When seniors think of fall, it’s usually something they want to avoid. And fall travel sounds like the distance from the last step to the floor. But we’re talking about fall here as in that season between summer and winter and travel as in that thing you do when you get on a train or plane and go somewhere else. 

The autumn is a great time to travel especially in Canada where you can avoid the extreme weather of summer and winter. And it seems like millions of people from around the world have figured this out. Canadians, not so much. I suppose it’s case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence or, in this case, the border, the ocean, etc. Maybe it’s that and the fact that it’s in our nature to take familiar things for granted even the sites that other people will travel thousands of miles from their homes just to get a glimpse off. I’m not implying this is a uniquely Canadian characteristic or that in fact there aren’t many Canadians who enjoy all our country has to offer. Similarly, I’m sure there are French who have never gazed over Paris from high atop the Eiffel Tower, Egyptians who have never marveled at the pyramids, or Japanese who have never climbed Mount Fuji. But have you seen the northern lights from Yellowknife? Eh?

Travel is a great way to see places with fresh eyes, to allow experiencing to give you a fresh perspective on how you want to live the rest of your life. If the likelihood is high that the second act of your life is be played out on the same stage, i.e., Canada, that the first act was, it behooves you to travel within its borders and witness all the options it has in store for you.

When retirement and the new chapter it brings includes a move, Goshenite Senior Services is there with you every step of the way. Until then, it is up to you to decide upon the place. When you buy a pair of pants, you try them on. Travel gives you the opportunity to step into those jeans. If they fit like an old, comfortable pair, if they feel like home…take them to the cash.

So, the question is where to? For some, children and grandchildren mean that any move is going to be one that keeps you as close to them as you can. Understood. You’ve heard of the staycation. And you’re familiar with the traditional vacation. I propose a hybrid model, a compromise between the stay-at-home holiday with its ever-present danger of it devolving into a DIY reno project and the all-inclusive beach holiday where too much rum and sun is the order of the day.

Get a map and draw a circle with a hundred-mile radius in every direction. Mind the water unless a houseboat is part of your retirement plan. Maybe the radius is not a big enough one. If the east coast is your idea of an ideal retirement and you’re a Saskatchewan farmer, you’re going to need a bigger circle. If you’ve toiled away in Toronto all your life and the Channel Islands of British Columbia is where you want to put your feet up, you’ll have to open the compass a bit more. The point is to get to these Canadian places, both near and not so near. Spend a weekend in that little town an hour from you you’ve always wondered about. Devote a week to the place that takes you across the country. A real taste of what the place and its pace have to offer goes a long way toward helping you decide if you want to eat there everyday. At the very least, you will have sampled a little delicacy of what Canada cooks up. The local menu can sometimes be very, very good.

This fall why not hop in the car and explore next door. Experience all Canada has to offer while educating yourself about what you really desire in a post-work life life. Sure, some of you may end up sipping sangria on the Costa del Sol. More power to you. And cheers too to the others who may be drinking something decidedly more domestic a little closer to home.