Being in your early 50s in an interesting time. You tend to take stock of you life, look back at past accomplishments, past failures, and try your best to forget those dreams that fell by the wayside. In a minor fit of frustration, I texted a good friend who is also in his early fifties that "we should decide to live simply and retire." Living simply to me means cutting back considerably on material possessions, buy what you need rather than what you want, and focus more on the things that make you happy.
His reply to my text came the next morning where he posed the question: "where would you choose to live in the US? What about anywhere in the world." On the way to the bagel shop this morning, I gave his question a little thought and replied that I would purchase one of those micro-houses and plop it down near a college town for the vibe, amenities and admittedly, the sights. It has to be near a national park to satisfy my urge to get out and wander, and it must be fairly close to an airport with easy access to international connections so I can escape the familiarity of America. I gave less thought to the international part of his question because moving abroad would be too complicated on various levels. But I replied anyway that I would choose a small town an hour to two from London.
I've been an traditional suburbanite for my entire life calling the bottom right hand corner of the Commonwealth of Virginia home. And it's been a good ride. It's just that I've grown restless. While others my age may have their sights set on "free golf year-round at the Villages retirement community in Florida," I can't go that route. But then, do I want truly want the options I listed above? Probably requires more thought than 30 minutes at a bagel shop.
