Retire With Flair

The Many reasons I love Grenada

Reason # 649*
Weather. We complain about it being too hot or too windy or too much or too little rain. We’re human ,so we must have something to complain about. The reality is that Grenada has nearly perfect weather, never hotter than mid to high 80’s, breezy much of the year, sunshine around 325 days a year.

Reason # 650
The natural beauty of the island. Most people think we are just white sand beaches & volcanic mountains. In fact, we have an infinite variety of landscapes. There are spectacular waterfalls, pristine rivers, volcanic crater lakes, rainforest with Mona monkeys, which are endemic to Grenada. It would be hard to find anywhere on the island that doesn’t present spectacular views.

Reason # 651
People. Grenadians are among the gentlest, most generous people I’ve ever encountered. In all the years I’ve been coming to visit and live here, no one has ever said an unkind word to me. I’ve always felt welcomed. At the weekly farmers’ market, where most of the vendors know me, almost all of them will give me something extra. If a bag has 5 mangoes, they will give me 6.
Most of the fruit trees and ornamental plants in my garden have been given to me as gifts by friends and neighbours.

Reason # 652
Personal safety. There is no place, no time where I can’t walk alone. People, when they see me, will greet me or sometimes offer rides. Is there crime? Of course, but so little that it’s not a concern for most people.

Reason #653
Grand Anse Beach. The 1 & 1/4 mile white sand beach of Grand Anse has been voted by various travel sites as one of the world’s top 10, and rightly so. The water is gentle, colourful, occupied by fish & turtles, the latter of which just may poke his head out of the water to look at you while you’re swimming. There are people walking, scuba diving boats pick up people, in season, tourists come in droves, providing amusement for us locals because they are either already lobster red or pasty white, trying to get that tan to brag about to the folks at home.

Reason #654
Restaurants. We live on the southern part of the island where most businesses and restaurants are concentrated, though we do have some favourites up north also. The variety of restaurants is amazing. Fancy, ordinary, eclectic, local fare, there are enough to eat in a different one every day for a month.

* the #’s are imaginary, not real but meant to convey how many reasons there are for my love of Grenada!

2022: New Year, New Traditions

The anticipated highlight of this holiday time was our plan to spend New Year’s Eve in one of the nice hotels on Grand Anse Beach. We’d secured a terrific package of dinner, drinks, overnight stay and breakfast in the morning at Coyaba Beach Resort. The staff went all out to ensure that we had an enjoyable stay. After checking in, we went walking along the beach, swam, showered, took a nap and got ready for dinner, which was buffet style but with maintaining physical distancing and being served by staff. A huge variety of food was on offer.

After dinner we sat and chatted, some joined the group dancing which I did not do out of excessive caution, after my recent illness. At midnight, we were given a glass of champagne, walked down to the water’s edge and watched the fireworks.

On New Year’s Day, we all gathered for a scrumptious breakfast, changed and went walking and swimming again. Dick and I stayed for lunch which was part of the package we bought. We were granted a late checkout, so we lingered over the meal, went back to our room, packed and left the hotel at 2:30pm.

We all agreed that this was the best possible ending to a challenging year and that we will make this an annual event.

My Beloved Brother, Frank

Long distance grieving

How do you handle grieving and closure when a loved one dies while you’re 5000 miles away?

The brother to whom I had been very close all our lives, died and for various reasons, I did not even find out until several days later. I hadn’t seen him in 3 years, could not communicate with him for much of that time, so the death was a great shock and the attendant pain made the days after his death difficult to bear.

I struggled with coming to terms with his death and the circumstances that kept us apart. How could I honor his memory when I did not get a chance to say goodbye, nor would I be able to attend the memorial his wife was planning.

My grief was multiplied, knowing that not even his three sons nor his nieces or nephew would be able to say goodbye to him. I had many conversations with my nephews, sharing the pain and the sadness of knowing that there could be no proper closure in the traditional way. One son lives in Vermont, one in Virginia and one in Germany, while I live in Grenada.

Months went by, the phone calls ended but the feeling of something not being right, something missing continued. I couldn’t find a solution to this dilemma for a couple of months, which made the grief so much harder to bear.

Then one day, I came upon the idea that in lieu of a physical memorial, I would create one in words. I would write what I came to call “Random Frank Stories”. These would be stories and events from our lives together. We had always been very close, in spite of the fact that for much of our lives great geographic distances separated us. So, memories of our times together became even more precious.

When the decision was made, I decided that I would send copies of these stories to my nephews, great nieces and grandchildren and all other family members who knew him. The response to the first “Random Frank Story” was instant and heartwarming. So, more stories followed, and old photographs were now also included. Then his first wife, who never stopped loving him, suggested that others contribute to the project.

While the grief will stay with me for a long time, there is a lightness in my heart knowing that all of us who loved him are comforted by our memories, which we shared in the digital realm.

Retirement choices

Each of the retired expats I've met in Grenada has their own story and experience.
Friends who've stayed back in Chicago also have made their own choices about how to explore life in retirement. Below are three different takes on how and why they have chosen their current homes.

Like me, many of you have chosen to spend your retirement someplace other than where you had been living. This step is a huge one with many joys and some challenges. For me, the choice to live in Grenada was easy, as I knew the island, had lived here on and off for some years and had activated a long-term plan to be able to return.

