I have been a city kid all my life and have lived in metros for the entirety of it. And thus got wrapped up by a sedentary lifestyle very early on in my life. The options for physical activities were limited and so was the time for it. During the school and even college years, physical activity was still there in my life in one way or another. The metabolism was good and it felt like I could eat anything without too many consequences.

However, ever since professional life started, the busy schedule has provided refuge to the excuses that often come with lack of physical activity of some kind. I tried joining the gym numerous times but that did not work out and I was not able to keep up with the timings. Sometimes due to late night calls with clients and sometimes because I was just so tired from the day’s work. I started putting up weight very quickly and soon it became clear that I was suffering from a medical condition and not just something that can be ignored by crediting it to the lifestyle.

The doctors suggest walking every day but I could not find a place suitable enough to do just that in the city. The air feels so polluted that breathing more of it seems like a worse option that being obese. And as the older age struck at the doors of life, being overweight started adding up to other problems like pain in the joints.

I asked my husband to move to someplace else as we both were retired and had plenty of time on our hands. Even more so, it now became an urgent need that had to be addressed in order to keep my health in good condition. We started talking to our friends, one of whom had recently moved to flats in Solan. We asked him how it felt and he was just in awe of it. He told us that he can sense the effects the clean air and the serene surroundings have on his health. He also talked about how he and his wife go out for strolls early in the morning accompanied by chirping sounds of the birds and of mountain streams flowing downhill. The housing project was none other than Chester Hills.

That is when we knew what we had to do. We booked a ready-to-move-in unit in Chester Hills and soon after shifted to live the rest of our lives in this beautiful place. And we could not be happier. I have been naturally losing weight and have been feeling fitter every day since. My body feels more agile and I can enjoy more of every day without having to medicate myself frequently and staying stuck indoors. I could not have asked for a better retirement. That’s my Chester story. What’s yours?