Would I Live There?

Nearly every time I visit a place I picture myself living there. I've been visiting the Outer Banks North Carolina area for thirty years and I engage in that exercise often. I even began an informal job and real estate search at one time, twenty years ago.

I'm writing this post from the second floor ocean-facing deck of a beach rental, while taking a break from reading a book written by the CEO of AARP. Can you guess what is going through my head right now?

One of my travel partners is retired and the rest of us are visualizing retirement. This is the fifth consecutive day of no alarm clock, the fifth day of flexible or non-existent schedules, the fifth day of relaxation, laughter, reading, beach time and engaging conversation with people in my own boomer age range. And it's the fifth day of imagining this as a full time lifestyle.

Would I live here?  Would I retire here?  Would I work here if I could, as a phased retirement?  I don't know.

I love my neighborhood and my life in the DC suburbs. I'm nine miles from a challenging job I love, three miles from some of the best medical facilities in Maryland, walking distance from an active social life that includes friends, music, wine, exercise, healthy food and a relative amount of safety.  Out here in Corolla NC I'm walking distance to the ocean, a longer walk to a grocery store and some recreational opportunities. But most everything involves driving somewhere and the nearest medical facility is 30 minutes away (longer during tourist season when the only through road is clogged with visitors).

Maybe I just answered my own question. Again. No, I would probably not live here. At least not full time. If I had the financial resources I would probably visit here a lot or live here part time. That is not an option right now, however.

But I still enjoy the mental picture. And I predict that my positive beach mood will stay with me for several weeks after I return home.