Retirement Scenario

M

Magnumb

Member
Where would you retire and what is holding you back?

Small cabin and large piece of property in Land O' Lakes, WI and then home on the Grand River in Grand Haven MI. Money is what is holding me back:)


In searching for properties with over 20 acres this one came up.

www.zillow.com

40 Acres Off County Rd #565, Gwinn, MI 49841 | MLS #50120466 | Zillow

This 480 square feet Single Family home has 1 bedroom and 0 bathroom. It is located at 40 Acres Off County Rd #565, Gwinn, MI.
www.zillow.com www.zillow.com
 
I

IOWASLEDDER

Active member
I'm heading either to northern Wisconsin or the Western U.P. Maybe the Keweenaw? I just turned 50 so my age is holding that up. Not quite ready yet.
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
St germain! Growing up and still living in a suburb of Appleton I need my amenities nearby, I’m not an off the grid, away from amenities type person. Eagle River and Minocqua would have majority of what I need, with a reasonable drive south to rhinelander for some more big box stores. Also, short drive to lake effect snow belt if the snow is poor in that area. I love visiting all of the areas in the snow belt, but not sure I could picture myself living in or near any of them. Many of the bigger towns in the snow belt areas have very poor economies and with that really brings down the quality of living.
 
C

chunk06

Active member
UP with a small house on at least 5 acres in a area within 20 min of one of the bigger cities. Besides things that make me money I'm somewhat of a minimalist, so I do not need much of a house. This is also pending on Michigan not getting to out of whack politically. I Also want it to be in a area with a bit lower temps and humidity in the summer. I also plan on having a good quality RV or trailer to escape for about a month or two late winter. As long as I'm able to I plan on having a part time job or handyman type work. I have a ways to go, and two kids that could change this depending on what they do with their lives
 
C

chunk06

Active member
indy_500 said:
St germain! Growing up and still living in a suburb of Appleton I need my amenities nearby, I’m not an off the grid, away from amenities type person. Eagle River and Minocqua would have majority of what I need, with a reasonable drive south to rhinelander for some more big box stores. Also, short drive to lake effect snow belt if the snow is poor in that area. I love visiting all of the areas in the snow belt, but not sure I could picture myself living in or near any of them. Many of the bigger towns in the snow belt areas have very poor economies and with that really brings down the quality of living.
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I like those areas now, but know people that have homes in those areas and they say it's getting less desirable every year, especially Minocqua. I can only imagine what it will be like in the next 20-25 years when it's my time!
 
E

euphoric1

Well-known member
not near retirement but hoping to retire in the U.P. some day. Down one of those roads that go off into the woods you see along the road and wonder...what's back there? ....ME. Don't need to live extravagantly, but like most and by then money will be the issue because like most of us on here I chose to make something of my life and I will be penalized because of it.
 
mike1970

mike1970

Member
Hoping within the next 5 years or so, we can sell our home in Lakeville, MN and move permanently to our cabin in Spooner, WI. Will need to make a few updates to live there comfortably full time, (add laundry and a 2nd bath) but with the proceeds from the house sale, should be able to more than make that happen. Will probably end up spending a couple months each late winter somewhere warm.
 
W

wiscrev

Well-known member
indy_500 said:
St germain! Growing up and still living in a suburb of Appleton I need my amenities nearby, I’m not an off the grid, away from amenities type person. Eagle River and Minocqua would have majority of what I need, with a reasonable drive south to rhinelander for some more big box stores. Also, short drive to lake effect snow belt if the snow is poor in that area. I love visiting all of the areas in the snow belt, but not sure I could picture myself living in or near any of them. Many of the bigger towns in the snow belt areas have very poor economies and with that really brings down the quality of living.
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I knew I lived in heaven! lol Have never regretted moving here. Some nice amenities real close; there is usually something going on between Eagle River, St Germain, Conover, or Three Lakes every weekend including late winter and early spring. Standard of living is not too costly except housing. Housing costs have doubled since I moved here in '13.
 
dfattack

dfattack

Well-known member
I'm too far away to think seriously about it, maybe 10-20 years. But if I'm dreaming...Florida in the winter except when I'm up riding and lake in the summer.
 
D

durphee

Well-known member
Already have a lake house in Hayward but would love a lakehouse with more land, but those are few and far between. Plan on retiring in 10 years +/- and living at the cabin from May-Sept then back up for late December for a month or two, all depends on the snow and lake ice. My fiance's family has a small place in St Pete Florida so we would spend some time down there but absolutely not in the summer, way too hot. Id rather spend more time up north than down south.
 
