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Message: [QUOTE="msf22b, post: 3656908, member: 656"] Hey VTC, we're up in Vermont; been here mostly since January...Quite retired (81) but working on a book. We enjoy traveling, skiing in the Winter and sailing in the summer...This year blew a big hole in our plans. My wife convinced me not to put the boat in the water this season in Westbook Ct (wonderful yard). Anyway, I've been thinking of getting rid of the cruising-style 34 that we now own and downsizing to day sailing on a Hobie Getaway...Have a teriff place to store and bop around in...Spanish Wells, Bahamas...cute town, great deserted beaches...of course, can't go there now, so we wait... We've spent at least three months in Italy, the last few seasons...either Fall or Spring but again, impossible to get there now...I'd be willing to quarantine, but no go. I do have a lovely long term rental lined in Umbria; an old stone house amongst, farms, villages, mountains, and not far from moderate sized cities; Perugia, Sienna and Arezzo (that we've never been to). A few words about the inequity in today's world...I am acutely aware that enjoying (what in the old days) what would have been considered a "normal" middle class retirement is a bridge too far for many...and that we're entering what I refer to as a split screen economy...one of my sons is working remotely in his mom's country house and dong just fine...my other son in the arts, is unemployed and broke with few prospects.... We're not "rich" by any standard; never got close to 200k ...but fortunate, I suppose...pension, unheard of cheap rent in town (my son's hanging there now, rent-free). a house in the country that almost pays for itself...way too big... two permanent tenants. Great health, wrap-around plan from New York City... Bottom line: not too much to worry about...my dad (bless his soul) even paid for the kid's college. And a frugal, Chinese wife, who watches every centime. We are the last of the old-time pensioneers...I truly pity the 401K generation. So, there's nothing, really to save for...so for the most part, we don't. But I am completely aware that the lack of comprehensive retirement packages, now putting the onus on the individual will lead to a future catastrophe around the time we check out. And that's for the middle-class...For the bottom 30%, many without even the prospects of employment...simply adequate food to eat and putting a roof over one's head is a struggle, that's difficult to contemplate. I don't have any answers; haven't heard many proposed; but we intend (as best we can) to enjoy our reasonably good health and spend our retirement in the (now anachronistic) manner of my parents. And try not to feel too guilty. [/QUOTE]

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