. It works out fairly well, but I need to be a little further up the Hudson in a town I lived in for 18 years and really love. So I'm currently investigating rented rooms by talking to friends word-of-mouth and by searching Craigslist. It is an eight-hour drive to where I want to be in NY...I have good freeway access from my little house in the woods...and plan to keep my pleasant, cheap house here but also continue to  have a room or house share arrangement in NY. It will leave me the flexibility to change the NY arrangements if I want to/need to, and I'll be able to keep a foot in both places. I love New York and miss it a lot, but am leery of the punishing property taxes...and I will never find another house that is as perfect for me as this cosy little Mustachian place in the Heartland.

[Roots&Wings]

The 'snowbirds' thread also has some good info, including one poster who divides time between Australia and Canada: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/snowbirds-what's-your-migration-pattern/msg539201/#msg539201