October 21

Post 982, Day 294 of 2013
- and 1024 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I recently posted a link on Facebook to a US News and World Report article on the 10 best places to retire for under $75 per day. I posted it because Syracuse was on the list, and I was pleased about that (I could afford to live here after retirement - something I've known for a while).

But, it was obvious that the (anonymous) authors felt that it was not a desirable choice for retirement, unless your idea of being retired was to "have a second cup of coffee, look out your window at the pillowy snow drifts and think about all the money you're saving by not retiring in a more expensive area."

Bleak. If that were my idea of retirement, I wouldn't do it. And I commented that my solution was to retire abroad.

That post drew some interesting reactions, with some people 'getting it' and some even offering examples of people they knew that were doing it.

But the most interesting reaction was among my musician friends who hadn't known about my plan - and the question they had was, "What's wrong with the [good old] US?"

If I don't want to start a political discussion (and I don't) (ever), I have to put it in more general/cultural terms: 

• I don't want to drive (all the places on my short list are walkable). After I stop working, I wouldn't be able to afford cabs when I needed to get some place that I couldn't walk to (or that bad weather made difficult.
• I don't like the way this country treats seniors. Other cultures take it for granted that if you've survived past middle age, that, by itself, earns you respect. Here, once you're not 'economically productive' you are just old and in the way.
• I don't like the way this country treats poor people. See above. If you're not an active consumer, you are marginalized.
• I want to retire my status as a consumer, as well as a worker. Shopping is not my idea of a 'thing to do'. 
• I want to cut my costs vis a vis health care.
• I want to live in an easy climate.
• I don't believe in American exceptionalism. At least, not in any positive way, and I don't like the economic and political trends in this country.

I also explain that this isn't a new idea for me, it is something twenty years in the planning, and counting. And, I explain the economics of visiting family and friends - they're so geographically diverse, I couldn't afford to visit them unless I live somewhere less expensive, and that means abroad, and it means I'll be coming back and visiting friends yearly, and I'll be able to visit more than I would if I stayed in the lower 48 (and much more than if I lived in Alaska or Hawaii).

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         206.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

Fasting knocked some off, but I expect eating today will put a few back on.

Food Log 

Breakfast

A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond-coconut milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch

Wild-caught salmon and black bean salad on Spring Mix and cole slaw blend.

Dinner

Italian-style Chicken Sausage (with onion and peppers) with dijon mustard and mashed broccoli with butter and herbs. Not shown: Lentils with butter and herbs.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  22 oz.   Water: 128+ oz.

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