Where is Everyone Going?!?

[FUEGO]

My 75 year old divorcee neighbor just bought herself a cherry red Corvette. She's still working several days per week (perhaps to fund Corvette payments). She probably makes 8-10 different trips per day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner account for 3 of those (fast food is what returns in those mostly white paper bags around meal time I presume).

Picking up grandkids might be a time or two. Meeting with friends might be another trip or two. She shops with such vigor that I imagine that might account for another trip or three each day. Then there are all the errands.

We probably use the car the least of anyone we know. Our car might leave the driveway 3-5 times each week with 1-2 being shopping, a social outing, and a drop kids off at school or pick them up outing.

 

[braumeister]

I think those who are organized enough to combine their errands into the minimum number of trips have always been in the minority. Most of us are [-]scatterbrained[/-] less organized than that.

 

[Amethyst]

It's funny, but since retiring, I don't notice the neighbors and their habits any more than I ever did.

But I remember my retired Dad, who lived much closer to his neighbors than I do, critiquing their daily activities in great detail. Then, due to late 1970's inflation eating his pension, he went back to work. The neighbor-noticing ceased.

Truly a sign of retirement: Counting how many times the neighbors drive down the road.

https://goo.gl/images/Vk1QP3

 

[NW-Bound]

Must be an Arizona out in the boonies thing.

What I observe when traveling is that people in big cities tend to go out more often than people in the suburb or in the boonies. And that is in the US as well as in places like Europe, although in big cities they often just pile out and crowd the street sidewalks and do not drive. Some smaller towns just look deserted because people stay inside.

It does make sense that people choose their domicile according to their personality, and their activity reflects that too.

PS. We do get out of the house everyday, but it's to do a walk, up to 3 times a day.

 

[Bamaman]

I love to drive, but my driving is limited mainly taking the wife to the doctor and physical therapy. Wal-Mart is 1 mile, and I use it as my drive in market visiting almost daily. Other than church, we only go out to eat 1x per week.

We seldom leave town either--except for doctor visits.

 

[Car-Guy]

Sounds like a OCD to me. Sounds like a OCD to me.

 

[Bir48die]

Just when I thought this forum was running out of topics.......

 

[Nemo2]

Just when I thought this forum was running out of topics.......

The sister thread, entitled Where is everyone coming from?, was initiated by someone living on the other side of town.

 

[JakeinChina]

Do you live across the street from me? lol

With Amazon Prime i feel like we are getting packages all the time. We get almost everything from Amazon except for perishable food...with a family of 4 it seems like we are in constant need for something. The good thing is it saves us a ton of time and mileage on our cars by not needing to go to stores anymore.

LOL Very funny. I was going to say the same thing but with my wife and all the things she buys online.

 

[audreyh1]

We have an unstated rule that we can only go out once per day in the car. It’s 10-12 miles to the nearest shopping, so driving for errands is long.

If we have an appointment, we arrange errands afterwards and the occasional lunch out. We almost never go out at night.

I love the days we don’t drive at all!

Parks, etc. are close and we walk or bicycle.

 

[MichaelB]

Just when I thought this forum was running out of topics.......

Never

The sister thread, entitled Where is everyone coming from?, was initiated by someone living on the other side of town.

Just shows that Buckaroo Banzai was among the greatest philosophers of all time

No matter where you go, there you are

 

[jollystomper]

(Adding "watching neighbors coming and going" to my "things NOT to do in retirement" list )

 

[kgtest]

It's a public road correct , even a one way is open to the public I don't know that they don't have a "right" to be on the street.Or that they are not supposed to be there.

Well when I say "supposed to be" I mean people who are driving on the street for a particular purpose.


A lot of the people I feel "aren't supposed to" be are simply just lost.


I certainly don't live in nor pay for a full time security gated community. Maybe someday. So yes its all public roads and anyone has the right (unless they are illegally in the country?)
But my point is, when you live in a secluded area or dead end street it becomes obvious those who are "Lost on the road" and those who are coming down the street to their final destination.

We have a highly visible "NO OUTLET" sign, but that doesn't register with people, or else there are people who simply like to drive from dead-end street to dead-end street?

 

[Nemo2]

and those who are coming down the street to their final destination.

Buried or cremated?

 

[Amethyst]

And always too soon? Reminds me of Madeline Kahn in "Blazing Saddles."

ExFlyBoy's neighbors are going and coming.

 

[audreyh1]

An advantage of a 55+ community - very little motorized vehicle traffic, even when everyone is here in the winter. Most of the vehicle traffic is construction, and services and delivery, yet that is still quite light.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

(Adding "watching neighbors coming and going" to my "things NOT to do in retirement" list )

Well, in my defense, I don't set out looking to count cars. Nonetheless, it's awfully hard to not notice when you see them while doing something else.

That's OK, my Dad has gotten to the point in his rapidly declining health that I have moved in with him to help with things and I'm afraid I won't have time to count cars for a while.

 

[aja8888]

An advantage of a 55+ community - very little motorized vehicle traffic, even when everyone is here in the winter. Most of the vehicle traffic is construction, and services and delivery, yet that is still quite light.

