Recommended Published March 31, 2025 6:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy': Tech startup, major airline partner to launch electric air taxi service Tech expert Kurt Knutsson discusses Joby Aviation and Virgin Atlantic planning to launch 200-mph U.K. air taxis linking airports and cities. Imagine skipping the gridlock and soaring over the English countryside, arriving at your destination in a fraction of the time. What sounds like a scene from a futuristic movie is about to become a reality in the U.K., thanks to a partnership between Joby Aviation, a California-based company, and Virgin Atlantic. They're teaming up to introduce electric air taxis to the U.K., revolutionizing how people travel between airports and nearby cities. Let's take a closer look at this development that could foreshadow the future of transportation here in the U.S. Electric air taxi (Joby Aviation) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Joby's electric air taxi: A game changer for short flightsJoby Aviation's innovative aircraft are at the heart of this transportation revolution. This electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is designed for quick, efficient travel. The air taxi comfortably seats five, including the pilot, making it perfect for small groups or business travelers. It can reach impressive speeds of up to 200 mph, significantly reducing travel times. The aircraft features a range of 100 emissions-free miles on a single charge, which is a huge win for sustainability. Another key feature is its quiet operation, especially during takeoff and landing, making it much less disruptive than traditional helicopters. Electric air taxi (Joby Aviation) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Virgin Atlantic joins the partyVirgin Atlantic's involvement isn't just about adding its name to the project; it's a strategic move to enhance the entire customer experience. The airline will play a vital role in marketing the service to its customers, making it a seamless addition to their travel plans. Virgin Atlantic will also work closely with U.K. regulators to ensure the service meets all necessary safety standards. Furthermore, the airline will assist in developing the infrastructure needed for these air taxis to operate efficiently at major airports. Electric air taxi (Joby Aviation) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What this means for travelers (and eventually, maybe us)If this takes off as planned, it could change the way people travel in the U.K., offering a glimpse of what might be possible stateside. Imagine drastically reducing travel times between airports and city centers, potentially saving hours on your journey. Booking a ride will be easy, likely through Virgin Atlantic's app and website, integrating air taxi travel into existing travel arrangements. While the initial pricing is expected to be comparable to premium ground ridesharing options, the time saved could be well worth the cost. Electric air taxi (Joby Aviation) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The path to UK skiesWhile the vision is clear, there are still a few steps to take before these air taxis become a common sight. Joby needs to obtain validation from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, ensuring the aircraft meets the highest safety standards. A network of convenient landing locations needs to be established in major cities to make the service truly accessible. The exact launch date for the U.K. service is still under wraps, but the anticipation is definitely building. Electric air taxi (Joby Aviation) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Kurt's key takeawaysThe partnership between Joby Aviation and Virgin Atlantic is a bold step towards a future where air travel is more accessible, sustainable and efficient. As this innovative service takes shape in the U.K., it sparks the imagination and raises the question: when will we see air taxis transforming the way we travel in the U.S.? It's an exciting prospect and one that could reshape our cities and redefine the meaning of a quick commute.Beyond the convenience, does the idea of flying in an air taxi make you excited, nervous or a little bit of both? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading toCyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Traditional methods of measuring creative advertising effectiveness have severe limitations today. ... More Global tech platform DAIVID uses artificial intelligence complemented by a human touch to offer creative ad testing in today's crowded advertising environmentGetty ImagesThe evolution of advertising over the past 20 years has been nothing short of remarkable. It was not until 2005 that digital advertising became recognized as a legitimate advertising medium. According to e-marketer, as of 2024, digital advertising expenditures accounted for more than 75% of global advertising revenue, with streaming and digital video (e.g., podcasts, display video) accounting for a substantial portion of the increase. With such rapid evolution, changes in how advertising creative is tested are needed.Environmental Changes Drive The Need For New Creative Advertising Testing MethodsWith more communication avenues available and many ads being developed to be more personalized than in the past, most advertisers are producing far more ads than they used to. Generative AI has accelerated this trend, allowing for the mass personalization of digital ads. In the meantime, many markets are more competitive