We Love Our Life

We are sorry if we make some of you gag but it's just the way we feel at the moment. It occurred to us that we should write something about the beneficial spin-offs of our nomad life here in the south.

At first glance it might seem a rhetorical question with an obvious answer... duh... it's paradise. Yes, we agree with that, and we really hope our readers don't think we are gloating - we just want you to know that there are other factors in play as part of our new life that we have come to realize and appreciate.

We are quite sure that everyone from Canada reading this post would have their own reasons for dreaming about moving to somewhere warm (usually, it's because they don't want to shovel that damn white stuff anymore) and perhaps it's to find a slower pace of life, seeking sun and white sand, or just loving the color turquoise in their family photos. We have all of those reasons on our list too.

But, as we move slowly into our retirement years is seems our palates have changed. We generally try to leave the burgers and pizzas alone and rather try to enjoy more meals with fish and fresh vegetables and yummy sauces. We have also come to know that there is happiness to be had from sipping good tasting tequila (no need to shoot them down and grimace), and from slowly savouring the flavour of great rum made in local distilleries ...without paying Canadian prices.

There are also other benefits that come to mind. It is increasingly clear that they might be part of what could perhaps be called our previously hidden destiny, so to speak. On reflection, we would guess that most people who are still busy working up north would likely construe them as minor benefits. But the more I think about them, the more they are right there on top of our list for our ongoing well-being. They are also some of the reasons why we can't go back from whence we came.

Driving in a big city is stressful: The two of us used to take turns driving the car in the city – one of us drove to work and the other drove home from work – but the hour commute either way was hectic and somewhat dangerous with the growing number of crazies on the pavement with us. It seemed everyone was in a hurry, and no one was courteous or careful. In our retired life, living without owning a car has helped lower our blood pressure immensely. When we do rent one, and take a drive on our local streets, we rarely have to exceed 60 km per hour and almost all roads are one lane in either direction – simple and easy. We have the luxury of avoiding “rush hour” when we choose to drive, and our trips are quiet and enjoyable.

Meeting new people wherever we go: living in a tourist destination means you meet all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds, with all sorts of stories to share. Back in our working life we didn't really have a lot of social activities with friends and neighbours. But when we did meet someone new it seemed the first questions asked at a gathering were about your career path. That information set the “who you are”, and you were accordingly placed in a box – sometimes with unspoken judgment attached. Now, there is no box other than the generality of being a "retired" person, and the only "job" you have every day is waking up to enjoy another day. We have no bosses, no pressures, no deadlines, and no worries. We have no debts. And, to make matters even more simple, we remain renters wherever we go, and pick up and leave whenever we wish. There is no white picket fence with a mortgage attached to hold us back.

Hustle and bustle of city life: Each time we return to a large city like Vancouver we are reminded of the fast pace of life and the noise that accompanies it. It seems to us that people appear stressed, some actually come across as being angry and stretched to the max with heavens knows what problems in their lives, and everyone seems to be in a hurry. Being there with them makes us want to tele-port ourselves back to our nice quiet and comfortable little bubble in the tropics. We have learned to slow down. Our new lives are all about warm breezes, sunshine, birds singing in the day and tree frogs chirping at night, and the surf on the beach. Yes please, we'll have more of that.

Not being nameless: Some people like to disappear into a crowded city and fold themselves into an anonymous electronic media lifestyle, so they can make as little contact with others as possible. Yes, that was partially us too. But we have now become acquainted with saying "good morning" to people we meet on the sidewalk, in the stores and restaurants. Local people are quick with a cheery reply. It is easy to spot the newcomers in town as their eyes start to bug out and they are unsure of what to do when we look at them while we say good morning... We chuckle each time. We are always very pleased when we can bump into and chat with as many of our friends along the way that we can. Living in a small community builds a family of friends who look out for each other. We like it when we return to a restaurant or a line up in the grocery store, and we are met with a smile of recognition. We like being able to walk into a pub and get asked if I want the “usual” for food and drink.

Seasonal Affective Disorder: We had no idea how much daily sunshine can change your outlook on life, because we had become so accustomed to living in Vancouver's cloud cover. We used to live in the gray for months on end with only a few days of sunlight in the winter. Even then, the sun only just barely crossed the horizon on some days. Getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark left us in a constant feeling of gloom. The last time we were in Vancouver there were several gray days when we didn't see the sun. We noticed that we started feeling a bit depressed because we were so used to having sunshine every day, and then in a bit of an epiphany of sorts, we recognized the former feelings of dreariness flood back again. The sun did come out for a day or two during that last trip and it was amazing the energy we felt when it showed up again. Now, we are very happy to have warm sunshine every day - it has a direct impact on how we feel every day.

Being socially considerate: People who can't be away from their phones really bug me. Put the damn thing away and have a conversation already. We saw it right in front of us in a nice restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. The vacationing family was seated at the next table having dinner at the best seat in the house overlooking the beach and a spectacular sunset, and they were all staring at their laps while playing with their mobile phones the entire time. Some people think this is normal but it just seems so rude to me. We have noticed that people who live here full time have learned to put away their toys so they can be present socially. It may have something to do with the abundance of umbrella drinks that make your fingers hit the wrong keys, and texts just seem to be garbled all the time... whatever the reason, it is nice to be able to have meaningful interaction with people without the constant interruption of their stupid phone.

Being minimalists: Like most other Canadians, we used to own all of the furniture that a typical home would have. And, we used to collect all sorts of things in our closets... whether it be for fun, or we thought they would be valuable in the future, or perhaps that we might need them at some point in the future. We had 50,000 hockey cards, three sets of pots and pans, 14 guitars and 8 guitar amplifiers, 4 computers, three TVs, tools tools and more tools - some still in the box unused, three full sets of dishes, boxes of old stuff in storage that we have been dragging around unopened for years (or decades), several closets jam-packed with clothing, boots and shoes, at least 100 neck ties, four sets of outdoor Christmas lights (we had space outside for only one set), two Christmas trees, gardening tools of all sorts and no garden, mechanics tools to fix cars but we always used a dealer garage to do that, and so much junk in the junk drawer that we had to have 4 drawers to hold it all...etc, etc. .....Somehow we managed to get rid of it all - the bulk of it was donated to needy organizations. We reduced our remaining stuff to a few totes of items that would fit under a kitchen table, plus the four suitcases we now use for traveling. And now - what a change - we rent furnished places each time we find a new place to live, and we might buy the odd thing that we find wanting in each place. Anything we buy gets left behind or is given to those in need or to new friends. It's amazing how little "belongings" you need to get buy and still be able to enjoy life.

Life planning skills: Having this adventure is quite obviously the biggest change we have pursued in our lives. Others might retreat from making plans like this, let alone take the steps to act on them. For us, after the initial shock of the change in environment and daily routine, we have become very accepting of our new life. Our previous life only included dreams of doing this. Now that we have made it happen, we are enjoying taking our time to plan each of our next steps. Living here has made it important for us plan ahead as you really can't get anything done in a hurry. We have time to talk about the things that each of us wants to do and see, and then enjoy planning where we head next.

Having fun again: We have had many people from the great white north visit us (or have come to visit our nearby friends and neighbours) and we can tell they are stressed about having to leave to head north to work again. I would be stressed too. Retiring and moving south has helped our shoulders drop and the creases in our foreheads to disappear. Yes, we still have to get things done here, but we also tend to have a lot more fun. Every day is “weekend”, and we enjoy every minute of that while working on some sort of balance for our not-quite-svelte bodies.

Life goes by faster than you think – make your dreams come true. We love our life... the bottom line... retire as early as you can.