Retirement

[Conndog]

Scheduled to retire at end of April this year- in good health, finances generally okay but we can't go wild either. I'm curious, what have other people who have retired done with all that extra time on their hands? Did anyone pick up interesting new hobbies? How many went back to work, and if they did, was it due to boredom? My wife is younger and is still working but she works flexible hours part-time as a consultant.

I'm hoping to do some traveling, our house is getting remodeled and I'll work on landscaping for it, but I don't want to go back to work at all. I'll definitely be playing more golf!

 

[CL82]

I'm curious, what have other people who have retired done with all that extra time on their hands?

 

[Dove]

Scheduled to retire at end of April this year- in good health, finances generally okay but we can't go wild either. I'm curious, what have other people who have retired done with all that extra time on their hands? Did anyone pick up interesting new hobbies? How many went back to work, and if they did, was it due to boredom? My wife is younger and is still working but she works flexible hours part-time as a consultant.

I'm hoping to do some traveling, our house is getting remodeled and I'll work on landscaping for it, but I don't want to go back to work at all. I'll definitely be playing more golf!

Congrats on retirement. And your transition to the Women's Board.

 

[SCNCHuskie]

I retired from teaching and immediately walked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Then, I spent the better part of a year following Bruce Springsteen around the US and Europe. Then, somewhat out of boredom, I went back into teaching with the caveat that in April, when the Springsteen tour picks back up that I am able to leave the job and head to Europe to catch the entire European and Northeastern US tour.

Note: even though I was retired, I’ve never given up my part-time job that I’ve had for almost 15 years.

 

[Khal Drogo]

Scheduled to retire at end of April this year- in good health, finances generally okay but we can't go wild either. I'm curious, what have other people who have retired done with all that extra time on their hands? Did anyone pick up interesting new hobbies? How many went back to work, and if they did, was it due to boredom? My wife is younger and is still working but she works flexible hours part-time as a consultant.

I'm hoping to do some traveling, our house is getting remodeled and I'll work on landscaping for it, but I don't want to go back to work at all. I'll definitely be playing more golf!

I’m thinking April as well. Every day a Saturday. I think I can handle that.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I’m not quite there yet. But maybe in the next 3-4 years. I’d like to play more golf, join a pickleball league, and generally walk outside more during the day. That will mean not being in New England in the winter. I’m very interested in taking up kayaking, whether on a pond or salt water bay. That would involve some nature watching as well. Certainly looking forward to traveling for more than a week at a time. Biggest limitation now is I really can’t be off for more than about 10 days. I think longer trips will provide a different perspective.

Actually, got to enjoy the D.C. things to do without the rush.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

You want to be a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Thats fantastic!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Scheduled to retire at end of April this year- in good health, finances generally okay but we can't go wild either. I'm curious, what have other people who have retired done with all that extra time on their hands? Did anyone pick up interesting new hobbies? How many went back to work, and if they did, was it due to boredom? My wife is younger and is still working but she works flexible hours part-time as a consultant.

I'm hoping to do some traveling, our house is getting remodeled and I'll work on landscaping for it, but I don't want to go back to work at all. I'll definitely be playing more golf!

No suggestions to add, just congratulations!

 

[CL82]

You want to be a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Thats fantastic!

Everybody needs a dream.

 

[NoSpamHere]

Seeing and hearing more about pickleball up here in NE.
Was down in FL few months back.
Whole different level down there which was cool to see.
Center had converted tennis courts into 12 pickleball courts. Everyone was full and everyone had people waiting to play next.
Every age group from teens to 70 years old. And then, down the street another facility just as packed.

I’m in Melbourne Florida and have 4 sets of courts within 10 minutes of me. Always hopping.

 

[Hunt for 7]

No suggestions to add, just congratulations!

I’m thinking April as well. Every day a Saturday. I think I can handle that.

Congrats on getting there in good health more than half the battle. The best part is you can figure it out as you go.

 

[elmcityboy]

i'm pretty far from retirement, but as a profitable recreational poker player, i am amazed at the number of retirees who frequent the mohegan sun $1/$2 and $2/$5 tables.

honestly, it's a pretty decent hobby for an older guy -- the casino will give you a bunch of free stuff, you can watch sports, flirt with cute dealers and waitresses, and hunt jackpots while breaking even with the most basic, abc poker strategy.

 

[jibsey]

Habitat.