than others making efficient allocation of the advertising budget a key for many businesses. Moreover, with single brands running many different ads, it becomes difficult to monitor whether an individual ad is effective. Yet, passing on creative testing is not a good option given the significant investments made in advertising.One company that is responsive to industry trends that affect creative testing is DAIVID, which has launched a human-informed AI-powered platform designed to measure creative effectiveness. The platform operates by predicting the attention levels and emotions that an ad will generate along with their likely impact on outcome measures including brand and sales metrics. As it is not dependent on panels, the innovative system is trained using tens of millions of human responses to ads and can allow advertisers to know within minutes the emotional impact of an ad along DAIVIDs insight on predicted business outcomes, offering advertisers to test the effectiveness of their campaigns at scale even in contexts where there are large numbers of individual ads.DAIVIDs Use Of Artifical Intelligence With A Human TouchPeter Daboll, Head of U.S., DaividDaividTo gain insight into the use of artificial intelligence in measuring creative effectiveness, I spoke to Peter Daboll, DAIVIDs Head of US and former CEO of Ace Metrix. Regarding why creative ad testing is so important in 2025, Daboll observes that it has always been important, but emphasizes that it has become more challenging to do at scale in a timely and cost-efficient way. First off, Bud Light has warned the industry that everything in our marketing plan needs to be tested, he says, Social media blowback can amplify negatives that the brand team never thought about and can cause lasting brand damage. Second, is the explosion in the volume of ad creative. Whether generative AI, or just increasing personalization, expanding media outlets the number of ads being produced is skyrocketing.Daboll notes that Adobe recently predicted that the number of ads will increase 5 times in the next 2 years alone. He states, Whats new is that we can now leverage AI correctly to handle testing these high volumes when there was no way to do it before. Now it is possible to test everything. These facts point to the importance of creative testing and the promise of new, scalable ways of testing leveraging AI to handle the volume.Essentially, whereas 10 to 15 years ago an ad had to be shown to a sample of people to get their reactions. Daboll observes that such an approach does not work today: saying, That worked when you had one or 2 TV spots a year, but not when you have 1000 creative assets today. Creative testing, like DAIVID, has evolved to the point where we can test thousands of ads per day leveraging disruptive AI tech, while maintaining the human connection.The Importance of Emotions In Creative Advertising Creative TestingDaboll views the industry as being at an inflection point where it will soon be mandatory to test creative assets ahead of time and that the old system will be viewed as a relic. He says, We'll look back at the inefficiency of testing one ad with a few people and waiting weeks for results and laugh.Daivid's system uses human informed AI to measure attention, emotions, recall, and intentions.DaividDAIVIDs model for creative testing is based on many practitioner and academic studies that show that creative effectiveness is a function of four creative pillars, Attention, Emotion, Memory, and Intentions. The basic idea is that a successful ad attracts attention in a way that creates an emotional reaction from the viewer that, in turn, evokes information stored in memory and leads to intention. The system compares these metrics to all other ads to make normative comparisons. Different research technologies including facial coding, eye tracking and survey responses are used to build the database used to train the database.Regarding the specifics of the system and how it produces effective output measures for measuring creative effectiveness, Daboll says:Attention is critical or viewers wont remember the ad (we measure at first 3 seconds, mid 3 seconds, and final 3 seconds and can look at decay over time). Emotions are DAIVID's strong suit-- measuring 39 distinct human emotions, positive and negative. Memory is measured by traditional brand recall metrics in the human sample and markers are compared to the test ads. Intentions are purchase intent, search, and sharing intention as a result of seeing the ad. All of these 4 creative metric pillars are essential to create a successful ad.Daivid's system measures 39 different emotions.DaividIn terms of the advantages of his own companys measurement system over other AI-based systems, Daboll emphasizes that DAIVID adds a valuable human touch in addition to drawing on AIs advantages. A few AI-based companies measure what I call "suitability of the creativefocusing on the aspect ratio of the ad, whether it will fit into the unit, degree of blurriness, color or length of logo shown, etc., he says, These are deterministic characteristics of the ad that AI can identify--useful but not sufficient. But they don't measure human reaction. DAIVID's use of AI compares ads to a massive human training dataset. This training dataset-- thousands of ads with thousands of people, becomes our "true north" on how and why people respond.Daboll continues, We then leverage the AI to pattern match and find ads that have the same characteristic markers. These markers include things like