Opinion

Retirees Increasingly Ditching the Mortgage to Live on Cruise Ships

Sailing the seven seas in your seventies really does sound like serendipity.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 8, 2022

Andrew West

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Every now and then, a very unorthodox idea gets more than a few people scratching their heads and a movement is born. This might just be the case with cruise ship retirements in the 21st century.

As it turns out, living nearly full-time on a cruise ship is far less expensive than one might imagine, especially when you start to compare the cost of living at home with the all-inclusive situation at sea. And so much so that an increasing number of retirees are setting sail as opposed to settling down.

Serial cruiser and author Lee Wachtstetter, for instance, wrote a much-read memoir about living on cruise ships for 12 years after her husband died. Farschman, meanwhile, chronicles his sea-faring ventures on his blog — facilitated by on-board WiFi that’s “become so much more reliable, though sadly not necessarily more affordable,” he said.

Upgraded connectivity has also allowed semi-retired cruisers to be based at sea while still working. “The WiFi on most vessels is now strong enough for Zooms,” said Tara Bruce, a consultant and creative brand manager at Goodwin Investment Advisory Services, a Woodstock, Georgia-based financial advisory firm that helps folks retiring at sea.

In many ways, retiring on a cruise ship makes a lot of sense. Stereotypes aside, cruising has always appealed to older travelers. In fact, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, one-third of the 28.5 million people who took a cruise in 2018 were over 60 years old — and more than 50% were over 50 years old.

What’s more, cruise ships offer many of the essential elements seniors need to thrive: organized activities, a decent level of medical care and, most crucially, a built-in community of like-minded travelers.

And that’s not all:

“With cruising, you cover all of your living expenses — food, housing, entertainment — in one place,” said Bruce. Although pricing on luxury liners can inch towards $250 per day, “we’ve seen folks get costs down to $89 per day, which is far cheaper than assisted care or other kinds of senior living.”

Repeat cruisers like Farschman are also eligible for on-board credits towards premium meals, drinks, spas and other activities that can easily reach “hundreds of dollars per voyage,” Farschman said.

When you say it like that, sailing the seven seas in your seventies really does sound like serendipity.

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Opinion

Republican Turnout far Exceeds Democrats | Schaftlein Report

Guest: Jeffrey Dunetz – LidBlog Author ( LidBlog.com )

Published

18 hours ago

May 19, 2022

Andrew West

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Republican Turnout far Exceeds Democrats | Schaftlein Report
—————————-
Guest: Jeffrey Dunetz – LidBlog Author ( LidBlog.com )
Topics:
1) Democratic turnout increase by 3% while Republican gains were 38%
*GOP is up on the Generic ballot by a range of 4-8%
2) In Georgia where Biden claimed “Jim Crow laws to prevent voting among minorities”, there is record turnout – Another Democratic lie exposed for the fraud they portray
3) Oz leads McCormick by 1,240 votes with mail in ballots still being counted – The lead is shrinking
4) Speculation about Biden not running in 2024 grows – Why would he – His presidency has been a total failure
*His approval rating is at 36-39%
5) Russian colonel on state TV says the war is lost in a stunning revelation
6) Russian Denazification is total propaganda and hypocrisy
7) China is in discussion with Russia to buy discounted oil
8) Gas prices hit an average of $4.59 today the highest ever
a. Mortgage demand plummets as rates on mortgages rise to highest level in 13 years
b. Initial jobless claims increase to 218K to touch highest level since January – It is still very low as jobs are plentiful
9) DHS “pauses” the Disinformation Board – For now?
10) Musk claims Democrats are the party of division and hate – We agree

