Author Archives: Editor (Retired)

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About Editor (Retired)

Newsman, blogger, editor, writer (and no longer young).

Geography of Frugal Living: Pennsylvania

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Last summer, my brother, Tom, and I took a quick weekend trip to explore some small towns in hilly, west-central Pennsylvania, between Altoona and Johnstown. We focused on a triangle of small towns — Ebensburg, Cresson and Loretto — and mostly ignored the two small cities.

I would nominate all three towns for any list of “coolest small towns” in America. Ebensburg is the largest of the three, a picturesque county seat with a Wal-Mart on the outskirts. Wonderful, big old houses, and a nice miles-long walking and bike trail on the right-of-way of an abandoned railroad line.

Cresson is a bit smaller, a railroad town and birthplace of Robert E. Peary. It has a small college and wonderfully friendly people. There’s a great family restaurant at the stoplight in the center of town, and a bed-and-breakfast next to the railroad tracks. The bed-and-breakfast promises visitors they should see a minimum of one train per hour during their stay.

Loretto is really nothing more than a village. But what a village! Loretto has its own university (St. Francis University), a monastery with beautiful landscaping, and a cathedral. This part of Pennsylvania has lots of Catholics!

Now comes the following report from Tom on his latest small-town discovery in central Pennsylvania:

Re affordable places to live . . .

Last weekend, visited Huntingdon, Pa., population 6,800, about 30 miles south of State College, Pa. (The main campus of the University of Pennsylvania and home of  Nittany Lions football is at State College.)

Huntingdon was voted 5TH “coolest small town” in America in a recent poll by Budget Travel magazine.

I looked at a four-bedroom house in historic downtown area that seemed too good to be true. With a price of $90,000, this house was 2,000+ square feet, in great shape, with a large garage and small but nicely landscaped yard. The house was a short walk to stores and restaurants, public library, numerous churches, Amtrack train station, the Juniata River, etc.

Huntingdon is the county seat of Huntington County so there is the courthouse and municipal buildings as well. The town also is home to two colleges and a hospital.

It all looked so nice I’m planning to go back this weekend and explore some more. Have an appointment with a Realitor to look at a three-bedroom house listed at $70,000. I’ll give you an update if you like. Love the blog!  Tom

Thanks for the report, Tom. Maybe we should write a book about small towns. 

Please take some digital photos of Huntingdon and send them to me as attachments to an e-mail. Thanks.

Voluntary Simplicity — Really?

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A friend says she is a member of the involuntary simplicity movement.  That sounds about right.

Many people, perhaps, have chosen voluntary simplicity. The Desert Fathers come to mind.

In my lifetime, the hippies. And some idealistic people who lived in communes. For a time.

Adventurers, frontiersmen, explorers, the American Indian?  Scholars, artists and writers (but only if they are in a position to work without distraction).

Some who devote their lives to service: doctors, nurses, teachers, clergy. Mother Theresa. St. Francis of Assisi.

Monks and nuns. Lighthouse keepers.

Farmers. But I think farming is simple mostly in the minds of people who have never farmed.

The homeless? Homelessness is the opposite of simplicity. It is an everyday struggle for survival.

The wealthy? Ah. The wealthy may be in a position to choose voluntary simplicity, if they wish.

The workaholic, perhaps.

I am still thinking.

Geography of Frugal Living, According to AARP

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“Where to Find the Simple Life” is a big feature story in the September/October issue of AARP Magazine. It provides some interesting information on five small cities that AARP touts as having “rich culture, great food, low stress.” I have a better title for the story: “Five Trendy Places to Live.”

“Who wouldn’t want to call these affordable cities home?” AARP asks. And I agree, all five of the small cities chosen for the AARP spotlight sound like charming places. Probably affordable too, but affordability is a relative thing. AARP’s demographic information is from Bert Sperling’s bestplaces.net. 

