I would love to move to a metropolitan area next year and live there for years to come. I enjoy - for now - surrounding myself with people and culture and bustling life. But I also know that the real me - the one that wants peace and quiet - needs its proper place. And I think that, if I am able to retire, I would like my final years to be relatively serene without an overabundance of crowds.

I could imagine retirement in Aberfoyle, Scotland. I am more likely to retire in one of many parts of the Western United States. The goal is a tranquil setting since my aged heart will undoubtedly still be unsettled. I imagine my misanthropy will be in full bloom, and thus living amidst the masses might not be a good idea. Or perhaps I will be like that lovable old codger Kurt Vonnegut. Either way, even with the country setting, I'd like to be near enough a big city so that I can excitedly make my way there when my legs are too restless, and gleefuly return home complaining about the kids today and their newfangled cell phones.

I went to Scotland about 4 or 5 years ago now. We stayed at a resort situated just outside of Aberfoyle. Aberfoyle is a small town, with a few cafes and pubs and highland cows. The countryside is, of course, beautiful. All of Scotland is mesmerizing. Also, there are more sheep than people, so that has to be good.

I probably will not be blogging then. But Aberfoyle would be a setting for writing: To sit in the hills, near the loch, or even in room on a cold evening and recall the old technologies of pen and paper.

Edinburgh and Glasgow are close enough. Edinburgh and her street performers every twenty yards; Edinburgh and her ruined defenses; Edinburgh and her contemporary charm. Meanwhile, in Aberfoyle itself, I could become a local at one of the pubs. If I stay there long enough, maybe I'll even begin to understand the wacky English of those Scots. And if I have stayed there long enough that I do begin to understand said wacky English, maybe that means I will even discover that I can abide my neighbors.

What a sweet retirement that could be.