Thank you to all of the wonderful Sixty and Me readers who took my survey about some of our hopes, fears and favorite things to do. It was a great way to learn more about this fantastic tribe! With over 160 of you responding, I am excited to share the results with you.

What Is Your Favorite Leisure Activity?

We still love to read! While it may be considered a dying art, 42% of you listed reading as your #1 favorite leisure, followed by art or handcraft of some kind, as well as walking and gardening.

What Do You Enjoy Doing With Your Friends?

We LOVE to eat! 36% answered preferring to go out to eat with friends, followed closely by 30% enjoying visiting (and probably eating) at each other’s homes. Once our bellies are full, we seem to love walking, hiking or yoga together, and traveling.

Where Do You Envision Living as You Age?

We had a close tie here; with a nearly even split answering living home alone or intending to live with their partner. Another 15% envision living in some sort of co-op or retirement facility and almost no one envisioned living with their children! That one made me laugh out loud!

What Do You Most Long For as You Get Older?

I believe this was the most powerful question in the survey. The largest collective answer in the survey, 68% said, “more social connections.” A very distant 13% selected more time on their own, and less than 6% longed for more professional opportunities.

What Do You Most Fear?

The second largest answer, 40% said their greatest fear was getting sick, and a close second of 35% said fear running out of money. A decent number of 20% most fear being alone.

Finally, we asked…

What’s On Your Bucket List?

The overwhelming answer was travel! Traveling all around the world, from the Grand Canyon to Bali. Many dreamed of travelling to Rome to see the Pope, or to visit your grandchildren and great grandchildren. No matter our age, the desire to see something new never gets old!

Here are some of my favorite bucket list answers:

• To fall in love again
• Serve people in a small community
• Sky dive
• See the aurora borealis
• Climb half dome
• Relearn how to play “jacks”
• Just Happiness

Thank you to this spirited community for sharing your thoughts, hopes, fears and dreams. It is by opening up our authentic selves that we truly feel seen, heard and connected to others. When we open up our hearts and reflect our hopes and fears with others, it creates a powerful bond that can be more important to our health than diet or exercise.

Try trading answers to some of these questions the next time you are out having coffee, on a walk, or out to dinner with a friend. The answers may surprise you, and the conversation is sure to be stimulating!

Let’s ask the most popular survey question for those who did not complete the survey. “What do you most long for as you get older?” Please answer in the comments below!