Client Highlight: My Retirement Is Just As Busy As When I Was A Consultant- Bill Price

“My Retirement is just as busy as when I was a consultant”- Bill Price

The best part of our job is watching our clients create the life they worked so hard to achieve. We recently had the pleasure of speaking with our client Bill Price on how he’s currently spending his days since retiring in 2015, and in short, he’s busier than ever.

Now let’s dive into Bill’s story.

Originally from Atlanta, Bill spent time in the Army Security Agency as a linguist and served two years. He started a career in human resources and completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After building a solid foundation in human resources, he started his own consulting practice. As he put it, “you can’t get experience without a job, and you can’t get a job without experience.”

During his years of consulting work, Bill built a strong network of colleagues and a great neighborhood family in Atlanta. Other than some sports car racing and scuba diving, his focus was largely on work rather than building something for himself; however, “If you’re still doing something you enjoy and something you can do, it’s not really working.” Which is the goal of it all, really. To find something that fills your cup no matter which stage of life you’re in.

Something that Bill said that stuck with us was his explanation about how everyone needs to “find out who me is.” Whether you’re in the formative years of working towards your goals or finally enjoying them, it’s about finding what brings you joy and what makes you, you.

So when it came time to retire at 68 years old, Bill and his wife looked for their “new life.” Having never lived outside of Atlanta, they suddenly had the choice of where they would lay down their roots next. Luckily, they had friends who had recently retired to Waynesville, North Carolina. As Bill put it “they’d tested the town out for them,” and as it turned out, they couldn’t have possibly chosen a more fitting place for their next chapter.

Not to mention, being within 30 minutes from downtown Asheville and 10 minutes from the Blueridge Parkway, their days are filled with beautiful scenery and local town events and festivals.  Bill joined the board of REACH, a local domestic violence non-profit (and is now President of the Board), volunteers in their resale store and does other work for the organization.  He’s also become part of the Waynesville Police Volunteers.

Being a “car guy”, he took a regional leadership position in a BMW club.  at age 70, Bill finally bought his first Porsche (3 more since then) and became active in the local PCA.

Bill explained that one of the most unique aspects of their new town is the sense of community they maybe didn’t expect to find as much later on in life.

After our conversation, Bill was also kind enough to provide a follow-up that we wanted to share in hopes that his “retirement” may inspire some of you to consider what your ideal next chapter looks like.

“We had a stellar Porsche Club event in Blowing Rock. And between police volunteer work and REACH work, my calendar looks more like my life as a consultant than a “retiree.” To top it off, I’ve now been elected Board President for REACH of Haywood County!

Overall, we’ve been fortunate to have lived within our means and saved to the point that we can do what we please within reason. I guess I expected a bit more leisure when we moved to a small town and left consulting. But I’ve never been accustomed to leisure, and there’s a lot of work to be done. Getting connected in this small town is easy. Waynesville has a lot of very successful retirees, and a remarkable proportion of them are active volunteers. It’s a healthy and engaging culture. 

For those who are approaching retirement, it’s a lesson to consider that this level of chaos can be satisfying and conducive to physical and mental health.”

Something we like to ask all of our clients who have entered into their second act is whether they would have changed anything leading up to this point. Bill’s response was simple “Whatever they’ve done or didn’t do led them here, and this is the right thing for them.” Bill explained it as a matter of fact. They’re happy in their town and have no plans to change their lives anytime soon.

Talking with Bill was a great reminder of how much our lives change over the years and evolve into something we never quite predicted but cherish, nonetheless. It’s up to us to find the best version of ourselves in each chapter of life, however that may look.

We hope you enjoy these photos that Bill felt best represented in his words, ” our world up here.” And thank you, Bill, for allowing us to tell and share your story.