storyline, script, visuals, colors, audio, imagery, characters, etc. at the frame by frame and aggregate level. By using the 4 creative effectiveness pillars described above DAIVID can assess WHY and how an ad works on human behavior; and establishes guideposts for brands to hit with future ads. So, our deliverables are prescriptive as well as descriptive informing brands on how to make new ads better. Further, most other systems measure just 1 of the pillars I mentioned. All 4 are required to get the full impact of the creative on behavior.Lessons from Artificial Intelligence Ad Creative TestingIn terms of what he has learned from running DAIVIDs creative measurement system, Daboll offers the following insights:He is fascinated by how human reaction in terms of emotional response can vary second-by-second in response to a new image or sound.Many AI-generated ads lack the warmth emotion in comparison to those produced in standard fashion by humans.DAVIIDs tools are useful in evaluating whether humor works in an ad. Measuring humors effectiveness is tricky as it can vary based on humor or external events, so quantifying risk is what is important.He believes creative testing is all about measuring successful advertising outcomes and what creative causes those outcomes. Specifically, it is important to focus on how creative markers improve a brand's key performance indicators-- brand perception, consumer favorability, and increased sales, and how successful outcomes can be repeated in future campaigns.As with many aspects of AI, it is important to figure out how to use its positive features while avoiding pitfalls or ethical issues associated with technology. DAIVIDs systems do an excellent job of this by taking advantage of AIs high level of effectiveness in recognizing patterns while putting an informed human touch on it. Advertising creative testing is better for it.

We've all been there. You try to log into your bank account with your username and password only to be met with a generic "incorrect password" error. You double-check your password manager, try a few variations, but after too many failed attempts, the system locks you out. Now you're funneled into a tedious re-authentication process involving security questions you barely remember and a password reset form that smugly informs you, "New password can't be the same as the old one." You proceed to throw your device in frustration.What is a Passkey?A passkey is a secure, easy-to-use replacement for passwords. It uses your device's built-in security (like Face ID, fingerprint, or a PIN) to log you into a website or service, without requiring you to remember or type anything.The passkey is then stored on a secure element of your phone or computer, which means the website or service you're accessing won't need to store any passwords on their servers reducing the risk of breaches or hacks.In practical terms, you could say passkeys merge the concept of a password and 2FA (two-factor authentication) into one smooth action, but way more secure and way less annoying.As an optional and recommended step, you can store your passkeys inside a secure password manager such as Proton Pass, 1Password, Dashlane, or Bitwarden. This allows you to sync and access your passkeys across multiple devices.Creating a PasskeyCreating a passkey is easy, and the process is similar across most platforms. To illustrate, here's how we set up a passkey for Amazon.com and used a password manager to store it...First, I log into my Amazon account and navigate to the Login & Security section to access the passkey option.Next, I click on "Add a passkey," which creates a passkey specifically for Amazon. As shown in the screenshot, I had previously created a passkey that's stored in my iCloud Keychain. You can create multiple passkeys for the same website and store them in different places.Because I use Proton Pass and I have their browser extension installed, adding a passkey automatically opens Proton Pass to generate and store it. If I didn't have Proton Pass installed, my web browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) would have stored the passkey instead.Proton Pass will now save this specific passkey for Amazon, synced to my username. Since this is for Amazon, it also works for Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts.Why are Passkeys Needed?According to NordPass's research, the most popular password remains "123456" as of 2023 and 2024. The second most popular? "123456789." Other common passwords are usually strings of sequential numbers or variations on "qwerty." After six years of the same study, NordPass concludes that most people's password habits haven't meaningfully changed.FeaturePassword + 2FAPasskeyStepsMultipleSingleUser needs to...Type & waitJust confirmSecurityGoodBetter (phishing-resistant)ConvenienceMediumHighPasskeys are more secure because they eliminate password-based vulnerabilities, replacing passwords with cryptographic keys that protect users from phishing attacks, credential theft, and data breaches. Passkeys are protected by a single biometric factor, like your fingerprint or face, and no passwords are sent over the internet or stored on external servers.Where Can I Use Passkeys?While not every service has implemented passkey authentication, most popular sites have. Some of the major ones that support it include Amazon, Google, Apple, Github, Adobe, Uber, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation Network, eBay, and Dropbox, as well as many social networks.Financial institutions (banks) lag behind big tech giants in adopting passkeys, however companies like PayPal, Revolut and Robinhood already support it. Dashlane offers a helpful, community-driven directory of websites that have implemented passkeys login functionality.You can already create passkeys using Google, Microsoft, or Apple devices. Many password managers such as Proton Pass, Dashlane, 1Password, Bitwarden, and LastPass also support passkey creation. As mentioned earlier, using a password manager allows passkeys to sync across devices.It's also important to remember that passkeys are unique to each website. The passkey you use to sign into your Google account is not the same as the one used for Amazon. That said, a helpful pro tip is to create a passkey for your Google account and then use Google's authentication to sign in to other services (if the option exists). That way you can just use your one Google passkey while being able to access multiple websites.How Passkeys Work (Technical Explanation)Passkeys (technically known as Web Authentication or WebAuthn) are a technology that allows credentials to be authenticated without being stored on servers. They are part of the FIDO2 project, which aims to permanently replace passwords as a method of authentication.The core concept relies on public key infrastructure (PKI). Instead of storing a username and password, passkeys are generated on an authenticator controlled by the user.This authenticator could be your smartphone (Face ID, fingerprint), your operating system (e.g., Windows Hello), your browser, or a physical security key such as a YubiKey or Google's Titan Key.Creating a passkey is a 3-step process:The user clicks a button on a client (like Google) to create a passkey. This sends a request to the server, which responds with a randomly generated challenge string.The client calls the WebAuthn API along with the server's challenge to create a private/public key pair. This key pair is generated and stored securely on the device in a secure element such as a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip or Apple's iCloud Keychain. Depending on the client, the user is prompted for a PIN or biometric authentication (e.g., Face ID, Windows Hello, or fingerprint).The client sends the public key, credential ID, and the signed challenge (using the private key) back to the server. For future logins, the user authenticates via their device, which signs a new challenge and sends it to the server. The server validates this by matching the credential ID and public key to the signed challenge. If it checks out, the user is successfully logged in.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat happens if I lose my device?Passkeys require biometric authentication on your phone. Even if your phone is stolen, the passkeys can't be accessed without your biometric data.Can I share a passkey with someone else?The purpose of passkeys is to provide personal, identity-bound authentication not shared credentials. But technically, yes, there are ways to share passkeys.For example, Apple allows passkeys to be shared via AirDrop under certain conditions. You can also share passkeys by logging into the same password manager.Can passkeys prevent phishing attempts?Absolutely. Phishing typically aims to steal usernames, passwords, or sensitive data. Passkeys don't transmit credentials, making them useless to an attacker even if intercepted.What if someone hacks the server or database?At most, an attacker might gain access to the public keys stored in the database. Since these can't be used to reverse-engineer your private key, your account remains secure. If needed, you can simply revoke the old passkey and generate a new one.What about just using a password manager?While password managers are a good step up from remembering passwords, they still rely on storing credentials on a server. Even open-source options like KeePass require a database of passwords. In contrast, passkeys provide a more secure and simplified solution by removing the need to manage or store multiple credentials.Are there any scenarios where passkeys aren't needed?Yes. While passkeys offer a more secure and user-friendly alternative to traditional passwords, they aren't necessary or even ideal in every scenario. Here are a few examples:Low-security accounts If an account doesn't store sensitive info (e.g., a throwaway forum account or a local news site), a strong password may still be "good enough."Shared accounts Passkeys are tied to you and your device. So for accounts shared among multiple people (like a shared Netflix account or business login), traditional passwords still work more flexibly for now.Enterprise or legacy systems Older corporate systems, VPNs, or internal tools may not support passkeys at all some industries move slowly when it comes to adopting new authentication tech.Non-person entities (NPEs) Developers using automated systems or scripts, they may need to authenticate to a server to perform tasks like scanning or data processing. In such cases, passkeys aren't practical. This could also extend to software needing to use authentication for secure API calls.Additionally, there are environments where passkey adoption just doesn't fit yet. If you're on a device that lacks cloud backup or passkey syncing, such as an older smartphone or a public computer, it can be difficult or impossible to use passkeys effectively.So while passkeys are the future of authentication, there are still valid reasons to stick with passwords in certain contexts for now.

