Want to sell my house in Washington DC for big profit and move to good life, cheap housing and part-time work
 

We are only 45 but are tired of the corporate rate race and are thinking of selling our house in Washington DC, taking the profit and living the life of a part time semi retired person until ---whenever. Is 45 to early? and where should we go?<BR><BR>My husband, and I both 45 years old, both worked in well paying high stress jobs throughout the 1980 to 1990s. We bought a $400,000 home 15 years ago which is now worth over twice that. Now that the economy has turned bad we are now both unemployed techies! Though are started to lose interest in job hunting. (How many rejection letters can you take?)<BR><BR>I am looking for advice from travelers and people from all over the United States. Put your self in our shoes. Should we keep sending our resumes out to places that have 400 applicants until we get a job. OR sell the house get out of town and move to pace where our ($600,000 nest egg would allow us to pay for rent and living expenses) Maybe work some part-time jobs.<BR><BR>Has anyone done this before? Your stories!

Go fot it! I retired at 47 with a similar strategy and haven't regretted it for a minute. You'll be astonished at how much LIFE is out there apart from work!

Rent the movie "Lost in America" if you haven't already seen it. It's a laugh riot about a couple who "dropped" out of society with their nestegg to "find" themselves.<BR>Tip: Don't go to Vegas!

Not alot of professional jobs are part-time. So if you move to a town and need a part time job to make a few extra bucks and get out of the house- the work could be boring and pay poorly.

Well, congratulations on being one of those who benefitted from the Tech Bubble and still having money to show for it. And congratulations on having the opportunity to stop being productive and live on the fruits of your labor at so early an age that you are still very strong and healthy.<BR><BR>I commend you for wanting to downsize and live where lifestyle isn't so inflated. Anywhere away from the northeast or California will be cheaper. Consider the Raleigh-Durham area, where $200K will buy you 1500-2000 sq. feet and $1000/month will rent a palatial condo.<BR><BR>But most retired people who have any health at all get restless very quickly, and you two sound like you have way too much energy to be semi-retired.<BR><BR>If you have the option to work part-time or not at all, why not give back a little, too? Volunteer. Make a difference. You know how to do "techie" things -- help out older people trying to get on line. Teach. Help out poorer schools whose teachers are still struggling to get "wired." Work for Habitat. Help communities figure out what to do with mountains of obsolete computers. <BR><BR>Do something besides resting on your laurels -- laurels look better on your head than behind your butt.

OK, let's do the math.<BR><BR>I'm assuming you put $100K down on your house, and you've paiid down some of the mortagage. So you sell the house for $900K, pay the realtor about $55K for commission, pay off the rest of the mortage and walk away with about $550K.<BR><BR>Well, not quite. Uncle Sam is going to want capital gains on your profit (unless you buy another $900K house). So let's say your cap. gains tax comes to about $120K (28% x $450K). Now, you've got $430K (550-120). <BR><BR>And let's say you move somewhere where you can pick up a decent house for $150K (which is going to be out in boonies where the pay is low for almost any job). Now, you've got $280K and no mortage. Can you cut it on that, plus your job at Wal-Mart?

ever heard of the once in a lifetime tax credit? they could take the profit tax free.<BR><BR>honestly ted,<BR>i COMPLETELY understand you situation. me and my hubby are considering the same type of move from the MY metro area, i am not ready to move into a trailer park in arkansas and sit on the back porch all day. personally i dont think you have enough money to retire comfortably. besides private health insurance costs a fortune. also now that i am unemployed, by choice, i tend to spend more money in my free time than when i was working.

If you read Ted's post he is not looking for financial advice (that is another internet board), he is looking for advice on where to go where housing is cheap but the town still has something to offer he and his wife during their free time.<BR><BR>His request, as I see it: cheap living + good quality of life and stories from people who have downsized their stressful lives from working full time (60 hours a week in a corporate pressure cooker to a part time job).

great nance, thanks for the clarification...can you name any places to help ted instead of just trying to defend his question. please tell me...id love to know an affordable place to live with a good quality of life and culture. <BR><BR>PS. too early for heaven.

