We're Tom and Bobbie and we're planners...we've always been. In 2000 we left Texas and headed to Alaska. This move celebrated our retirement from once busy lives in medicine, business, and aviation. Not wanting to get back into the rat race, we used our large home and our talents to create a quieter and more peaceful way of life. We created a 15-year plan.
For ten years our home was a 5 Star B&B. It was fun…and a lot of work. We earned many awards including "Best B&B in Alaska, five years running. Along with the B&B came the tour company, the travel agency, the transportation company, the nutrition company, and the consulting and design firm. We are overachievers and this made sense–”use what we have, what we know, and what we are willing to learn to make things better.” These businesses were all small and home-based. They supported the life we lived and allowed us to put aside enough for the future life we dreamed. After ten years we migrated into phase two - downsizing. We transformed the B&B into a professional traveler accommodation. For the next five years we hosted over 50 visiting professional travelers and consultants with longer term leases. We sold or closed all our other ventures.
There's a nine year age difference between us. A few years ago this became a deciding factor in our plans to retire. As our plan evolved, we took a serious look at what it would mean to travel and live abroad for a long time. The conversation turned to "when you're 60, I'll be 70…when you're 70, I'll be 80.” Being in excellent health, it became more and more apparent that there was no reason to wait.
Tom had already been "playing" the retirement life for a few years. He went on a four month world trip alone. hat was fun and invigorating. He volunteered at a few local charities, and he got involved in local community theater. All the while Bobbie kept her part time job, more as a means of filling time, and the extra money had been going into the retirement fund. In the spring of 2015 a series of everyday events happened one right after the other. That convinced us we were simply treading water and we began to design our “Alaska exit plan.”
Today we are fully retired and living the life of nomads. Read our blog for the whole story.