Enjoying Retirement
Discussion
Longy00000 said:
Hi Rob it sounds like you may have been down this path?
Am i correct in thinking to maintain NLV you must stay more than 180 days in Spain but then you become liable to Spanish taxes even if the rest of the time your back in UK. Where my assets are already taxed ? Once you've proven you have the required funds must you actually transfer said amount to the Spanish account or is proof of ability enough so allowing more or less than the required amounts to be drawn as and when required rather than specified every month?
Correct on the first point but I think once you’ve proved your financial status you don’t need to be transferring funds across borders. Am i correct in thinking to maintain NLV you must stay more than 180 days in Spain but then you become liable to Spanish taxes even if the rest of the time your back in UK. Where my assets are already taxed ? Once you've proven you have the required funds must you actually transfer said amount to the Spanish account or is proof of ability enough so allowing more or less than the required amounts to be drawn as and when required rather than specified every month?
I’m retired and in Spain now for the next couple of months at my place on the 90/180 rule. Not a NLV situation, but all the monies I use are either in the UK or Wise for all my Euro payments.
Every time I have looked at a NLV the tax situation has been too negative to proceed. You can ‘rearrange’ your finances to reduce your Spanish tax before applying for a NLV but it’s complex and would need you to pay an expert to complete the process.
If in doubt pay for some advice before proceeding with a NLV.
I will chime in on this as its a quandary I have been trying to work through. I own a place in Spain-currently there now. I would like to spend more than 90 days in and 90 days out. For example if I come here for April May June, I cant return until October and will miss the excellent weather of September.
I could apply for the NLV, but there are two major issues for me.
During the 5 year NLV process ( Three separate visa renewals) that leads to permanent residency, you can only leave Spain for 10 months in total. This is fine if you want to be in Spain essentially 10 months each year, but I dont.
Also once you stay in Spain for over 6 months- as you are obliged to if going down the Non Lucrative Route, you are automatically a tax resident. If you have retained a UK property, or properties, they are then liable to Capital gains tax if sold as they are not your main home anymore. Some friends out here were facing a massive CTG tax bill due to selling up in England whilst being resident in Spain, and as a result gave up their Spanish residency to avoid it.
Maybe first world problems, but its a shame nonetheless.
I could apply for the NLV, but there are two major issues for me.
During the 5 year NLV process ( Three separate visa renewals) that leads to permanent residency, you can only leave Spain for 10 months in total. This is fine if you want to be in Spain essentially 10 months each year, but I dont.
Also once you stay in Spain for over 6 months- as you are obliged to if going down the Non Lucrative Route, you are automatically a tax resident. If you have retained a UK property, or properties, they are then liable to Capital gains tax if sold as they are not your main home anymore. Some friends out here were facing a massive CTG tax bill due to selling up in England whilst being resident in Spain, and as a result gave up their Spanish residency to avoid it.
Maybe first world problems, but its a shame nonetheless.
It’s a minefield with some potentially costly mistakes.
Have you checked your and your wife’s family history for any grandparents with EU origin. That’s the easiest way around the 90/180 day rule.
Otherwise we have to hope that France/Spain/Portugal etc. will get together and changes things in the EU.
Have you checked your and your wife’s family history for any grandparents with EU origin. That’s the easiest way around the 90/180 day rule.
Otherwise we have to hope that France/Spain/Portugal etc. will get together and changes things in the EU.
Bustlepuncher said:
During the 5 year NLV process ( Three separate visa renewals) that leads to permanent residency, you can only leave Spain for 10 months in total. This is fine if you want to be in Spain essentially 10 months each year, but I dont.
Also once you stay in Spain for over 6 months- as you are obliged to if going down the Non Lucrative Route, you are automatically a tax resident. If you have retained a UK property, or properties, they are then liable to Capital gains tax if sold as they are not your main home anymore.
Apparently no longer the case - this was discussed on the buying in Spain thread earlier this year. Most web sites are not up to date on that, but here's one that is - https://myspainvisa.com/non-lucrative-visa-spain/Also once you stay in Spain for over 6 months- as you are obliged to if going down the Non Lucrative Route, you are automatically a tax resident. If you have retained a UK property, or properties, they are then liable to Capital gains tax if sold as they are not your main home anymore.
It seems that you can keep renewing an NLV even without staying >6 months & becoming tax resident. However, all you can do is keep renewing NLV and you can't progress to permanent residency.
I haven't tried it though - I'm still France based & UK tax resident, but considering a move to Spain.
Longy00000 said:
GT03ROB said:
90/180 is not quite the restriction you think for many.
Retirement will probably comprise 90 day spring & Autumn in Spain, winters somewhere warmer & summers in the UK. As a 2nd home this works fine. Aside from which drifting over 183 makes you Spanish tax resident & I think Spanish taxes are a bit higher than UKs. If you can get by on passive income then NLV always allows you longer in Spain. But no good if you only have a UK state pension.
