Are you living as you dreamt?

[pooh]

Over the many years I have lived in TV and been a member of this forum, I have seen quite a few posts about the excitement felt by those who are newly retired and now calling The Villages their new home town. It is a great place to live and I never imagined I would find such a wonderful community to call home.
What I was wondering was what exactly many mean when the say they are living their dream. Is it being retired, is it living in a warm climate, is it a combination of both? Coming from a warm climate, that was never something I had to look forward to. San Diego does have pretty nice weather almost all year...;). Being retired has it's very good points, that's for sure, but some might find that over time, they may want something more.

What exactly was your dream, are you living it, are you content? In all honesty, I never really had "dreams" about retiring, it was just the normal progression of life as it moved along. Oh, I'm thrilled we're retired....and so is the alarm clock....lol.

[ilovetv]

This is far better than any dream I ever had. And we're still working, happily.

I don't think it's healthy to be idle for very long, and that's where TV shines.....a million fun AND productive things to do, like volunteering in one of the dozens of ways listed weekly in the paper.

[CFrance]

My dream was to get out of the bitter cold of the north, not have to live by a clock anymore even though I loved my job, and have the financial means to travel.

We've accomplished that. Everything else is icing on the cake. This is one of the best times of our lives.:thumbup:

[kellyjam]

My dream in life is to wake up every morning. So far so good.

[Jhooman]

Great post Pooh.

I'm in California watching the grandkids for 17 days. I miss my life in The Villages, I miss the bird life, flowers, people and the simplicity of my life in Florida.

Moving to The Villages was the best decision we ever made, our dreams having come true abundantly.

[chachacha]

i was a divorced mom, always worked hard, never had much money, and never dreamed my later years would turn out to be so happy....this is a very good post as it makes one look back and in my case i can say i never really expected much at this age except getting older, but it has turned out very well. when i visit my grandchildren i am just old grandma, but here i actually am just one of the "girls" :)

[jblum315]

I dreamed of retirement with my dear companion, but since he is gone I am often lonely.

[irishamr]

Me too.

[Blessed2BNTV]

My dad planned and retired at 52. I use to talk to him about how great it was to live in an active retired community out west.

Wish he could see the great life we have in TV.

Husband just retired and I'm planning on selling my business and living the dream.

For now we are only living the dream part time.

[rubicon]

In my view it is not where you live but how you live. For example, when I lived in snow country I viewed my snow blower as a toy. I enjoyed it so much I often did neighbors driveways. I loved my occupation and if not for personal reasons would still be working today. So retirement wasn't my dream.

I enjoy talking with people and especially like listening to their life stories.

I found the Minneapolis area to be a vibrant exciting area with so much diversity upbeat modern progressive . What a great place to rear a family

Minneapolis was replaced with The Villages. Again much diversity, up beat people .

I find it unfortunate that some folks have happiness all around them, fail to see it, while they keep searching elsewhere:wave:

[kittygilchrist]

answering no. I'm living far better than I could have imagined. Desperate for a change, I latched onto the activities and thought that might save me from isolation and depression.
But the activities didn't reach deep enough, however fun, to satisfy. Still empty.

The ministry of Grace Tabernacle penetrated to change my soul, mind and heart. I have made true friends in TV. The Eastern sunrise and view inspire me every day. On top of that, I love golfing--who knew-- after 2 lessons and 1 round.

[Pointer]

Thought I'd be spending my years with my husband of 34 yrs. After spending 23yrs just 30 mins. from Canadian border in VT., and with a now empty nest, I'd had enough of the grey cold and snow/ice storms. Still it was hard to give up the people, safety and beauty of VT, until I found the warmth of TV.

My daughter says it was like dropping me off at Collage, and you know she's right. Where else can you be with wise joyous people your own age with so much to do and opportunities to learn. And lets not forget all the dogs that make your day just walking by and saying hello or joy riding in carts with their ears blowing in the breeze. I even get a kick out of everyone parading their "doggie bags" on the return walks and the now much lighter less prance of the pups.

