Congrats Robin! Enjoy your trip and hope you find interesting ways to spend your time!

Best wishes on this new phase of your life! Please keep us posted on how things transpire.

Thanks both!

OK here I am at home, had a dreadful cold since I retired so have not begun to luxuriate in retirement yet.

Both our kids just went on exciting trips. One went to Skegness for the Easter weekend, the other to San Francisco (she's refereeing at the hockey national championships in San Jose this week.)

This got me to thinking. We should go on some LONG trips now that we are retired. Skegness I will get to someday, but how about a month or more in San Francisco; or at least, somewhere in the Bay Area, handy for the BART system, museums, concerts, pubs, hiking, etc. Beyond staying at a hotel, for $150+ per night, are there suite hotels etc that offer lower rates for long stays? I.e. something between a hotel and a short term rental? And where would be a good spot in the Bay Area that is cheaper than SF?

Cheapest basic (and clean and friendly) place we stayed at in San Francisco was http://www.wharfinn.com/ right by the Wharf and free parking (unheard of apparently) We walked everywhere from there and took the Tram.

We are hoping to do several long road trips around the US. We are planning to spend the summer in Toronto...in late September head west from Toronto to Vancouver. Then down the west coast...heading back to Toronto for Christmas. In January we will head south and spend the remainder of the winter in Florida. Well that's the plan...

Boy do you have that wrong. Almost everybody I know that has retired, works harder after retirement than they did before retirement and they work at things they don't like. Now that he has so much time on his hands, do you think his wife doesn't have a lot of things to be done around the house that he has been ignoring for years and she also will want him to come along when she does shopping.

Boy, am I glad you said that. I thought I was the only sucker that has been saddled with that.

Robin's just made one of lifes big decisions, and for now, he's happy about it. Let's not burst his bubble too soon.

Wait till he wakes up in the morning and starts the 'inventory'. Yep,...know what that pain is. Yeah,...know what that ache is. Opps,...that's a new one.

He's already planning all these trips. Wait till he finds his body will no longer tolerate a flight that lasts for more than 3 hours, thanks to the dinky seats in economy class, and has to book all flights in business or first. Then there's the assumption that you are now the on call baby sitting service for the grandkids. I have retired friends who live in the Midlands and live constantly by the phone waiting for the (instant) summons from Brighton. And, they go,..instantly.

All in all: When Megacorp did a programme to 'rationalize' the company, many freinds retired early. We meet about once a month for a pub lunch. Not one wishes they were back at work, in any way, even given their new tasks in life.

One thing I learned whilst living in California; it ain't laid back. My condolences. Maybe the retired life in Blighty isn't all that bad after all.

Not might be your thing, but considered AirBnB ? Usually a pretty cheap option for casual stays.

That's the big one. Now that both mom and dad or grandma and grandpa are home without anything to do, "why don't we just leave the kids with them". After all they have all that time on their hands so a weekend here and there and sometimes a week at a time with the kids will really give them a lot of pleasure. And the real fun begins when they get babies to watch.

Yeah well, in our case I don't think grand kids are on the cards.. As for physical infirmity, yes, it is proceeding apace. One challenge is getting to Boston or Cape Cod. We can fly cheaply and conveniently from our local little airport, but I no longer want to commit to an hour and a half with no toilet available (our flight to Boston is on a nine passenger Cesna 402.). Neither of us like driving far these days, either. I know what you mean about long flights; however, if I can get up and stand in the aisle for twenty minutes two or three times in a seven hour flight, it's tolerable. What I now find hard about flying to the UK is the overnight leg from here to there. We have a very good flight from our nearest big airport, Ottawa, but it is overnight. We have to go to Boston or New York for a daytime flight to the UK.

And hiking.. Ten years ago I'd be up for a brisk thirty mile ramble up hill and down dale, now it's more like a maximum five or six miles with not too much climbing if possible. And if there is a tea shop along the way, all the better.

When my family (brother/etc) visit me in CA, I get a local hotel for them in Walnut Creek - no frills, suburban motel style, runs around $100/night. This is convenient for me to see them (I can't bear having them under my roof for more than a few days, so when they visit for 3 weeks, this is my solution). They also seem to like it, since they can have a laid back existence in suburbia when they want, have free parking and easy driving to everywhere (Wine Country, Marin, Carmel, etc) but also walk to the bart station and head into SF any time they feel like it. Probably not what you are thinking about but something to consider. You could look for cheap motels near Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill Bart stations.

I'm in pretty good health at the moment for over-50, but I'm starting to feel the creaks. I'm also starting to not love my job as much as before (I've ALWAYS loved my jobs!). Taking some time off is a thought that occupies my mind more and more ... I want to drive around Utah and Colorado for months on end (I love driving), and hike every day (I can still easily manage 4+ hours). My biggest concern is healthcare. I'm guessing you have a good healthcare insurance package from your job (or are you >65? ) If I could get a predictably priced package that will see me through 65 I'd be off on my travels tomorrow!

Actually I suspect I'd get desperately bored at some point but - I want to get to that point ... then I'll return to the workforce!

My husband retired early 3 years ago. Although he enjoyed retirement he thought he had retired too early and had more to give. So he has done a little consultancy work...5 months 2 years ago and approx 12 months this past year. Like you he has found that he no longer enjoys his work and is now ready to call it a day. I wasn't happy about him taking consultancy work...but I knew he had to get it out of his system and now he has.

Extended Stay America hotels are all around California with kitchenettes in each room. They are not as fancy as Residence Inn or Marriot Suites and don't have a pool but the rooms are fairly large, clean, and pretty well maintained for between about $60-$120 per night depending on the location. Some are within a mile or so of a Bart station so you can normally take a short bus ride to Bart. If you go all the way down to Fremont (prices in the $60-$70 range), there are three within 3 miles of the Bart station. On the peninsula, there isn't Bart but Caltrain to San Francisco but the room prices are more expensive on that side of the bay (probably nearer to $120 per night) but Caltrain runs through cities such as Palo Alto, Los Altos, and others that you might want to visit. Generally if you book for a week, the discount is about $5 per day.

No matter which side of the bay you stay on, you can get to the other side by switching in San Francisco or other stops that have both systems. Amtrak can get you to Sacramento and down south but other than buses and ferries, there isn't many public transportation ways to get to Marin county or Napa. Getting up or down the coast highway will be a challenge without a car.

In San Jose, there is a light rail system as well as plenty of busses to get around. Many of the suites in San Jose are near the low end of the price range but are normally not near the light rail or Caltrans.

Fremont is actually a pretty nice city about the physical size of San Jose with 1/4th the population with the Mission San Jose district, the Niles district which was where the original westerns and Charlie Chaplin movies were made, and plenty of open space and hiking trails through the east foothills.

Great, thanks Steerpike, that is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. I'll look at those towns and BART stations on the map.
I am between 62 and 63. At my place, they extend full health benefits, same insurance, same monthly premium, for folks who retire at or after age 62. It expires at age 65 so their maximum commitment is three years, so it ain't going to kill them. But it is a thoughtful and valuable benefit.

Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites are also decent places.


Jim/