Two responses to other comments:<BR>1. Ted may not have asked for financial advice, but I was just pointing out that his premise was flawed. If he said he wanted to move to Alaska to take advantage of the warm weather, would you ignore that, too, and tell him them where to find cheap housing.<BR>2. Yes, I have heard of the once-in-lifetime tax credit on real estate profits. And I've also heard that it's available only to those 55 and older. (Or, as they say, read Ted's post. Age 45.)

To answer the previous post:<BR><BR>No place in the USA is perfect but if I had enough money to move and just wanted to work part time from now on (and did not worry about having to live in a big city with lots of opportunities for professional jobs) I would choice the following places (were housing is relatively cheap but living is good):<BR><BR>Raleigh NC<BR>Charlotte, NC<BR>Charleston SC<BR>Orlando FL<BR>Tampa Fl (area)<BR>Fort Meyers, Fl<BR>Nashville, TN<BR>Salem Oregon<BR>

You might also want to add Birmingham, AL and Houston, TX

a couple who have lived in thier home for two of the last five years can exclude upto $500,000 from taxes on the sale of a primary residence. $250,000 for single taxpayers.

After seeing the traffic on the beltway (outside Washington DC) this morning, I would love to move to a less stressful place too.<BR><BR>Just remember that in many cities, people will judge you by your job. If you are a part-time clerk at Sears, at age 45, and your peers in age, education, experience and intelligence are working executive positions, you will be an outsider at your age.<BR><BR>Now if you were 55, 60, or older it may not be such an issue.<BR><BR>I would choice a town where you will not be judged by your job, if there is such a place!

Einstein, the tax credit hasn't had the age requirement for awhile. Your info is out of date.

Why are you sitting on 495/95 in rush hour traffic? Jeeez, make a change. Try someplace closer in, and get the heck on Metro. You want to leave the DC area - for what?

Ted and Tammy, good for you. Many people would love to have your options. To start with, perhaps consider a university town, where you are more likely to find cultural activities and opportunities for some part time professional work. I suggest taking a look at Eugene, OR. Enough cultural activities to keep you interested, plus you're only an hour or so from the coast and another hour from the big mountains--and the city itself has wonderful biking and walking paths. Good restaurants and coffee hangouts, too. In particular, I recommend you look at the Boulders apartment complex. It's right on the banks of the Willamette River and near a pedestrian/bike bridge into a park that takes you right to downtown. The Boulders apartments are well constructed, with large terraces or balconies and woodburning fireplaces, plus nice landscaping. <BR>My second choice, although not a university area, would be the Olympic Peninsula. You could, if you wanted to, buy a decent property in Sequim (pronounced Skwim) or rent in Port Ludlow. Both of those towns are near Port Townsend, a wonderful small town with a lively cultural scene. But PT is rather expensive for housing and rentals are hard to come by (although right now there are a few VERY attractive homes for sale at $250k). The weather in the Sequim/PT area is not as gray/rainy as the rest of the Puget Sound area; Sequim in particular is quite sunny and has one of the nicest climates in the entire U.S.--mild springlike weather for about 8 months of the year and easy to handle winters. Great for gardening or enjoying outdoor activities. <BR>I admit, I am highly partial to the Pacific NW. The communities I mentioned are well suited for adults looking for new directions in life. PT, for example, has a famous wooden-boat building school whose student body includes many former white collar professionals--lawyers, IT types, architects, and so on. You'll find kindred souls in PT and Eugene, I think.

I'm going to ignore the spats about the financial (mis?)information here...Ted - my recommendation would be to pick up and head to a college town in a locale where you both like the weather. Actually I mean a town with a good university or two. The university will provide some culture, professional people to inteact with, and very often part-time jobs for professionals whether on grants or as consultants. Do check the housing market first as some of these towns are also very expensive, but many others are not. (I must congratulate you on sticking it out in the DC rat race for 15 years - we only managed it for 2 before retreating back to rural New England).<BR><BR>I also highly recoomed you read the book Mindful Money Guide by Marshall Glickman, who "retired" from Wall Street after 3 years and then moved to Vermont.

