Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

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Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

I'm going to cut and paste some of what I wrote on MMM. I hope someone finds it useful or entertaining, and I'm quite sure I'll get helpful feedback, so it's a win/win.


I’ve been very fortunate to be a professional pilot at a major airline for the last 19 years, and in the Air Force before that. I’m 58 and normal retirement age is 65 but I’m tentatively planning to retire next year around my 59th bday. It takes a lot of work, luck and talent (he said modestly) to get to where I am and I don’t give it up lightly. But my body tells me it’s time.

I’m quite healthy and reasonably fit, but after a 3 or 4 day trip, which is the normal work week, I feel the health effects of the stale air, germs, noise, gamma rays, EMF effects, sleep cycle disruption, and a dearth of healthy food options. It usually takes a day or 2 to feel normal again, then it’s back to work. It’s not the worst thing in the world. I could throttle back, quasi retire, and stay in the saddle another 7 years and add a few hundred thousand to my nest egg, but I have the ability to quit, so I think I will.

My military service qualifies me for a pension starting at age 60 that will be around $3,500 adjusted for inflation annually. I haven’t decided when to start collecting social security. I have about $1.3 million net worth with no debt consisting of a 401k, profit sharing plan and IRA. I’ll have to draw that amount down the first year waiting for the mil pension to start.

Actually, I do have a debt. $2000/month alimony through the end of 2023, unless my ex gets married before that.

At this point I’m planning to retire overseas and I’m deciding between

Argentina
Colombia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam

All of these have pros and cons which we can discuss. I speak English and Spanish.

Thanks for reading.

Jason

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Jason »

Cal Bronson wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:21 am

Actually, I do have a debt. $2000/month alimony through the end of 2023, unless my ex gets married before that.
Well, as opposed to those Merlot sipping MMM guys, you will have no problem finding someone here who will marry her for much less than that.

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unemployable
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by unemployable »

Any reason you've left out Ecuador?

I was a 1K on United for nine years. You learn a little about the business and start to understand the tribulations of pilots and FAs being on planes so much.

Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

Here are a few more scattered thoughts I wrote down a couple weeks ago.


I have a few possibly competing desires for early retirement.

I want to find a long term relationship. I’m leaning toward SE Asia, specifically the Philippines, due to English proficiency and traditional values.

I want to provide something of value to my grandsons, especially the oldest. I’ve been more of a father figure than grandfather. They (daughters and grandsons) live in the US but could probably be persuaded to move. The one I'm closest to is 12 so I feel like the clock is ticking in terms of the positive influence I can have on his development as a young man.

I’d like to try sustainable farming on a small scale, but I don’t want to do the actual work. Partly due to laziness and the physical limitations of being in my late 50s, but even more, I just don’t have the knowledge needed to farm efficiently. Therefore I need to be looking in a low cost of labor market. South America and SE Asia are possibilities but I can’t own the land in most Asian countries. A long term lease may be possible.

I’ve thought about the possibility of finding my one and only in SE Asia and moving her to S America. Could be huge culture shock for her unless there’s a filipino expat community.

Quitting my job is a big decision. It’s not easy to get where I am, but it prevents me from getting where (I think) I want to be. And it’s basically an irrevocable decision. Once I resign that’s it. Getting back in would not be worth the pain. I’ve agonized over it inside my own head and I’ve talked with friends and peers. Most seem to understand, or at least remain neutral. One of my best friends was adamant that quitting is a huge mistake. We’ve talked about it over many drinks and cigars and now I think he understands the logic of what I’m doing, in my particular situation.

I’ll definitely miss being connected to the high pressure money hose, but being connected to any type of high pressure hose can be quite uncomfortable.

Cal Bronson
Posts: 17
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

Jason wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:30 am
Well, as opposed to those Merlot sipping MMM guys, you will have no problem finding someone here who will marry her for much less than that.
Haha, I'll ask her if I can share her contact info!

