I retired early and moved into a neighborhood full of seniors. At 47, I love being one of the youngest residents.
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Lakisha Simmons
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- Lakisha Simmons used the FIRE movement to retire early and rebuild after divorce in Tennessee
- She bought a low-cost townhouse in a mostly senior Nashville community for peace and stability
- Her FIRE journey now funds coaching work, parenting two sons, and slow travel dreams worldwide
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lakisha Simmons, 47, who lives in an older community in Tennessee. Simmons retired early after following the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up with humble beginnings. I didn't live with my parents, so I learned early on that whatever you have, you must hold on to it. I got my undergraduate degree from Tennessee State University. I got married and was living the good life.
I tried to be conscious about money, but I also wanted to enjoy life because I felt like I made it. We bought a big house and nice cars. I stayed out of debt and paid off my student loans. That marriage, though, ended in divorce in 2017.
I inherited the marital home, and I got hit with a grief of "How did I let this happen?" I had one income and two children, and I was paying all these bills myself. It was a ton of bricks falling on me all of a sudden. I sold the home and moved into a two-bedroom apartment. People told me that owning that house would build wealth, but I was living paycheck to paycheck as a professor.
Have you moved into a mostly older community before or right at 55? Have you made a major home renovation to age in place or bought a retirement home years before retiring? Please reach out to [email protected] to share your story.
I came across the FIRE movement
I made about $30,000 on the home sale. I only had $5,000 in cash post-divorce, plus about $125,000 in retirement accounts from my years of working. I tried to prioritize my 401(k) and tax-deferred retirement accounts. I came across the FIRE movement, opened a Vanguard brokerage account, and deposited the $30,000.
I started reading every book I could on FIRE. I decided to not eat out. I got the cheapest phone plan and cut back on unnecessary spending. I budgeted for everything so I knew how much I had to invest. I always encourage people to try cutting $300 from their monthly budget. Most are probably able to do it. Creating a very clean spreadsheet detailing all 12 months was useful. I never lost track of my FIRE number, which was $1.25 million.
By 2021, I had accumulated $750,000, though I made $77,000 a year on average. Eventually, I was able to leave work and began coaching people who also wanted to do FIRE, especially those who look like me. I wrote a workbook on soft skills. I got asked to speak at events and teach budgeting and investing. A lot of people have never heard of FIRE, but it's something everyone should work toward, regardless of when they want to stop working.
I also set up UTMA accounts for my children seven years ago. I contributed about $5,000 to each of those accounts. The account grew to $15,000, so my son got a car for his 16th birthday with that money. It was a great way to show him how interest and dividends work.
Most of my neighbors are retirees
In 2020, my rent was going up to almost $1,800. I felt I had invested and saved enough to buy something. Everything my real estate agent was showing me was single-family homes and hipper neighborhoods, but it was all too much for me. I wanted more country living with lots of trees.
The community I live in doesn't say you have to be 55+, or that a certain number of people have to be, but the community's demographics are geared toward seniors. They're mostly single-story ranch houses that are low-maintenance. It's a planned community with clubhouses and activities. I've used the clubhouse for birthday parties. The sidewalks and roads are really big, and everything is walkable. People come in and pressure-wash the patio and repair the fences.
Lakisha Simmons retired in her 40s.Lakisha Simmons
I rarely see younger people here. There are some people my age, but the majority of my neighbors are retirees. When I go to the HOA meetings, I really stand out. There aren't that many minorities or people with young children in the neighborhood.
My neighborhood is much more suburban with lots of greenways. There aren't any bars out here. It gave me a chance to lock in on my goals and my children. I'm still a single mom, and I wanted to be able to pour everything into raising my children.
My son is graduating two years early, and he's going to be a pilot. We're not figuring out how to hack this financially for him, since his degree will be about $180,000. I've valued being in a community with lower costs and fewer frills, which has enabled me to spend more time helping him pursue his dreams.
We do a lot as a community
My principal and interest are $1,169 a month, which is insane for Nashville. My HOA fee is $280 a month. It's the best living situation for peaceful, quiet living.
I know my neighbors, and we help each other a great deal. I know all their names and their dogs' names. We had ice storms earlier this year, and we were all helping each other. I had an issue with my water, and my neighbors rushed over with their tools to help cut it off. It's not a transient community, and there's not a lot of turnover. People aren't coming in and out, and there aren't many Airbnbs here.
We do a lot as a community. Halloween is a big deal here, and people will go all out on decorations. If I can't find my 12-year-old, who is out playing, I can ask my neighbors, and they'll tell me where he is.
Lakisha Simmons's son is training to be a pilot.Lakisha Simmons
We all walk around a lot, and one of my neighbors was telling me that his wife was going through surgery for her cancer treatment. He was so glad that they still have each other, and he can be there for her, and that's really all that matters. That love and care for each other reminds me that life is about people and experiences instead of big houses. When I had big houses, I didn't have more joy than I have now. Most of my friends my age aren't walking two miles a day like me or sitting around with their neighbors in the backyard.
What I've learned from my older neighbors is that you can always be happy. They're not all having perfect lives, but they're always smiling. They always want to stop and talk.
I want to travel the world
I don't want to live for work. I have friends who work every day, and they don't love it but have to. I ask myself a lot, "Are you living and enjoying your life, or are you working because you have to work to make ends meet?"
I'm waiting for my youngest to go to college, and then I will hop around the world. There are so many wonders in the world, and I want to slow travel through it. I moved around a lot as a child, and I want to do that again in a more pleasant way. I went on a trip around Portugal, Spain, and Iceland earlier this year, and I cried in the customs line on my way back to the US because I was so happy.
I plan to keep this townhouse or move to one in Indiana, where my family lives. Maybe I'll find a place where my soul feels the most at peace, and I'll just stay there. I also don't want to retire fully. I want to be a professor at sea. There is a program where you can apply to be a faculty member on a cruise ship that stops in a dozen countries for a semester, like a study abroad.
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