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The Retire and Relocate Thread™

If you're selling your religion door-to-door, you're the worst of the worst. Keep that shit in the church or, at the very worst, proselytizing on a street corner downtown.
 
byke said:
FamilySearch has me singing a slightly different tune about those mormons. They still don't get the upper case, but maybe someday.
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organized religion has killed more humans then any thing else in the entire History of man. people killing people in the name if their God. THIER GOD. people are trash, that's why i live in a cabin in the middle of nowwhere so that I dictate when I have to interact with people. I sincerely hope mankind dies off sooner then later so that we don't completely destroy this planet and all its life
 
#1Freak said:
organized religion has killed more humans then any thing else in the entire History of man. people killing people in the name if their God. THIER GOD. people are trash, that's why i live in a cabin in the middle of nowwhere so that I dictate when I have to interact with people. I sincerely hope mankind dies off sooner then later so that we don't completely destroy this planet and all its life
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life expectancy is down like 3 years so there's that.
 
#1Freak said:
organized religion has killed more humans then any thing else in the entire History of man.
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Not even close. Pandemics have been the leading cause of human deaths (other than natural causes).
 
tzrider said:
Not even close. Pandemics have been the leading cause of human deaths (other than natural causes).
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references please? but even so, the defense rests, humans killings other humans in the name of a "insert your god here", is up there
 
greenmonster said:
Well not everyone in NorCal is a lefty. My wife and I have become acquainted with a few young Mormon missionaries in our area, and I only wish my 18 year old daughter who has multiple facial piercings, shaved eyebrows and goes to raves at the DNA lounge in SF could be half as clean cut and straight as they are.
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I'm glad my kids aren't like Mormon kids.
 
#1Freak said:
references please? but even so, the defense rests, humans killings other humans in the name of a "insert your god here", is up there
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The deadliest plagues in history

Some of the info from the article:

Black Plague - 25M to 200M (yes that's a big spread)
1918-1919 Flu - 50M
HIV/AIDS - 35M

Then there is Smallpox, believed to have killed 300M since 1900 alone

Another take on leading causes of death

That last article makes the point that this is quite hard to nail down, but he as a reasonable approach to making estimates.

So, what about atrocities, then?

There have been a few approaches to distinguishing between wars and atrocities where religion was the prime motivator and those where it was something else. One approach is to look at the 100 worst atrocities in history, summarized here. This is based on a review of the book The Great Big Book of Horrible Things. The conclusion is that about 15% of the atrocities were religiously motivated. These were not the heavy hitters, such as:

  1. World War II (1939-1945) - 70-118 million
  2. Mongol Conquests (13th century) - 60-70 million
  3. World War I (1914-1918) - 40 million
  4. Three Kingdoms (184-280 AD) - 30-40 million
  5. The Manchu Conquest of China (17th century) - 25 million

The Scott Smith Blog has a deeper analysis of which wars were religiously motivated and the body counts. Yes, he's Catholic, but his numbers jive with other sources out there, where he probably got the data that is aggregated in the article.

So, yeah, a lot of people have been killed in the name of religion, but a lot more have died for other reasons. Disease being a top contender is another, more salient, reason to remain isolated in your cabin.
 
+1 Andy

to make a finer point on it, the rise of the middle class came about due to the first Black plague in the 1350s. So many people died that there were a lot less aristocracy and a lot less serfs, but still a lot more serfs by the numbers. People couldn't believe that the church was telling them all would be ok if you believe in God, but they died just the same as the non-believers. and those parishioners that didn't die, fled.

this led to the ability for the serfs to become upwardly mobile. All of a sudden they could be allowed to join the religious class. They even were able to become free agents of sorts and find other lords that may pay them better or treat them better.

so the great maladies actually ended up leading to the lessening of power by the church and the gain of power by the working class.

Isn't that something?
 
Bowling4Bikes said:
+1 Andy

to make a finer point on it, the rise of the middle class came about due to the first Black plague in the 1350s. So many people died that there were a lot less aristocracy and a lot less serfs, but still a lot more serfs by the numbers. People couldn't believe that the church was telling them all would be ok if you believe in God, but they died just the same as the non-believers. and those parishioners that didn't die, fled.

this led to the ability for the serfs to become upwardly mobile. All of a sudden they could be allowed to join the religious class. They even were able to become free agents of sorts and find other lords that may pay them better or treat them better.

so the great maladies actually ended up leading to the lessening of power by the church and the gain of power by the working class.

Isn't that something?
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ty andy! that is great perspective. i stand corrected.
 
tzrider said:
…
  1. World War II (1939-1945) - 70-118 million
  2. Mongol Conquests (13th century) - 60-70 million
  3. World War I (1914-1918) - 40 million
  4. Three Kingdoms (184-280 AD) - 30-40 million
  5. The Manchu Conquest of China (17th century) - 25 million

...
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Considering the available weapons at that time, the two red-highlighted atrocities must have been brutal.
 
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Been looking into expat life for about 5 years now. Portugal has been top of the list for a while but as mentioned it has become quite popular with Americans in the last few years. We are planning to go for a few weeks next summer to scout it out. Also interested in Malta, a few other European countries, some of Central and South America and possibly pacific island locations.