Hi Rob it sounds like you may have been down this path?Retirement will probably comprise 90 day spring & Autumn in Spain, winters somewhere warmer & summers in the UK. As a 2nd home this works fine. Aside from which drifting over 183 makes you Spanish tax resident & I think Spanish taxes are a bit higher than UKs. If you can get by on passive income then NLV always allows you longer in Spain. But no good if you only have a UK state pension.
Am i correct in thinking to maintain NLV you must stay more than 180 days in Spain but then you become liable to Spanish taxes even if the rest of the time your back in UK. Where my assets are already taxed ? Once you've proven you have the required funds must you actually transfer said amount to the Spanish account or is proof of ability enough so allowing more or less than the required amounts to be drawn as and when required rather than specified every month?
- higher tax rates
- potential for CGT on UK property sale
- NLV precludes you working anywhere
- if you target permanent Spanish residency you are really stuck there in the 1st 5 years
- With some of my previous medical history the mandatory private health would be very costly
undred orse said:
I will be retiring at the end of June at the age of 59.
Financially secure, no kids to worry about and Mrs Orse will carry on working and has a well paid job with a superb pension to come. So no worries really. Other than a niggling thought that I may get bored. I've sort of been forced into going early by a lack of enjoyment in the job, lots of stress which was becoming less tolerable or easy to put to one side and the effects on my health becoming more pronounced. I've put a lot of miles on the clock over the years and I'm looking forward to my first summer off ever - I worked throughout University years.
I've got my dog to occupy my time and also the gym which I already go to 5 days a week which will be upped to 7 days. Also i've got my cars which I love driving and cleaning which will take some time. Otherwise I don't really want to end up in front of the TV.
Golf doesn't interest me. I've thought of volunteering at the local dog rescue but I'm so soft with dogs I'd want to bring them all home and probably get upset very easily. Gardening bores me to death and I'm struggling to think of something to avoid a "walk the dog, gym, clean the car and TV" routine each day.
Are these thoughts normal? Am I overthinking it and something will crop up? It is obviously a big change having worked and run my own business with all the hassle that brings as well as client demands for so long to now be free of responsibilities.
Congratulations on your retirement next month. Financially secure, no kids to worry about and Mrs Orse will carry on working and has a well paid job with a superb pension to come. So no worries really. Other than a niggling thought that I may get bored. I've sort of been forced into going early by a lack of enjoyment in the job, lots of stress which was becoming less tolerable or easy to put to one side and the effects on my health becoming more pronounced. I've put a lot of miles on the clock over the years and I'm looking forward to my first summer off ever - I worked throughout University years.
I've got my dog to occupy my time and also the gym which I already go to 5 days a week which will be upped to 7 days. Also i've got my cars which I love driving and cleaning which will take some time. Otherwise I don't really want to end up in front of the TV.
Golf doesn't interest me. I've thought of volunteering at the local dog rescue but I'm so soft with dogs I'd want to bring them all home and probably get upset very easily. Gardening bores me to death and I'm struggling to think of something to avoid a "walk the dog, gym, clean the car and TV" routine each day.
Are these thoughts normal? Am I overthinking it and something will crop up? It is obviously a big change having worked and run my own business with all the hassle that brings as well as client demands for so long to now be free of responsibilities.
I don’t think your thoughts are particularly unusual.
How many years will your wife continue to work for ?
It will take a good few months to get used to the idea of “ not working “ so to an extent you can see how it goes.
The freedom and flexibility are bound to be a bit of a shock but in a good way.
If you find yourself watching daytime tv then clearly you need a better plan.
I’ve been not working for 2 years 5 months and it still feels like I’m on holiday.
I can honestly say there hasn’t been a day when I’ve been bored.
Well I suppose I am retired ,being 75 and not having worked since I was 74. The last 12 months have been reasonable overall I think. Health is OK for my age, finances are also OK.
A number of posters have described the first 12 months. In my case there was a period where I progressively rotated off Boards of directors as we sold or reorganized the various companies, and due to age I did not go on any new ones so it was not a hard stop.
Here is my last 12 months:
May-June 2023-
had my final RS delivered. Will be too old to get the next generation of course, so this will be my final addition to the garage beyond purely functional stuff. Goes to Germany in August for my usual cross Germany/Austria and Nürburgring trip.
Took a drive to Montreal for a few days , a city I lived in for many years. Still a unique and lively place, and more French than ever. Stayed in the old city. The place has wonderful nightlife and restaurants
July 2023:
Dog is getting very old and a visit to the vet added some medication for hip arthritis. This worked brilliantly so she is still here, but a 10 1/2 year old Great Dane is not going to last forever. Given age, I will not be getting another large dog I expect. I have had GDs for decades and she will be the last..
