Vernita Patterson
What Is It About Georgia? Maybe The ...
What Is It About Georgia? Maybe The Peaches?
Vernita Patterson
Delaware, ...
Delaware, Will You Be The One?
Vernita Patterson
I'm Retiring and Relocating to California

I’m Retired And Relocating to California

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to visit Hollywood, California that is.  I wanted to be a movie star and live the lavished life. My life has been lavished but not in the way I thought that I wanted as a little girl. I am an educator and think of myself as a movie star. In 2013 I was able to go to Hollywood California and I have gone every year since. Now that I am Retired&Lovinit, the San Diego California is one of the cities that I am thinking about relocating to.

This is the first of the ten places that I will be researching and writing about in my bi-weekly blog series’ “Retiring Soon? Where Will You Relocate?” First I will consider how I want to live, compare the places that will best facilitate my desired lifestyle and then I will choose a place. The place that I choose needs to be near the beach, I don’t have to be on the beach I just want to see it often. The weather needs to be warm most of the year. I need affordable housing, low crime, low taxes and no state tax on my pension. My new city must be near a major airport hub, because I like to travel. Now I know that won’t get all of my must-haves, but I will use this list as the main basis for determining the best place for me.

California is a large state with more than thirty-eight million residents. Yes, California’s cost of living is higher than average in the United States. However, there are several affordable places to live on a retirement income in California. For example, Redding which is in Northern California and Eureka, which is near beaches. But of course I would want to live in San Diego or the Los Angeles area. These areas are among the most expensive places to live, but can be affordable for some retirees.

I fell in love with Coronado, California three years in a row. I would love to relocate there. Coronado Island is a resort city located in San Diego County. The population is over 30,000. Coronado Island is known for its beautiful beaches that sparkle. Crime is lower than the national average. Coronado Island has that small town vibe. There is a Starbucks, but there are also Mom & Pop shops. I found the people to be friendly. Coronado Island has stunning views of the San Diego skyline. The scenery is beautiful and the architecture of the buildings is fantastic! I was definitely sad when it was time to go.

 The weather in Coronado Island is great. The average temperature is 66 degrees. The annual low is 59.2 degrees and the annual high is 72.8 degrees. No snow and the annual amount of rain are 9.49 inches. The air conditioner is needed some parts of the year and a light jacket the other part of the year.Okay, I have just told you about all of the good qualities of Coronado Island and my reasons for moving there.  

 Yes, California cost of living is higher than average in the United States. However, there are affordable places to live on a retirement income in California. For example, Redding and Eureka are two, but neither is where I want to live. So I will not mention them again. The average rent in San Diego County for a two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment is $2400 with many good amenities. I was able to find a 1000 square-foot two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment with a nice size deck for $1620 in San Diego City. No, none of these include gas and electric. If I wanted to buy there are several affordable active adult communities from low $200’s to high $800’s. I don’t think that I would buy if I decided to relocate here.

 The state of California taxes pensions but not tax Social Security. The state of California has the fourth largest tax burden behind New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Coronado sales tax is 8%; this is a combination of state, county and city tax. The state of California sales tax is 6.25%.

The question is, would the love of the small town, beautiful beaches and wonderful top the high cost of living? Oh, I forgot San Diego does not have a major hub airport; I would have to fly into LA then to my destination. Great medical facilities were not on my must-have list it should have been. As you get older you definitely want to be near great medical facilities. San Diego has great medical facilities.

 Leaving the West coast and on to the East coast.  Time to research the next place on my list, Delaware. Check back in two weeks to see what I have to say about relocating to Delaware. 

I'm Retiring and Relocating to California
Vernita Patterson
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California Here I Come

 

My Significant Other (SO) and I took our annual trip to San Diego, California. I love going to San Diego, California! But I do not like flying for five and a half hours, but that is the quickest way to get there. My SO son moved out there a few years ago. We go every August to visit him.

 

My SO is a Coast Guard veteran and he flies for free. He had to drive to Washington DC from Philadelphia. There he took a flight to Las Vegas. He spent the night in Las Vegas. He then took Greyhound Bus to San Diego. That was his free flight. Sometimes he gets a straight flight, sometimes he doesn’t. For him it is about saving money not too much about convenience. It is about convenience for me.

