Does Leaving Your House Seem to be More of a Problem in Retirement?

[Ken Anderson]

This is AI, but it resonated with me, particularly the first part, because this is how I feel. It's not that I am afraid to leave the house or because it's painful to go somewhere, but going somewhere seems to be more of a chore than it once was. A simple thing like going to the store to pick something up that I want is likely to be something that I'll put off, put on a list for my wife to pick up on a later date, or order it from Amazon. Something like driving across town to the store seems like a trip. When I have a doctor's appointment, it seems like my whole day is planned around it, although the appointment itself is likely to last only half an hour. I'll feel like I can't plan anything else for that whole day because I have a 10 am doctor's appointment.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

Absolutely. I hate going anywhere anymore, particularly if we have to get into Houston traffic. I've always been an introvert and love being at home, and both have increased with age. The stupid covid pandemic never even bothered me because I never wanted to go anywhere anyhow, so "sheltering in place" was right up my alley.

 

[Liz Adams]

I can't go out very much now anyway, but if we have to go anywhere by car that's very built up and busy I get very anxious.
I cannot cope with today's roads .

Might sound stupid but I always say a prayer of protection as we are about to set off . I name each of the occupants of the car and include the car itself.

It's years since I went into a town centre to do any shopping.
Again, the hustle and bustle is too much for me.

 

[Liz Adams]

Absolutely. I hate going anywhere anymore, particularly if we have to get into Houston traffic. I've always been an introvert and love being at home, and both have increased with age. The stupid covid pandemic never even bothered me because I never wanted to go anywhere anyhow, so "sheltering in place" was right up my alley.

My sentiments too Beth.
I'm also an introvert and my home is my sanctuary . I hate anyone knocking on my door.
I loved lockdown. Could quite honestly live like that forever.
No cars on the road , the wildlife coming out of the shadows .
Just my cup of tea !

 

[Mary Robi]

Well, luckily now, I don't have to go out during rush hours or weekends if I don't want to. That really helps.

 

[Hoot Crawford]

I go out every day, it seems. Doing things I just gotta do. But staying at home alone all day is no treat either. I dunno.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

We don’t go places unless we need to either, and we never travel very far from home if we do go somewhere. When we have someting like a doctor appointment, we make any other necessary stops that are in the area in the same trip, and now that we have the Devoted Primary Health doctors, we do those over the internet, so we just have occasional other doctor appointments , like the chiropractor or cardiologist.

I used to travel sometimes with my daughter, but since she is now living and working in the Netherlands, we seldom even see her anymore, so no traveling either. And most of the groceries are delivery from Walmart, so I don’t even go to the store much, and it is just down the street.