Yes, I am really going.

 

In approximately 100 days ( August 21, 2021 to be exact ), I will be moving to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to begin a new adventure. I have applied to and have been accepted into a Masters of Science in Sustainable Urban Planning and Policy at Erasmus University:  a reality that I am just beginning to happily anticipate and cheerfully embrace.

 

Of all the reactions I have received from family and friends about this news, the one I liked the best was from my nephew Matthew, who said, “You really know how to make this retirement thing work!”  Yes I do, I thought.  No sitting on the beach for me, reading books, lunching with friends.  That life was satisfying but not exciting – nor was it challenging.  And I needed a challenge. 

 

For years, I have wanted to visit and live in the Netherlands for an extended period, to immerse myself in their cycling culture, to learn whatever I could about the Dutch lifestyle and to bring some of it home.  Since retiring in 2017, I have done a fair bit of tourist travel (including a 2 week ‘bike and barge’ trip to the Netherlands in 2018), but the plan to actually live there continued to elude me.  

 

Until COVID-19 happened – then my world opened up.  I have been fortunate in that the pandemic has not taken a toll on me, nor on my family and friends, and I am grateful for that fact every day.  Instead, it allowed me to immerse myself in on-line courses from Boston University and Harvard Extension School, to explore cities around the world, to renew my interest in sustainability, geography and statistics and to connect with students from around the world.  I discovered that I loved the research, the pathways and rabbit holes I would descend into, to find answers and more often than not, more questions.  It satisfied my need to know how the rest of the world is coping with the problems of increased urbanization, poverty, and climate change, as well as the solutions that those problems have inspired.  I wanted to be a part of that world – the research, the problems and the solutions.

 

With about 100 days to go, I find myself anticipating the move and dreading it at the same time.  So many things to figure out (does EVERYONE speak English over there?  How many raincoats can I fit into my bag?) and loose ends to tie up at home. So here I go, stepping off the cliff – let the journey begin!