We have 437 single family homes in our 55+ community. I was surprised at how many cars are coming and going on a daily basis. Contractors probably make up 10 % of the vehicles. Lots of "elderly" people here are coming and going several times per day. Lots of new cars, corvettes, a few antique vehicles, big pickup trucks, etc. The only thing that is different here is there are no young children running around. This is not a place where seniors come to die!

We have 3 cars, DW's Hyundai SUV, my 2017 Jetta, and a 1998 Ford F150 Lariat Pickup with 46,000 miles on it. I sold my 1971 VW Beetle I restored last year. I drive a fair amount, DW, not so much.

Last year, DW's health started to deteriorate (COPD, Osteoporosis, 5 compression fractures of vertebrae, and she had a heart valve replaced). She didn't drive at all in 2017. I drove her here and there, mostly to doctors, hospitals, rehab facilities, etc. for her.

My driving consists of my daily morning drive to Burger King to meet with the ROMEO group; then home to take DW out for breakfast. My hobbies usually create a short trip or two per day. DW is driving this year and that's primarily to meet with friends for lunch (2X week) and to "shop".

All in all, a fair amount of driving is still happening with us, and apparently by our "elderly" neighbors also.

Right now, I am in the Michigan Upper Peninsula with two ROMEO friends at the Great Lakes Shipbuilding Company shop assembling a Northeaster Dory vessel which will be fitted with oars and a sail rig. I shared the trip driving; actually, 2/3 of it was by me. This trip will cover about 3,000 miles and we will be hauling a 1/2 finished 17' boat back to Texas.

 

[Ronstar]

Not many people go anywhere on my street. I can't see the street from my house, but it's fairly quiet when I go out there. I'll make a trip every couple of days to the home improvement store, Dw to exercise class. Other than that, not much. I hardly ever see my neighbors go anywhere.

 

[nphx]

Another thing I notice is that these people seem to always be on the phone. Who do they talk to at 7:00 AM?

India based project team.

 

[audreyh1]

We have 437 single family homes in our 55+ community. I was surprised at how many cars are coming and going on a daily basis. Contractors probably make up 10 % of the vehicles. Lots of "elderly" people here are coming and going several times per day. Lots of new cars, corvettes, a few antique vehicles, big pickup trucks, etc. The only thing that is different here is there are no young children running around. This is not a place where seniors come to die!

We have 3 cars, DW's Hyundai SUV, my 2017 Jetta, and a 1998 Ford F150 Lariat Pickup with 46,000 miles on it. I sold my 1971 VW Beetle I restored last year. I drive a fair amount, DW, not so much.

Last year, DW's health started to deteriorate (COPD, Osteoporosis, 5 compression fractures of vertebrae, and she had a heart valve replaced). She didn't drive at all in 2017. I drove her here and there, mostly to doctors, hospitals, rehab facilities, etc. for her.

My driving consists of my daily morning drive to Burger King to meet with the ROMEO group; then home to take DW out for breakfast. My hobbies usually create a short trip or two per day. DW is driving this year and that's primarily to meet with friends for lunch (2X week) and to "shop".

All in all, a fair amount of driving is still happening with us, and apparently by our "elderly" neighbors also.

Right now, I am in the Michigan Upper Peninsula with two ROMEO friends at the Great Lakes Shipbuilding Company shop assembling a Northeaster Dory vessel which will be fitted with oars and a sail rig. I shared the trip driving; actually, 2/3 of it was by me. This trip will cover about 3,000 miles and we will be hauling a 1/2 finished 17' boat back to Texas.

There are lots of 55+ people out on the streets here, walking, walking their dogs, bicycling. Just not that many cars.

I really enjoy the low vehicle traffic here. As one of the active pedestrians and cyclists I get to enjoy these nice wide streets will very little interruption.

 

[JoeWras]

India based project team.

+1.

One reason I want out.

Some of ya'll forgot there's a lot of work going on in cars. It is just plain wrong in my book, but people gotta do what they gotta do in this world. Got to get the stock price up to fund the retirees' 401ks.

 

[John Galt III]

snippet...On days that I spend 3 or 4 hours in the office area, I will see that a few of the neighbors will come and go several times a day. When I say "several times a day", I mean that to be 10 or more times, in a SINGLE DAY. Sometimes, they will come and go 3 or 4 times in a single hour! ...... end snippet. That explains the traffic pattern in my neighborhood. Always busy from about 7 am to 9 pm. Thick traffic everywhere. I keep asking myself why can't anyone just go to work at 9 am, park the **** car until 5 pm, then drive home. Nope, gotta work random hours (or not at all), and make sure to drive around a lot to clog up the roads.

 

[ncbill]

When we have one of our infrequent snows we get the most complaints about the property not being plowed out immediately from those who are retired.

Not for anything urgent like a medical appointment - they just want to be able to get out whenever they want.

 

[Nemo2]

When we have one of our infrequent snows we get the most complaints about the property not being plowed out immediately from those who are retired.

Not for anything urgent like a medical appointment - they just want to be able to get out whenever they want.

Or...they just want something to bitch about.