Can't help much with the financial discussions but my husband and I actually did totally re-route our lives just 5 years ago in our mid-40's and are Poster Kids for making the big break. <BR><BR>I'm not suggesting you copy what we did because it is very specific to our interests, but tailor to meet your own.<BR><BR>I was a senior executive in the publishing industry and went back to school to become a minister (pastor). My husband was a senior civil servant and went back to school to become a high-school teacher.<BR><BR>We sold our home in the big city, lived like students for a couple of years (same time as our only daughter) and now live in a small university community on the east coast. (I should say we are Canadians-I was on this forum looing for info on a proposed vacation in Maine when I found I couldn't resist chiming in to this thread-I don't think the border makes a difference to this life experience)<BR><BR>Our combined household income has gone from $350,000 to $90,000- our house investment went from $450,000 to $125,000- our happiness and quality of life and marriage has gone from 20% to 90%. DO IT!!!!

Go for it - I can't because, although I am close to your age, I had kids later so there are still many more years that we need to support them. Make sure you can get/have lined up health insurance, since it is a long time until you can get Medicare.

Do it<BR><BR>Go to the pacific northwest and buy a place. You could be close enough to Seattle or Portland to get some contract work, but the home prices in smaller NW towns are not terrible.<BR><BR>I am a contract worker in tech, and I should warn you. "Part time" in the tech world means working hard for 4 months and then taking 3 months off, not working 2 days a week all year round. If you are OK with that, do it.

We also underwent this life-changing experience and I want to heartily endorese the idea AND the advice mentioned by some and put into effect by LJ, that you re-locate in a university community...its is crucial to having a richer fuller life in a smaller (read less expensive) environment, without giving up entirely the advantages of decent theater, restaurants and cultural activities. Plus you will want to meake friends so might even want to look for a university that has bench-strength in your particular area of expertise...in Ted and Tammy's case, sounds like computer engineering (?) Sorry I am a Market Researcher so I may have the faculties wrong!

Leaving DC for a university town, in all likelihood a smaller locale? The university setting, influences, pace of life, focus, opportunities, cultural life? After DC? People also say that living on a sailboat is interesting, to start - only it gets a foot shorter with each day. Have fun, and let us know how long it stayed fun.

Gainesville FL-1hr to Tampa/Orlando/Jax<BR>Athens GA-1hr to Atlanta<BR>both University towns with temperate climates, low real estate costs, highly intellectual communities, plenty of activities, and within an hour of major cities with International Airports.

It turns out a lot of people are in this situation, and bravo to the other North Carolinian who suggested volunteer work. <BR><BR>Let me tell you something about searching out university towns with lots to do, warm weather, low real estate: a lot of people are figuring this out already and, ta-da, property values are going up. The boomers and the dot-commies are "opting out" for the good life and bringing their money and their tastes with them.<BR><BR>We live in Chapel Hill. When we arrived 10 years ago, the average price of a house was about $150-175K and we bought ours for $280K (which was slightly too much, but we didn't know it). Ten years later, the average price of housing is around $225-250K and our house was just appraised at $410K. <BR><BR>It may not be the "hot" market of Boston or San Francisco, but it's holding up pretty well considering. While that $410K wouldn't buy us half as much of a house in the DC area, we're paying real estate taxes that aren't too different from wealthy suburbs further north. <BR><BR>If you move to this area, even with the sagging economy, you'll be joining all kinds of other people just like you, and you better do it now if you want to find any "bargains."

There are a lot of "tech" jobs in Omaha, NE. The cost of living is much lower than what you are used to in DC and Omaha is a small city, much less of a rat race. Nice place to live, clean city, nice people, nearby countryside...<BR><BR>There are a lot of similar small cities in the midwest where you may be able to find a job with the option of living in the country nearby.

If everyone semi retired and cut down their spending, at 45, like the posters, then our economy, which is based on purchasing lots of uneeded things, would go belly up.<BR><BR>Our standard of living as a country would go downhill and Fodors would go out of business!