Some friends delivered a suitable bottle of wine as consolation....
October 2023
Grabbed plane to Arizona to open house there and sort out the old cars there. As usual there were niggles and ended up having to rent a car for a few days. Tried a Genesis which is a surprisingly nice car- never had one before:
Landscape in AZ is very different of course, as is the architecture. Jeep is 10 years old and pretty much started on the button, routine service.
SL500 is 19 years old so needs a bit more TLC. One of the issue sis the extreme heat that causes plastic to go brittle and some of the buttons to soften and melt.
Decided to take the rental Genesis down to Tucson and the border, a few hours away. Much smaller and funkier than Phoenix with some excellent small towns in the area. Tucson has a whole area of murals that are quite interesting. Genesis is a well-finished car and good for long distances.
While there is not the same kind of colourful autumn as there is in the North there is plenty of vegetation where there is water, and the Jeep is very handy for wandering around the wilderness and little old towns;).
As always, in the South West, the state is littered with old vehicles, some in perfect shape and others just sitting in the sun.
November 2023
All recommissioning done, I left grabbed the bird home to Toronto. It was time to put the summer cars away for the long winter storage period; I generally have them checked out beforehand.
Winter rims for the Cayenne and the Panamera which are working cars.
Autumn was well advanced by then and the usual winter decorations started to appear in the neighbourhood.
December 2023
The original plan at this stage was to drive the Cayenne down to AZ ( 3700km ) which I have done dozens of times, but a complication arose. The dog could no longer jump up into an SUV due to her arthritis.
It was the Panamera then- much lower and she could almost step into the back seat. This was not a sightseeing trip but as direct a drive a possible. I pretty much know every town on the journey.
The Pana is a perfect long distance car and I have driven it through Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and so on as well are previously to Arizona. Left at 4am and headed down the familiar highways , only stopping briefly as needed.
One quite striking sight was well down into Oklahoma in Oklahoma City..the monument to the bombing there when Tim McVeigh bombed the Federal building and killed over 160 people. The monument has a reflecting poole and a chair for every victim, including smaller chairs for the children who died.
This type of trip across multiple geographies always carries the risk of winter, and about 95% of the distance involves risk of weather. I have seen very possible storm, tornado, whiteout and the like.
Sure enough as we got into New Mexico on Highway 40 we hit a vicious snowstorm that closed the highway on both sides for hours. I tried a detour which was terrifying as the roads were unploughed and I could not see the edges; even with full snow tires it was several hours at walking pace.
.
The dog did not care and as we got to Winslow Az she met a bigger dog. Stayed over at one of my favourite hotels, the La Paloma which takes dogs. This gave us a very easy run down to the house next morning. It was still well below freezing and the car was covered in frost next morning.
Everything at the house was shipshape when we arrived including the cars.
One thing people talk about who have not been in Arizona is the whole gun culture. It is not at all a big deal here and there are some entertaining aspects too....
Bumper Stickers:
Mugs: ( Florence is a supermax prison)...
Gardening magazines:
Simply looking out the window of the house shows huge variation in the sky , and the place is full of birds, including hummingbirds.
January 2024
Spent New Years up at Monument Valley, a familiar place. Rented a house there for a few days. Houses are full equipped but this is a Navajo reservation so no alcohol is available though you are very welcome to bring your own and the house even have wine glasses.
I had the opportunity to do an early morning drive as I had only been there in afternoons and the light was totally different. Beyond lies the Valley of the Sun and some old mining roads, much less visited and worth a drive, though I bottomed the Panamera at times. Tough car , no worries..
There is little ambient light there so interesting to photograph:
and huge geographical variation:
A friend was visiting Tucson from Canada so we decided to drive down and show him a few local sights there:
Tombstone and Bisbee are small towns near the border. Tombstone is a bit of a tourist trap with recreations of the Gunfight at the OK Corral that happened there. However if you look beyond the spectacle there is some real history here and the buildings are authentic.
A number of posters have described the first 12 months. In my case there was a period where I progressively rotated off Boards of directors as we sold or reorganized the various companies, and due to age I did not go on any new ones so it was not a hard stop.
Here is my last 12 months:
May-June 2023-
had my final RS delivered. Will be too old to get the next generation of course, so this will be my final addition to the garage beyond purely functional stuff. Goes to Germany in August for my usual cross Germany/Austria and Nürburgring trip.
Took a drive to Montreal for a few days , a city I lived in for many years. Still a unique and lively place, and more French than ever. Stayed in the old city. The place has wonderful nightlife and restaurants
July 2023:
Dog is getting very old and a visit to the vet added some medication for hip arthritis. This worked brilliantly so she is still here, but a 10 1/2 year old Great Dane is not going to last forever. Given age, I will not be getting another large dog I expect. I have had GDs for decades and she will be the last..