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https://rumble.com/embed/v12psp7/?pub=4 Republican Turnout far Exceeds Democrats | Schaftlein Report —————————- Guest: Jeffrey Dunetz – LidBlog Author ( LidBlog.com ) Topics: 1) Democratic turnout increase by 3% while Republican gains were 38% *GOP is up on the Generic ballot by a range of 4-8% 2) In Georgia where Biden claimed “Jim Crow laws to prevent voting among minorities”, there is record turnout – Another Democratic lie exposed for the fraud they portray 3) Oz leads McCormick by 1,240 votes with mail in ballots still being counted – The lead is shrinking 4) Speculation about Biden not running in 2024 grows – Why would he – His presidency has been a total failure *His approval rating is at 36-39% 5) Russian colonel on state TV says the war is lost in a stunning revelation 6) Russian Denazification is total propaganda and hypocrisy 7) China is in discussion with Russia to buy discounted oil 8) Gas prices hit an average of $4.59 today the highest ever a. Mortgage demand plummets as rates on mortgages rise to highest level in 13 years b. Initial jobless claims increase to 218K to touch highest level since January – It is still very low as jobs are plentiful 9) DHS “pauses” the Disinformation Board – For now? 10) Musk claims Democrats are the party of division and hate – We agree

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Opinion

Empire State Goes Tyrannical with Social Media Spying Plan

This is NOT okay.

Published

22 hours ago

May 19, 2022

Andrew West

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There are plenty of ways in which American politicians can react to a tragedy, with a great many of those options being a bit shortsighted.

This is especially true of Democrats, it seems, as their innate progressivism makes them uniquely obsessed with change for the sake of change – even when those changes may be constitutionally questionable.

The latest example of this comes to us from New York, where a racist massacre at a grocery store has the state government looking to spy on citizens’ social media accounts.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday announced plans to create a police unit designed to, in part, combat “hate speech” in the wake of the tragic shooting in Buffalo, promising to “confront this epidemic head-on.”

“We’re proposing a comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism, strengthen state gun laws, & investigate social media platforms promoting violent extremism,” Hochul announced Wednesday.

“In wake of the racist act of terror in Buffalo, New York will lead the charge to confront this epidemic head-on”.

The devil was in the (lack of) details:

One of the governor’s executive orders instructs the State Police to establish a “dedicated unit within the New York State Intelligence Center (NYSIC) to track domestic extremism and increase social media monitoring at the Intelligence Center.”

“The unit will be responsible for developing investigative leads based on social media analyses focused on radical extremist activities motivated threats by identifying online locations and activities that facilitate radicalization and promote violent extremism,” it reads in part.

Without any clear or concise guard rails, those employed within the unit would be left to examine any number of questionable pieces of alleged “evidence”, tagging and cataloging completely harmless users in the sort of overreach that would have George Orwell not only rolling over in his grave, but kicking at the lid of his coffin as well.

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There are plenty of ways in which American politicians can react to a tragedy, with a great many of those options being a bit shortsighted. This is especially true of Democrats, it seems, as their innate progressivism makes them uniquely obsessed with change for the sake of change – even when those changes may be constitutionally questionable. The latest example of this comes to us from New York, where a racist massacre at a grocery store has the state government looking to spy on citizens’ social media accounts. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday announced plans to create a police unit designed to, in part, combat “hate speech” in the wake of the tragic shooting in Buffalo, promising to “confront this epidemic head-on.” “We’re proposing a comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism, strengthen state gun laws, & investigate social media platforms promoting violent extremism,” Hochul announced Wednesday. “In wake of the racist act of terror in Buffalo, New York will lead the charge to confront this epidemic head-on”. The devil was in the (lack of) details: One of the governor’s executive orders instructs the State Police to establish a “dedicated unit within the New York State Intelligence Center (NYSIC) to track domestic extremism and increase social media monitoring at the Intelligence Center.” “The unit will be responsible for developing investigative leads based on social media analyses focused on radical extremist activities motivated threats by identifying online locations and activities that facilitate radicalization and promote violent extremism,” it reads in part. Without any clear or concise guard rails, those employed within the unit would be left to examine any number of questionable pieces of alleged “evidence”, tagging and cataloging completely harmless users in the sort of overreach that would have George Orwell not only rolling over in his grave, but kicking at the…