I am becoming a plague. Not intentionally, mind you. It seems to happen naturally. First come the years, then the hair color. That explains the name, too. Because I appear to be becoming part of the gray plague.
Fortunately, it hasn't come to that yet. But sometime late next year it will: that's when I retire. Then I may call myself a pensioner. A word I usually associate with a home in sunny climes. That sunny clime will work out fine, albeit only during holidays. The house in Spain or Italy is waiting a little longer for Gaston to drop by my street with the lottery jackpot.
Apart from that, actually, I don't really need to leave. Den Helder is a great place for retirees. I won't reel off that same old story about sunshine, peace, beach, and forest. People from Nieuwediep are already familiar with that. And fortunately, more and more people from outside are too. Because alongside a growing number of young newcomers, retirees are also discovering Den Helder and Julianadorp. Recently, a retired couple told me that they had returned to Den Helder after forty years of absence. And another couple told me last weekend that they traded their village near Schagen for Den Helder, close to their children and grandchild. By their own account, they haven't regretted it for a single moment.
As I head towards retirement, the question naturally arises as to what I will do next. After forty years as a journalist at the newspaper, thirty of which were in management positions, and eight years of experience at a wonderful organization like Woningstichting/Helder Vastgoed BV, I have enough experience to not want to crawl behind the geraniums or the thousand-piece puzzle just yet.
,"You could go into politics," someone said to me the other day. "A city councilor or an alderman." Would it be? I don't know. Many feel called, few are chosen. And even fewer are suitable. An allotment garden, then? Joining a choir? Believe me, you don't want to hear me sing outside the bathroom. Write another book?
Actually, I don't need to worry about it yet. Almost every retiree I speak to says that they have become much busier after leaving than before. The bottom line: there is still plenty for this group to do in Den Helder. Many organizations and associations are crying out for new blood.
The fact that this city is a pleasant place to live for retirees is, incidentally, great publicity. After all, it used to be said that you wouldn't want to be caught dead in Den Helder. By now, however, we have reached the point where more and more people actually *do* want to be found dead here.
I just haven't quite figured out yet how to use that tastefully in a promotional campaign.
RONALD DEN BOER