Some friends delivered a suitable bottle of wine as consolation....
October 2023
Grabbed plane to Arizona to open house there and sort out the old cars there. As usual there were niggles and ended up having to rent a car for a few days. Tried a Genesis which is a surprisingly nice car- never had one before:
Landscape in AZ is very different of course, as is the architecture. Jeep is 10 years old and pretty much started on the button, routine service.
SL500 is 19 years old so needs a bit more TLC. One of the issue sis the extreme heat that causes plastic to go brittle and some of the buttons to soften and melt.
Decided to take the rental Genesis down to Tucson and the border, a few hours away. Much smaller and funkier than Phoenix with some excellent small towns in the area. Tucson has a whole area of murals that are quite interesting. Genesis is a well-finished car and good for long distances.
While there is not the same kind of colourful autumn as there is in the North there is plenty of vegetation where there is water, and the Jeep is very handy for wandering around the wilderness and little old towns;).
As always, in the South West, the state is littered with old vehicles, some in perfect shape and others just sitting in the sun.
November 2023
All recommissioning done, I left grabbed the bird home to Toronto. It was time to put the summer cars away for the long winter storage period; I generally have them checked out beforehand.
Winter rims for the Cayenne and the Panamera which are working cars.
Autumn was well advanced by then and the usual winter decorations started to appear in the neighbourhood.
December 2023
The original plan at this stage was to drive the Cayenne down to AZ ( 3700km ) which I have done dozens of times, but a complication arose. The dog could no longer jump up into an SUV due to her arthritis.
It was the Panamera then- much lower and she could almost step into the back seat. This was not a sightseeing trip but as direct a drive a possible. I pretty much know every town on the journey.
The Pana is a perfect long distance car and I have driven it through Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and so on as well are previously to Arizona. Left at 4am and headed down the familiar highways , only stopping briefly as needed.
One quite striking sight was well down into Oklahoma in Oklahoma City..the monument to the bombing there when Tim McVeigh bombed the Federal building and killed over 160 people. The monument has a reflecting poole and a chair for every victim, including smaller chairs for the children who died.
This type of trip across multiple geographies always carries the risk of winter, and about 95% of the distance involves risk of weather. I have seen very possible storm, tornado, whiteout and the like.
Sure enough as we got into New Mexico on Highway 40 we hit a vicious snowstorm that closed the highway on both sides for hours. I tried a detour which was terrifying as the roads were unploughed and I could not see the edges; even with full snow tires it was several hours at walking pace.
.
The dog did not care and as we got to Winslow Az she met a bigger dog. Stayed over at one of my favourite hotels, the La Paloma which takes dogs. This gave us a very easy run down to the house next morning. It was still well below freezing and the car was covered in frost next morning.
Everything at the house was shipshape when we arrived including the cars.
One thing people talk about who have not been in Arizona is the whole gun culture. It is not at all a big deal here and there are some entertaining aspects too....
Bumper Stickers:
Mugs: ( Florence is a supermax prison)...
Gardening magazines:
Simply looking out the window of the house shows huge variation in the sky , and the place is full of birds, including hummingbirds.
January 2024
Spent New Years up at Monument Valley, a familiar place. Rented a house there for a few days. Houses are full equipped but this is a Navajo reservation so no alcohol is available though you are very welcome to bring your own and the house even have wine glasses.
I had the opportunity to do an early morning drive as I had only been there in afternoons and the light was totally different. Beyond lies the Valley of the Sun and some old mining roads, much less visited and worth a drive, though I bottomed the Panamera at times. Tough car , no worries..
There is little ambient light there so interesting to photograph:
and huge geographical variation:
A friend was visiting Tucson from Canada so we decided to drive down and show him a few local sights there:
Tombstone and Bisbee are small towns near the border. Tombstone is a bit of a tourist trap with recreations of the Gunfight at the OK Corral that happened there. However if you look beyond the spectacle there is some real history here and the buildings are authentic.
Bisbee is an old copper town, the mine now closed, but it is a nice Victorian town with lovingly maintained buildings, a great art scene and nice restaurants. Very LGBT friendly too.
On the other side of town there is an area where old cars are parked outside of period buildings.
.
Tubac and Tumacacori are old towns where the Spanish monks set ups their churches :
Saguaro National Park is near Tucson and a prime place to see the dramatic Saguaro landscape.
By Mid January I returned to Toronto while OH, dog and Panamera remained in AZ
February-March 2024
There had been basically no winter in Toronto and be the beginning of Feb there were snowdrops in the back yard.
Well, until the snow came. However ,it was brief. Did a bit of local dining - there is an superb restaurant on Niagara wine country which was well worth the visit.
