Who has retired to a waterfront area, ocean, lake, river, creek, pond?

B

Blessed

Well-known Member
I have always enjoyed the water. The plan was to retire somewhere close to some kind of water. Husband died and I don't know if I could handle things alone. The water is not the problem, I am more concerned about a rural location, getting to the grocery, doctors and such. Where are you and how do things work now that you are older? What can be a challenge, especially for women living alone?
 

How is it working for you? I read on another thread that you moved to a mobile home park. Do you enjoy the home and the area? Is it affordable and do you feel safe? Has it been everything you wanted in retirement?
 

I live on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland. I’ve been here for 35 years. My husband grew up here. I don’t think I’d want to own a home alone here. The water is tough on homes and there is a lot of maintenance to be done. We also have hurricanes. Our home was hit once and it took a full year to repair the damage. We had to evacuate and it was frightening. I live in a rural area but I don’t have any problems getting groceries, finding a doctor, etc.
We always had a boat but when my husband retired, he gave it up. Again, lots of maintenance.
Even with these drawbacks, I love living here. It’s lovely and serene and perfect for my senior years.
 
Marian said:
I live on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland. I’ve been here for 35 years. My husband grew up here. I don’t think I’d want to own a home alone here. The water is tough on homes and there is a lot of maintenance to be done. We also have hurricanes. Our home was hit once and it took a full year to repair the damage. We had to evacuate and it was frightening. I live in a rural area but I don’t have any problems getting groceries, finding a doctor, etc.
We always had a boat but when my husband retired, he gave it up. Again, lots of maintenance.
Even with these drawbacks, I love living here. It’s lovely and serene and perfect for my senior years.
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I am not surprised you love it there, it is kind of a magical place. Yes the salt water does take a big toll and maintenance. That would be something to worry about. The idea of a winter is kind of frightening. Not being able to dig out, if the heat goes out, if you do not have a well stocked pantry etc. My family also gave up the boats as they aged. For so long they were used for catching fish, crabs and oysters that supplied them with food. They also were big in duck hunting. Freezers were filled to get them through the winters. I never saw it but they would also catch sea turtles that were shared with the village/town. It was always a dream to live there and I know now it is just a dream, I could not do it alone.
 
Blessed said:
I am not surprised you love it there, it is kind of a magical place. Yes the salt water does take a big toll and maintenance. That would be something to worry about. The idea of a winter is kind of frightening. Not being able to dig out, if the heat goes out, if you do not have a well stocked pantry etc. My family also gave up the boats as they aged. For so long they were used for catching fish, crabs and oysters that supplied them with food. They also were big in duck hunting. Freezers were filled to get them through the winters. I never saw it but they would also catch sea turtles that were shared with the village/town. It was always a dream to live there and I know now it is just a dream, I could not do it alone.
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What about a Condo or apartment? My sisters live in a Condo in Daytona Beach Florida. They love it. They’re on the water plus they have a pool and clubhouse on the premises. Mostly Seniors live there and they’ve made many friends and they all get together for parties in the clubhouse. Where they are is inexpensive too!
 
Marian said:
What about a Condo or apartment? My sisters live in a Condo in Daytona Beach Florida. They love it. They’re on the water plus they have a pool and clubhouse on the premises. Mostly Seniors live there and they’ve made many friends and they all get together for parties in the clubhouse. Where they are is inexpensive too!
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Florida is not on my radar or wish list. Now if I had a sister to live with that might work. I am alone and have no one to go with or a backup. I am in Texas, if I was to move to a coastal city it would be in the Corpus Christie area, Mustang Island, Rockport etc. I would probably do better if I could find a home in the interior of Texas, near a lake or a river. The one that comes to mind is Canyon Lake, it is beautiful. Just like the rest of the nation, maybe even more so here, inflation has raised it's ugly head here as in other parts of the country. With that options have become few and far between. My son is so funny, he is let's do what we did when I was little, dig a hole in the backyard and call it a lake LOL
 
2 rivers run through our town. It is a far cry from the beach town I grew up in but it was a great place for us to retire to. The housing prices were very low, so our place has doubled in value. We paid it off about a year ago and had no bills until the accident and DH and DS bought a very nice somewhat newer than the old Sienna. However, the old one was paid off.....and the new one is gonna take some time.
 
When I retired I moved to the first house not on the water in over 30 years...
Marian said:
The water is tough on homes and there is a lot of maintenance to be done. We also have hurricanes. Our home was hit once and it took a full year to repair the damage. We had to evacuate and it was frightening.
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A lesson I learned the hard way. Bought a waterfront house on the Gulf of Mexico thinking it would be my retirement home. Too much rust, and too many hurricanes. And our insurance soared, we were paying as much for insurance as mortgage and taxes combined... Finally gave it up.
 
I lived on one of Canada's Gulf Islands for 10+ years. The San Juan Islands in Washington State would be similar.

Anyway, it was great, I loved it. Lots of inconveniences though. Some older people stayed until they died; others moved closer to cities when they started having health problems.

Nice if you can afford it. I left because of the rental situation.
 
Blessed said:
Sounds wonderful but as I am a widow would not work for me. Color me green with envy!!
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I just answered the questions you asked about and there are plenty of senior single women living in the area who manage just fine. What they can’t do, others do for them.
I did not realize you are only looking at the southern United States areas. You didn’t specify.
 
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Blessed said:
I am in Texas, if I was to move to a coastal city it would be in the Corpus Christie area, Mustang Island, Rockport etc. I would probably do better if I could find a home in the interior of Texas, near a lake or a river. The one that comes to mind is Canyon Lake, it is beautiful.
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I didn’t realize from the title and your first post that ideally you don’t want to move away from your hometown state of Texas.
 
NorthernLight said:
I lived on one of Canada's Gulf Islands for 10+ years. The San Juan Islands in Washington State would be similar.
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My husband grew up there, in fact his family owned several of the islands, losing most in the depression because they were land poor & couldn't pay the taxes. They retained a couple for awhile.
I've often told you that you remind me of my husband's family, maybe you're a cousin!
 
We have two reservoir lakes not far away, creeks. I love the water. I'm from Santa Cruz, Ca and so took the ocean and beach for granted. It's really one of the only good memories of the town I have.

I too love the water. I watch with envy the Charlevoix live bridge cam (YouTube) in the summer, watching the boats go in and out. No desire to own a boat, but it would be nice to go on a day cruise or something.

I actually bought this vintage Russ mug yesterday at the Goodwill and thought it would be the closest I'd get to the water this summer.

mug.JPG
 
Blessed said:
I would probably do better if I could find a home in the interior of Texas, near a lake or a river. The one that comes to mind is Canyon Lake, it is beautiful.
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That's what I'm thinking too, "the interior of Texas" is way safer from hurricanes than, say, Corpus Christie. I looked up Canyon Lake: not bad ...
 
We have lakes, ski hills, wineries all within easy driving distance. We also have an abundance of retirees just like us. The housing market is stressed and the medical system more so.
 
I have lived in several seasonal and one year round mobile home lake communities. With some that are far from the city the utility bills are high as most are heated with propane or oil. In the last park the cell phone service was sketchy, impossible to get a signal in the park, you had to drive outside the park, and there were no landlines except for an emergency box in the park laundry room.

There are inconveniences but on the other hand nothing like coffee watching the sun come up over the lake.
 
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