One of Mrs. Anysecondnow’s and my favorite running conversations for the last 10 years whenever one or both of us visits a new place is “Would we like to live here?”
Since we both have different parameters – I like warmth, she likes it cool; I lean urban, she hates parking garages; etc. – we rarely settle on a place that we both like.
For a while, we were both liking Wilmington. Unfortunately, I liked the warmer, beachier, college town vibe of Wilmington in North Carolina. She preferred the Wilmington in Delaware — cooler with the nearby DuPont mansions and gardens. And the best mushroom soup of her life. So, yeah.
Which means maybe we’ll never move anywhere for retirement since we can’t agree.
But maybe that’s for the best because according to AARP we already live in the #1 most livable “large community” location Yes, our hometown of Arlington, Virginia is .
Eat your heart out, Sarasota, FL, Scottsdale, AZ, Austin, TX, and all you other Sunbelt retiree magnet cities – Arlington is #1! Get excited!
Actually, I don’t think ARLnow, the local daily where I saw the news, was enthusiastic enough about being #1 (for the second year in a row!) I guess we’re just not a cheerleading, toot-our-own-horns kind of town. We’d rather serenely go to our yoga class, stop by the local farmer’s market, and then grab a latte.
Candidly, Arlington getting a high ranking on a liveability index is not a shock. Whether we’re truly #1 or not, Arlington, the smallest county in the U.S., typically scores high on indicators like health, transportation, civic engagement, safety, and the like. We’re even the fittest city in the U.S. Eight years running!
Arlington is a genuinely great place to live. Good schools, fine neighborhoods, lots of county services and community events, lots to do, decent people. I can complain about something to the county and they will respond. We’ve also got lots of visit-able memorials, including the nationally known Arlington Cemetery and Marine Corps Memorial,
As well as America’s prettiest (in my opinion) urban multi-use path, the Mt. Vernon trail:
And, of course, all the museums, entertainment, restaurants and sights of Washington D.C. are just across the .
Arlington is so cool that we even have a rap. (Beware: lots of inside jokes here.)
So, why would we move away from Arlington? It’s oh-so-livable (so says AARP), we know the area, and our friends and family are here. We like it.
I can think of three reasons we might move. The three “T’s”, if you will.
Traffic. Like almost any metropolitan area, traffic here is an issue. I’d argue that Arlington, with its extensive street grid system, offers more alternative routes than many other jurisdictions, but traffic is traffic. Bottom line, I’d enjoy a place with less traffic.
Temperature. Our mid-Atlantic winters are relatively mild compared to other parts of the country. This isn’t Buffalo. But I’ve noticed in a big way that as I get older I tolerate the heat more and the cold less. December through February here is tough for me. Of course, some of that is my own fault – I’m out there riding my bike even on some of the coldest days — but warmer weather sure would be nice.
Transition. And, finally, the idea of someplace new appeals to me. It would be fun to live our day-to-day life in a different place (maybe a foreign location?) even if for just a little while. One of the reasons I like to travel is to figure out a new place. Why not do that for an extended period of time?
For now, I guess our long term conversation will continue and we’ll see if we ever agree on another location. And if not, well, we’re still in the #1 most livable place!
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