The Cayenne needed a service and the Smart ForTwo needed some repairs also so I rented a couple of cars.
I had not driven a Chevy for years though I had some quite good GM cars in the eighties and nineties. This is the last sedan Chevrolet makes, I could not believe how cheaply it was finished, the vague steering , the comically large and plasticky controls. It is going out to production and only taxi drivers and cops will miss it. Now they basically make trucks,SUVs and the Vette.
I then rented a Nissan Versa, a midrange car . The difference was huge. Nice controls, seats that did not feel like badly stuff sofas and responsive. Very practical DD.
April 2024
As usual it was time to get summer cars back on the road. This would turn out to be far more expensive than usual.
The 997 had a problem with the A/C which was leaking and had a fairly full replacement, while the tires needed replacement. I also had had a slight accident when someone ran out across the street from behind a parked truck into traffic, and damaged a wheel on the kerb. Low speed stuff but needed a wheel.
That little set of problems set me back $12k.
The lava 991 was as always flawless.
And then there was the 992.
There were two recalls on it. Front and rear glass had been improperly sealed and had to be redone. LW airbags needed reprogramming.
Sounded straightforward.
Nope.
The rear glass chipped when it was removed so needed new glass from Germany. Three weeks for that. When it was completed the tech noted an oil leak in the sump. ( not from damage). This requires a special tool when the dealership had to order and is known the way apparently. No ETA yet but the car is scheduled to ship to Europe for an event in Zell am See and and a week at the Nürburgring and probably Spa. I am ok for time so far as it will ship in August and be delivered to my hotel early September. This is the first RS I have had with significant issues.
Hopefully there will be no more issues. I also have to put in the Euro stuff…Warning triangle, yellow jacket and first aid kit.
Just as it was ready to be released by the dealer they discovered an oil leak in the sump which required a special tool..Porsche is shipping it from Germany.
This is a highly impractical car with no luggage space…no boot, non-adjustable buckets so unsuitable for touring. Will rent a proper tourer for early part of trip before the Porsche comes in from Canada, OH will drive rental in tandem to Zell am See, and then will leave for London while I go solo to the tracks which it is meant for. I cannot imagine buying another RS because it will be years for an all-new ( not gen 2) car and I would be over 80 by then assuming I last that long.
So back to AZ for a while to start to close up the place and put the cars there away for the summer. The heat is quite destructive so have to use tire cradles and have the leather in the Mercedes properly conditioned to avoid cracking. Nonetheless, most of the red plastic trim on seat bases cracked and had to be replaces
Still, it was getting on and time to head back across the US,
Stayed in the most dog-friendly motel in New Mexico than had a welcome note and a treat for the dog:
The restaurant across the street had excellent Mexican food and the patrons looked like they are still n the fifties too:
I wanted to stop in Russellville Arkansas to see the eclipse. This was dead centre of the eclipse path. A nothing town with no tourism but I had booked the eclipse date last year before the hype started. The Hampton Inn was fine.
The Eclipse day dawned clear and bright before disaster struck for me. My camera that had always been rock sold reliable would not work despite earlier checking so I saw the eclipse but could not photograph it. Magnificent sight. You need 100% coverage as 99% looks like nothing.
I had photographed the 2017 eclipse in Tennessee so this is a shot from then.
I had never been in Arkansas and assume it was a sort of Deliverance place. It is actually very pretty with lots of farmland,forests and lakes. Beautiful driving roads.
[url][img]https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/77298/20
2405217906713?resize=720[/img]|https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/77298/202405217906713[/url]
And WalMart.
Founded here in Bentonville the entire town is Walmart,with very high incomes. Alice Walton has spent billions on a world class gallery of American Art called Crystal Springs which is now undergoing renovations to double it in size. There is a very nice hotel nearby with its own art inside and outside, including this Caddy covered in dimes. First class restaurant there and dined with a penguin.
Eureka Springs is another Victorian town with good restaurants and stores, and just outside it is a church (nondenominational) designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.
I made a detour into Nashville to the Lane Museum, an utterly mad place of the most eccentric ( mainly European) cars I have ever seen. I did a separate thread on this but will definitely return as they have only 20%of the collection on the floor and it rotates.
[ img]https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/77298/20240521798009?resize=720[/img]
Another detour in Syracuse NY.
This is the only place I know with an upside down traffic light. There was a large Irish labourer population there and when traffic lights came in the twenties they objected to the orange being above the green, so the town put in a traffic light upside down that is there to this day.
They also have a magnificent little Art Deco building that has escaped demolitio
Final run up through Buffalo which I know very well, though I had not come across the exuberant church of the prophet Elijah Robinson
…..
Back to Toronto, and the dog was ready for a rest. Down to the vet for a checkup and she just has Old Dog Syndrome, has some medication. She will be 11 in October and I am not sure she will see another desert winter,, but we can hope. Right now she is a very happy dog.
