If money weren't an issue and you were free to do as you desired....

[skyshrimp]

where would you live and how would you honesty like to spend your remaining days?

 

[George Jones]

If money weren't an issue, I probably would retire early (I.m 61). I would like to go back to my pre-COVID lifestyle which included going everyday to coffee shops to drink tea and read (by myself), or to have nice discussions with my wife. I would also spend time reading math and physics, reading mystery novels, streaming mystery shows, streaming sports, and going for long walks. I would spend my days here (north central British Columbia Canada), or I would move back to Atlantic Canada, where I lived for five years. The city/town in which I would live has to have a population of less than 100,000.

 

[skyshrimp]

Opps, title typo. *wasn't.

That sounds nice George. I'm 45 and wish I knew what I know now.

I'm strongly drawn to Thailand. I'm planning to spend xmas there this year. I love Thai food and from what I've seen online, it seems like paradise to me.

What about everyone else?

What would float your boat if you were free to choose without the influence/existance of significant others?

Just a random thought that I found interesting. Hope it doesn't warrant a thread lock

 

[Hamiltonian]

where would you live and how would you honesty like to spend your remaining days?

probably a remote astronomical observatory, studying the cosmos, while doing Math and physics all day.

But Alas! I'll have to first go to uni get a degree then work a 9-5 tech job for the next 35 years before I can retire and do this.

 

[Melbourne Guy]

I'm strongly drawn to Thailand. I'm planning to spend xmas there this year. I love Thai food and from what I've seen online, it seems like paradise to me.

Thailand is nice, I've been many times to Bangkok, and also to Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, but not further north. The weather can be incredibly muggy, and the monsoon rains have to be experienced, but that's a lot of Asia, not just Thailand. If you live there - and money is no object - you could travel around the region. Ho Chi Minh City is fantastic, somewhat like stepping into the 1960s; Hong Kong is terrifically vibrant and always on the go; Taipei is a surprise, I really enjoy Lengshuikeng Hot Springs; Beijing is amazing, so much culture and history, and the Great Wall is mind-blowing...

I could go on, but I think, answering this, that I've realized my 'as I desired' would be to languidly roam the globe, staying long enough in each place to really soak it in. And if I was forced to settle, it would be in London (OMG, best city ever!) but with a holiday home in Honfleur, France, and another in Menaggio on the shore of Lake Como, and another...

Oh my, the fun you'd have if money was no object!

 

[pinball1970]

where would you live and how would you honesty like to spend your remaining days?

This is a great post and the perfect antidote to what is going on in the world in 2022.
Hand on heart the impressive thing would be to say I would study Science, music and language and travel, however...
I would probably stay where I am because I like it, like city.
I also like a good series so I would spend a few months watching, House, Blacklist, 24, The good Dr, Better call Saul (only so far through some of those) from the beginning all the way through.
I would get an expensive acoustic and a Ludwig drum kit and my own studio to break up the TV.
Probably just at weekends though.
Watching TV is a serious business.

 

[DaveE]

I did retire early, about 10 years ago. What I learned was that what you think retirement will be like and what you actually will end up doing are usually pretty different. That's not meant to be depressing. Dreams of future achievements are great, but sometimes you really just want to be home with a beer watching baseball on TV. Much of what we achieve in our younger lives required something enforcing us to keep working towards a goal (i.e. a job) when we really just wanted to relax. Retirement is at least partly an unpredictable adventure, go with the flow. Or just don't retire, change careers.

I used to work full time as an engineer, now I work about 10 hours/week teaching search dog training and about the same amount learning to train my search dog a bit better. Works well enough for me. No, I don't get as much done as I think I should, but I have plenty of time for wasting when I feel like it.

 

[DennisN]

where would you live and how would you honesty like to spend your remaining days?

Cool question!
I've actually thought about this before, i.e. where would my ideal place be?

