We are just on this planet for a few years. I have known a lot of people who worked until they dropped. My own dad worked until he was 86 and then retired. He had a stroke a year later.
I made it one of my life goals to work hard so that I could enjoy my life while I was able. A little over two years ago we moved to the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina.
It was not a retirement move. It was a lifestyle move.
We now have a home on the eastern side of the White Oak River in a small water access community called Bluewater Cove. I am not longer in the pressure cooker world of technology. I work as a Realtor®, writer, and photographer. I try to fish as much as possible. It makes working easier.
In my nearly sixty years, I have seen a lot of territory from New Zealand through Europe. All fifty states and every Canadian province has seen me at least pass through.
I have lived in four states and two Canadian provinces. On top of that I worked for a California based company so I got a fair dose of the Golden State on top of that.
Right now I would not trade where I am for any of those other locations. Even though this afternoon I am pulling duty in our Cape Carteret real estate office, I can open the door and smell the beach.
There is no other place where I could do what I want to do as easily and still be within a few hours drive of our kids.
This morning I went for a bike ride of six miles. I have been fishing in our skiff four days this week, and l will likely go again this afternoon when I get home from work. Tonight I will likely kayak out into the river to take a few sunset pictures.
Tomorrow morning I might go sit on the beach after I have done my morning chores. Tomorrow evening I am going to a seminar, "Trout Fishing in the Surf." This is not a dream, this is real stuff.
Today the temperature might have risen a little over eighty degrees. Tonight we might see lows in the mid-fifties. No heating or air conditioning will be required.
While the real estate market is not exactly what I had hoped for when I changed careers, the area where we live has turned out to be a stellar place to put down some roots.
The people are friendly. There is lots to do, and we have found reasonable year round services. When you get to wear shorts to work ten or eleven months out of the year, there is no way you can complain about the climate.
Our life style move has been a great choice for us. I'm leading a far more active and enjoyable life than I was on top of a Virginia mountain. Everytime I go back there, I am instantly ready to be back here on the coast.
