I always imagined retirement as the point in my life when there would not be a damn thing on my schedule.

Retirement to me when I was younger was when alarms, meetings, and deadlines would disappear, leaving me free to wake up on a random Tuesday morning, decide I wanted to see another part of the world, and simply go.

That was the fantasy, anyway, because after growing up in this economy, where a trip to Costco can somehow cost as much as a three-day cruise, I am beginning to wonder whether the retirement I pictured as a kid will even exist by the time my generation gets there.

That question came back after WalletHub ranked Fresno 179th out of 182 cities in its latest list of the best and worst places to retire, including 176th in activities.

Which briefly made me hope Fresno had somehow beaten out the other 19,000-plus cities in America by simply not being invited to participate.

Will We Even Retire?

My first instinct was to defend Fresno. But the more I looked at the ranking, the more I wondered whether millennials and younger generations will even get to retire the way our parents and grandparents imagined.

My grandparents did. Although calling what my grandfather did “retirement” requires a generous interpretation because after retiring as a noncommissioned officer from the military, he became a recruiter and later volunteered with the Navy as though someone had forgotten to tell him to slow down.

My grandmother worked just about every job imaginable, while my grandfather grew up poor in rural Oregon, sharing an outhouse with his many siblings, so I do not look at the comfort they earned and think their generation had everything handed to them, because they worked hard and deserved what they built.

At the same time, they bought their Orange County home for around $75,000 and, by my family’s estimate, that same house is now worth nearly $1 million. Meanwhile, Census figures put the median value of an owner-occupied home in Orange County at $962,600 compared with $374,800 in Fresno.

Retirement feels abstract now because my generation is being told to buy a home, contribute to a 401(k), invest, pay off debt, cover rising costs, and somehow save enough to support ourselves for decades after we stop working.

Only 35% of non-retired Americans told the Federal Reserve that they believe their retirement savings are on track. A 2026 retirement survey found that 16% of workers expect never to retire and nearly three-quarters of those who do expect to retire believe they will still work for pay.

It also feels like the finish line keeps moving. Even though workers still expect to retire at a median age of 65, nearly a quarter changed their target retirement age last year. Most pushing it even later while a growing number now say they do not expect to retire at all.

We Are Not All Doomed, Hopefully

The story is not as simple as saying millennials are doomed and nobody is saving.

I know people my age who are barely putting anything away while my best friend is absolutely killing it.

Fresno adds another divide because old money runs deep here, with some families holding generations of property while others are trying to become the first in their family to own anything at all.

Recently, my mom moved in with me from Orange County. And before anybody wonders how I survive having my mother in the house as an adult, let me assure you that having a sweet mother who helps clean, does my laundry, and makes life easier while I am constantly running around California is not exactly a hardship. I know, I know, I am blessed (no, she did not pay me to say this).

She moved here largely because Fresno is cheaper, which means she is farther from the beach but able to make her money stretch further.

That practical reality matters more to me than whether a national ranking believes Fresno has enough retirement activities.

And after writing two columns about whether Fresno has anything to do, I am certainly not about to let WalletHub completely drag me into that argument for a third time.

But, we are also in the center of so much. Living here can mean the Sierra Nevada, nearby lakes, national parks, and foothill communities that people who actually live here consider part of the Central Valley experience.

Not to mention the cities just two or three hours away, where we can spend the day without paying $2,000 a month for a shoebox apartment.

I’m Not Sure if I Would Leave Fresno if I Lived Here Till I Retired

If I someday reach retirement age here with enough money to leave Fresno, and wanting to stay in California, I am honestly not convinced I would.

My money can go farther here, although Thailand could still tempt me because many everyday costs are lower there and even its retirement visas come with financial requirements.

I may also be underestimating what I will be capable of doing at 70. This morning I got out of bed, heard my knees crack, and somehow pulled my neck. All this while my 70-year-old dad goes to the gym every day, doing more there than plenty of people decades younger than him.

Watching him has changed what 70 looks like to me, just as watching my grandfather refuse to truly stop working changed what retirement itself looks like. Maybe my generation’s version will be less about a hard stop and more about scaling back, traveling, freelancing, volunteering, writing, or choosing work based on what we enjoy rather than what pays the bills.

I do not know exactly what that future will look like, but I do not want to spend the next three decades refusing to enjoy the life I have now because I am obsessively preparing for one I may or may not get later.

While we should save, invest, and prepare, I refuse to believe the only responsible way to live is to deny ourselves every trip, dinner, stupid purchase, experience, and memory because some hypothetical 70-year-old version of us might need every possible dollar decades from now.

Someday, I hope I get to meet that version of myself, whether he is retired in Fresno, living somewhere in Thailand, writing because he cannot figure out how to stop, or still pretending his knees are not making increasingly concerning noises every time he stands up.

When I do, I hope he says, “I’m glad you didn’t spend your whole life waiting for me.”

About the Author

Anthony W. Haddad is a Fresno-based reporter and columnist known for his award-winning Millennial View column series, feature writing, and festival coverage. His work blends personal storytelling with cultural commentary, highlighting the people, issues, and experiences shaping the Central Valley and beyond.

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