 

[jleves]

I'll chime in. I was in a fortunate spot to retire on my 55th birthday but the misfortune to retire at the start of the pandemic lockdown. There was almost nothing to do outside the house. Shopping for food was a scary dash through the market to find what proteins you could and get out as quickly as possible. This kind of set a precedent for me/us where we mostly did a lot of reading and streaming stuff. The first 18 months of pandemic, my wife and I read about 100 books each. I still haven't completely broken out of that slump. I'm also fortunate that I don't put on excess pounds sitting around reading and watching TV. I do spend a lot more time helping around the house and doing stuff in the yard which helps. You can always find projects around the house - it's never ending.

Now, we do go out to eat lunch a couple times during the week and do things like walk around a mall or old town downtown (lots of both places in socal). But I always imagined I would golf a lot and really haven't gotten back into it. It's been my goal every spring - maybe this year it will kick in.

A few great things about retirement: I almost never have to set an alarm clock. You just wake up when you are fully rested and want to get up. Going to the supermarket during the week at 10am or 2pm when it's almost completely empty. Going to Costco at 3pm when you can just walk up to an open checker with your basket. Feast week, rivalry week and March madness are great - noon games during the week, no problem. And of course, the lack of stress - you probably won't realize you were under stress until you aren't.

 

[Improviser]

I've been retired for 10 years now when I was in the mid-60's. Had a solo practice and just lost interest in trying to meet client demands that pushed me to my personal tolerance level limits. I wanted to walk out, and not be carried out.

Being retired, you don't have to deal with client or customer inquiries at what may be inopportune times for yourself.

But, if you like what you are doing, work part-time if it generates the income you need. And, you will still have more time for leisure activities.

Yes, seek out new things. I don't really like to travel anymore and deal with the packing and unpacking and waits in line at airports, but I find local places to take walks and do water exercise in an indoor pool a few days a week, and again, no worries about those interrupting phone calls.

Lots of state parks in Connecticut to visit for a few hours. Silver Sands State Park in Milford lets you walk near the water all year round. In the summer, I go to a local beach club and hang out.

I have developed a hobby of listening to different types of music and saving what I like on my Spotify Playlist and listening whenever I take walks or cook. I have accumulated thousands of songs, from rock, pop, ska, boogie woogie, surf rock, deep house, Spanish and French pop, Quebecois folk, American indie/folk, ragtime, whatever. Instrumentals are nice because you can avoid hearing stupid lyrics.

Yeah, I enjoy learning what others like and do, when I read the Boneyard. And, apply some of them. Learn some basketball too. Never really knew what a hard hedge was, or some of the complex defensive schemes were before I read the BY.

Hope I got a little more gas in the tank so I can continue doing what I am doing, or doing new things from the suggestions I read from others' postings.

BTW, though I don't play it, I've been told bridge is a great way to stay active mentally and to interact with others.

 

[Improviser]

And of course, the lack of stress - you probably won't realize you were under stress until you aren't.

I totally relate to that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'll chime in. I was in a fortunate spot to retire on my 55th birthday but the misfortune to retire at the start of the pandemic lockdown. There was almost nothing to do outside the house. Shopping for food was a scary dash through the market to find what proteins you could and get out as quickly as possible. This kind of set a precedent for me/us where we mostly did a lot of reading and streaming stuff. The first 18 months of pandemic, my wife and I read about 100 books each. I still haven't completely broken out of that slump. I'm also fortunate that I don't put on excess pounds sitting around reading and watching TV. I do spend a lot more time helping around the house and doing stuff in the yard which helps. You can always find projects around the house - it's never ending.

Now, we do go out to eat lunch a couple times during the week and do things like walk around a mall or old town downtown (lots of both places in socal). But I always imagined I would golf a lot and really haven't gotten back into it. It's been my goal every spring - maybe this year it will kick in.

A few great things about retirement: I almost never have to set an alarm clock. You just wake up when you are fully rested and want to get up. Going to the supermarket during the week at 10am or 2pm when it's almost completely empty. Going to Costco at 3pm when you can just walk up to an open checker with your basket. Feast week, rivalry week and March madness are great - noon games during the week, no problem. And of course, the lack of stress - you probably won't realize you were under stress until you aren't.

That last paragraph is what I’m most loosing forward to.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

funny thing is, no. The lions share of Boneyard traffic is mostly 9 to 5. I think you can figure out why.

I both believe it and contribute to it!

 

[Deepster]

I've been retired for 10 years now when I was in the mid-60's. Had a solo practice and just lost interest in trying to meet client demands that pushed me to my personal tolerance level limits. I wanted to walk out, and not be carried out.

Being retired, you don't have to deal with client or customer inquiries at what may be inopportune times for yourself.

But, if you like what you are doing, work part-time if it generates the income you need. And, you will still have more time for leisure activities.

