The Last 18 Months: Transition Back to the US, Into Retirement, During a Pandemic
In January 2021, Qatar University College of Law advised that it would apply the Qatari retirement cap of 65 years and not renew my contract. QU had waved the retirement cap for two years. Even so, the news made me very sad (and a bit angry). I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Qatar and my job as a clinical professor of law teaching college-level law students. I loved my expat friends, my students, and all of my QU faculty colleagues.
The news forced me to plan my move back to the US. Before the pandemic started, I had planned to retire to Chiang Mai, Thailand, a northern university town, with an ancient moat, ring roads, and elephant rescue parks to the north in the mountains.
When the country closed its borders, I considered other countries that offered retirement visas without me having to return to the US to begin the process. I looked at Malaysia and Ecuador, but the pandemic had slowed the visa process, making it impossible to retire there by the time the Qatari government would suspend my work visa. So, with that reality shifting my planning, I began looking for a retirement spot in the US.
In the midst of this process, I found myself mourning the loss of my life in Qatar. I was emotionally stuck. I called a friend, Amanda Young (no relation), a mindset coach and energy healing guide who provides an alternative to therapy. I told her I was clinging to my life in Qatar. She said: "What if you can create something better?" Yes, that's the reframe I needed!
So, I began considering coastal towns like Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, and cities along the coasts of Florida. I hoped to reproduce some of the climate of Qatar and the beach vistas with palm trees and swimming pools. But, warming Atlantic Ocean waters made hurricanes more likely. I did not want to deal with extreme weather once I moved back.
I ended up focussing on Lexington, Kentucky. In retrospect, I was looking for the affordable U.S. equivalent to Chiang Mai. Lexington is a university town, with ring roads, and large mammals, in this case, thoroughbred race horses. I knew Lexington. When I lived in the central Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, I would drive to Lexington about three or four times a year to get a "big city" meal or do a bit of shopping. I'd stop there on my drive back to my hometown of St. Louis. I also met friends there for longer weekends. It was still not too far from the East Coast, but gave me easy access to family in Illinois. Interstates 64 and 75 run through the area, so I can easily travel east-west or north-south. Former students lived there. It had a law school. Perhaps I'd land a teaching gig of some sort.
Lexington is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and has good air and water quality. It has cold and soggy winters, but not much snow. No palm trees, but rolling hills of bluegrass and deciduous forests filled with hiking trails and waterfalls. Stone walls line many back roads making it lovely in its own way.
I found what I hoped would be a nice 3-bedroom apartment online. In Qatar, I had a small one-bedroom apartment in the luxury expat community known as The Pearl. The photo shows my apartment complex in Qanat Quarter (the Canal Quarter). With my university office and a storage room, I lived in it comfortably for six years. But, as part of "creating something better," I decided to look for larger apartments.
In Qatar, I began culleing anything I did not want to ship, much to the appreciation of the Filipina concierge in the building, the Nepali cleaner, the African security guards, the Filipino maintenance men, and my driver, Ashif, who all found things they could use or sell. I'd put them out on a table in the lobby of my building with a sign reading, "Take anything you can use."
I started packing boxes myself in March and April. In the meantime, I found an Indian-based international mover to pack and move everything else.
More about the actual move in upcoming posts, along with the emotional challenges of the move and my transition to retirement.
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