 AARP’s Five Best Places to Live the Simple Life:

  1. Tuczon, Ariz., population 525,500; median housing price, $155,500. “Buzz of downtown — with its plentiful restaurants, funky Fourth Avenue arts district, and world-renowned annual Mariachi Conference.”
  2. Greenville, S.C., population 59,000; median housing price, $151,080. “The Greenville area claims one of the highest international-investment-per-capita levels in the nation.”
  3. Montpelier, Vt., population 7,800; median housing price, 159,060. “Norman Rockwell, with a twist of politics.”
  4. Logan, Utah, population 48,000; median housing price, $143,860. “Travel writers call Logan’s Bear Lake the Caribbean of the Rockies, because of its bright turquoise color and white-sand beaches.”
  5. Ames, Iowa, population 55,000; median housing price, $159,270. “Broad lawns, leafy neighborhoods, pretty parks and ponds.”

Hmmm. Montpelier is the only one of these towns I’ve been too, and I agree. I’d like to live there. Burlington, Vt., is a nice city, too. Vermont is one of the most beautiful and charming states. If you’re looking to live frugally, as I am, Vermont might not be the best place. I could be wrong on that.

Tuczon and Greenville sound like up-and-coming sunbelt cities to me. Simple living and affordable lifestyle? I would need convincing.

Now, Utah seems to be a likely place for simple and affordable living. I’ve never been there, but I’d like to visit.  Never been to Ames, either. Iowa sounds promising, especially if you want to do some farming.

These five sound like wonderful small cities. I doubt any of them are as affordable as the places I’ve posted about in North Dakota and Maine. On the other hand, all five of AARP’s cities would have a decidedly more moderate climate than the northernmost reaches of the U.S.

Ted Kennedy, A Great Man For Our Time

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Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009

Sen. Ted. Kennedy has passed away at his home in Hyannis Port, MA.

He didn’t live to see universal health care enacted. He didn’t achieve his hereditary goal of the presidency. He became by dint of long service a leader of the U.S. Senate, perhaps the most admired and respected U.S. Senator, an unwavering voice (loud, too) for invisible Americans, a conscience for U.S. politics.

He carried the torch and handed it forward. He may have been the king-maker for the current American president. Ted Kennedy was the lion of the Democratic Party and of the Senate. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ted Kennedy was a wealthy American aristocrat who was an untiring advocate for the poor.

“The dream shall never die.”

For other tributes from members of the over-60 generation, see Jon Taplin’s Blog and Single for a Reason. As Mary McGrory, then a reporter for the Evening Star of Washington, said at the time of John F. Kennedy’s death, “We’ll laugh again, but we’ll never be young again.”

— John Hayden

Simplify Or Perish

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Golden Retriever with dog biscuit on nose

LILY WITH A DOG BISQUIT ON HER NOSE. NOT A PROBLEM. LILY KNOWS HOW TO SIMPLIFY THIS SITUATION.

My first encounter with simplicity came in a chess game, when I was a boy.

Sometimes I found myself on the defensive. My opponent had the momentum, I was constantly reacting to his moves. I needed a “game-changer.” When I could see no better option, I resorted to simplification.

In chess, I learned two quick ways to simplify. A player can “castle,” which is the only gambit in chess that allows you to move two pieces at once. Your king switches places with one of your rooks. This allows your king to escape immediate pressure, and possibly creates a whole new dynamic on the chess board.

The other way to simplify in chess is a last resort. You “exchange” pieces of equal value. For instance, you take your opponent’s knight, knowing that one of your own knights will be captured. You sacrifice your knight for your opponent’s, and both knights are removed from the board. The result is a “simplified” game, perhaps working to your advantage.

If the exchange involves the most powerful chess pieces, sacrificing a queen for a queen, the result can be dramatic simplification. Without the queens, the players may be reduced to a frustrating game of attrition, possibly leading to stalemate rather than checkmate.

lilly

In real life, as in chess, you often have to give up something in return for simplification.

I can choose a new major in college; fire my boss (i.e., quit my job); end a friendship or relationship. I can give up a hobby or recreation that takes time away from responsibilities; change a harmful habit or behavior, improve my diet, quit smoking.

