Have you ever thought of retiring here....

[captaind & Linston]

I didn't think retirement came with an anchor.

Some retire to a motor home and travel all year. Some retire to several places simultaneously.

We'll be staying on Zion Hill for a month or so at a time and be there at least every 8 weeks or so just to check in.

I love St. Augustine FL most time and West Jefferson in the hills of NC for a month in the summer.

Cap

[Heisenburg]

Oh ya and free health care.Hey Jojo, did we both forget catching walleye? Just wondering.

[jsteil]

I've often wondered about the legal immigration process. From what I understand it is a 4 year process to become a permanent resident unless you meet certain requirements. One of those requirement is showing you can financially support yourself. To those that live in Jamaica now did you go about it the legal way and then buy property or did you do it the Alborosie way and go on vacation for two weeks and stay permanently?

[captaind & Linston]

My residency and work permit lapsed in 1988. I'm told by reliable sources that it would be a mere formality to renew both under my situation.

Don't know why I'd do that at my age. I can't imagine being on the rock for three to six months without going back to the US.

I have a TRN, title to property, pay taxes etc.

So again I ask "what is retirement?'

Cap

[johng]

Cap,

That is really the key, having options and being able to travel between the places you love. That for me would be perfect retirement. I spend time in the woods in Down East Maine, (I call it Negril North) beautiful in the fall but really cold with a ton of snow in winter. May-July bugs / black flies really thick. Having the ability to split the seasons in different locals makes the most sense to me especially if you have people in place to manage your properties when not there. The hills of NC sounds like it is pretty weather optimal (not too hot not too cold). Jamaica, I don't like it I love it, but living there 24/7/365 would probably not work for me.

[Accompong]

Cap,

That is really the key, having options and being able to travel between the places you love. That for me would be perfect retirement. I spend time in the woods in Down East Maine, (I call it Negril North) beautiful in the fall but really cold with a ton of snow in winter. May-July bugs / black flies really thick. Having the ability to split the seasons in different locals makes the most sense to me especially if you have people in place to manage your properties when not there. The hills of NC sounds like it is pretty weather optimal (not too hot not too cold). Jamaica, I don't like it I love it, but living there 24/7/365 would probably not work for me.

johng,

Retirement to me wouldn't be a 27/7/265 retirement in Jamaica as I have VA Hospital appointments and I do some side work accounting here in South Florida. I am "retired" as a current occupation so it is just where I lay my head each night that is a variable. I love Jamaica for the 90 day stretches I spend there (as you have to pay a fee to stay just one day up to 90 days longer than that) and I even look forward to coming back here to South Florida but that only lasts for about a week or so and then I begin missing Jamaica all over again.

Retirement in Jamaica vs Retirement here in South Florida is differentiated by where I call "home" and where I call "visiting". I am sure Down East Maine and the hills of NC have a lot of good points going for them but for me, I don't want to travel anywhere north of where I "visit" in South Florida.

As you so rightly said, "That is really the key, having options and being able to travel between the places you love. That for me would be perfect retirement."



That is how my retirement rolls!

Peace and Guidance

[johng]

Accompong,

Sounds like you have the right idea. Good for you too is the close proximity to JA, couple hours most from Ft. L or Miami??? As you have found a place in JA that you love I too have found a place in Portland with good friends there that offers a cooler climate than the coast, yes no ocean there but mountain streams, fresh air and very nice people. Having the chance to spend a few months of the year between several locals would be great. That is the challenge balancing, family, work, and hoping that good health is intact. My motto: Count your blessings not your problems. I do hope that everybody can fulfill their own dreams of the future wherever that might be!!

[negrilsand]

Thanks,Accompang! You are setting the example. Everyday of one's life should be an adventurous vacation day. Call it work, call it retirement. call it what ever you will, but enjoy it. I, too, enjoy VA benefits. We also enjoy our extended stays in Jamaica and return to the US eager to return to the island. Not a bad life. Thanks for your enlightenment.

[fawnridge]

After my first wife passed away, I was ready to move to Jamaica. I had found a nice house in a great area and all I had to do was sign the contract and mail the check. My shrink talked me out of it; said I should wait a year before making any life-changing decisions. So I did and I met my current wife here in Florida. We got married at CSA on 4/20 (yes, we chose that specific date) in 2013.

We talked about buying a vacation home but decided that with the cost and the amount of work involved, it was cheaper to just keep going to Jamaica two or three times a year and keep the house in South Florida as a base of operations. We begun to travel extensively, spent a month in Italy this past September and we've already got two trips to CSA booked for this year along with a week in Costa Rica and a couple of weeks in England and Scotland. This year we'll be out of the country around 50 days with a goal of 100 days a year as soon as she retires.

As much as we both love Jamaica, it just doesn't make sense to live there right now.

[Vince]

Sounds like to me a right decision. Also looks like your too busy to live there at the moment.