Current Rock of Residence:
Anguilla
Island Girl Since:
2014
Originally Hails From:
California and Michigan
Susan retired to Anguilla on July 1, 2014 with her other half, Frank, and their 11 year old Whippet, Izzy, arriving with five suitcases, a carry-on bag, a guitar case (with guitar), a printer, a huge dog crate, and of course, the dog. She gave away every single thing that she owned except what could fit into those bags. Who does that?
Susan determined that having long been a vagabond at heart, she had to wait for the right person to travel this journey with, the right time to do it, and the heart for the challenge of starting over in her 60s. She has no regrets, no sorrows over “things” given away, and no sense of loss.
Having vacationed in the Caribbean for many years, Susan thought she had an idea of what life would be like in retirement on an island. Everything was so charming for those two weeks in paradise every year. There were no tropical storms, no hurricanes, no power outages, and there was always an abundance of food on the grocery store shelves. She has learned many, many things since moving to her rock.
Every day still brings indescribable beauty and new experiences, while the mysteries and humor of island life continue to be revealed.
Explore posts by this writer:
An Island Awakening
Recently my partner Frank had to attend a 5-day Red Cross training class over on Sint Maarten. Rather than stay over each night, he opted to commute daily on the short ferry ride from Anguilla. I "carried" him to and from the ferry port each day, enjoying the early...
An Unlikely Power Outage – or Two
As relatively new islanders, we now experience a sense of gratitude like never before for all of the times we successfully switch on the lights, run the water, etc. Power outages are such a regular disturbance of island living, unfortunately so common that every...
8 Quirky Days in My Island Hospital
As part of the growing number of baby boomers entering retirement, we had to think seriously about health care availability when deciding to retire to an island outside the US. We knew that there were options for care on our rock, as well as in the nearby US...
5 Things I’ve Learned About Retirement On A Rock
I have lived on my rock for 15 of the 24 months that I have been retired. Who knew there could be so much craziness in the "golden years?" Here's what I've learned so far: 1) Retirement on a rock is not like vacationing on a rock. When you are on vacation and...
