One-Year Anniversary as a Retiree (55, states, retired, vacation)
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Today, March 3rd, marks the one-year anniversary of my last day of work. I walked out of my office a few blocks from the Supreme Court at exactly 1:00 p.m., and went straight to the airport where I boarded a 4:30 p.m. flight to my new home in Las Vegas. No use in wasting any time in getting my retirement started!
As I've stated in another thread, one of the reasons that I wanted to retire early was so that I could travel as much as possible without regard to vacation schedules or office priorities. Now that I have "recuperated" from my six-week trip to South America which ended last week, I am in the travelling mood once again. As a one-year anniversary present to myself and my wife, I just finished booking our next trip: We depart next month for a few days in Miami followed by a two-week transatlantic voyage from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, with several interim stops in Portugal, Spain, and Monte Carlo. We will then spend a week in Rome (a city I love, yet haven't been back to in over 15 years) before flying back to Las Vegas in late May.
We're then going to reverse the process in November by flying to Rome first, spending another few days touring southern Italy, and then boarding a different cruise ship for a return transatlantic voyage to Ft. Lauderdale and then a flight back to Vegas.
Today, March 3rd, marks the one-year anniversary of my last day of work. I walked out of my office a few blocks from the Supreme Court at exactly 1:00 p.m., and went straight to the airport where I boarded a 4:30 p.m. flight to my new home in Las Vegas. No use in wasting any time in getting my retirement started!
As I've stated in another thread, one of the reasons that I wanted to retire early was so that I could travel as much as possible without regard to vacation schedules or office priorities. Now that I have "recuperated" from my six-week trip to South America which ended last week, I am in the travelling mood once again. As a one-year anniversary present to myself and my wife, I just finished booking our next trip: We depart next month for a few days in Miami followed by a two-week transatlantic voyage from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, with several interim stops in Portugal, Spain, and Monte Carlo. We will then spend a week in Rome (a city I love, yet haven't been back to in over 15 years) before flying back to Las Vegas in late May.
We're then going to reverse the process in November by flying to Rome first, spending another few days touring southern Italy, and then boarding a different cruise ship for a return transatlantic voyage to Ft. Lauderdale and then a flight back to Vegas.
Now this is why I retired!
When I was in college in the early to mid-1960's it was still sometimes cheaper to get to Europe by ship rather than by airplane and I made the round trip by ship twice. It is a great experience in itself which I'm glad I didn't miss. So for those who have the time - and that would be mostly retirees - I would recommend this experience.
I am glad you are doing your travelling. We are going on a 17 day cruise from Barcelona to Dover England in May. This is for our 40th wedding anniversary. One of our travel goals is to go to all states. We only have two to go - North and South Dakota. Hope to add them to the list this year.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeachyMJ
... Barcelona to Dover England in May.
Lived in Barcelona for awhile and did that drive (Dover and beyond). Our numerous ferry trips in the winter across the channel were 'exciting'. The kids really enjoyed Normandy, I would like to go back on a bicycle or motorcycle, so much to see in the little out of the way places, and rent a barge holiday in France / Holland for a couple months.
Quote:
...travel goals is to go to all states. We only have two to go - North and South Dakota.
SR, thank you. I will definitely do the Dakota recommendations. We just need to find a great air fare and the time. I retired at 55 and have enjoyed every single minute. Looking forward to the cruise. I went to Italy and Greece last year and I'm so excited about going to all the other good places that we will see. Especially Normandy!
"The cost of flying keeps rising, as airlines again hiked ticket prices on Thursday, the sixth increase of the year for most major carriers. Airlines blame the rising fares on a 25 percent jump in the price of jet fuel since January, when turmoil erupted in the Middle East."
Today, March 3rd, marks the one-year anniversary of my last day of work. I walked out of my office a few blocks from the Supreme Court at exactly 1:00 p.m., and went straight to the airport where I boarded a 4:30 p.m. flight to my new home in Las Vegas. No use in wasting any time in getting my retirement started!
As I've stated in another thread, one of the reasons that I wanted to retire early was so that I could travel as much as possible without regard to vacation schedules or office priorities. Now that I have "recuperated" from my six-week trip to South America which ended last week, I am in the travelling mood once again. As a one-year anniversary present to myself and my wife, I just finished booking our next trip: We depart next month for a few days in Miami followed by a two-week transatlantic voyage from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, with several interim stops in Portugal, Spain, and Monte Carlo. We will then spend a week in Rome (a city I love, yet haven't been back to in over 15 years) before flying back to Las Vegas in late May.
We're then going to reverse the process in November by flying to Rome first, spending another few days touring southern Italy, and then boarding a different cruise ship for a return transatlantic voyage to Ft. Lauderdale and then a flight back to Vegas.
Now this is why I retired!
Congrats, we got to share in your retirement countdown and I am glad it is working out as planned!
"The cost of flying keeps rising, as airlines again hiked ticket prices on Thursday, the sixth increase of the year for most major carriers. Airlines blame the rising fares on a 25 percent jump in the price of jet fuel since January, when turmoil erupted in the Middle East."
There is an investment strategy to help deal with the increasing cost of energy/transportation. If you have the money to travel a lot you probably have the money to invest in equities/funds/ETF's that march in general tangent with energy prices. Thats a major reason for the rise in oil prices so many of us investing in the underlying funds of the industry etc.
Sounds like you're having fun.
Only three words I can say to you......GO FOR IT!!
And......PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda
Today, March 3rd, marks the one-year anniversary of my last day of work. I walked out of my office a few blocks from the Supreme Court at exactly 1:00 p.m., and went straight to the airport where I boarded a 4:30 p.m. flight to my new home in Las Vegas. No use in wasting any time in getting my retirement started!
As I've stated in another thread, one of the reasons that I wanted to retire early was so that I could travel as much as possible without regard to vacation schedules or office priorities. Now that I have "recuperated" from my six-week trip to South America which ended last week, I am in the travelling mood once again. As a one-year anniversary present to myself and my wife, I just finished booking our next trip: We depart next month for a few days in Miami followed by a two-week transatlantic voyage from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, with several interim stops in Portugal, Spain, and Monte Carlo. We will then spend a week in Rome (a city I love, yet haven't been back to in over 15 years) before flying back to Las Vegas in late May.
We're then going to reverse the process in November by flying to Rome first, spending another few days touring southern Italy, and then boarding a different cruise ship for a return transatlantic voyage to Ft. Lauderdale and then a flight back to Vegas.
Congratulations! It sounds like you are really off to a good start. I also agree with you that traveling and seeing the world is one of the best use of funds. I've hit over 500 cities around the world and my family and I really love traveling around and seeing new cities and learning new cultures.
One thing you might want to keep in mind is home exchanges. If you live in a decent city, you can use sites like HomeExchange.com and travel around the world. We've traveled 100+ days a year the past several years in a row. We used to stay in expensive hotels but now just swap our properties. It's a great option for those that are retired and want to see the world.
We love it....we've never had a bad experience and made some great friends. Of course you still have to pay for airfare but the biggest cost for us was always hotels. We have 2 young kids so before we had to get 2 hotel rooms but we really prefer "living like locals". It's really great!
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Travel by ocean liner