I would probably like to live somewhere on the Riviera (close to the French/Italian border).
But not because it's posh, not at all, but because there would be a big number of advantages that would suit me very nicely :

• I like the climate (I've been there a number of times, and I've really enjoyed it)
• It's beautiful
• It's close to water (which I prefer) (i.e. the Mediterranean Sea)
• It would be close to different countries (France/Italy) which would be fun for taking trips
• It would be close to Northern Italy which I think is very beautiful. There are also many cool and beautiful cities reasonably nearby, like Florence and Venice, which is one of the most special places in Europe in my opinion. Venice is like no other city I've ever visited (due to the canals, the architecture, the history, the atmosphere etc).
• I love Italian food and Italian ice cream
• It would be reasonably close to the Alps, which would be very interesting to me for three reasons:

1. I enjoy skiing
2. The Alps can be very photogenic, and I enjoy photography
3. The Alps are a great place for astronomy (very dark sites)

The area I'm thinking of is here on Google Maps (part of French/Italian Riviera).

 

[Jarvis323]

I want to travel to another planet and spend my time there exploring without a map or any known destination. And I want to collect interesting things along the way and document everything in a notebook with handwritten text and illustrations (no photographs). Ideally I would have a girlfriend and she would be an artist.

 

[DennisN]

I want to travel to another planet and spend my time there exploring without a map or any known destination.

My suggestion is you should avoid Jupiter (and other gas planets). It's hard to land there.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

In very old age: Isolated from idiots in a little cottage nestled in mountains. A river close by, with creeks and lakes. An ocean and moderate-sized city around 40 miles away would be a plus. Forests and animals.

I’ve grown up in the most biodiverse area in the US, with plenty of geologic diversity as well. However, it’s a little too warm and moist here, so I wouldn’t mind living in a slightly cooler place- I’m not picky on the state or country. I won’t be able to camp or fish when very old, but will probably take short hikes and swims. Bask in the sun. A comfy chair to sit outside in. My grandfather loved his chair. I want to die in a place like that instead of a nursing home.

I only have one child and she says she probably won’t have children. So, I might not be a grandma. If fortunate enough to have great-grandchildren, I might upsize the cottage or build one as a retreat for them nearby. They can spend summers with me. I can pay someone to attend to things and do health checks weekly. I would love to see my daughter as much as possible in my last years, but won’t expect too much on her as she will have her own life. Thank goodness for FaceTime. I am already mourning her starting her own life in ten years, I enjoy her company and will always miss her in old age.

My second wish would be a coffee boyfriend. You know, that the adorable old man that always brings the lady he admires a paper in the mornings and chats her up over coffee? I want one of those to come see me everyday. Keep me in check and on track. Unfortunately, no amount of money can buy a man that I’m excited to see daily and can tolerate. If I got to have that, I would love him more than anything else. I’ll probably end up alone though When I was around 12 people started asking me about marriage and love. A realist, I would always respond: I’ll die alone with a hundred cats. So, lots of cats and maybe a doggie.

Anytime I am able to cook a good breakfast, I think to myself: this is going to be what I look forward to in old age. How delicious and pleasing to my senses. I love it so much. My 85 year old brain will be no less pleased with simple coffee every morning than it is now.

No doubt, I will continue reading and likely more prolifically. I plan on reading everything Bertrand Russell has ever published- a mighty undertaking. Might devote myself to some online forum… Don’t know. Crafts and making things probably. My cottage will probably be overrun with houseplants. I have a brown thumb for outdoor gardening, so I will probably work on that and grow my own vegetables. Games, online or with company. Maybe I will write? Probably will join some clubs, astronomical society or some cause. Tinkering with things. Not sure how I could predict what I’ll be doing in my 80’s and 90’s because I don’t know if my impulses to explore will tone down. I would probably up and move every few years on a whim. I don’t see myself living in the same place for more than ten years. How boring.

I have a fear of losing my mind. I think the most devastating thing to happen to me in old age, would be losing the ability to think and explore my mind. I find so much delight in it. I would give all my theoretical wealth to keep it.