Ryan Frederick: Finding the Right Place, the Right Time
Diana Landau | November 30, 2021
Carl interviews Ryan Frederick, CEO of Smart Living 360, a consulting and real estate development firm specializing in housing and healthy aging. Ryan wrote a very timely book Right Place, Right Time “the ultimate guide to choosing a home for the second half of your life.” He has a passion for helping people and organizations understand how we can do better when it comes to healthy aging and deciding where we want to live and flourish.
Ryan was born in Fairfax, VA and his family of four moved to Menlo Park, CA when he was in third grade. Ryan says he had a lot of things to be grateful for growing up. From an early age he, wondered, “How can I use my gifts and talents to make the world a better place?
In high school, Ryan says he was a “walking contradiction”, playing sports as well as singing in the San Francisco boys chorus. Peer pressure aside, Ryan says he learned some things. “Who cares what people think? Do what you think is right to do, what you enjoy! I think the experience made me all the more stubborn to do what I wanted to do.”
He attended Princeton and worked in Silicon Valley in his 20’s. While there, some employees at a company he worked for were involved in a financial scandal—it really shook him up, he tells us. Wanting to gain a deeper understanding of how business works, he then enrolled in the Stanford business program. He asked himself, “What if I took this passion to make things better and have a role in people aging and living better lives? Ryan also spent a month living in a senior community to learn from older people and see what it’s like.
After a few stints in the corporate world, Ryan founded Smart Living 360, an organization devoted to helping communities develop with healthy aging, at age 35. A decade later, he started writing a book based on this firm’s research and study when the pandemic hit. Many people then were questioning where they wanted to be living. “Moving is one of the biggest decisions of your life,” Ryan says. “Your surroundings affect you. These things matter.”
Moving is not the only way to improve one’s life, however. On average, only 10% of Americans move every year. You can make changes where you are to better align yourself with where you want to be in the next chapter of your life. Three years ago, Ryan and his family took his own advice and they made a big move from Baltimore to Austin. He enjoys tennis, grilling on his Green Egg and time with family. “There are lots of resources out there to help you—this is the time for growth!”
Gallup poll: 5 universal, interconnected elements that shape our well-being: (more in the book)
1) Purpose
2) Social connection
3) Physical well-being
4) Financial well-being
5) Community/Place
Ryan’s (un)retirement advice on the right place to live in your second half:
• “Do a self-assessment. Where am I now? Am I thriving in the areas that matter? Where can I be?"
• “Keep dreaming, keep creating, find ways to reorient your life. Take on new opportunities and map out a plan!”
• “Baby Boomers, healthy aging, more longevity—means big change is coming!”
Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” weekly blog.
