‘WHY I RETIRED HERE’
We asked retirees what they love about their chosen spots. Here’s what they said.
TUCSON, ARIZ. VINCE (62) AND NANCY (59) MARSALA
“The sunny days have an uplifting effect on your attitude, as opposed to the gloomy overcast days typical of Michigan,” says Vince, a retired automotive engineer who left Auburn Hills, Mich., in 2019. “We enjoy the outdoors 12 months a year. We take walks, hikes and bike rides and enjoy outdoor dining and happy hours. We eliminated snow and ice, which forced us inside for months.”
WINTER PARK AND FORT COLLINS, COLO. CHRISTINE (69) AND JACK (70) DUKE
“We spend two months every winter volunteering at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch [outside Rocky Mountain National Park, near Winter Park, Colo.], a campus that has more than 5,000 acres for activities,” says Christine, who teaches yoga and water exercise while Jack works for the grounds department. “We love being in the mountains enjoying cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and other winter activities— and the camaraderie we’ve developed with other volunteers from all over the world.” In 2019, they relocated from an 1,800-square-foot home near Peoria, Ill., to an 800-square-foot condo in downtown Fort Collins, a college town an hour outside the park. They spend the other 10 months of the year there.
WASHINGTON ISLAND, WIS. MARTHA (82) AND ROBERT (84) WAGNER
Twenty years ago on a vacation from their Alexandria, Va., home, these native Wisconsinites took a day trip to the island, off the tip of Door County. At the grocery store, they saw an ad for an affordable cottage with a ceramics studio—and made a $1,000 down payment on
the spot. They’ve since restored a small group of cottages on the island, called West Wind Resort, where they now live. “Besides the amazing natural beauty, the island gives us many opportunities,” says Martha, a former art teacher who makes lots of art. Bob, a retired physicist, has acted in a theater group, sings in the choir and is a school board member.
OAKLAND, CALIF.
MICHAEL MEYER (68) AND WILLIAM BELL (69)
“Oakland is central, and has a diverse population and ethnic restaurants,” says Michael, a former engineer. “We grew up in the Bay Area but spent the past 37 years in L.A., where the traffic was
beyond belief,” adds William, a retired real estate agent. They’re renovating a 1956 modern house that has a downstairs suite where a future caregiver could live. “It’ll last us ’til we’re ready to go out in boxes,” Michael says.
RUTLEDGE, MO. DOROTHY GOERTZ (66)
“I love the intergenerational aspect and the closeness to the land at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage,” says Dorothy of the sustainability-focused “intentional community” of private homes and communal spaces on 280 acres that she’s called home since she left Kansas in 2016. “I love that fun and laughter are valued,” the widowed nurse says.
TULUM, MEXICO DIANNE HARPER (71) AND BARRY (77) DUBIN
“We love the beauty and peace of the jungle within a close-knit community, and it’s only 20 minutes from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world,” says Dianne of their move from Philadelphia in 2014. “The weather is perfect, and the cost of living is so much lower than in the U.S. that we have luxuries we couldn’t afford there. We have the best doctors we’ve ever had and friends from all over the world. Life is slower here but ultimately better.”
DES MOINES, IOWA TOM (65) AND SUE (61) BROADBOOKS
“Rather than leaving our friends and family, we decided to downsize to free up funds so that we could travel more often,” says Sue, a former health care worker. When their youngest child, Ella, began a job with a nonprofit, they `eci`e` to fin` a townhome near their former home in Ankeny with a separate space for her.