As in chess, I may have to give up something, sacrifice something.  Changes usually require thought and decision-making, even discernment. Not every change leads to simplicity. Sometimes we need to make a change to challenge ourselves more, not less; to grow; to be more productive. Small changes may have greater consequences than we imagined.

Some changes can be turning points.  A career change, a marriage or divorce, a geographic relocation — all these have the power to change the course of your life.

A desire for ease or simplicity is not sufficient reason to walk away from a responsibility. Many times, life requires us to take up new responsibilities. Necessary change may make life more complicated, not more simple.

But even shouldering heavy responsibilities can sometimes simplify life. The responsibility may be greater, but the way forward may be clearer. By giving up what is unnecessary or distracting, we may be able to focus on what is important.

As the author Marsha Sinetar says, attention is power. Giving full attention to what is important is a kind of simplicity.

Simplicity is not for every person or every situation. When I study, I like to study in silence. But many people prefer to study while listening to music. People are very different in their abilities, talents, and needs. My doctor once pointed out that intelligence is like computing power. Some computers have more processing power than others. Some people can tolerate more complexity than others. Some people thrive on complexity.

I’ve often found myself working with people who have faster brains than mine. I’ve often compensated by working longer hours to keep up. This can lead to fatigue or even burnout. So I often seek simplicity, either through focused concentration, or simple lifestyle. Not many responsibilities, only one or two. Not many interests and recreations, one or two is enough.

I’ve always been attracted to simplicity. As a boy, I though Dunkin’ Donuts had an excellent business concept, and later, McDonald’s. They concentrated on a limited menu. Donuts and coffee; or hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes. They focused on consistent quality and service.

Simplicity is not for everyone. I don’t agree with self-help gurus who say, “Everyone should do this,” or “Everyone must do that.”  You hear that everyone should meditate; the world would be better if we were all vegetarians; everyone should exercise four times a week; everyone should give up sugar and salt; everyone should use mass transportation, or ride a bicycle to work. All good suggestions, but not for everybody. People are different, and one size does not fit all.

Many people thrive on complexity.  I need to simplify in order to survive.

— John Hayden

The Geography of Frugal Living: Maine

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They don't build houses like this anymore. Stained-glass, ornamental woodwork, radiator heat and wallpaper. And that's just the entrance hall to this 100-year-old house in Brewer, Maine.  

They don’t build houses like this anymore. Stained-glass, ornamental woodwork, radiator heat and wallpaper. And that’s just the entrance hall to this 100-year-old house in Brewer, Maine.

The cost of living is not fair. Especially not the cost of housing. It’s all a matter of geography.

My niece and her husband, along with my sister, have acquired a charming old house, apparently in better-than-mint condition, at a price that would be unthinkable in most of the major metro areas of the U.S., even after the collapse of the real estate bubble.

A charming kitchen with new appliances.

A charming kitchen with new appliances.

The 100-year-old house is near Bangor, Maine. Outside, it looks like thousands of other old houses in New England. Plain white siding, pitched roof.  Kitchen, dining room, living room on the first floor; three bedrooms on the second floor; attic on top and basement below. Ordinary. 

Being 100 years old, the house is sturdily built, well-insulated, has beautiful hardwood floors and old-fashioned radiator steam heating. Most everything else inside has been replaced or updated, and there’s tasteful wallpaper on all the rooms. Everything, it seems, is in perfect condition. The house had been on the market 45 days. My niece snapped it up for less than $150,000. Eat your heart out, house-hunters in Boston, Washington, and San Francisco.

The "barn door" and steps to an inlaw apartment.

The "barn door" and steps to an inlaw apartment.

So we have here a two-story, three-bedroom house in great condition. Plus, an attached in-law apartment (currently rented for $600 a month) and a garage/workshop that looks like a small barn. Off-street parking in the driveway, a small upstairs deck and a medium-sized first-floor deck. And finally, a really big, beautiful, green, flat backyard, with gardens. Thanks to my niece, Dawn, for the great photos.