Cal Bronson
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

unemployable wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:12 am
Any reason you've left out Ecuador?

I was a 1K on United for nine years. You learn a little about the business and start to understand the tribulations of pilots and FAs being on planes so much.
I'd consider Ecuador. I've never been there and I don't know of any city there that offers what I like about Medellin, namely a high (but not too high) elevation with fertile rural areas not too far from big city amenities. If you have some suggestions I'm all ears.

Being an airline crew member has many benefits and a few liabilities. For me, for the first 15 years or so, the former clearly outweighed the latter.

Cal Bronson
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

One thing I haven’t figured out yet is what to do with my household goods when I retire. I live in a one bedroom apartment and while I don’t have any family heirlooms my furniture is nice and I wouldn’t want to just leave it on the curb.

Having said that, I might end up giving it away or selling at a significant loss because the only other alternative I see is moving it from Houston to Salt Lake to store it at my brother’s house. The only purpose of that would be the possibility that I chicken out about living overseas after a few months or years.

My brother would have no issue with storing it but I’d have the expense and/or hassle of getting it there. The options in that case would be; getting a pod to have it shipped at a cost of roughly $2,000, or putting a hitch on my sedan, renting a trailer and driving it there myself. That would cost a little less money and a lot more time. As a retiree my time will be much less expensive but I don’t relish the long drive, especially with a trailer.

If I sell the stuff I’d have to worry about the timing so I don’t end up sleeping on the floor before the move.

It’s weird to me that a few little factors make 4 distinct alternatives appear almost equal in desirability. Another option would be a smallish yet satisfying bonfire.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Are you sure cross-cultural dating is a good plan for finding one-and-only-endgame-long-term-relationship? Just last night I was talking to my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend who is from same-culture-although-different-political-affiliation about his previous cross-cultural relationship with much younger Sri Lankan woman and why it didn't work out. I also had significant cross-cultural relationship with Iranian-American man, so not judging, or even suggesting answer, just curious.

Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

I've been married twice. First to a woman from the same culture and the second from a different culture. It's a small sample size I know but the second relationship was far better in almost every way. That it ended was mostly my fault and I regret my actions to this day. When I met my second "one and only" I noted that we had an age gap, a culture gap, a financial bracket gap, and probably a few others, but only one that made much difference was the gender gap. I plan to continue dating exclusively women so I'll just have to accept it.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

lol- Yeah, I agree that gender trumps all the other gaps you mentioned. However, I also believe that Innate Personality and Truth/Core Values trump Gender. That's why although I am stuck with men, I will likely seek a personality type amenable to ENTP and a Core Truth amenable to Scientific Pantheism in my next primary partner.

Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

Interesting. Where can I read more about personality type compatibility? I think I'm iNTJ.

Smashter
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Smashter »

Hey Cal! You have come to the right forum for discussing all things personality type. Here are a few threads to get you started:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10982&hilit=personality+type
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10864&hilit=personality+type
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=299&hilit=personality+type

Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

I'm not a very good journalist but I have something to report today.

I'm currently in Olongapo Philippines scouting locations for retirement. I'm in vacation mode, and usually that means somewhat excessive expenditures. Today I needed to go to the large shopping center which is about 10 km from my hotel (an excessive expenditure in itself) so I decided to take a jeepney. You can google that if you're not familiar but in a nutshell they take a truck chassis and extend its length and put a jeep looking hood, grill and front fenders (hence the name) and two long benches in the back, facing each other. Then they stack an ungodly number of passengers, who each pay anywhere from 5php up to maybe 40 depending on the distance. The vehicle is loud, rough and un-air conditioned. A lot of roads in the Philippines are poorly maintained and cities here are notoriously polluted. It's far from luxurious but I found myself enjoying the ride. I paid 19php, handed the driver a 20php bill (.40 usd) and he handed me my 1 peso in change. Jeepney drivers are hard workers. I've never seen a jeepney with an automatic' transmission. They drive all day in the heat and humidity, scanning the road for passengers, steering with one hand, shifting and making change with the other. Definitely not your air conditioned cubicle, nor your modern ergonomic cockpit for that matter.

