A Routine You Can Live In: Turkey, Israel and the United Arab Emirates
A routine that feels good in the first year can look different at 75 or 80.
Picture a couple named Linda and Frank. Their plans for a big new life shrink in one week to a few simple things: a walk, a market, a nap, a call. They are surprised to find they like it.
Linda says, "We came for adventure, and we ended up with a routine."
Frank says, "I think the routine is the adventure now."
I find that idea in several accounts from the Middle East. What stands out to me is how much of a good life is made of repeated small acts.
Turkey: routine as a gift
A retired couple found themselves in lockdown, and rather than fall apart, they built a daily rhythm. I read that as a lesson in resilience. When the outside world closes, a day can still have shape: a meal at a set time, a walk, a chat.
Another retired person describes life in Turkey as like England, but with sunshine. That is a tidy way to say that the habits of home continue, while the weather opens up. The account does not talk about growing older or about health, so I will not guess at it. But the feeling is content, which I think is rarer than excitement and worth more.
Israel: starting again in the eighties
I was moved by a couple aged 85 and 82 unpacking boxes in a new country. They are not slowing down to wait. They are hopeful. It shows that a fresh start is not only for the young, and that the age of a person tells you little about whether they want to build a new daily life.
The United Arab Emirates: coping with loneliness
Here the mood is different. Someone alone in the Emirates wrote about loneliness and how they cope: walking, and eating the foods they like. I respect how modest that is. It is not a cure. It is a way to get through a day, and then another.
| Turkey | Israel | United Arab Emirates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mood | Resilient, content | Hopeful | Coping |
| The habit | Daily rhythm, familiar comforts | Setting up a new home | Walking, favorite foods |
| Question it raises | Does home travel with you? | Is it ever too late? | Who is near when you are low? |
How long does it last?
The question of how long matters here. A routine that feels good in the first year can look different at 75 or 80. Walks may get shorter. Markets may be farther away. But habits can adjust. The couple in their eighties suggest that the shape of a good day can be rebuilt at nearly any age, as long as you are willing to set up the chairs again.
You could…
- Write down your ideal ordinary day, hour by hour.
- Choose two habits, such as a walk and a favorite meal, and see if you could keep them in the place you are considering.
- Think about how your routine would change if walking got harder.
- Talk with someone older who started again, and ask what they would do differently.
What does your ideal ordinary day look like, and where could it happen?
Tell us in the comments