Look before you leap

A lot of people retire to Florida. You can hardly blame them, with our climate, beautiful scenery and abundance of attractions. But that does not mean a move down here is for everyone. As this interesting article from USAToday states, what more people should be doing is looking before they leap.

Read the whole article here

Retirement can be the best of times or the worst of times. What can make the difference, says psychologist Nancy Schlossberg, is planning.
Most people who plan for retirement focus only on their financial portfolio, but they should pay as much attention to their "psychological portfolio," says Schlossberg, whose new book, Revitalizing Retirement: Reshaping Your Identity, Relationships, and Purpose, was published in February by the American Psychological Association.
Q. What is a psychological profile?
A. Retirement challenges your identity, changes your relationships and may leave you feeling rootless. These three components — identity, relationships and purpose — make up each person's psychological profile.
Q. Are some people better prepared, emotionally, for retirement than others?
A. The lucky few are those who know exactly what they want to do. (They) start playing around with ideas in advance — how will they identify themselves? What gives them purpose? What will their new mission be?
Q. What steps can people take to get ready?
A. Maybe this is the time to join a volunteer organization, church group or community group and start making new friends or organizational ties. If you're thinking, "When I retire, I'm going to move to Florida," take your vacations there so by the time you move there, you know a few people. Is there something you've always wanted to do? Take a course and try it out. You have the same issues as the football player, the roofer, the lawyer, when you retire. There are ways you can begin to prepare. Retirement is just a continuation of your career development. Get involved. Engage in life.
Q. How can people combat loneliness?
A. Make a conscious effort to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Some people move to retirement communities with active social programs. Others take on new jobs or volunteer activities that are both satisfying and fun. One woman got together with friends to plan a Boomer party. Getting together regularly to plan the party was in itself rewarding. Fun provides relief, distraction from negative reality, bonding with others and a way to survive in troubled times.
Q. What are some of the unexpected pitfalls of retirement and how can people prepare for them?A. Relationships change. Former colleagues may not return your calls, and the relationship with your spouse or partner can be dramatically altered. I cannot tell you how many women, more than men, complain about being in the same place all day with their spouse. Couples may need to negotiate ground rules. One retired man was shocked to learn that his wife didn't want to spend every day with him. "As they say," he said, "for better or for worse, but not for lunch."
Q. What do we need most for a happy retirement?
A. We need to matter. It is important for people to believe that they count in others' lives. The loss of the challenge of the work itself, the relationship with colleagues, the connection to an environment, an office to go to, and the daily routines can leave people wondering whether they matter anymore. We all need to figure out ways to bolster our own sense that we count.