JamesR
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by JamesR »

I think it makes sense to sell your household stuff/furniture. It would cost money to ship it to your brother's place and back to a new place, and how many years later might that be? You could try selling your stuff at 50-80% of what you purchased your stuff at, see how it goes?

My first time abroad I lived in the Philippines for 6 months, and I thought it was pretty great. Later I also spent some years in Thailand. I went back to Philippines many times, sometimes for 2-3 months or for 1 month etc. Every time I go back to Philippines I find myself more and more disappointed with the cost, the food, the convenience, the traffic, the pollution, etc. I would say that Philippines can be 50% more expensive than Thailand in terms of food and hotels. It's probably manageable if you have the money to spend, or if you can find a great place to settle down, it can be more affordable once you've got a place established. Definitely more english/spanish in the Philippines, (there's about 2000 spanish words in tagalog or visayan I think?) which is a big plus. BTW, for traditional values, Vietnam is the winner, but language is definitely more of a barrier.

Cal Bronson
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

I see the Philippines as a good place for me to date, a target rich environment if you will. But probably not someplace I'll want to live in the long term. I think there's a good chance I can find a nice lady who speaks good English. Then I'll have to convince her to move to Vietnam or South America. I'm guessing Vietnam would be easier to sell.

Cal Bronson
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Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

And yes, I agree selling my stuff makes the most sense. The difficulty would be the timing and logistics of a potential sale. I guess I could sell everything except the mattress and a few kitchen items and get rid of those on my last day in the apartment.

Cal Bronson
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:24 pm

Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

Thanks for that input cimorene12. I'll take another look at Ecuador. I've traveled quite a bit in SE Asia and acknowledge that there are some English speakers in those countries but if we're playing the odds the numbers are much more favorable in the Philippines. I definitely foresee myself "test driving" Thailand and Vietnam as you suggest.

I dated a very nice Thai lady for several months last year and we started to develop deep feelings for one another. I ended the relationship because I feared that we might fall in love and then be unable to have the difficult conversations required for a long term relationship/marriage. It was painful for both of us but I'm still confident it was the right thing to do. I've read some blogs of westerners married to Thais and many of them seem to have great relationships with their wives and in-laws but I think it requires a certain temperament that I don't possess.

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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by jacob »

For long-term location-specific stays in Thailand or Vietnam like buying property, setting up shop, and perhaps eventually committing to a retirement home be aware that some of the major coastal cities are at high risk in the not-so-distant future.

Cal Bronson
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

The places I'd be targeting are higher elevation but I'm sure the impact would be felt at least indirectly.

Another environmental issue that I've read about, especially relating to Thailand, is heavy use of ag chemicals. I'd want to find a piece of land away from commercial farmers, or at least higher elevation and upwind of them.

Cal Bronson
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Re: Neither early nor extreme but I'm doing my best

Post by Cal Bronson »

I used to think I would continue to work until age 65, gradually scaling back to quasi and semiretirement.

A couple years ago I started thinking, why not retire at age 60 when my military pension starts? Then I decided I'd like to retire even earlier, hence the visits with the financial planner which convinced me it wouldn't be crazy to fill the gap with my 401k and other savings even before age 60. My current lease expires in August so I thought I'd go til that date then head over to SE Asia. A few days ago I started considering leaving in June and eating the 2 months of rent that would still be due. June is significant because as long as I perform work during at least 6 months of the calendar year I can collect a profit sharing check for that year.

So that's where I'm at now. Well, I have to admit I've considered just chucking the profit sharing and leaving next week. Unless I work full time to age 65 I'll be leaving money on the table. I'm comfortable with that; it's just a question of how much is too much.

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