Airman68

Airman68

Member
Northern Wi for me. Living in Kaukauna now. Been looking for a nice 5+ acre parcel for a while and the prices are just going up and up. Hard to stomach them, lots of flippers over the past couple years trying to make a buck. Would be nice to be near a larger city of some sort. Planning on a smaller, under 1000 sq/ft cabin and pole barn for all the toys.
 
dfattack

dfattack

Well-known member
wiscrev said:
That's too long to live in Illinois, lol.
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Isn't that the truth. I hate it and would move in a heartbeat if I could. I'm too far into my career to pack up and relocate and start over. I've been doing what I do for 38 years now. Fortunately my son is now slowly coming into the business and maybe I can be semi-retired much sooner than that but we will see. That's my goal anyway.
 
H

Hoosier

Well-known member
Be curious what happens to some of the northwoods towns over the next 5 - 10 years. I know many have gone busier with more year-round residents following the covid changes. I'd guess long term many of these people would not want to stay up there year-round but I could be wrong.
 
W

whitedust

Well-known member
Hoosier said:
Be curious what happens to some of the northwoods towns over the next 5 - 10 years. I know many have gone busier with more year-round residents following the covid changes. I'd guess long term many of these people would not want to stay up there year-round but I could be wrong.
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Before Covid Vilas was forecast to shrink in population so far the Covid refugees stayed mainly due to work from home jobs. Locals still leave for job opportunities retail , hotel restaurants aren’t the careers they want so go mostly to the Fox Cities for manufacturing positions with mainstream benefits. Maybe the Fox Cities aren’t such a shock as Milwaukee and Chicago would be. Those that ended up in IL want back to WI hate the expense and cost of living in IL.
 
gary_in_neenah

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
Here's my two cents. Advice from my Dad years ago, "Do everything you can to pay off your mortgage early". And he was right, it's amazing how much money that frees up for things like a "place up north", toys, college, etc. The world has changed since he told me that. Today, most people you know live on credit and pay a little each month and it takes two incomes to make those ends meet. That plastic card makes it so darn easy to buy today and pay tomorrow and the bankers are laughing all the way to....well you know.

Back to the original post. We had a similar thread awhile back about places to own for snowmobiling and year-round fun. A few stated that they'd rather rent than own. No upkeep, no worries, no second mortgage and pay as you go. Might work for retirement too. The last thing I want to be doing during my retirement years is cleaning gutters, cutting brush, and shoveling snow. I'm doing most of that right now! ;)
 
R

racerx

Active member
gary_in_neenah said:
Here's my two cents. Advice from my Dad years ago, "Do everything you can to pay off your mortgage early". And he was right, it's amazing how much money that frees up for things like a "place up north", toys, college, etc. The world has changed since he told me that. Today, most people you know live on credit and pay a little each month and it takes two incomes to make those ends meet. That plastic card makes it so darn easy to buy today and pay tomorrow and the bankers are laughing all the way to....well you know.

Back to the original post. We had a similar thread awhile back about places to own for snowmobiling and year-round fun. A few stated that they'd rather rent than own. No upkeep, no worries, no second mortgage and pay as you go. Might work for retirement too. The last thing I want to be doing during my retirement years is cleaning gutters, cutting brush, and shoveling snow. I'm doing most of that right now! ;)
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That's what we did fur the most part, but we used the house in IL to secure loans to first buy the property up here and build basically a 6 car garage that we used to keep all the " equipment " and sometimes camped out in but we were lucky to have friends nearby that we always stayed with. Then the plan was to build by the time I was 55 in order to "prepare" for retirement (altho more like semi-retirement) but it worked out that I started building at 50 as there was no reason to wait plus we had some personal reasons that we asked ourselves why were we waiting.
Bottom line we had the commitment that we would not have any loans on the property and buildings up here, yes we lengthened the loans in IL (lucky to always had super low rates and stayed at 15year lengths) but we always said that the bank can have that house but not what we built up here.
So we feel blessed to be living were we vacationed!
 
F

fishcrib

Member

gary_in_neenah said:
Here's my two cents. Advice from my Dad years ago, "Do everything you can to pay off your mortgage early". And he was right, it's amazing how much money that frees up for things like a "place up north", toys, college, etc. The world has changed since he told me that. Today, most people you know live on credit and pay a little each month and it takes two incomes to make those ends meet. That plastic card makes it so darn easy to buy today and pay tomorrow and the bankers are laughing all the way to....well you know.

Back to the original post. We had a similar thread awhile back about places to own for snowmobiling and year-round fun. A few stated that they'd rather rent than own. No upkeep, no worries, no second mortgage and pay as you go. Might work for retirement too. The last thing I want to be doing during my retirement years is cleaning gutters, cutting brush, and shoveling snow. I'm doing most of that right now! ;)
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You'll be cleaning your gutters and neighbors when you retire.
 
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