I retired 6 years ago to a little hamlet of older retirees. Through the years so many have had to move closer to children, closer to healthcare, or were carried out. I am not reading the obituary daily like some, but it is hard to see friends and neighbors leave the place that they really want to be.
Melancholy turned off.
That makes me think of something that happened with my Mom and stepdad. They bought a second house down in Florida about 10 years ago, with the idea of retiring down there eventually. They rented it out for a few years, but when the tenants moved out, they didn't re-rent, but would use it as a vacation home.
Well, they became really good friends with their next-door neighbors, and were looking forward to the day they moved down permanently.
Unfortunately, the neighbors up and left, moving back to Pittsburgh, to be closer to family. They ended up having to sell the Florida house at a steep loss. Worse, the condo they moved into wasn't cheap, has a high condo fee, and heating bills are high. So, they're paying more now to live than they were in Florida, and hating the winters!
As for my Mom? Well, she retired about a year and a half ago, and it's been a year for my stepdad. And they're still up here in MD. So, I don't know if they'll ever go down!
As for that time bucket, I've really been thinking about it myself lately. Even at the relatively young age of 42, I swear it seems like the time is going by in a blur...