Pretty nice apartment, rents for $600 a month.

Pretty nice apartment, rents for $600 a month.

If there’s a downside to all of this, consider that the green backyard will be covered with deep, white snow all winter. The house is located, after all, in northeast Maine.

The far-north location, formidable winters, and reasonable price are what this Maine house has in common with the mobile home in North Dakota that I mentioned in a post last week. Maybe if you want to live simply and frugally, it helps to go north.

It is worth noting that the Maine house, though very reasonably priced, is not dirt-cheap like the North Dakota mobile home. The big difference is in public services and convenience. The isolated, small town in North Dakota is nearly “Off The Grid.” Population 75, in the middle of nowhere, and you can’t get a cell phone signal.

Even an old-fashioned bathtub. I guess it's 100 years old, just like the house.

Even an old-fashioned bathtub. I guess it's 100 years old, just like the house.

In Bangor-Brewer, Maine, my niece is definitely “On The Grid.” Bangor may be far away from everything else in New England, but it’s big enough to offer all the city services, and small enough that you’re never far from where you want to go. Library, churches, schools, stores, an international airport, a symphony orchestra and opera house, a minor-league baseball team. What more could you possibly need?  I nearly forgot the Eastern Maine Medical Center in downtown Bangor, and the University of Maine eight miles down the road.

I knew I should have paid more attention in geography class. You can buy a house at a reasonable price and live in civilized comfort, if you know where to look.

Big backyard. Green in summer, white in winter. Great pictures, Dawn.

Big backyard. Green in summer, white in winter. Great pictures, Dawn.

Four Nonessentials I Hate To Quit

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I’ve already written about my telephone land line and 11 other nonessentials that I’ve given up, in order to save money and live within my means.

None of them was as hard to give up as cigarettes, which I quit a long, long time ago. Of those nonessentials, I’ve relapsed on only two, which come as a package: cable  TV and internet service. I presently have cable and internet access thanks to a housemate, and it seems only fair for me to pay my share.

A few other nonessentials, I must admit, I have refused to give up so far, although I’ve cut way back on some of them. Here are four nonessentials that are particularly hard to quit:

  • Dry cleaning, I’ve always washed my own underwear and stuff, but for most of my adult life I’ve made regular use of the dry cleaning industry. Dress pants and suit coats, blazers and sweaters, even ties, I have routinely taken to the dry cleaner. This is expensive. Hence the expression, “Taken to the cleaners.” If the label says “dry clean” or “professional cleaning only,” I still must obey. But my simplified life doesn’t require me to wear fancy duds every day, so I’ve been able to cut way back on the dry cleaning.
  • Having dress shirts professionally laundered, starched and pressed.  This I used to consider  an “essential.” It was my one concession to dressing appropriately for work. A wrinkled shirt simply does not project a professional image, in my opinion. No more! In the spring of 2009, I went cold turkey on pro shirt laundering. I taught myself to iron, and even tried spray starch, with varying degrees of success. For the future, I intend to buy dress pants and dress shirts that are drip-dry, and preferably require no ironing.
  • Haircuts. I refuse to give up haircuts completely. However, I get haircuts much less frequently, and go to an old-fashioned “barber,” not a more expensive “stylist.” I let the barbers cut my hair as short as they want; it makes it that much longer before I have to come back and pay for another haircut. Also, I’ve taught myself to trim the hair around my ears with a razor.
  • Coca-Cola. Not a necessity! I know this, intellectually. But as a practical matter, I’m as hooked on caffein now as I used to be on nicotine. I have failed miserably to give up Coke, or even cut down on my consumption. To me, Coca-Cola seems like an essential. The combination of all that caffein and sugar gives me a real kick. I know it’s not good for me, but I need it to get through the day. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’m sure other people have the same problem with coffee.

I surely have overlooked other expendable nonessentials. Please let me have your nominations in the comments section. Thanks.

