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If you were in the red zone of retirement and you love outdoor activities such as fishing and hiking, where would you retire? Julie Sosinski selected a lake home near Hayward, Wisconsin for most of the year and a condo in Bonita Springs, Florida for the winter months. Find out more about Julie’s adventurous life, on Episode 63 of Retire There with Gil & Gene.
Julie was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and resided in Superior, Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Superior, most of her life.
In the early 2010s her husband took a job at the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and the couple moved to a home near the oil field. In 2011, they purchased a condo in Bonita Springs, Florida. Her grandparents had been snowbirds and then full time residents there, so she was familiar with the community as she visited frequently. The idea was once they retired, they’d sell their home in ND, move back to Wisconsin to purchase a lake home in the woods near Hayward, Wisconsin, allowing them to reside in Wisconsin most of the year and snowbird to Florida for a few months each winter.
In 2017, Julie’s husband tragically died from a work accident. She was devastated and her future instantly became a question mark, as did her retirement plans. Ultimately, Julie decided to stay in North Dakota for at least a few more years.
Julie met someone special several years later. In 2020, she purchased a lake home, 30 minutes southeast of Hayward, Wisconsin--fulfilling the dream of her and her late husband.
Julie isn’t retired quite yet but considers herself in the “red zone of retirement.” She spent many years as a nurse, but she currently works at a microbrewery where she hands out free samples of beer, among other duties.
Her interests include fishing, camping, hiking, swimming, boating/kayaking, gardening, cooking and travel.
