Never Retire Did Its Job—Here’s What Comes Next

Why this next chapter had to happen—and what I’ll be building from here.

For the last four years, Never Retire has been about building a life that makes sense—working with intention, moving abroad, finding rhythm, and redefining success on our own terms.

It did its job. It carried me (and many of you) through the move to Spain, the settling-in process, and the constant negotiation between stability and freedom. But every good project has a point where it runs its course.

Over the past few weeks, it became clear to me that Never Retire has done just that. Within its confines, I said about all I could say about the transition to Spain and the idea that we all need to do our individual best to avoid stagnation and maintain vibrancy at the same time as respecting collective dynamics like neighborhood life and sociopolitical society and culture.

In some respects, we arrived. But you never really arrive.

I never expected to show up in Spain and have it all figured out. That’s not what I mean by saying all I could say. The truth is that there’s so much more to say—and so much more work to do—on myself and in my writing.

I want to take this project to the next level. I believe this shift—retiring Never Retire and launching something new—will help me do that, while offering more to both longtime readers and new ones.

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Introducing How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t)

So, this week, Never Retire becomes How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t)—a global magazine about what makes sense, and why so much doesn’t.

Over time, Never Retire became less about “not retiring” and more about what actually works. Why Valencia works on foot while San Francisco doesn’t. Why it feels possible to live well in Spain but so exhausting to do the same in the U.S.

I realized that I wasn’t just documenting my own reinvention—I was dissecting the systems that shape it.

So How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t) is the natural evolution:

A global magazine about what makes sense—and why so much doesn’t.

Part essay, part reporting, part personal reflection.

It’s not about moving abroad. It’s about learning how to live better anywhere.

This new direction also lets me return to something I’ve missed—research-based storytelling that’s not quite academic, but deeply informed by lived experience. The goal is to connect observation, reporting, and analysis back to the one thing that matters most: how society and culture shape quality of life.

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What You’ll Get

Thoughtful stories about the world as it actually functions—or doesn’t.

Still rooted in real life. Still personal. But wider in scope.

We’ll look at:

• How culture and design make daily life easier or harder.

• How places function—or fail—for the people living in them.

• What “living well” looks like when you strip away ideology and noise.

The tone won’t change. It’s still the same honesty and conversation—just on a bigger stage.

If you’ve been here from the Never Retire days: thank you. You helped make this evolution possible.

If you’re new: welcome to How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t).

This next chapter isn’t about escape. It’s about understanding the mechanics of a life that works—wherever you are.

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Join Me in the Next Chapter

I’m now writing from Spain, but this is a global project. The themes cross borders—cities, cultures, and the systems that determine how we live.

If you’ve ever looked around and thought “It shouldn’t be this hard to live well,” this publication is for you.

Paid subscribers make this work possible. For $5/month or $50/year (about €5/month or €43/year), you’ll directly support independent, ad-free stories written and reported from Europe for a global audience.

Founding members can go further by contributing $100 (€90) or more—helping me expand coverage, report across the continent, and grow this project into something bigger.

In return, you’ll get:

• Full access to every in-depth essay and field story.

• Dispatches from across Europe.

• Deeper, behind-the-scenes looks at how societies either make life livable—or don’t.

But more than that—you’ll be part of a growing community that believes living well shouldn’t be a radical act.

Join now and be part of the first chapter of How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t).

How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t): Stories from places and people that still make sense.