May 2024
Spring has sprung, the back lane has flowered, there are endless fun cars around the nabe, and the Porsche cars and coffee meets have started. OH is in Japan for her periodic visit to improve her (very good) language skills, so solo for a few weeks. Have a shortish run to NY state this week but I think there will be no really long runs until we hit Europe in August
..if the 992 is ready by then!.
On the other side of town there is an area where old cars are parked outside of period buildings.
.
Tubac and Tumacacori are old towns where the Spanish monks set ups their churches :
Saguaro National Park is near Tucson and a prime place to see the dramatic Saguaro landscape.
By Mid January I returned to Toronto while OH, dog and Panamera remained in AZ
February-March 2024
There had been basically no winter in Toronto and be the beginning of Feb there were snowdrops in the back yard.
Well, until the snow came. However ,it was brief. Did a bit of local dining - there is an superb restaurant on Niagara wine country which was well worth the visit.
The Cayenne needed a service and the Smart ForTwo needed some repairs also so I rented a couple of cars.
I had not driven a Chevy for years though I had some quite good GM cars in the eighties and nineties. This is the last sedan Chevrolet makes, I could not believe how cheaply it was finished, the vague steering , the comically large and plasticky controls. It is going out to production and only taxi drivers and cops will miss it. Now they basically make trucks,SUVs and the Vette.
I then rented a Nissan Versa, a midrange car . The difference was huge. Nice controls, seats that did not feel like badly stuff sofas and responsive. Very practical DD.
April 2024
As usual it was time to get summer cars back on the road. This would turn out to be far more expensive than usual.
The 997 had a problem with the A/C which was leaking and had a fairly full replacement, while the tires needed replacement. I also had had a slight accident when someone ran out across the street from behind a parked truck into traffic, and damaged a wheel on the kerb. Low speed stuff but needed a wheel.
That little set of problems set me back $12k.
The lava 991 was as always flawless.
And then there was the 992.
There were two recalls on it. Front and rear glass had been improperly sealed and had to be redone. LW airbags needed reprogramming.
Sounded straightforward.
Nope.
The rear glass chipped when it was removed so needed new glass from Germany. Three weeks for that. When it was completed the tech noted an oil leak in the sump. ( not from damage). This requires a special tool when the dealership had to order and is known the way apparently. No ETA yet but the car is scheduled to ship to Europe for an event in Zell am See and and a week at the Nürburgring and probably Spa. I am ok for time so far as it will ship in August and be delivered to my hotel early September. This is the first RS I have had with significant issues.
Hopefully there will be no more issues. I also have to put in the Euro stuff…Warning triangle, yellow jacket and first aid kit.
Just as it was ready to be released by the dealer they discovered an oil leak in the sump which required a special tool..Porsche is shipping it from Germany.
This is a highly impractical car with no luggage space…no boot, non-adjustable buckets so unsuitable for touring. Will rent a proper tourer for early part of trip before the Porsche comes in from Canada, OH will drive rental in tandem to Zell am See, and then will leave for London while I go solo to the tracks which it is meant for. I cannot imagine buying another RS because it will be years for an all-new ( not gen 2) car and I would be over 80 by then assuming I last that long.
So back to AZ for a while to start to close up the place and put the cars there away for the summer. The heat is quite destructive so have to use tire cradles and have the leather in the Mercedes properly conditioned to avoid cracking. Nonetheless, most of the red plastic trim on seat bases cracked and had to be replaces
Still, it was getting on and time to head back across the US,
Stayed in the most dog-friendly motel in New Mexico than had a welcome note and a treat for the dog:
The restaurant across the street had excellent Mexican food and the patrons looked like they are still n the fifties too:
I wanted to stop in Russellville Arkansas to see the eclipse. This was dead centre of the eclipse path. A nothing town with no tourism but I had booked the eclipse date last year before the hype started. The Hampton Inn was fine.
The Eclipse day dawned clear and bright before disaster struck for me. My camera that had always been rock sold reliable would not work despite earlier checking so I saw the eclipse but could not photograph it. Magnificent sight. You need 100% coverage as 99% looks like nothing.
I had photographed the 2017 eclipse in Tennessee so this is a shot from then.
I had never been in Arkansas and assume it was a sort of Deliverance place. It is actually very pretty with lots of farmland,forests and lakes. Beautiful driving roads.
[url][img]https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/77298/20
2405217906713?resize=720[/img]|https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/77298/202405217906713[/url]
And WalMart.
Founded here in Bentonville the entire town is Walmart,with very high incomes. Alice Walton has spent billions on a world class gallery of American Art called Crystal Springs which is now undergoing renovations to double it in size. There is a very nice hotel nearby with its own art inside and outside, including this Caddy covered in dimes. First class restaurant there and dined with a penguin.