Ted,My exact sentiments! My husband and I toss around the idea of not FULL retirement, but somehow, severely scaling down.We live in Westchester County in NY, and are successfully self-employed.Life here is also a total rat race; aggressive and competitive.The money to be made here in NY is excellent,but there's a steep price to pay. We work incredibly long hours six days a week. We don't work like animals to maintain a high lifestyle; it's to pay theses exorbitant costs. The "average" house is @ $450,000,property taxes @ $15,000 per year. Because we're self-employed, my health insurance costs us $1250.00 per month. I'd love to live some place a lot less expensive, but where? Just the thought of starting all over,after so many years of HARD work, makes me tired. And would we really be improving our quality of life, if we moved someplace cheaper and were unemployed? The thought of being without health insurance terrifies me.So many states in the US have less expensive cost of living than here in the northeast. Yet there are trade-offs.Inferior school systems (even if you don't have children,this will affect your property value),high crime rates etc. PLEASE~~ let us know what you decide, and where you wind up.

To the few D.C. lovers: I guess you just can't imagine anyone wanting to leave that disgusting place, can you? But MOST want OUT of the city and its environs, and I'm saying this as a native-born Washingtonian. My entire family left YEARS ago--and we would NEVER return!!!

Oh, Eric -- consume consume consume, that's patriotism? Or just a support-system for your Fodors habit. Yeah, that'll ensure that you'll still be able to get clean water and air for free in 2010.<BR><BR>If everyone who had made a bundle quit at 45 and downsized their spending AND went out to help educate the poorly educated, augment the underpaid and drastically overworked nursing staffs, provide housing for those who were laid off WITHOUT a corporate golden parachute, then a lot more consumers would be enabled to participate in this drastically topheavy economy of ours, AND our health and our future would look a little more secure. <BR><BR>And what about all those pre-45'ers who work the ridiculous hours for their inflated salaries? Their kids are growing up with only a passing knowledge of both parents and a deeply ingrained belief that material possessions and a fancy house are the reason for being. Ted and Tammy have begun to figure out the limitations of that philosophy. The true mark of their character will come when they start to get bored with themselves.

Well, 45 years is a long time to live on 600K (what if you live to 90, or longer?). The question is, do you have marketable skills that you could turn into a part-time career? I was able to do this, after having been a Systems Engineer at IBM. I had lots of big clients who paid IBM about $240/hour for my services. Now they pay me about a third of that. They save a ton of money, I have no overhead and I work when I want, which isn't much (averages about 10 hours a week). If I wanted to work 20 hours a week I could make about 70K a year, which is not bad for a part time job. If you could both become independent consultants and find a few good clients (I actually have only one, which I've had for 3 years), you'll be set. Just brush up on the latest technology, which was hard for me since I was completely out of the workforce for 8 years. My client let me come and use their equipment, etc. to get up to speed first.<BR><BR>The difference is, I have a big cushion, my husband works full-time and we have his benefits and insurance, but since you're both unemployed anyway, what have you got to lose? I would go for it. Just find someplace more low key but with enough of a business base to support your consulting. Good luck, and remember, you have nothing to lose!

Thanks for the replies!<BR><BR>The question of health insurance brought out some interesting comments. We bought self insured health insurance through Unicare and only pay $200 a piece per month for basically good coverage. When I was working I paid $60.00 a month but the employer paid the rest. (the total cost to the employer $250.00 per month. Those people (posters) that said health insurance would be over $1000 a month are telling a lie unless you have huge preexisting conditions.<BR><BR>Still looking for advice on places that have culture, part time work and cheap housing.

Ted & Tammy,<BR><BR>I'm very surprised at your comment that posters are "telling a lie" with respect to the price of their health insurance coverage.<BR><BR>You have come to this forum with a host of retirement questions, and posters have taken the time & effort to give you some very good advice in a generally polite and courteous manner. So how do you respond? By stating that you're the expert on everyone's health care bills and passing judgment by calling them liars??? How delightful of you. Your new neighbors will be in for a real treat.<BR><BR>For your information, individual healthcare insurance costs of $1000/month are not out of line. You don't mention what type of coverage you have, and whether it is a family plan or not. Just by way of example, we had to provide our own coverage for a time about three years ago. At that time, the best rate we could obtain in the northeast for Horizon HMO (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) with a high copay was almost $350/per person, or $700/couple. If we had needed to put kids on the plan, it would have been significantly higher. Also, if we didn't want a limited HMO, or a lower copay, it also would have been higher. And there have been substantial increases every year since then. There are so many variables, that it's hard to make a blanket statement. But of course that didn't stop you from branding everyone else a liar. It must be wonderful to be so righteous.

