Where You Live Affects Your Behavior

(Caution: This is a Biased Column!)

by Jan Cullinane

Okay, you’ve been warned. Usually, when writing a column, I cite experts, studies, and usually throw in a few anecdotes and several examples to make my point. But, this column is personal: I’m going to discuss our choice of where to live after my now-retired CPA husband and I (I can work remotely) relocated more than a dozen years ago. And, fast-forwarding, how this decision made social distancing so much easier.

Back in 1999, when researching my first retirement book, I came across a new gated community that would ultimately grow to about 800 single-family homes that fit the bill for the kind of lifestyle we wanted. The development was in a warm-weather state (Florida), it was a new gated community (people would be eager to make new friends), and it was situated on two miles of Atlantic oceanfront (love the ocean). The location lacked the traffic issues of a big city (been there, done that), had proximity to good medical care (Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville), and there was reasonable retail (I’m not a big shopper, so it was more than adequate). There are several accessible airports to meet our need for leisure travel, my work commitments, and visiting family (and they love coming to visit us!). It boasted walking/biking/hiking trails, golf, tennis courts, pools, and a robust club environment with lots of activities.

In other words, we chose an environment that was not only beautiful, but one that practically begged us to be active both in the neighborhood and in the greater community: to be outside, to form new friendships, to volunteer, to make it easy to get around, to feel secure, and to host family/visitors. We grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, and several transfers by my husband’s company resulted in living not only in Maryland, but also in New Jersey and Ohio. My husband and I had made a list of the “non-negotiables” we had to have in a community, and this master-planned community checked all of our boxes. It was a “Goldilocks’” choice: just right!

The community we chose was represented at the Ideal-Living Resort and Retirement Shows. Full disclosure – I conducted “Secrets for a Successful Retirement” seminars for Ideal-Living for a number of years for attendees at the Real Estate shows. And, of course, I write the “Healthy Living” column for Ideal-Living. I was – and am – a big believer and supporter of their innovative model of connecting potential buyers with desirable communities.

So, fast-forward from 1999 to 2020, where “social distancing” is a new buzzword. We still live in the same community/same house with absolutely no regrets. Practicing social distancing is easy to do within and outside our community (at the time I'm writing this article, it’s been our way of life for more than two months). We ride our bikes and/or walk on the many sidewalks, streets, and paths of our neighborhood and the surrounding area and can walk on our uncrowded beach, or visit parks (now re-opened), easily maintaining our six feet of separation. Excellent year-round weather (yup, it IS hot in the summer, but we always have the ocean breeze) prevents us from feeling trapped – although our home, with its beautiful ocean views, is hardly a prison. We have a grocery store two miles away –again, a bike ride (I have a basket) along a path that tunnels through beautiful oaks and palm trees makes food shopping a pleasure – as I mentioned earlier, I’m not a big shopper. We have a lot of friends in our community; Happy hours with a small group in our driveway or by the pool makes it easy to be “apart together” during this quarantine. Although we love to travel, sheltering within our community and being physically active and maintaining strong local friendships has made this pandemic much easier for us. Of course, we recognize we are lucky to be healthy and have the means to stay at home for an extended timeframe if necessary. A long but drivable distance (roughly 12 hours) has enabled family to come and visit if they cannot/prefer not to fly.

Back in 1999, when we purchased our home, there was, of course, no need or thought of social distancing. Who knew that choosing a place that fit what we wanted in a community would serve us so well during challenging circumstances, too? Environment shapes behavior; keep that in mind when choosing a place to live.

Jan Cullinane is an award-winning retirement author, speaker, and consultant. Her current book is The Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement (AARP/Wiley).