After years of careful planning and saving, we were preparing to move to a warmer climate for a well deserved retirement lifestyle. With the sale of our home we anticipated making a significant profit – we had accumulated 25 years of equity in our home! Combined with our savings and pensions, we had a tidy nest egg which we thought would provide a good life through our retirement years.

We wanted to move to Florida and make a cash purchase of our dream home in a golf course community. Over the next couple of years we visited Florida retirement destinations during our winter vacations. Even during the short time that we had been looking at Florida, the costs of living had gone up rapidly and it was getting very congested! However, we had dreamed and prepared too long not to move to Florida.

All of this changed. The market crashes after 9/11/2001 took 80% of our retirement savings. In Florida, a torrent of construction led to massive traffic and congestion. Storms led to increased prices on anything related to housing, construction, or insurance, and the cost-of-living in general was much higher. In 2006, we found ourselves still in our same home and glad of it. Even though we lost money in the stock market we had gained value in our home.

We still dreamed of our retirement in a golf community with plenty of amenities, away from the cold weather. We began searching for an alternative to Florida and after an exhaustive search we found Houston Springs, located in the little town of Perry, Georgia. It was the best mix of small town, convenient location (1.5 hours south of Atlanta), abundant natural resources, great weather and value. Houston Springs has the features we were looking for: golf course, strong sense of community, lots of activities, quality homes at great prices, and no snow. After our first visit we knew we were home!

With the equity from our old house, we bolstered our savings AND purchased our dream home in Houston Springs. We enjoy a much higher standard of living than we could have afforded by either staying in our first home or moving to Florida. We feel like we have been given a second chance to live the retirement of our dreams.