Retirement and proximity to healthcare 🧑🏻‍⚕️

One of the things AI was bringing up when considering retiring to an off-grid cabin in remote wild country, far away from the big cities, is the need for access to health care when one gets older. That is a valid concern, indeed the two hour drive each way for my aunt and uncle were a reason they moved from their place in small-town Arizona to a location closer to specialists. Getting older means seeing more doctors, it seems like my parents schedules each week involve visiting a lot of doctors.

At one level, I get the benefits of having access to specialty care nearby. But I think a better idea is just to take care of your body, fuel it with good food and exercise, and at a certain point realize it’s going to wear out and it’s not always cost effective to fix equipment on outdated machinery. You aren’t going to live forever, while some things may be worthwhile to fix, often doctors like mechanics want to fix everything, rather then just letting equipment wear out and life be done. Too often cost-benefit analysis on life is leaned towards protecting life for as long as possible, without considering the benefits to living a good life today. Maybe if a doctor is too far away, it’s not worth getting the problem fixed.