Unicare is an experimental system, available only in a few midwestern states, that survives by having huge co-pays and deductibles. I can't help wondering how selective they are in selling policies. <BR><BR>When I rsearched plans available to me in the northeast, I made a million phone calls and found that I was better-off sticking to my HMO, where I pay over $700 per month for myself and 2 kids, with no prescription coverage. We pay more for medical insurance and care than for all our housing expenses.

It's interesting to find the few DC haters, the ones ready to leave, never see the place again. These are no doubt the folks who never walked down the Mall and took time to find out about everything they're seeing. For eight years we worked with high school scholars who came here for a week to study government - it really opened my eyes to how special this city is. They were impressed - I'd prefer to view things through their eyes, and just ignore the negative types who dislike Washington so much.

Nobody denies that walking down the Mall and visiting the museums and monuments is delightful and an iportant part of any American's education. It's not Washington per se that they "hate." What they're complaining about is the experience of those who actually live there -- commuting, working conditions, etc. I love visiting DC but wouldn't dream of living there.

Suzy, how would one know about working conditions in DC whtout working there. If I were a tourist in your city, that would hardly qualify me to make statements like that. There are so many areas in the Dc area accessible to metro, anybody in a car in traffic can hardly complain. DC is no different than any other large metro area. We do offer some valuable perspectives on Amervcian life, and living here gives one the advantage of experiencing that. Coming as a tourist is fine, but gives a limited prespective. Be selective in accepting the negative stuff people spout about DC.

Well, I feel I have to respond again to the :) poster. You're making an assumption about people leaving DC because they "hate" it or who don't know it because they're only there as tourists - that's not what Ted was saying, nor me either - just saying the lifestyle of the working professionals was stressful. I personally LOVED the DC area when I lived there (and NYC for the 10 years I lived there too). It has nothing to do with hating the place and never wanting to see it again, but choosing a less stressful lifestyle. In fact, I return to DC 3-4 times a year on both business and pleasure trips precisely because I still do love it. I just choose not to live there any longer.

It's true, all I know about working conditions is what I read, or hear from friends. <BR><BR>But I didn't say I knew anything -- I merely reminded you what the DCers who were complaining had said. In fact, only one person (Norm) seems to have singled out DC with any particular venom. Even the OP's are just tired of the "corporate rat race" and are leaving DC mostly because of the cost of living. Friends who have worked in DC and in other cities describe the work ethic in DC as more focused on long hours than other cities they have worked in, ncomparable positions.<BR><BR>Since I live in Boston, actually even tourists in my city can see that commuting is hell here. That's one reason I retired!

Ted & Tammy,<BR>I echo the above posters' sentiments regarding your cold response.<BR>It is amazing that you could be so crass after having received so many thoughtful responses. People take the time to help you, with some very well presented answers, and you respond with a paragraph calling posters "liars". And then have the nerve to request more responses. No real comments or indications from you as to whether or not the responses have proved valuable to you or not. A thank you, at least, was given. And at least you<BR>acknowledged the responses. My benevolence for you ends there.<BR><BR>I shall be as judgemental as you are and state the obvious, to me, about you:<BR>You are seeking somewhere with "culture, part time work and cheap housing", well fortunately that place just doesnt exist, (so luckily no nice, unsuspecting person has to have you move in next to them). <BR>I suggest you stay in Washington, keep looking for a job, and hope that you can be hired directly off your resume, because a face to face interview might reveal your poor personality traits. <BR><BR>You are obviously so self-absorbed, an expert on many topics, (hence your ability to call people "liars") and just plain know it all. <BR><BR>I also suggest you talk to an ACCOUNTANT! You probably dont have a clue how to manage your "retirement" fund, as is quite obvious, you dont have one. From your first statements it appears you only have the equity in your home. And even that I wonder about, you would only have 600k left after you have paid a mortgage for 15 years?!? You only managed to pay down 150K or so? What the heck did you do with your money? Not "manage" it, obviously. <BR>You just may find yourself in "cheap housing" alright, sooner than you think, although I'm not sure these places would qualify as "cultured".<BR><BR>You have a nice day now, ahhhhh the life of the unemployed or is that the unemployable?