Senior Spotlight: Flipping The Script On Senior Living

“While ‘best places’ lists typically tout retirement meccas such as Florida, Arizona and Texas, I needed something more than sunshine and low taxes. Now that the two most fulfilling phases of my life – my career and my marriage – were over, I needed to find ways to expand my orbit, not shrink it.”

The perspective above is an inspiring and profound one, written by a retiree who unexpectedly lost her husband to cancer during retirement. But is this a blog about grief and isolation? While those are no doubt circumstances we all face, this week’s Senior Spotlight is focused on one type of new chapter that is improving the quality of life for many retirees: city living.

You’ve read on our blog before about the AARP movement to disrupt aging. You’ve heard us talk about active retirements, about this not being your grandparents’ retirement era. But a fresh read from Next Avenue offers some new terminology and new insights into the benefits (and beauty!) of a non-traditional retirement path.

The author of the read, Bonnie Miller Rubin, shares how she and her husband left the suburbs to retire in the city…”after more than four decades in the suburbs, we packed up and moved to where we could get Chinese food delivered at 3 A.M.” She explains how she and her husband lived like tourists, exploring cafes and eateries, enjoying foreign film shows and attending symphonies and concerts. It was a great retirement life, although stopped in its tracks by her partner’s cancer diagnosis. Four months later, Bonnie found herself alone when his battle was lost.

Friends and family expected her to start over, to move to a gated senior community. But Bonnie took time to think about what she really wanted and decided “I needed to find ways to expand my orbit, not shrink it. All the activities of this vibrant neighborhood make it easier to build a new life on top of my old one. I am alone but rarely lonely.”

She stayed in the city that she and her husband had planned to age in together, but pivoted her circle to get bigger. To invite friends to eat at the Michelin-starred restaurant just 267 steps from her door. To become a regular at the nearby zoo and conservatory. To turn one of the darkest chapters in her life into a new book. To embrace what she had around her to create fulfillment within her.

What if we all ‘flipped the script’ on what we think we should do? What if we all had the courage to start anew when we feel like running away? How would we feel if we expanded our orbit rather than reduced it? Bonnie says it best when she explains “I am certainly not suggesting that a few farmers markets and street performers will tame this beast called grief. I'm just trying to make a little music.”

Read In Full:  Why I Don't Live in a Gated Community

Have a great rest of the week,

Bobbi

Bobbi Decker
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Broker Associate
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www.bobbidecker.com


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