A newly discovered trick allows Windows 11 users to bypass Microsofts online account requirement during setup, raising questions around user control and privacy. The workaround, shared by X user @witherornot1337, lets users set up Windows 11 with a local account instead of being forced to log in with a Microsoft account.This follows previous similar methods, highlighting an ongoing cat-and-mouse game between Microsoft and privacy-conscious users. Microsoft has been increasingly pushing online accounts as a mandatory requirement for Windows 11, particularly in Home and Pro editions. This change has frustrated many users who prefer local accounts for greater privacy and independence from Microsofts ecosystem.Recommended VideosImproved bypass for Windows 11 OOBE:1. Shift-F102. start ms-cxh:localonlyOnly required on Home and Pro editions. pic.twitter.com/ZUa89ZPBI3 Wither OrNot (@witherornot1337) March 29, 2025 The trick involves pressing Shift + F10 during the setup process to open a command prompt and entering the command start ms-cxh:localonly. This bypasses Microsofts requirement and enables the creation of a local account. The method specifically applies to the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11, which no longer provide the I dont have internet option during setup. However, the ability to create a local account remains officially available in the Education, Enterprise, IoT, and LTSC versions.This is not the first time users have found ways to circumvent Microsofts account enforcement. Past methods included disabling the internet during installation, entering dummy email addresses, or using specific command-line tools. However, Microsoft has regularly patched these loopholes, making it harder to bypass the requirement in newer builds. Despite these efforts, tech-savvy users continue to find new workarounds, signaling strong resistance to Microsofts policies.While the bypass provides relief for users who prefer local accounts, there are potential risks. Microsoft could restrict certain features or updates for devices not linked to an online account. Additionally, security concerns arise when users are unable to receive cloud-based protections tied to Microsoft accounts, such as device recovery options and remote management tools.For now, those who wish to use Windows 11 without a Microsoft account can leverage this latest trick, but theres no guarantee it will remain viable for long. Microsoft has yet to comment on the discovery, but given its history of closing such loopholes, a patch could be on the way soon. Until then, users who value local accounts over cloud integration have yet another tool to push back against Microsofts increasingly restrictive setup process.Editors Recommendations

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The author left her career in law for a more flexible job that allowed her to be there for her kids. Courtesy of the author 2025-03-31T10:23:01Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? I went into law school and worked defending doctors in medical malpractice cases. When my husband and I started our family, it became evident we both couldn't have intense jobs. I put my career on pause to focus on my family. When people learn that I am a travel writer, they immediately ask if I majored in English Literature in college or if I went to journalism school. The truth is that I'm really a recovering attorney.I went to law school after studying chemistry in college and spent my first few post-law school years at insurance defense firms, where I defended doctors in medical malpractice cases and businesses in slip-and-fall litigation. I loved arguing motions in court and preparing my cases for trial.Downsizing my career for my familyThis all changed when I met my now-husband, who is also an attorney. As we married and started our family, it quickly became evident that it would be a major challenge for both of us to have intense jobs with long workdays while we had little kids at home. I decided to take a less intense position at an insurance company, where I was able to pick up my kids before it got dark and be there for field trips and special events.We moved from Chicago to California when my kids were ages 5, 4, and 2. My husband was able to get a law firm job in California as he was already licensed here. Continuing my law career would mean taking the California Bar Exam, which sounded like a nightmare, especially with three little kids. I paused my law career, focusing on helping my family adjust to our new situation.I don't know what drew me to peruse the writing and editing job section of Craigslist, but that's where I discovered a job listing looking for parents who'd like to write about fun things to do with their kids. I immediately applied and was hired.The pay was nowhere near my old salary, but the job served a purposeOf course, this $50 per story job was no comparison to what I was making in my fancy law firm job (or even in my less fancy insurance company job). But it served a purpose for that period of my life, where I needed to be available for my young kids. Best of all, it gave me access to all sorts of museum events, theater productions, and hotel openings where I could take my kids along with me, allowing us to explore this area of the country I hadn't lived in for decades.Over the years, I continued to say "yes" to any opportunity I had to write more for this publication, eventually moving up to becoming an editor and then the travel editor. These roles came with lots of travel perks, allowing me to take my family to private islands in Tahiti and fancy resorts across the US.I could be making more money, but the lifestyle is betterWhile I could be making a lot more money had I continued