Dispatch from the Old Folks Compund: Culture Shock while Waiting for God

Six months ago Ms. B. and I became tired of home and personal maintenance, and so moved from Carrboro, North Carolina to Twin Lakes Community in Burlington, North Carolina.  (Technically we live and vote in Elon, North Carolina but the mailing address is Burlington, North Carolina.) 

We are a modern couple.  The cats and I live in a villa -- essentially one-third of a triplex with exits to the outside -- and she lives in a large apartment building.  We live less than a quarter mile apart.  She can come to visit Cedar and Birch but does not have to live with their mess.  They, in turn, have a lovely sunroom to bask in, their own private escape upstairs, and a cat tree that looks directly out onto the bird feeder.

For those who remember, some years ago there was a British sitcom that played on Public Television in the United States that was called "Waiting for God."  It was about retirees living in a retirement home and I found it very funny.  I never thought I would be living in it.  We are living in it.

Our friends, neighbors, and colleagues form an interesting, humorous, and sometimes annoying cast of characters.  The administration can be largely faceless and moves upon the face of the earth to its own rhythms.  The residents wave to each other, sometimes mindlessly.  We have the usual set, and more, of senior activities to keep us from becoming bored in our golden years.

The only real problem is Burlington, itself.  I don't think we realized what a culture shock it would be to move from progressive Chapel Hill/Carrboro to regressive Alamance County.  The nearest organic food stores are Weaver Street Market in Carrboro and Hillsboro, Whole Foods Market in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, or Whole Foods Market and Deep Roots Market in Greensboro.

Restaurants, too,  are a problem.  Twin Lakes Community has two restaurants and a pub.  Mediterranean Deli, which we liked in Chapel Hill, happily has a branch in Elon.  There's also a Thai restaurant of indeterminate quality and about three Vietnamese restaurants that I actually like.  For those less picky about their food, the Piedmont Ale House serves big greasy hamburgers and fries with good ale.

Beyond those, there are an uncountable number of strip malls on Church Street in Burlington which host endless Tex-Mex and Italian restaurants.  Every Chain restaurant in the country seems to have an outpost along I/40-I/85.  The final horror is the local purveyor of barbecue, Hursey's, that I will not even attempt to evaluate. They failed dismally in their Colorado taste test.

The good news, or at least the better news, has been medical care.  In Carrboro, I was completely dependent on UNC.  UNC Family Medicine, UNC Vascular and Heart Care, UNC Ophthalmology, etc.  I did have a private dentist.  Parking was difficult and sometimes expensive, there were long distances to walk, there were long waits to get doctor appointments, and the kind of confusion that surrounded a really large hospital complex and organization.

In Burlington, we have Alamance Regional Medical Center which is a 15-minute drive from Twin Lakes Community.  Parking is ample and free. Walking to the hospital is shorter,  and the whole medical complex is more compact (my urologist, cardiologists, and pulmonologist are in the same building.  I use the same elevator to get to them all.)  Waits for appointments are still long, but not as long as at UNC Hospitals.  ...and, of course, there's not the thirty-mile drive to Chapel Hill.  That has proved to be very important given my health situation since moving.