If we have to stay in the US I would like to head to eastern TN or western NC...somewhere near the Smokey Mountains. We never bought here so staying here makes no sense and I have been ready to leave for a while by my wife's job is here at least for now.

I kinda like the idea of somewhere in the Bahamas too but have never been. The humidity takes getting used to but I have done a fair bit of time in AL and GA so I know I could do it. Also a little bit of time in various Atlantic locations, HI a couple times and once in the South Pacific. When right on the water it's possibly worth it.

Only one boy and theoretically when I retire he will be 23 so hopefully off doing his own thing. My family is now pretty spread out. Wife doesn't have any. She is older than me but not sure she will be ready to retire when I do. So I may start a second career which might keep us in the BA for maybe 3-5 more years which would probably work better for our son.

But my dad delayed his retirement a couple past when it made sense and he had less than a month before he was diagnosed with kidney failure and only a couple more months before he was diagnosed with cancer. He was technically retired for about 380 days before he died but realistically he spent most of his retirement dying. I tried several times to get him to retire 2-3 years earlier so he could enjoy some of it. So I am a bit leary about starting a second career. My mom had planned to never retire as she was self employed but a series of small strokes changed all that. So for you saying you don't plan to retire, realize it's not always your choice in the matter.
 
ejv said:
Been looking into expat life for about 5 years now. Portugal has been top of the list for a while but as mentioned it has become quite popular with Americans in the last few years. We are planning to go for a few weeks next summer to scout it out. Also interested in Malta, a few other European countries, some of Central and South America and possibly pacific island locations.

If we have to stay in the US I would like to head to eastern TN or western NC...somewhere near the Smokey Mountains. We never bought here so staying here makes no sense and I have been ready to leave for a while by my wife's job is here at least for now.

I kinda like the idea of somewhere in the Bahamas too but have never been. The humidity takes getting used to but I have done a fair bit of time in AL and GA so I know I could do it. Also a little bit of time in various Atlantic locations, HI a couple times and once in the South Pacific. When right on the water it's possibly worth it.

Only one boy and theoretically when I retire he will be 23 so hopefully off doing his own thing. My family is now pretty spread out. Wife doesn't have any. She is older than me but not sure she will be ready to retire when I do. So I may start a second career which might keep us in the BA for maybe 3-5 more years which would probably work better for our son.

But my dad delayed his retirement a couple past when it made sense and he had less than a month before he was diagnosed with kidney failure and only a couple more months before he was diagnosed with cancer. He was technically retired for about 380 days before he died but realistically he spent most of his retirement dying. I tried several times to get him to retire 2-3 years earlier so he could enjoy some of it. So I am a bit leary about starting a second career. My mom had planned to never retire as she was self employed but a series of small strokes changed all that. So for you saying you don't plan to retire, realize it's not always your choice in the matter.
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So much to engage/reply.

First, thanks for sharing. I’ve been to Portugal 2-3x. Its been awhile and I hoped its not changed too much. The Alentejo region is beautiful - check it out.

On the subject of humidity. I lived in Hawaii for a year and have traveled a lot to Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. Humidity is tough on me. But I do really like Thailand and have dreams of spending part of the year there - long term rental?

Regarding retirement… I had a coworker who announced his retirement after 28 years with the organization. Got married. Retired. Rode a bike a month later and died from a heart attack. I have other similar stories.

I could probably hang up my spurs now but would have to sell my BA home and downsize in CA or move out of state.

Currently have well paying job thanks to years of hard work and promotions. Hard to predict the future. Don’t wanna run out of money when I’m old and end up at a senior facility in Visalia. So current plan is look at options, post this thread on teh BARF, continue to work, take care of my health and go from there.
 
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You don't like CA, but inquire about a home in Patterson and mention a retirement center in Visalia...some of the worst parts, imo. It makes me wonder, what is it you don't like? The green part? You're after brown dirt nothingness for miles? Because you can have that, it's called Arizona.
 
byke said:
You don't like CA, but inquire about a home in Patterson and mention a retirement center in Visalia...some of the worst parts, imo. It makes me wonder, what is it you don't like? The green part? You're after brown dirt nothingness for miles? Because you can have that, it's called Arizona.
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Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine (August 2022) listed Visalia as one of the 7 standout places to retire - not sure if I can agree but in the spring of this year we checked it out as our son had to relocate there for a job. We found it actually to be a pleasant place but I don't think I can cope with the 100 degree plus temps they had for more than a month
 
I have lived my entire life in Silicon Valley and the only thing I really like about it is the weather.

We have a place in the Sierra's that I thought would be my ideal retirement place but with the wild fires and insurances cost that dream may be a bust

I know two people that have retired and moved out of state this year
One went to Wyoming - for me that is to windy and snow/ice
The other to Las Vegas - too hot
 
I have a few decades before I might be eligible to retire (nobody in my generation without a pension even talks about it) but I have been thinking about leaving CA for years. It used to be Washington, then Idaho, then Montana and each one became the new Mecca for CA expats and I’ve just watched each state exponentially increase in housing prices.

Now I’m looking around the Great Lakes. Lots of fresh water that should not dry up within the next few generations. Minnesota and Michigan seem to have everything I want: good hunting and fishing, affordable land, and the winters are projected to mellow out. I’ve read that zone will be the new habitable area where all the climate refugees from where we live will have to relocate to. Better to get in on it now.
 
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