My husband, John, has just retired from his job of 42 years at The Associated Press, and we are taking some time away from our home in northern Michigan to explore the world together. I’ll be using this space, since I have it, to chronicle our adventures for anyone interested.
Goodbye, Michigan.
If anyone had told me how much work would be involved in one of us retiring, I might have urged John to keep his job. Our summer was filled with an agenda of chores large and small. It included administrative tasks such as getting John signed up for Medicare, and countless hours of physical labor involved in preparing our house for potential renters.
We drove away yesterday afternoon exhausted. Plus, our house looked so terrific (as long as we avoided the basement) that we wondered why we were leaving it. We’re already missing our friends and neighbors, and we’re grateful we didn’t sign a long-term rental agreement.
Saying goodbye to this old house, for now.
First stop: Chicago.
We’re visiting our son, daughter-in-law, and nephew in the Windy City for a couple of days. Chicago is a leading contender for a home base for us, if we decide to leave northern Michigan. It has the same downside as our current home — winter– albeit with much less lake effect snow. Having a year-round climate that enables us to get around safely as we age is a primary consideration.
Chicago scores big in transportation, with a decent transit system, walkable neighborhoods, and easy access to the rest of the world from O’Hare. It’s also reasonably affordable for a city offering so many amenities, including excellent healthcare facilities. Most importantly, we have children here, and possibly future grandchildren. And our daughter, Leah (the other femme of this blog), could easily live here without a car. She doesn’t drive.
Lunch with the nephew at a neighborhood place, the Little Goat Diner. I’ll pay more attention to photo background next time.
Next stop: North Carolina.
