The Foreign Service Journal, May 2016

34 may 2016 | the foreign Service journal D olores Boyer worked in the For- eign Service for 32 years, com- pleting four overseas tours with the U.S. Agency for International Development and four with the U.S. Information Agency. She lived in Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Thailand, Ghana and Sri Lanka. By the time she retired in 1997, she states, “I said to myself, ‘I’m not moving one more time.’” In the 19 years since then, Boyer proclaims with pride, “I haven’t filled out a single change-of-address form.” Job appointments with the Foreign Service “were like put- ting your hand in the cookie jar and not knowing what cookie you were going to get,” Boyer says. She loved learning about new countries and cultures. She liked the social interactions and the sometimes radical beauty of the settings—from the architecture of Prague to the colorful markets in Ghana. Now Boyer, 80, lives in an apartment in Arlington, Virginia, and keeps up with local art exhibits and theater, continues to travel and enjoys entertaining houseguests. Recently, she joined the Arlington Village, an organization of like-minded seniors with about 150 members. The Village helps its members with transportation to medical appointments and other tasks—from changing a light bulb to picking up groceries or setting up an email account—that can become more difficult with age. “The Village came along at just the right time for me,” says Boyer. She sees it as an “insurance policy” to thwart the need to make what is often an older person’s final move—into an assisted living or continuing care facility. The Arlington Village, which started in 2013, is one of close to 200 organizations nationwide (with about the same number now in formation). While the Villages can vary dramatically in structure, cost and membership, most share a common goal: to support older adults who wish to age in place. Service and Social Connections “In Place” It isn’t just the dream of never moving again that makes the Village concept tailor-made for those who have spent their careers living abroad. Most Villages host book clubs and guest speakers, potluck suppers and field trips. Boyer enjoys Arling- ton Village’s Dining Around program at local restaurants and gatherings for Met Opera Live performances. “Those of us in the Foreign Service are used to new experi- ences. We like to have teas and invite people for dinner,” points out FS retiree Marguerite Cooper, a volunteer for the Pasadena Village in southern California. “It’s a good fit.” Cooper, who A growing trend helps Foreign Service retirees to finally settle down. By Martha Thomas MarthaThomas, a freelance writer and editor who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, has written about the Village concept for AARPTheMagazine . It Takes a Village FOCUS On Life after the foreign service