Some people have a firm plan for their later years. We are not some people.
We think Port Stanley is a good place to live for now and into the future. But we constantly toy with other ideas. They include but are not limited to:
*Liquidating everything and buying an RV to travel the continent while recording voice-overs and writing. (Although current dreams limit travel to Canada only.)
*Finding a tiny getaway in a European country and spending half the year there.
*Moving into a tiny home near walking trails and other wonders of nature. (I’m not sure I’ve shared this one with Derek!)
Retiring to the Sea
Years ago, “permanent” cruises became a thing but it was just a theory at the time. No one had done it. Now, people who have been on the water for a while are sharing their stories and some of them absolutely love it.
One ship, the Villa Vie Odyssey, was delayed by months before launching. But now it’s been afloat for going on a year and residents think it’s great. No laundry. No grocery shopping. Always something new to see. It’s traveling the world for fifteen years.
“Cabin prices start at $129,000 for an inside for 15 years, on top of which there are monthly fees — $2,000 per person per month for double occupancy, $3,000 for single. Outside cabins start at $169,000, with monthly fees rising $500 per person.” Cnn.com
One Equation You Can’t Account For
These “permanent” cruises generally go for fifteen years. Some passengers say they plan to hop right onto the next one for another fifteen. But one thing you can’t figure into the math is how long you’ll live. Ninety? Sixty-eight? Seventy-four-and-a-half?! No one wants their money to run out too early. As one couple we know says, “We want to die broke!” You don’t want to have to LIVE broke, though.
It’s also not wise to end the cruise or RV trip and have nowhere left to live on land again. There’s a luxury permanent cruise called The World. A berth on that ship starts at $2.5 million. But if you can spend that much, plus a huge monthly bill, is that how you’d do it? (I wouldn’t know!)
We don’t plan to quit working and truly, ever retire. Unless something happens to prevent us from recording voice-overs, we’ll both carry on because we love it. Villa Vie Odyssey includes Wi-Fi in its package, so we’d be set.
Home is Where the Friends Are
The truth is, I don’t think Derek is on board – pun intended – with any of these ideas. He has a close circle of friends he’s known since high school and they get together a lot. It’s important to him and I get it.
My thinking is that airplanes exist and ships make planned stops at ports where people could visit us. RVs stop wherever we choose. And who wouldn’t want to come visit us in France?
Life tends to take turns in ways we can’t predict, so who knows? The retirement cruise could end up like the Poop Cruise that’s now a Netflix show. The RV might make a better meth lab, as in Breaking Bad. But France or Italy? Nothing could ruin the beautiful vistas of Provence or Tuscany. And you can be sure our calendar would fill with those who would enjoy a holiday with us. I can’t imagine getting sick of showing people around.
Then again, we feel that way about living right here in Port Stanley. Maybe that’s why we dream of doing something else, but never take the plunge.
Ah, to have these dreams! I, too, have thought of living out my life on a ship. But there was Poop Cruise (and the movie Triangle of Sadness) that hit my like a one-two punch of reality. And then there’s your shipmates. What if you were stuck on the sea with a bunch of MAGAts who never stopped talking about how great life was under you-know-who? Then there’s the chance of illness. Not the usual run-of-the-mill getting old stuff, but what about another pandemic? Not for nothing are ships called petri dishes. Do you want to live out your life in a small cabin stuck quarantined for who-knows-how-long?
And then there’s family – we would HOPE they’d come for a visit, but who even knows? It feels like the ultimate “running away from home” scenario, and as much as that regularly appeals to me, there’s something to be said for roots, too. (Oh and a good hairdresser who’ll take care of them). I’d want to work. To be useful. To join the crew and entertain. They’d probably toss me off after three weeks.
We could write bestsellers – just think of it – but how would we do a book tour? Ah, it’s nice to dream…isn’t it?!?
When my parents retired, they vowed to never spend another winter in Canada. And they did pretty good on that score!
I would love to live in Italy (where M’Lady’s people come from!) for a year, but shorter spells in different places might the the way to go.
Would you ever be worried about loneliness if you retired at sea?
No lonlier than being on land.