The 60-somethhing second-generation owner of a land survey business lamented, “My friends are all retiring and they ask me when I’m going to retire. But I really don’t want to retire yet … frankly, I’m afraid of losing my edge.” He’s healthy, he’s fit and he could retire tomorrow quite comfortably. Instead, he continues to work at his business … which, for the record is better than ever … because he enjoys what he does, but primarily because he doesn’t want to lose his “edge.” What is the definition of “edge” exactly? The dictionary defines edge as the sharpened side of the blade of a cutting implement. Yes, we get it.
So, the question presents itself: Can you retire and still maintain that hard to define “edge?”
Central North Carolina has not become one of the most coveted and popular retirement destinations without good reason. Great climate, proximity to the mountains and the beach, a plenitude of cultural opportunities … all are among the reasons our area is a retirement mecca. We have fun and cool stuff to do and a great climate in which to do it.
Maintaining a vital, active, and energized mindset after retirement … the “edge” … however, does not come naturally and must be deliberately pursued.
Fortunately, there are lots of options available to retirees right close to home. Here is a pick of our favorites:
Serve as a SCORE Mentor
Launched in the 1960’s, SCORE stands for Service Core of Retired Executives and the name describes the mission. Business people many times retire while lamenting that the knowledge and expertise they’ve gained through decades in the business world could benefit someone. SCORE allows an outlet. Geoff Atack was a career advertising and marketing executive who worked with companies such as Florida Electric and Royal Caribbean Cruise lines. Once he retired in North Carolina, he missed the interactions and problem solving challenges that his business life had served up. Then he found SCORE. “I work about 6 hours a week, but I could work much more than that or less than that…there is a great need but it gets scaled to the volunteer’s schedule,” explained Atack. He works with every type of company from an individual with an idea for a business and looking for a pathway to turn that idea into reality, to experienced company executives that may have hit a complex snag and need some outside advice. The mentors donate their time and meet with companies that have sought help from SCORE either by Zoom, in-person meeting, e-mail and phone. This provides a valuable service to the community while benefiting the retiree by keeping them mentally sharp and engaged in a worthwhile endeavor with likewise sharp, creative and energetic people. More information is available at www.SCORE.org.
Pickleball Anyone? Pickleball Everyone?
Pickleball has become the sport that most anyone of any skill level can participate in and enjoy the socialization of playing on a team, a league or even as a solo practitioner. This wildly popular sport offers ease of entry to interested retirees. Every city has a municipal complex now offering free or low-cost play. In Greensboro, Tristan Bailey runs the City’s Bur-Mil Park Pickleball complex where residents will find 10 courts they can play on for free. Courts are available from 8am-8pm daily, and they serve tournament and league players as well as individuals. “Retirees love this sport and as a community they are a very friendly bunch,” explains Bailey. She recommends seeking a lesson or two before just showing up to play, however, she says that folks with a tennis background typically will just review the rules of play and can be playing well right out of the gate. In Burlington, the City has funded the construction of a dedicated, built from the ground up pickleball facility complete with a championship court with crowd seating. Rachel Vinson runs that program for the City and reports that a grand opening of this fabulous facility is slated for December 2024. The facility will boast seventeen (17) courts built exclusively for pickleball (versus converted tennis courts as is found most places) and all courts are fenced in which makes for safer play (no errant pickles to trip over) and keeps players from having to chase down a wild shot. The facility is located at Burlington City Park, which is a 90-acre compound with everything from walking paths to baseball diamonds to pickleball. Residents will enjoy reduced fee play and can search for other players by skill level using an app.
The City of Durham offers play at multiple city-owned court facilities across town and offers a detailed guide that not only tells exactly how to navigate the Durham pickleball “Ladder System” of play but provides a complete set of game rules. This can be accessed at https://www.dprplaymore.org/450/Pickleball.
Retirees can engage is pickleball within a few miles of their homes no matter where they live in the Triangle or Triad area, but this sport comes with a warning; players report it to be highly addictive so other aspects of your life … like eating, drinking and sleeping … may take a back seat to the pursuit of the next game of pickleball.