The Geography of Frugal Living: North Dakota

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The simple life is a very personal thing. You can live your version of a simple lifestyle just about anyplace. Anyplace you can afford, that is.

The rich can live simply anywhere they want. Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie even tried to live simply on a television reality show, "The Simple Life."

The rich can live simply anywhere they want. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie tried it in a rural setting on the TV reality show, "The Simple Life." Far as I know, this photo from the show was NOT taken in North Dakota.

For many of us, the simple life implies a frugal lifestyle, by choice or by necessity. That’s where geography comes in.

Only the wealthy can choose to live simply in an area with a high cost of living. For the rest of us, our ability to simplify our lives is greatly enhanced in a place where housing and other essentials are less expensive. 

Unfortunately, places with low costs of housing are often economically depressed areas, with few job opportunities. For most of us, no matter how much we simplify our lifestyle, we will still need a source of income to support our simple needs.

North Dakota made it onto the front page of  The Washington Post (08-14-09) by being one of those magical places where the cost of living is low and jobs are relatively abundant. Under the headline, “Road to Recovery: Woman’s Path to Work Ends in Rural, and Job-Rich, North Dakota,” reporter Eli Saslow tells the story of a woman who moved more than 1,000 miles, from Ohio to North Dakota, to find a job. And the woman, Janet Morgan, 63, found that things cost less — a lot less — in wide-open North Dakota.

Everything from mobile homes to lawyer’s fees are available at prices that would be impossible in New York City or San Francisco. Janet Morgan bought a mobile home for $7,500 in Glenfield, ND, with a $100 down payment, according to The Post.

Of course the opportunity to live simply and frugally requires some sacrifices.  Glenfield, ND, has a population of 75 and sits in the middle of nowhere, the Great Plains, USA. It sounds like Glenfield is at the very edge of “The Grid” of modern services that most of us take for granted. Ms. Morgan cannot get a cell phone signal, and has to commute 150 miles each way to her job in Bismarck, ND.  The job doesn’t pay all that well. The winters can be long, cold and lonely. Welcome to the frugal version of a simple lifestyle! The change that Janet Morgan is making is not for the faint-hearted.

The Post capsulizes the economic situation in North Dakota:

“Open space and open jobs, which is why Morgan and thousands of others have moved to North Dakota during the past year. The state, once known primarily for its remoteness, is enjoying a new reputation as a haven amid economic collapse. It has the country’s lowest unemployment rate at 4.2 percent, a budget surplus of $1.2 billion, and more than 9,000 unfilled jobs.”

With the attention generated in the blogosphere by The Post’s story, those 9,000 jobs may not go wanting for long. Then again, how many people are willing to uproot themselves and move to a cold, flat, mostly empty state? 

I will give you something that The Post didn’t: a link to the North Dakota Web site. A couple of other job-hunting sites for North Dakota: NorthDakotaJobs.com and www.jobsND.com. Good luck.

But please, think three times before you move 1,000 miles for a job.

Adventures in Medicine: MRSA and Health Insurance

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Is health insurance a luxury or a necessity? Of course, I know the answer. Health insurance is a necessity I can no longer afford.

I was planning to let my COBRA health insurance ($443.10 a month) lapse in August. But that was before my medical adventure.

I was abashed about going to the doctor for something as trivial as an abscess inside my nose. But the swelling and the pain were increasing. So after work Thursday morning (midnight to 8 a.m. shift), I brushed my teeth and turned myself in at  the nearby clinic (motto: “Most insurance accepted. No appointment necessary.) 

It took the physician’s assistant (PA) about two minutes to diagnose the problem: “You have a staph infection.”  Also: “It might be MRSA.” (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, if you must know.)

MRSA is the nasty  staph infection that resists antibiotic treatment. It used to be mostly a hospital problem. But with the advances in modern medicine and all, now you don’t even have to go to the hospital to catch it. 