Eureka Springs is another Victorian town with good restaurants and stores, and just outside it is a church (nondenominational) designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.
I made a detour into Nashville to the Lane Museum, an utterly mad place of the most eccentric ( mainly European) cars I have ever seen. I did a separate thread on this but will definitely return as they have only 20%of the collection on the floor and it rotates.
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Another detour in Syracuse NY.
This is the only place I know with an upside down traffic light. There was a large Irish labourer population there and when traffic lights came in the twenties they objected to the orange being above the green, so the town put in a traffic light upside down that is there to this day.
They also have a magnificent little Art Deco building that has escaped demolitio
Final run up through Buffalo which I know very well, though I had not come across the exuberant church of the prophet Elijah Robinson
…..Back to Toronto, and the dog was ready for a rest. Down to the vet for a checkup and she just has Old Dog Syndrome, has some medication. She will be 11 in October and I am not sure she will see another desert winter,, but we can hope. Right now she is a very happy dog.
May 2024
Spring has sprung, the back lane has flowered, there are endless fun cars around the nabe, and the Porsche cars and coffee meets have started. OH is in Japan for her periodic visit to improve her (very good) language skills, so solo for a few weeks. Have a shortish run to NY state this week but I think there will be no really long runs until we hit Europe in August
..if the 992 is ready by then!.
Realistically I am unlikely to be doing this forever. I expect this will be my last trip to the Nürburgring. I will be 76 during the Euro trip.
Retirement is not too awful I suppose- I worked from the age of 11 till 74 and did it because I enjoyed it. I never stayed in a job that bored me and never had that strange dread of Monday mornings. I sought and got high-pressure stressful jobs for the adrenalin and lived in several countries. I never had a bucket list (dreadful phrase), as I visited the places I wanted to see and had the experiences that mattered to me.
There are still places I will visit of course and major cities change all the time, so I am never going to be bored in London or Singapore for instance. My son who lives in Malta will drop by the Ring for his first visit in the Autumn.
So , an OK year overall though I would prefer to work
…All good things come to an end though; it does take some clear-eyed planning. OH is American so doing the tax planning is a bit more complex. My expectation is that with the next five years the majority of the cars will go apart from those I use daily, and have to consider the housing decision. A steep four-floor Victorian house is not ideal for 80 year old, so might consider a condo and sell the current place, though it is incredibly handy being downtown and very close to all services. The AZ house is already in OH’s name and is a single floor typically of homes there, so no issues of ageing.
The other thing to consider is health.. Canada had a very liberal legal regimen for this who are terminally ill and it is not difficult to avail of medically induced dying. I am not the kind of person who wants life at any cost. If I can only exist in a dependent state I am outa here. This is very clearly written in a document to my lawyer and my doctor so that there is a clear statement of intention. This may sound morbid but it actually takes away worry.
I am always amazed at people who see the retirement future as some kind of relaxing vacation ,walking happily in country lanes in the soft sunlight. I have a lot of friends between 65 and 85 and there is often a huge difference. At 65 most people are fine. At 75 the majority of people have some kind of ailment and medication and by 80 a lot have Alzheimer’s. Of course we all know spry 90 year olds but they are not the majority ,so planning for this makes sense to me. I can’t count the number of people I know with various cancers, heart ailments and so on, or less fatal but debilitating things like arthritis or diabetes. One easy way to get perspective is to see what happened to the parents of your friends of 50 or over.
I am not suggesting that old age is miserable for everyone but neither is it an unalloyed joy.
Thus planning for what you might want to do should you become ill makes sense. For this who prefer to live a very long life even with reduced health, then a financial plan that includes money for a retirement home makes sense. With an ageing population there will be pressure on those kind of services, so having sufficient funds to manage that eventuality is wise, in particular if you or your spouse has to go into a home while the other partner does not, so costs rise steeply in that scenario.
RDMcG said:
<fabulous pictures & story>
That's what I call living the dream, RDMcG 
Some stunning scenery, & your hound looks very regal
Everyone has their own path to furrow, & yours looks great!
The gun culture is not a thing I particularly admire (at all), but aside from that, you are clearly living your best life
mikeiow said:
That's what I call living the dream, RDMcG
Some stunning scenery, & your hound looks very regal
Everyone has their own path to furrow, & yours looks great!
The gun culture is not a thing I particularly admire (at all), but aside from that, you are clearly living your best life
I am not a gunowner, merely an observerSome stunning scenery, & your hound looks very regal
Everyone has their own path to furrow, & yours looks great!
The gun culture is not a thing I particularly admire (at all), but aside from that, you are clearly living your best life
....alscar said:
undred orse said:
I will be retiring at the end of June at the age of 59.
