Madisonians are starting second chapters later in life in a city that makes such transformations possible. These locals, age 59 to 102, say they are just getting started.
This is not a story about cataracts or Medicare. It’s not about arthritis, retirement planning or the cost of assisted living. Those are important topics, but they’re being covered already. So well that sometimes it seems we are inundated with images of just how bad it’s probably going to get. American culture portrays aging as a time fraught with peril, if it portrays it at all.
But Americans are living longer. They’re retiring later, as much by choice as necessity. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 20% of adults age 65 and older are still working, the highest percentage in U.S. history. Additionally, 39% of Americans now plan to work as long as they are able. For those who can afford it — and handle the winters with good cheer — Madison seems the ideal community in which to age, retired or not.
Read the full article at Madison Magazine.com.
—Maggie Ginsberg is an award-winning freelance writer in Madison, Wisconsin