 I use Expedia.com to book my trips. I recommend booking your hotel and flight together, it is usually cheaper. I booked my flight in February because I only needed a flight. My round trip flight cost $357.39. I flew out of Philadelphia on an American non-stop flight to San Diego. My SO picked me up in a rented car. I flew Jet Blue on my return flight. I flew to Boston, sat there for three hours and then on to Philadelphia. I won’t do that again, trying to save money. My time is worth much more. The flight going was freezing cold. The return flight was much better. But why is my departure gate always at the end of the airport? The gates at my terminal were numbered 1-26, and my gate was 26.

 I prefer to have my car at the airport, that way I do not have to wait for anyone to pick me up. There is a bus that takes you to every terminal and picks you up at every terminal on your return trip. The cost is $11 for every 24 hours. I was gone eight

days, but was charged for 9, because it was past the 24-hour mark when I picked up my car. Costing a total $99, I was not happy with that.

 

We stayed at the Military Lodge on one of the Navy bases.  There is

more than one Lodge on this base. I did not take any pictures on the base. The last time I tried to take pictures on the base a MP got out of his car and came up to me. He said that I could not take pictures, so I do not take pictures on the base!

 

It is now 10:30 AM in California and time for breakfast. We went to Coronado Island. Coronado Island is beautiful with a small town vibe. We ate breakfast at a fifty-style restaurant. There were jute boxes with music from the fifties, the waitresses wore aprons and they made milk shakes the old way.  You could sit at the booths or sit at the counter. They used a cash register from the fifties. The food was delicious. Their coffee is ten cents on Wednesdays with military ID.

We took a road trip to Los Angeles. We stayed two nights at the Los Angeles Air Force Inn in San Pedro. Our room was really a one-bedroom apartment.  It had a queen-sized bed with a walk in closet, a fully equipped kitchen, a separate bathroom, a living room, two televisions with cable, free Wi-Fi and a beautiful breeze.

We ate at the famous San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant. They catch, clean and cook the fish right there. I had the best Mango Margarita. It was Fleet Week in San Pedro, so there were plenty of sailors and ships to see. We drove to downtown Los Angeles and took in the sights. On the way back to San Pedro we drove through Watts and Compton.

San Diego and Coronado had beautiful weather. I absolutely loved the vibe. The houses looked beautiful on the outside. However, it is expensive to live in San Diego and more expensive in Coronado compared to other places. If your retirement income can handle the expenses of San Diego and/or Coronado, this would be a great place to relocate. The weather is gorgeous and the water views are fantastic. I would love to move here but I prefer to spend my retirement income on other things.

We had a great time! Oh, we did spend time with my SO’s son. We took him out to eat several times. Well, until next year!

California Here I Come!!!
Vernita Patterson
Would You Like To Go To Niagara Falls?
Would You Like To Go To Niagara Falls?

Would You Like To Go To Niagara Falls?

There are so many places to visit in North America, especially in the United States. I was born, raised and spent most of my life living in New York City. There are so many places that I have not visited yet. New York State has beautiful sites to visit. One of those places is Niagara Falls. I went when I was 12 and always wanted to go back. So we decided to go and I wanted to share with you.

 My Significant Other (SO) and I drove from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls.  We left Philadelphia on a Thursday in July, around 11 in the morning and arrived at our hotel in Niagara Falls around 7:30 that evening. We made two stops, ran into some slow traffic and made a wrong turn. My SO retired from the Coast Guard after twenty years of service. When we travel we usually stay at lodges/hotels that are part of or on a military base. We spent four days and three nights at Niagara Lodge, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, New York. The room was $70 per night. The lodge is located a few miles from Niagara Falls. It is cheaper to stay on the New York side. There are many hotels/motels to choose from at various prices on both sides.

The room that we stayed in was equipped with a mini kitchen that included a microwave, small sink, coffee maker and refrigerator.  We had a Queen size bed, a sitting area, desk and chair, dresser, television, Direct TV, DVD player, separate sink from the toilet/shower area, ironing board and iron, toiletries and wireless connectivity. Souvenirs and sundries were available for purchase. Movies and Xbox gaming systems are available for sign out. There is a workout room available on the base. They even had tour services available for purchase.