The actual relocation was much more difficult than I had imagined. Finding new doctors, dentists, hair salon, new foods, new holidays was just the beginning. For the purposes of this article, I’d like to address how I have gathered new friends, developed a meaningful social circle and how I continue to manage friendships here on the island.

In my experience, the most critical component in developing a successful social life with enduring friendships is flexibility; a willingness to suspend some attitudes and embrace new ways of interacting with people. It has been critical for me to accept different cultural norms and to not judge relationships with my former customs.

Also, I have found it is critical to be willing to reach out, without expecting reciprocity, to not fret about social standing, age or any other pre-conceived notions of who would make a congenial friend.

I love to cook and entertain, so I early on I invited a group of diverse people to an American Thanksgiving dinner. The fun was not only having a full house at a time when I missed my family most but to watch the reaction of the group to some unaccustomed food. Much of what we consider staple foods, like green bean casserole, cranberry chutney and even turkey seem strange to Grenadians. This event has now become an annual custom for Dick and me. We always host our Thanksgiving dinner, though not always the same people participate.
From this came the idea of Easter dinner, Sunday brunches and any other occasion when I’m in the mood to entertain.

Several of my usual guests have invited me to their houses, several more have not. I’m not one to count quid pro quo when it comes to social events. If I like the person, I’ll keep inviting him/her regardless of how many times or if they’ve reciprocated. I’m mindful that their reason for not doing so may be varied. When rebuilding our home, we worked with our builder to make it “party friendly” with an open floor plan and movable kitchen island, which are very conducive features when hosting gatherings. Some of my friends don’t have the space to entertain, or they may not be good cooks or may not feel that I will enjoy their food, or they may not be comfortable with the mixed group I typically hang out with. The list can go on.

Besides entertaining, and I know not everyone enjoys it as I do, there are other ways to get to know people and make friends.
Early on, I joined the Grenada Association of Retired Persons (GARP) as a volunteer and since have become a member of the Executive Committee. Through this experience, I have met many wonderful people. Not all have become friends but it’s nice to meet acquaintances everywhere I go. It also makes parties given by GARP more enjoyable, knowing most of the people there. After some time, I feel a strong sense of “belonging” as a member of GARP. I have found this to be very comforting as well as settling.

One challenge is the fact that many expats spend only part of the year on the island and part back “home”. When I’ve developed a fun relationship with someone, do things with them and then they’re gone for 6 months, it makes maintaining friendships challenging. Some will be committed communicators and keep in touch via email or phone, some not.
Post relocation, I’ve learned to adapt to all of these factors:

I try to enjoy people “as is”
When I’m with them, to accept cultural differences
Accept the absence of some friends
Treasure the times we spend together

I continue to reach out and celebrate when I find places I feel comfortable belonging and feel that developing strong, flexible friendships and social networks is one of the keys to a successful relocation.

Our decision-making process: Cyndi and Jan Oster

Our process started with us deciding we wanted to live somewhere warm.... but where? This is where Google came in handy. We were able to do extensive research on countries and obtain valuable data from others. We started to write it down as we couldn't remember every place we did research on and it became our "tool". We figured out what was important to us (such as / but not limited to: health care, crime rates, weather, etc). After weighting the importance of each item we were able to see what the top countries / cities were.

Now that the research is done, it's time to visit. Not just for a couple of weeks but a good amount of time. For us, we decided on 1 year in each place. One country we knew we were not interested in living so we cut it down to 6 months and moved to the next country. The fourth is the charm and we are happy where we are. We are home.

We have had issues like being scammed, hunkering down for a hurricane, being robbed, having to learn a new language but we wouldn't trade any of it for anything. We have grown personally in our travels and experiences. We have made great friends and seen beautiful places. If you have a chance to experience living in a foreign country, go for it and have fun doing it.
Regards,
Cyndi & Jan

Why Chicago? Penny and Jay

Lake Michigan
Chicago Lyric Opera
Lake Michigan
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Lake Michigan
Goodman Theatre
Lake Michigan
100 other theatres, some that can accommodate less than 50 people.
Lake Michigan
Wonderful ethnic cuisine from all over the world
Lake Michigan
Chicago autumns
Lake Michigan
So many of our friends are here (except for the wonderful ones who moved to paradise in the Caribbean)
Lake Michigan
It’s too much trouble to move
Lake Michigan
Sail Chicago—where else can you rent a 34’ sailboat for only $70 for 6 hours?
Lake Michigan
Watching the ongoing tragedy of seeing the Chicago and Illinois voters continue to vote against their own best interest in city and state elections. But somehow they get smart when it comes to national elections.
Lake Michigan

Regards,
Penny & Jay

The Best of Grenada and Canada

It was back in 2001 when we drove all around Grenada on its narrow winding roads. We stopped by the sea, on a small isolated beach, and asked ourselves if we really could live here.

The pros outweighed the cons, and seventeen years later we are still loving our Grenada home with its warm weather, lovely people, beautiful beaches, rain forests and tranquillity. As the years passed, we came to realize that we also wanted a home base in Canada in order to see family and friends in the summer months. Last year we did just that, and now have the best of both worlds!

Warmly,
Jenny