November was the month my friend who lives in Texas sent me the article about the cruise ship "skipping the next four years". She thought it was funny. I thought it was a clever marketing tool, since they created it before the election. Some people were offended, but then, some folks look for ways to be offended.
Personally, I recognized way too much of the article to treat it casually. It took just a few moments to realize this was the people I knew from the round-the-world cruise I signed up for in 2023. This time, they had far more control over the process, so there were more options.
I thought at first about renting, but quickly realized it would save money in the long run if I bought. Plus it gave me more flexibility. I can live on the ship until I get bored, and live in an apartment in the Mid-West, when the weather is nice. I like having the option of renting mt cabin to others. I can do this on my own, or they will do it for me, if I chose to go that route. If they do the work (don't you love it?), then they take half the rental fee. Not bad as long as it covers the monthly maintenance costs. Even better if there's a profit, which there no doubt would be, since prices go up all the time.
Since I didn't know about this happening months earlier, I didn't "get in on the ground floor". That cost me lots, but I wasn't really ready earlier. I was still bruised from the disappointment of the previous cruise not happening. I'm fully healed now, so the timing worked for me.
Once I decided to buy, I had to determine when I wanted to embark. This time, unlike last time, we are on our own in getting our "stuff" to the ship. If I was renting, and only staying a short period of time, I wouldn't have much to take with me. However, owning is different. Making it feel homey is up to me. They provide very nice furniture, TV, linens and the like, but decor items (which are super important to me) are up to us. I'm embarking in the summer, when the ship is visiting the U.S.
While I was doing all the legal things necessary to buy my cabin, I assigned my subconscious the task of deciding what I will take with me, and what will be sold in an estate sale before I leave California. I decided to only take things I absolutely love and those which would be hard to replace for some reason. An example, I love a gorgeous aqua glass bowl I bought in Cape Town, South Africa, so I'm taking it with me. I have problem feet, small, wide, with very high arches. I've ordered shoes and am having new orthotics made to fit. Better do it now, before moving to the Mid-West or getting on a cruise ship.
The second most important item was a real deal breaker. I needed medical insurance since Medicare doesn't cover us when we leave the country (although we still must pay for it). The last time I tried finding health insurance for a long cruise, it was a fiasco. Everyone on the ship had to figure it out for themselves. Very difficult for my age group. Happily, however, the ship's management team did what I had hoped. They made arrangements with an international insurance company to give us good rates.
I signed up for it. The damage to my budget? The same figure I was paying for extra coverage for my current U.S. HMO plan. I was stunned. I had figured it would be five times as much. This was a huge relief. Medicare (covered by my Social Security) and the extra policy I will buy for Part D will cost me an extra $40 per month. The international plan, which includes flying me somewhere should I need specialized medical treatment, will cost me only $200 per month.
What makes this all okay, is that I'll cancel what I have now, so the net increase is only $40 per month. Additionally, I will start receiving my entire Social Security benefits each month, thanks to WEP being repealed. On top of this, housing in my new state is about $1,000 less per month than I pay now. So cool.
I did the math, (people who know me are laughing now). Over the next fifteen years, I will pay about $100,000 less than if I stayed in California. This is only for housing. It's an even bigger savings when you take notice of what I no longer will have to buy in my new state or on the ship, like food, cleaning services, linens, electricity, etc.
Then, of course, there's the travel, built into the plan. I'll either be in my new state, exploring new places, or I'll be in one of over 400 new locations in the world.
Like my T-shirts say... Life Is Good. By the way, taking lots of my Life is Good shirts with me when I move, CLICK HERE #ad to check out more styles.