The Death of the American Dream: Why We’re Choosing to Live Differently

If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, there has to be more than this—you’re not alone.

For decades, we were told that if we worked hard, played by the rules, and saved for retirement, we’d get our reward. The house. The stability. The security. The so-called American Dream. But what happens when the dream you were sold turns out to be a dead end?

For young people, it’s already broken. Homeownership is out of reach, wages don’t keep up with the cost of living, and the idea of a stable, lifelong career is a myth. Employers don’t reward loyalty—they shed older employees to avoid paying higher salaries and rising healthcare costs.

That’s exactly what happened to us. We dedicated years to our work, only to be cast aside when we became an expense. And for retirees? The reward for a lifetime of work is often isolation, a house that’s too big and empty, and endless days in front of the television—while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on healthcare and assisted living.

That’s not a dream. That’s a slow fade into irrelevance.

John and I retired from corporate America, but that doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re still young enough to work, contribute, and build something meaningful—but not in a system that’s designed to drain you dry. That’s why we’re choosing something different. A life that’s full of adventure, opportunity, and connection. A life where we get to decide how we spend our time, not one that’s dictated by outdated expectations.

We’re not running away—we’re running toward something better.

John and I have already buried three parents each. The ends of their lives were miserable. They weren’t surrounded by loving family and friends. They were stuck in nursing homes, spoon-fed by aides, while hundreds of thousands of dollars flew out the window. Their days revolved around waiting for visitors who often never came and filling the empty hours with television. Watching them waste away made one thing clear: we refuse to let our own lives slip into monotony.

We want to wake up in a new place, somewhere we’ve never been before, and take in the beauty of the world with fresh eyes. We want to walk ancient cobbled streets, experience food from various world cuisines, and settle in for the night with a glass of wine at sunset. Life should be about discovery, not routine. About embracing the unknown, not just surviving the familiar.

Maybe you’ve felt it too—that nagging sense that there has to be another way to live. Not just scraping by or counting down the years, but actually living. If so, I get it. It’s a big shift to rethink everything we were told about success, stability, and what comes next.

Life is too short to waste on waiting. So we’re choosing to live—fully, freely, and on our own terms.