Finding Your Place in the World

     Anyone who has a passing acquaintance with this blog knows that B and I have sold our house -- we're moving out in two weeks -- and are renting a small one-bedroom condo for a year while we go in search of our place to retire.

     B and I have experienced one place in the world for a long time. But now we're looking at a challenge faced by many retirees -- finding a new place in the world. For many people it's right in the same town where they raised their family and where they've been living for years. But others, no longer tied down by job or family, may want to try an entirely new lifestyle -- perhaps in Florida or the Carolinas, or Arizona or the Pacific Northwest. It could even be in a place outside America, as featured in Kathleen Peddicord's blog Live and Invest Overseas.

     Blogger Laura Lee Carter made a complete change in her life when she retired, moving from the city to the country. Today, she writes in What Is a Palisade Anyway? that she is busy driving to Taos to meet her brother, which inspired her to share a new painting by her niece the artist, as well as an Essay About Belonging she wrote a few years ago about finding her new place in the world.

An artist's eye on Arizona

     Kathy Gottberg of SmartLiving365 turns her eye toward immigrants who come to this country in search of a better place to live. She says she does her best to stay away from politics -- not because she doesn't have opinions, but because the focus of her blog is to inspire and encourage all of us to form our own opinions from a space of awareness, compassion and personal responsibility. With that said, she offers 10 Lies We Tell Ourselves That Keep Us from Living Happy and Smart.
    

          Meryl Baer, of Six Decades and Counting, sent me a missive wishing B and me good luck with the exhausting, seemingly endless process of packing up our house. She herself is dealing with a problem we may soon face ourselves. Glitches learning the nuances of new electronic devices are common, if annoying, but problems using common new appliances are unexpected. The Baers purchased a kitchen range and assumed they knew how to use it. After all, she has owned and operated ovens her whole adult life. However, as she relates in Oven 101, she was wrong about this one. The result: She cooked a memorable meal for her family, but one that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

     Regarding another consumer product -- one you're especially interested in if you're traveling to find your special place for the holiday -- on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide Rita R. Robison writes about the $14.7 billion Volkswagen settlement on charges of emissions cheating. The company will offer consumers a buyback for nearly 500,000 vehicles and spend up to $10 billion in payments to consumers.

     And finally, Carol Cassara at Heart Mind Soul approaches the holiday by reminding us that these lazy summer days are meant for taking it easy and finding relaxing activities. To see how she discovered a place of peace and calm, float over to The Zen of Birdfeeding -- and enjoy a moment of quiet contemplation.