Retiring on Cape Cod

Millions of people work their whole lives dreaming of retiring on Cape Cod, so much so, in fact, that almost 24% of the Capes full time residents are currently over the age of 65. Thats double the national average rate of 12%.

The reasons are obvious. Cape Cod is a beautiful place to live, and one that is often infused with a lifetime of happy memories from vacations spent in summers past. After all, who wouldnt want to spend their golden years in the place where they vacationed as a child or a young parent?

And the Cape will always be the kind of place that your own children and grandchildren will want to visit no matter how far away their own lifes travels take them.

The climate is temperate, at least by New England standards, meaning its not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. And the communities are vibrant enough that they dont have that awful Gods waiting room feel that retirement communities in some other parts of the country have.

And most experts expect the baby boom generation to retire here in ever increasing numbers, and earlier in life, thanks to advances in technology and a shifting definition of what retirement actually means.

When we first moved here in 1991, we were surrounded on all four sides by retirees who had lived their lives off Cape, and waited until they had finished their careers before moving to the Cape to live out their final years. That was because there were not many professional opportunities on Cape, and work back then was usually defined as either full-time or no-time.

So if you wanted to continue working, you had to either commit to a long commute into Boston five days a week, or accept a non-professional local job, usually in retail or tourism, that usually resulted in a significant drop in both prestige and income.

We knew of one couple who retired to the Cape and ran a Bed and Breakfast to bring in some extra income, until they realized just how much work was involved in running a Bed and Breakfast.

Some retirement!

Back then, it was far better to wait until you had already retired and then move here in your late fifties or sixties.

But a recent AARP study estimated that 70 percent of people aged 45 and older were planning to continue working in their "retirement" years, and that figure that may increase out of necessity after the recent declines in the values of boomers 401Ks.

Nowadays, its not unusual for a couple to move here in their late forties or early fifties, set up a fairly sophisticated remote office in their homes, commute off Cape two or three days a week, and get an early start on retirement while still maintaining a successful and challenging career.

If that kind of lifestyle appeals to you, this part of our site might be of help to you. Were planning on retiring on Cape Cod ourselves (although our situation is a little different since we already live here) and we can guide you through the issues youll need to consider if thats what youre planning to do.

From healthcare issues to wealthcare issues, and from real estate considerations, to estate planning, there is a whole industry on Cape Cod set up to service the retirement community. Some of our friends work in those industries and well invite them to share their perspectives in future articles well put up here.

Meanwhile, click around the links on this page to get an idea of what retiring on Cape Cod might be like for you.

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