Leisure Homes as Preventative Medicine
By Robert Latkany, MDDecember 02, 2009
I recently took a trip to California for an annual Ophthalmology meeting, and my brother dragged me down the coast to Carmel. I fell in love with the place, especially with some of the homes on Spindrift Drive. What could be better than listening to the sounds of crashing Pacific waves, barking sea lions, a temperate climate, and lush vegetation? I found it to be downright therapeutic. I went as far as calling my wife and pleading with her to drop everything, pack up the kids, and hop a plane for the west coast so that we could get a feel for what it is like living in paradise. She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no either. I was suprised to hear her respond with a simple question "What about the kids and their school and friends?" I had my foot in the door.
But my wife's concern about the effects of moving on children are not unfounded. Pribesh and colleague, found that children who move suffer a drop in school achievement compared to children who do not move, most likely due to worsened social relationships. The authors are careful to point out that some of the difference may be due to negative family factors that cause the move rather than the move itself. No problem I thought. We're stable. Our kids are the nicest kids in the world. It'll be ok.
My argument, that being somewhere lush and beautiful is good for your health, is actually supported by the medical literature. Fransson and colleague found that leisure home ownership lowers your odds of early death. And this is after controlling for sociodemographic factors, like weatlh. Sounds like a plan. Now all I need is several million dollars to buy the smallest home on the California coastline and we can pack our bags.
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