Ralph Carlson Blog

Do you have strong social connections?

If you want a happy retirement, you need to be part of a supportive social community.  We like having friends and family with whom we can share the pain and joy of life experience. We pick up friends as we move through life usually because they are sharing experiences with us. There are friends from school, from the military, jobs and community activity. Some of these friends stay close throughout our lives. Others only last a short time. Think about how many friends from grade school are still part of your life today? When you retire it is just the same. Those workplace friends will probably not be a big part of your retirement experience. So now that you are retired, who do you have to share the experience with? When you think about it, your community may be rather small. Is that what you want? Of course not.  You want to have a strong and supportive community. [continue reading…]