my law career, I wouldn't have had the time or opportunity to take my family to these far-off places. I wouldn't have been able to be a room parent in my kids' classes and pick them up from school. Traveling with my kids has allowed me to see them problem-solve, deal with uncomfortable situations, and really come into their own as teenagers. I've been able to learn about them as individuals as we took a cruise in Costa Rica, went snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park, and pushed ourselves in countries where we didn't know the language.This career change was what my family neededWhen people learn I'm no longer using my law degree, they inevitably ask if I regret attending law school. While I certainly wish I never had my law school loans to deal with, I'm still happy about my career progression. When I was an attorney, I learned how words had an impact. At the insurance company, we regularly argued over comma placement and how a comma changed the meaning of a contract. I'm still using these skills in my writing today.I also think that my career progression is a good example for my kids as they approach college age. We put so much pressure on 18-year-olds to decide what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. I am clearly an example that you can always change and evolve.Recommended video

Patricia (left) moved with her husband (right) to Delaware thinking it'd be the perfect place to retire, but it wasn't the right fit. Courtesy of Patricia Garrison 2025-03-31T09:44:02Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? We found a lovely community to retire to that was a short drive from the beach and fit our budget.We thought this was the perfect place for our next step, but three years later, we've had enough.While we love our community and lower cost of living, homesickness has us ready to leave.We'd always dreamt of owning a beach home for family vacations and weekend getaways, but our budget and the kids' constantly packed schedules never made it possible.Then, many years later, as we edged toward retirement and the kids were out of the house, we put the idea back on the table and bought a lovely home in Delaware just a 10 to 20-minute drive from a string of pristine beaches.The house is in a newly built development dotted with duck-filled ponds and a quick drive to the heart of a quaint historic village filled with restaurants, live music venues, and a sprinkling of art galleries.My husband spends hours casting off the coastline for striped bass and bluefish, and our neighbors, many newly retired like us, are welcoming and down-to-earth.Moving here is one of the best decisions we've ever made, but three years in, we're planning our exit.We moved from New JerseyBefore Delaware, we'd lived in the same house in the same suburban New Jersey town for more than 15 years.However, during that time, we'd always felt on the periphery of the social scene, rarely got dinner invites, and found it difficult to make friends.We both had good jobs and lived a middle-class life, but our roots were blue-collar. My husband was the only person we knew in the area who had not graduated from college.We longed for a change, a fuller calendar, and a respite from nagging loneliness.We weren't the beach lovers we thought we wereDelaware's dramatically lower property taxes and more affordable real estate meant less strain on our budget.We also purchased a newer home, which meant spending less time and money on the endless repairs our 94-year-old colonial in NJ demanded.Despite the benefits, homesickness has been impossible to shake.We miss living a short 20 to 30-minute drive from our family who are still in Jersey. And while the small village we live near is nice, it's just that small.We prefer being closer to the hustle and bustle of New York City with its diverse neighborhoods, major museums, and vibrant theater and music scenes, all of which we frequented often while in New Jersey.We've also realized we weren't the beach lovers we thought we were. Going to the beach had once been a treat. Now, we easily take it for granted, which makes it less special.Plus, traffic jams and packed beaches in season make getting there a headache and a sweaty nailbiter, with parking lots at capacity by 8:30 a.m.The noise, the grind of cars, and the lines snaking out of seemingly every coffee bar and lunch spot conspire to make a summer day about as relaxing as a full-throttle city commute.We also miss our hikes through the small mountain range that was minutes away from our NJ house. The flat, bleached terrain without a hill in sight just isn't the same.To get that outdoorsy experience now, we must drive 90 minutes north, on a dismal, nerve-jangling highway.We feel like part of a community here, which has been the greatest giftWelcome mats for pickleball teams, girls' nights, potlucks, and a dizzying number of groups and clubs have made it easy to build friendships both casual and close.Unfortunately, we are too homesick for the area we left to feel truly relaxed. It is as if we are at a terrific party great to be invited, but not to stay indefinitely.The gift of these friendships has given us a sense of belonging that had always been just out of reach in our old neighborhood, and, importantly, a social confidence and insight that will help us choose our next community wisely.Our turnabout has surprised us, but aging has brought into focus how we want to spend our time, and where. And that's nearer to the convenience and culture of a major city, steeped in a diverse community, surrounded by varied terrain, and closer to family.We have learned that retirement decisions can't always be about money. Sometimes they need to be driven by what enriches the soul.Recommended video