Retirement, ah, guess I've been lucky. Been semi retired most of my life and able to go and do most everything I've wanted to I'm thinking about getting my law degree for retirement. Live life upside down I guess. Karen, Atlanta really is a great part of the country. I've been here for 8 years now and always threatened to move as I've lived through a HUGE growth spurt and all the little annoying things with it but they are finally doing lots of future planing and getting the roads a bit ungridlocked etc. The climate is great. Its the best of both worlds. You have just enough summer and when its gets unbearable it goes into a short winter and maybe every other year we get 3 inches of the white stuff but you can either drive or fly to it if you want. GA is second largest state only to Texas in land mass and we have all the climates and conditions of the entire country here. Gwinnett CDounty has the best schol systems and thats where I landed and love it. You can go a bit north but the traffic is not as easy to havigate. Lots of real estate to choose from. I just have a plain (older) ranch house on 4 acres but there are many beautiful subsivisions. When I was in that business I was doing to hight end stuff from 500kup but stuck mostly to the mill plus country club and upper scale apartment homes as they now call them, townhouses that you lease actually. I have decdided that I will probably stay in the area. Its really convienient for most all and we now have everything that NYC or LA has. I know a good realtor, she is VERY honest and fair (associated with Coldwell Bankers). If you want I can hook you up. She says she usually works with people 3 to four months in advance. Her name is Teresa Brigham. You give her a list of your requirements and she won't waste your time on stuff that dosen't interest you. Glad you're coming!! You'll love it here. Course its a bit like Boston in that all roads lead to Peachtree...... ha ha. You'll get that after you've been here a bit. Richard, sounds like you're having fun too. Oh, what one can collect. It takes me about 3 years but OH MY Gosh.... its just amazing. And, the more room I have to more I "collect". Instutituted a new rule. If something comes in, something goes out. Buy a new pair of jeans, one old pair must go etc...... Guess you HAVE to do somehting indoors as by the looks you can't move much outside these days. Almost spring here but we did have a terrific ice storm last week. I spent in in Hilton Head and was waited on hand and foot as there weren't many guests. Was awesome!!

Dave and I will retire in 5 years. We don't know what we'll do. Or where. I'd like to be warm year round but Dave enjoys winter sports. He also doesn't picture himself as a man of leisure. Travel for a while is appealing. then I think he'll go back to school and get another degree and start a whole career. Ick.

I got pretty good help as I cleaned bedrooms, compared to other efforts I have seen my boys make. So far the new piles are just clothes. The mixed piles of clothes, empty CD cases, old candy wrappers, and tons of papers from ???? haven't started to build yet. I think that travelling around the country is a good way to start finding retirement possibilities, but the next question is "what are you going to do there?" I think I may combine visits with searches for transitional employment, like being a volunteer at the San Francisco Zoo or doing groundskeeping work at a desert art colony for women.

Retirement still seems so far away to me. Retirement for Avi, that is. I've been retired for most of my life!

If working with the boys on their rooms is anything like my house, it means you do the cleaning and they watch and identify things that are unrecognizable. My 17 year old just told me tonight that he doesn't know what to do with the stuff in his closet. In other words, he has no idea where to begin. Makes me feel like a major failure in the Martha Stewart department. As for the retirement choices ........ interesting. I just heard from a couple that we know, he quit his job and they are spending the next two months travelling around the country to see where they want to retire. Thought that sounded like a good way to decide.

We aren't moving but I am making a major push to clean, fix, and finish things in our house. I worked with my boys on their rooms the last two weekends. Oh my god!!! Before that I made a dining room table and a dining room out of an extended area of our living room. Cleaning my shop took all of x-mas vacation.

If I could only retire, I might enjoy it. My vote for retirement would be Phoenix or Santa Fe.

If you have friends in the Atlanta area, that should make the move a lot easier. As for retirement, if Avi is ever willing to go back to Israel, I wouldn't have to think twice. But that doesn't seem very likely. It looks like we're staying put for now.

I am sick of it. I would like to get to the point of thinking about what we like instead of thinking of what will sell when we change something in the house. At least I know that there is a commitment to Kellan, my ninth grader that we will not move him again until he goes to college .......... so three years in GA at least. Will be 2 1/2 here by the time we go, except for the weather, I don't really feel ready to leave. I have a couple of friends in the Atlanta area and they are making me feel wanted and that it will be a good place to live. We sometimes talk about where we want to retire, have any of you thought of that? Any suggestions? I don't see myself as a Florida girl! Rich likes Charleston, SC. Where the hell did the time go??????????

So are you too busy cleaning closets and painting to notice he's gone?!! Just kidding. I guess you're used to this moving thing. I don't think I'd have energy to pack up again for another move. But maybe the energy comes when you need it. I guess I better shut up before I make you feel worse.

Hi Lori, Thanks for asking. Rich started work on Jan. 6th and just came home for the first time this past weekend. I had a "honey do" list as long as my arm. He likes the new job very much. It seems like the minute he left it started snowing and hasn't stopped. Today we are due to get 6 inches of snow .... my boys are hoping for the first snow day this year, but they are pretty tough here. I have been spending most of my time cleaning out closets and painting rooms. We have only lived in this house for a year and a half so we hadn't really gotten things the way we wanted them. We will market our house by the end of Feb. and will look in GA in the spring. Glad to have blogger to check on. Hope the winter is short for all of us.