When we arrived Thursday evening we checked in. We asked the gentleman at the front desk to suggest a place for dinner. He suggested The Griffon Gastro pub, it was nice, the service was great and the food was delicious. We then drove around to see what else was in the area. We found a high-end store outlet. Luckily it was about to close, that saved me money.  We found Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target and many other well known stores and restaurants. We were both tired so back to the hotel to rest.

The waitress at The Griffon Gastro pub restaurant suggested a quaint little café in Lewiston, NY called The Villa Coffee House for breakfast.  We had breakfast there on Friday. We had a nice scenic drive to find this restaurant. Yes, we went the wrong way. But we eventually found it. The café closed at 2pm and we got there around 1pm. The food and service was good. After breakfast we t began our drive to Niagara Falls.

There are a lot of State parks to visit in Niagara Falls New York. We stopped at Devil’s Hole State Park to take pictures.  Devil’s Hole State Park is a 42-acre state park located in Niagara County, New York, north of the City of Niagara Falls.  The park overlooks the lower Whirlpool rapids of the Niagara River George. It was absolutely beautiful.

I definitely recommend that you visit Niagara Falls. You can visit the New York side, the Canada side or both. We parked on the New York side and walked across the bridge to the Canada side, you can also drive to Canada. Driving and parking on the Canadian side is more expensive and there is a very long line to get into Canada. Parking in a big parking lot on the New York side was $10.00 no driving around. Yes you need your passport and there is a fee to come back into the United States. You can only pay with quarters; I believe it was fifty cents.

There are many activities and restaurants to visit. Of course there were many souvenir shops. It was very crowded with tourists from various countries. We walked up this steep hill to what reminded me of the activities at Coney Island or Atlantic City. Yes, a lot of walking, I was very happy that I had on comfortable shoes. I forgot to bring my bottle of water. We took pictures, sat and watched the falls.  Now back to the New York to have dinner at Applebee’s.

Saturday we had breakfast at The Sunshine another quaint café the waitress from Thursday night recommended. The food and service was very good. New York State has an extensive list of wineries. We decided to try one. As we got closer to the winery we could smell the grapes. We went to a wine tasting. You got to taste four different wines with chocolate to enhance the flavor for $8.  You got to choose four wines from four different wine categories. Needless to stay I really enjoyed that. Luckily I was not driving. We left and went to dinner at Applebee’s. I guess we like Applebee’s.

We checked out Sunday morning, had breakfast and drove home. The trip was excellent. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Niagara Falls was smaller than we expected. But it was beautiful! The scenery surrounding it was gorgeous.

I am so Retired&Lovinit!!! I want you to be also!!!

Retirement, Now What?

I remember when I was working,I couldn’t wait to retire. Most of working people feel like that. They are constantly saying "I can't wait to retire!!!" Hey, that might be you! But do you know what to expect when you retire? Do you know how you will feel when you retire? Do you know what you will do to fill the vacancies in your daily life that will exist when you retire? I ask those questions because there are so many people who will retire soon and don't have a clue. 

Retirement should not mean that you fade away. Retirement means that you are about to have a fantastic change in your life. It has been just that in my life. At first it was scary, I was about to start a brand new chapter in my life. Retirement can bring on depression for many new retirees. Many will not know what to do with themselves because their work was their lives. They missed their colleagues and the role that they played at their place of employment. That is because they thought that their jobs were their whole identity.

I missed the same lifestyle,that I wanted to get rid of everyday. My lifestyle consisted of a daily six hour commute. I drove to 20 minutes to the bus station,  I rode for 1 hour and 40 minutes on the bus to Manhattan,  I then took two trains to Brooklyn and I then walked 3 long blocks to my place of employment. And then when I stepped into that building,for 7 hours, I did not know what surprises would exist that day. When I look back I can't believe that I missed that! Although, I must admit, I miss a few people that I still keep in contact with.

Retirement means changing routines that you have had for many years. Retirement means letting go of "stuff".  Retirement means bringing new people into your life. Retirement means living differently, hopefully better. But is it that simple? 

Being retired could and should be a rewarding time, especially when retirement is filled with entertaining and worthwhile activities. I believe the key is having an Emotional Retirement Plan. You have a financial plan; you have savings,a pension and/or social security. Why not have an Emotional Retirement Plan? The saying is, "If you fail to have a plan, you plan to fail." Unknown. How can you fail at retirement? Why would you let yourself fail at retirement? 

You deserve to be Retired&Lovinit, like me.