Not to worry. “We’re going to treat this aggressively,” the physician’s assistant declared with confidence.  She prescribed a big shot of penicillin in the butt. Plus two more strong antibiotics, to be taken for 10 days.

Itemized bill: $95 to establish the problem, $60 for penicillin, and $23 for a shot administered by a skilled medical technician. Total: $178. And $4 each for two generic prescriptions at WalMart. It was almost painless (the shot, not the bill).

I took my medicine and imagined how dangerous this little staph infection might become. I looked MRSA up on Wikipedia, which nearly scared me to death. That’s why I decided to pay the COBRA bill for August. And September, and October. 

Epilogue: The pain in my nose is gone. The PA says the antibiotics appear to be working. No need to come back, she says, unless the infection doesn’t disappear completely. That will be another $95. 

Whether this adventure was MRSA, or only your garden-variety staph infection, will remain a medical mystery. But who knows what adventures may lie ahead? Swine flu season is just around the corner.

Simplicity 101, The Blog

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Remind me again: Why do we need ANOTHER blog about “simplicity?”

Everything you need to know about simplicity. NOT. The DVD cover for "The Simple Life" DVD, with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

Everything you need to know about simplicity. NOT. Here's the cover for "The Simple Life" DVD, with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

Is there anything left to say about simplicity — or frugality, for that matter — that hasn’t already been covered? We even had a popular TV “reality” show, “The Simple Life.” If it’s been on TV, who needs a blog?

I have a whole shelf of books about simplicity, and there must be thousands of blogs and Web sites on the subject.

I intend to add a separate page to this blog, listing and reviewing books about simplicity (when I get around to it.) In the meantime, to give you a sense of where I’m coming from, here are three of the best on my bookshelf:

  • The Greening of America, by Charles A. Reich, first published by Random House in 1970. The book was a phenomenon in its day. My friends and I passed it around, adding notes on any empty pages.
  • Small is Beautiful, Economics as if People Mattered, by E.F. Schumacher, first published by Blond & Briggs in London, in 1973. The concept that small might be better than big was innovative, almost revolutionary, at the time.
  • Graceful Simplicity: The Philosophy and Politics of the Alternative American Dream, by Jerome M. Segal, published by University of California Press in 1999. 

The Greening of America and Small Is Beautiful were groundbreaking, pop-culture hits. Nearly three decades later, Graceful Simplicity had a more subdued impact. 

As for blogs and Web sites, I intend to provide links to many that I like the best. Already, the short list in my sidebar has links from AARP to Zen.

So who needs another blog about simplicity — specifically the blog you’re reading right now, “Life After 60, Simplified?”  I really can’t justify it, except to say that it’s a matter of perspective. Once, I had an office with a window on the ninth floor. Across the street was a church and a high school. I memorized the air-handling equipment and watched the repairs on the flat roof of the church. I could read the greetings of bygone graduating classes, spray-painted on the pitched roof of the high school. I could even see the athletic field on the other side of the school. I knew that summer was nearly done when I saw the football team begin morning drills in the August heat. 

The tops of the roofs of the church and the school were hidden in plain sight. I could see them clear as day, every day, because of my perspective from the ninth floor. But pedestrians on the street had not a clue about the roofs of the buildings, or the practice field beyond.  That information was not visible or knowable from street level.

What I mean to say is that this blog will offer a different perspective than most of the other books and blogs about simplicity. I’ll write about simplicity from my perspective, the perspective of a 61-year-old baby boomer.

One more thing. Many of the best books and blogs about simplicity are written by people more knowledgeable than I am. I’ll be writing about simplicity and frugality from a personal point of view. You should know that I’ll be learning about simplicity (or making it up) as I go along. Much of what I write will probably seem basic (over-simplified?) to people who have lived simply and thought about simplicity for a long time.

So you might even call this blog “Simplicity for Beginners” or “Simplicity 101.”  Other bloggers will understand this next sentence: Whether or not anyone really needs to read this blog, I need to write it.

Welcome to Life After 60, Simplified. Your contributions and comments will be appreciated.