Financially secure, no kids to worry about and Mrs Orse will carry on working and has a well paid job with a superb pension to come. So no worries really. Other than a niggling thought that I may get bored. I've sort of been forced into going early by a lack of enjoyment in the job, lots of stress which was becoming less tolerable or easy to put to one side and the effects on my health becoming more pronounced. I've put a lot of miles on the clock over the years and I'm looking forward to my first summer off ever - I worked throughout University years.
I've got my dog to occupy my time and also the gym which I already go to 5 days a week which will be upped to 7 days. Also i've got my cars which I love driving and cleaning which will take some time. Otherwise I don't really want to end up in front of the TV.
Golf doesn't interest me. I've thought of volunteering at the local dog rescue but I'm so soft with dogs I'd want to bring them all home and probably get upset very easily. Gardening bores me to death and I'm struggling to think of something to avoid a "walk the dog, gym, clean the car and TV" routine each day.
Are these thoughts normal? Am I overthinking it and something will crop up? It is obviously a big change having worked and run my own business with all the hassle that brings as well as client demands for so long to now be free of responsibilities.
Congratulations on your retirement next month. Financially secure, no kids to worry about and Mrs Orse will carry on working and has a well paid job with a superb pension to come. So no worries really. Other than a niggling thought that I may get bored. I've sort of been forced into going early by a lack of enjoyment in the job, lots of stress which was becoming less tolerable or easy to put to one side and the effects on my health becoming more pronounced. I've put a lot of miles on the clock over the years and I'm looking forward to my first summer off ever - I worked throughout University years.
I've got my dog to occupy my time and also the gym which I already go to 5 days a week which will be upped to 7 days. Also i've got my cars which I love driving and cleaning which will take some time. Otherwise I don't really want to end up in front of the TV.
Golf doesn't interest me. I've thought of volunteering at the local dog rescue but I'm so soft with dogs I'd want to bring them all home and probably get upset very easily. Gardening bores me to death and I'm struggling to think of something to avoid a "walk the dog, gym, clean the car and TV" routine each day.
Are these thoughts normal? Am I overthinking it and something will crop up? It is obviously a big change having worked and run my own business with all the hassle that brings as well as client demands for so long to now be free of responsibilities.
I don’t think your thoughts are particularly unusual.
How many years will your wife continue to work for ?
It will take a good few months to get used to the idea of “ not working “ so to an extent you can see how it goes.
The freedom and flexibility are bound to be a bit of a shock but in a good way.
If you find yourself watching daytime tv then clearly you need a better plan.
I’ve been not working for 2 years 5 months and it still feels like I’m on holiday.
I can honestly say there hasn’t been a day when I’ve been bored.
I refuse to watch day time TV as in my view it can be a slippery slope.
Maybe if my mobility gets bad i will change course.
I have a GSD who takes up at least 3 hours a day.
I too dislike gardening but keep on top with 15 minute spurts during the day if not raining.
I read a lot and spend at least 2 hours a day building plastic models.
I find the days just go by with quiet enjoyment
My wife works part time which keeps us both sane
Holidays are a major thing. Try to have 7 or 8 a year.
Hope you enjoy yours
RDMcG said:
I am not a gunowner, merely an observer....
I love those updates, RDMcG.....We have a similar situation in a way - I am married to an American, although neither of is is retiring any time soon - I'm aiming for 55-60 to do this, but that's very much up in the air as I like my career, and it also means I could be at home with two teenage daughters whilst my wife keeps running her business...and that may be a test of everyone's patience.
On your health point, unfortunately on my side of the family the men don't seem to last into their 80s, and whilst I am healthier than my forebears, I am not perfect (improving), and don't want to retire in my 60s and just have a few years of poor health before I die. I'd like to retire, and be active for as long as I can, and have a few years.
Have PMed you as am really struggling to find an advisor who can pick their way through the dual tax thing. Rather hoping you have a lead...
Very best,
HF.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 22 May 08:48
Longy00000 said:
Thanks for all the feedback on Spain and visas etc
It does sound as I had feared being a tad complex and a bit of a ball ache. I'm sure it could all be overcome but I just hadn't envisaged it all being so regimented and that continues to put me off
Don’t let it put you off buying a place in Spain. We’re really enjoying 5-6 months a year in Spain. It makes living in the UK just about doable with the awful weather. It means many more months we can get out and exercise which is hopefully a good thing in the long run. And the people here are generally happy because of the weather whereas the opposite is true in the UK. It does sound as I had feared being a tad complex and a bit of a ball ache. I'm sure it could all be overcome but I just hadn't envisaged it all being so regimented and that continues to put me off
I took this photo a few minutes ago on my morning walk down to the beach and back. I didn’t recognise the thing in the sky
At home it’s pissing it down again and will continue for a while. Edited by Phil. on Wednesday 22 May 09:52
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