Find Your Inner Artist
In 2016, after 32 years of teaching art in the Guilford County School System, Brenda Olds Carter found herself tearing up when she heard the school bus pull away from the stop near her home the first school days after she retired. But they weren’t tears of joy. “I thought to myself, oh no, what have I done,” says Carter of her decision to retire. Carter waited out her 6-month cooling off period that the City requires of retirees and then was right back at school serving as a part-time art education teacher and continues to tutor students. In addition, she taught classes at the Center for Creative Arts and the TAG Theatre Arts Gallery in High Point and eventually was tutoring students in the school system 4 days a week. Carter is passionate about art and these various outlets allowed her to keep engaged but weren’t completely fulfilling. Then she found the 205 Collaborative in Greensboro and life changed. She acquired a studio space in the 205 along with other artists involved in everything from woodworking to pottery. The space has become her haven and while she continues her work with students in the school system, she finds herself at her gallery most days of the week. Her medium is watercolor with acrylic on canvas, cards, home goods and more. Although she doesn’t like to part with any piece she’s created, she has finally warmed to the idea of selling some of her pieces. Parting with those pieces, she found, is part of the process but also validating. Says Carter, “Painting is my passion and I paint what I love so I paint scenes of the Gullah people in Charleston, scenes that my mother inspired when we were growing up, like seeing her hang clothes on the line to dry. I really love to paint modern dance … and jazz, Black Folk Art and African Art. I’m working right now of a piece with sunflowers … I just love sunflowers.” The studio is a transformative space for Carter … she calls painting in her studio “Natural Therapy,” and it keeps her motivated in purpose, engaged with other artists and engaged with the public as she has gallery showings and sales of her pieces.
In downtown Raleigh, 62 year old Paris Alexander, a sculptor of stone by trade, opened a gallery for artists 5 years ago. The space is extraordinary but rather than serving as a studio space for artists, it serves as the public facing gallery for artists that paid small rents to help offset some of the costs of the enterprise. It’s a unique concept he developed out of a desire to find a show-space for his own works. “My shop is on the outskirts of town and it’s a dirty workspace…there is stone dust everywhere as I carve life-sized stone sculpture. I needed a place to meet clients that was clean, attractive and inviting. I realized that other artists needed the same, so I started and funded City Market Artist Collective (CMAC) and then went in search of artists that would be a good fit to fill the space. It serves as a gallery space for the artists, but they also cross pollinate by bringing in visiting artists for shows. It keeps the gallery environment ever changing and vibrant.” While a popular success, the CMAC, which never intended to make money but rather serve the community, is closing at the end of 2024. Alexander, expressing no interest in retiring, has decided to focus his energy not on pursuing the financial rewards as he considers commissions for his work, but to focus on “meaningful projects that will benefit the community.” In the fall he was slated to begin a sculpture project with the Coharie Indian Tribe.
Work Hard, Play Harder
According to Angie Brandt, that is the mindset of many new retirees. Brandt owns Both Worlds Travel based in Raleigh and works with clients that are freshly retired and looking for adventure to those that may have retired decades ago but seek out the extraordinary travel adventures. Brandt is not your typical travel agent and she doesn’t serve up typical travel options. Think Patagonia … Chile … Argentina. “Frequently I’m booking trips that most people … even myself … would not attempt to do alone without support. My work is as much about relationship management as much as it is about travel. I have the relationship with my clients and I get to know them well, but it’s the trusted relationships with partners around the globe that makes it all possible.” By example, Brandt tells of a couple she is currently assisting in putting together an extraordinary trip to South America. The air, land and sea trip will begin in Buenos Aires and extend nearly 2,000 miles down the coast to Ushuaia South America at the tip of South America. The excursion includes visits to some of the world’s most amazing National Parks, as well as many of the unique and beautiful islands along the coast. “This is a trip few would ever try on their own, but I have leveraged my relationships with my in-country partners who have the inns and hotels on speed dial … and truly know the lay of the land in South America and they have helped create a magnificent experience for this couple.” Brandt is connected to the Virtuoso network, which is one of the leading providers of experiential travel. If the South American trip sounds a little too “experiential” for a client, Brandt also offers more traditional type adventures.
According to Brandt, Expedition Cruising is becoming the next big thing, especially for people who have done the river cruising. As this story went to press, Brandt was leading an Ocean Cruise to China, which she reports is also a segment of travel that is increasing in popularity for the retired set. “Travelers want something more, be it culturally immersive, exotic, or a different pace.” Travel, or rather adventures, like these are the proverbial “not your father’s type of travel.” Brandt is finding retirees increasingly seeking these travel experiences that not only expand the mind and relax the body, but at the same time require a personal sharpness and nimbleness in an aggressive pursuit of the unfamiliar and the exciting.
While we’ve highlighted four avenues for keeping your “edge” in retirement there are many more. The primary element, all agree, is finding a passion and pursuing it with gusto. There are a variety of volunteer and service opportunities through local churches. There is self-enrichment through community college programs, and through engagement with these and other organizations new opportunities will present themselves. Seize them!