Sometimes when I go for my swim and the pool is empty, the birds perch on the roof watching me take what they must think is some kind of very long exotic bird bath. Does toweling off mimic preening in their eyes?

[gomoho]

Kitty - your honesty is refreshing. I have came to the realization in the past 2 years I have lived in The Villages I am not actually living my dream. My dream is to commune with nature in a quiet and peaceful setting with my husband (aka best friend) and my dogs. So we will move on to that quiet place when the time is right. You know what they say "we make plans and God laughs"; so I'm operating on His schedule not mine.

[2BNTV]

Living the dream is a state of mind, or reference point. As Lincoln said, "we are about as happy, as we make up our minds to be".

To be out of the cold north with it's snow, is a blessing, in itself. I remember enjoying the summer months the most, as I was out of school, with only play as an option.

The feel the warmth of the sun every day, being with good friends and doing the things one wanrts to do, as oppossed to having to do, is great.

I have come to the conclusion that if I have good health, family, and enough money to enjoy myself, all the rest is B.S. I'm your guy if you want to have fun. If you want to be miserable, stay home, alone.

People who are waiting for the world to be perfect are always disappointed, as that will never happen. The world will not conform, to your standards.

As mom used to say, "life is what you make it". Be happy, as their will always be people who want to drag you down, with their attitudes.

Life is good in TV neighborhood. Have a wonderful day!!!!

[CFrance]

answering no. I'm living far better than I could have imagined. Desperate for a change, I latched onto the activities and thought that might save me from isolation and depression.
But the activities didn't reach deep enough, however fun, to satisfy. Still empty.

The ministry of Grace Tabernacle penetrated to change my soul, mind and heart. I have made true friends in TV. The Eastern sunrise and view inspire me every day. On top of that, I love golfing--who knew-- after 2 lessons and 1 round.

... and two birds! Oh, I mean birdies :wave: I'm happy for you, Kitty.

[villages07]

"Living the Dream" ..... yep, pretty close to it. I thought retirement would be to a warm climate and staying active. Combine those two basic requirements with all that the Villages has to offer and I couldn't have designed a better retirement solution for myself. Now, with 2 new knees, I plan to play as hard as I can for as long as I can and this environment is certainly conducive to that. The other major bonus is the golf cart accessibility/travel we have here. Coming from the DC area, with its legendary traffic, it is so relaxing to be able to hop in the golf cart any time of te day and be off on one's travels or errands and not worry about traffic. It's not perfect, but, pretty darn close for me. As others have said, this is one of the happiest times of my life. "healthy, wealthy, and wise" ... good health, comfortable finances, and still have all my marbles.

[Villages PL]

I'm not sure how to answer this question. I came to Florida in 1969 and lived in a small town. I could have retired in that town but there were no activities to speak of. And yet I felt like I was too young to be living among retired people. So I had no idea what I wanted, no well defined dream. Then when my house sold I had to make a decision quickly and I decided to take a chance on The Villages. So, here I am and I'm old now, just like everyone else.

I'm healthy, secure and content; I suppose you could say that's my dream, and there's still room to include more, whatever that may be.

[kittygilchrist]

Thought I'd be spending my years with my husband of 34 yrs. After spending 23yrs just 30 mins. from Canadian border in VT., and with a now empty nest, I'd had enough of the grey cold and snow/ice storms. Still it was hard to give up the people, safety and beauty of VT, until I found the warmth of TV.

My daughter says it was like dropping me off at Collage, and you know she's right. Where else can you be with wise joyous people your own age with so much to do and opportunities to learn. And lets not forget all the dogs that make your day just walking by and saying hello or joy riding in carts with their ears blowing in the breeze. I even get a kick out of everyone parading their "doggie bags" on the return walks and the now much lighter less prance of the pups.

Sometimes when I go for my swim and the pool is empty, the birds perch on the roof watching me take what they must think is some kind of very long exotic bird bath. Does toweling off mimic preening in their eyes?

If you write a novel, please let me know about it. Delightful post.