At almost 70, selling her house let a photographer travel and start over

Businessinsider reports the author sold her longtime house and took a job as a master photographer on a premium luxury cruise line after realizing the home no longer supported the future she wanted.

At almost 70, with her son grown and living in Orlando, she found the house had become a money pit. She pared down belongings, photographed what mattered, donated most items, and sold the house, which created the financial and emotional space to get extensive dental work in southern Brazil and to travel to Rio, where she regained confidence.

While in Rio she was offered the cruise contract; to qualify she needed a Seafarer Certificate and extensive medical tests, and she was told with less than a week to prepare that the contract would start in Sydney. Life at sea mixed studio work on the 15th floor with a windowless cabin below and long, equipment-heavy days, but open-ocean sunsets and new ports helped her creative mojo reemerge.

In six months she visited three continents, became healthier, and felt her financial responsibilities lighten. While recovering in Miami from an injury, she learned an apartment had become available in the Asbury Park building she had applied to years earlier — an ocean-view unit with a community of artists and a rent she could afford — giving her room to pursue the creativity she had wanted.

Key Topics

Culture, Cruise Photography, Seafarer Certificate, Rio, Asbury Park, Sydney