For some reason this spring I keep flashing back to four years ago when we were still living in suburbia in Fort Collins and preparing to move down here to build our solar home…
Here’s an excerpt from my Memoir of Retirement:
I saw a stupid retirement TV commercial last night that really got me thinking. The question was:
Can you keep your lifestyle in retirement?
Say what? It suddenly struck me that this may be the most important difference between those of us facing retirement in the next few years. I for one have NO intention of keeping this lifestyle. If we did, what would be the point of retirement?
My dream retirement involves escaping this lifestyle! I feel that I have become ‘metro-fied,’ and I’m now more than ready for a peaceful escape from my present lifestyle.
I have lived in metropolitan areas for most of my adult life, for access to good jobs. What I have observed is ever increasing crowding, pollution, traffic and aggressive behavior.
Construction begins on our new solar home facing the Spanish Peaks!
What I now long for is a quieter more peaceful existence with just a few people per square mile, where we can enjoy a friendly, caring sense of community; a place where we can make new friends through our daily lives.
We know and accept that this will involve a major lifestyle change, and we are ready for that. No traffic sounds great to us in exchange for less shopping convenience. Valuing and having time for new relationships is what we seek, not more of the same overcrowding, air pollution and road rage.
As I sit in the constant traffic in Fort Collins or Denver these days, I can only think, “This is never going to get better!” People will continue moving here and traffic will keep increasing every year, and I do not want to spend one more precious moment of my life sitting in traffic.
We want out of this lifestyle, the sooner the better!
Postscript four years later: I WAS SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS!
Adventures of the NEW Old Farts 
I SO want your lifestyle!
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Me too!
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Awesome! I’m thinking the same, but might be ready to do it now in my midlife career change rather than wait until a proper retirement age. Whatever that turns out to be. I’m currently travelling the world for a year with my husband and 2 teens and may have to work the rest of my life in some way, but am willing to do that as long as it is sustainable.
Cheers,
-CW at dailycreatives
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Great Christine! Luckily with the internet many of us can still work from home, especially as a writer! We moved here at age 60 and things are just working out somehow. I have even done a little writing for our local newspaper. IN the country people still need newspapers to keep up on the local scene!
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I’m so glad you are enjoying it. It’s truly beautiful out there in rural Colorado.
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I used to think I wanted to live in New York. Not anymore. The noise, crowds, and frantic pace don’t entice me anymore. I completely get why you moved to the lovely country.
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YES! The absolute silence in the mornings is the best past, and the clean air and amazing vistas everywhere you look! Come on out and check it out.
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