At almost every stage in life, you need to answer three crucial questions. How you answer them will influence the arc of your life for decades to come. What are they?
1) Where do I want to live?
2) What do I want to do?
3) Who do I want to do it with?
Think back to the previous times in life when you answered those questions. Maybe it was when you were heading off to college or entering the workforce. Maybe it was when you got married and started a family or maybe it was when you had a career change. Knowing what you know now about how each decision shaped and influenced your life, can you see how important your answers were?
As you plan for and enter retirement, it’s time once again to ask and answer “The Big 3.” Block off some time on your calendar to think – and I mean really think – about those questions. How you answer them will largely define how you spend the final third of your life. And if you feel like sharing what you come up with, post a comment below. It might just serve as insight or inspiration for the rest of us.
Hello Joe,
I am new to your blog and find it very interesting and informational. It is one of the best retirement websites available.
Have you ever discussed or covered the topic of advantages/disadvantages of retiring to different locations from a financial perspective? For example, from a tax stand point, is their an advantage to retiring in Gulf Shores, AL vs. Pensacola, FL?
Thanks for your time and I will recommend your website to all my friends!
Joe Lustek
Hi Joe. Thanks for the kind words and for touching base. I’ve posted a few articles on that topic (e.g. search the site for “Which state will give you the lowest tax bill?”). Also, I covered that topic in more detail in The Ideal Retirement Design Guide (available in our Store). There is a module in there that covers the many different types of taxes and which states are the most favorable to retirees. I’ll keep that topic in mind for a future post and go into a bit more depth. Thanks again. Touch base if there’s ever anything I can do for you.
~ Joe
Hi Joe,
1) Where do I want to live? For me that’s an easy one, EVERYWHERE! I would like to live six to 12 months at different locations around the world. I did a lot of traveling during my time in the military and I know there is a lot of the world I haven’t seen yet. As a young child, my mother told me that I was always asking when we could move somewhere else, I guess I never got over the itchy feet.
2) What do I want to do? I want to live with and get to know people from around the world. I am into scuba diving, so hopefully there will always be an opportunity to dive.
3) Who do I want to do it with? There’s only one person for me, my wife. Of course we’re going to have to sit down and work this out, because she’s happy here, near the kids and grand kids.