Yes, seek out new things. I don't really like to travel anymore and deal with the packing and unpacking and waits in line at airports, but I find local places to take walks and do water exercise in an indoor pool a few days a week, and again, no worries about those interrupting phone calls.

Lots of state parks in Connecticut to visit for a few hours. Silver Sands State Park in Milford lets you walk near the water all year round. In the summer, I go to a local beach club and hang out.

I have developed a hobby of listening to different types of music and saving what I like on my Spotify Playlist and listening whenever I take walks or cook. I have accumulated thousands of songs, from rock, pop, ska, boogie woogie, surf rock, deep house, Spanish and French pop, Quebecois folk, American indie/folk, ragtime, whatever. Instrumentals are nice because you can avoid hearing stupid lyrics.

Yeah, I enjoy learning what others like and do, when I read the Boneyard. And, apply some of them. Learn some basketball too. Never really knew what a hard hedge was, or some of the complex defensive schemes were before I read the BY.

Hope I got a little more gas in the tank so I can continue doing what I am doing, or doing new things from the suggestions I read from others' postings.

BTW, though I don't play it, I've been told bridge is a great way to stay active mentally and to interact with others.

Can you hit shuffle on your Spotify library and list the first 10 songs that come up?

 

[NH Husky]

Message me. Sounds like our situations are similar.

 

[NoSpamHere]

I've been retired for 10 years now when I was in the mid-60's. Had a solo practice and just lost interest in trying to meet client demands that pushed me to my personal tolerance level limits. I wanted to walk out, and not be carried out.

Being retired, you don't have to deal with client or customer inquiries at what may be inopportune times for yourself.

But, if you like what you are doing, work part-time if it generates the income you need. And, you will still have more time for leisure activities.

Yes, seek out new things. I don't really like to travel anymore and deal with the packing and unpacking and waits in line at airports, but I find local places to take walks and do water exercise in an indoor pool a few days a week, and again, no worries about those interrupting phone calls.

Lots of state parks in Connecticut to visit for a few hours. Silver Sands State Park in Milford lets you walk near the water all year round. In the summer, I go to a local beach club and hang out.

I have developed a hobby of listening to different types of music and saving what I like on my Spotify Playlist and listening whenever I take walks or cook. I have accumulated thousands of songs, from rock, pop, ska, boogie woogie, surf rock, deep house, Spanish and French pop, Quebecois folk, American indie/folk, ragtime, whatever. Instrumentals are nice because you can avoid hearing stupid lyrics.

Yeah, I enjoy learning what others like and do, when I read the Boneyard. And, apply some of them. Learn some basketball too. Never really knew what a hard hedge was, or some of the complex defensive schemes were before I read the BY.

Hope I got a little more gas in the tank so I can continue doing what I am doing, or doing new things from the suggestions I read from others' postings.

BTW, though I don't play it, I've been told bridge is a great way to stay active mentally and to interact with others.

My 87 yr old mom totally agrees with you about Bridge

 

[Improviser]

Can you hit shuffle on your Spotify library and list the first 10 songs that come up?

The Best of Times The Busters (ska)
Scorpion Jimmy McConville (rock)
Nun Me Passa Nino Belli (Italian pop)
Can't Stop Now Vincent Igala (smooth jazz)
Carry On Izzy Burns (folk)
Lady of Rome Miko Vanilla (disco)
Poor House Traveling Wilburys (folk rock)
El Mismo Sol Extra Latino (Spanish Pop)
Hurry Up and Wait Ben Miller Band (rock jazz)
Front Porch Trained Reverend Payton(blues)

 

[MexicoHusky]

Get a small sailboat

 

[Kathy]

Retired at 61 and moved to Delaware. Miss being a season ticket holder, but am very active. Golf, kayaking, bike riding (nice snd flat down here), travel, concerts, learned how to play Mahjong, have book club. Didn't know anyone so I became active on a couple community committees and have a good core of friends. I do some of the volunteer work I never had time for before. Got back into tropical fish and just started a reef tank. Am now on the HOA Board of Directors and working on guiding the community through transition from developer control.
But yes - the days are mine to decide what to do when. Nice after 38 years of having my days determined for me.

 

[JeffConn]

Good advice! One thing I want to do is make more connections with people in our town and community. I don't like reading about loneliness and the negative effect on one's health. That's a problem I have- not enough friends. It was so easy to make friends in college - now, it takes a dedicated effort. And some friends move away. So, I hope to join clubs or groups in different activities, maybe try a book group, or switch from playing golf mainly by myself to playing regularly with a couple of other guys. And regarding traveling- next stop Scotland!

I think you'll be on a good track by seeking to make connections within your community. I suspect everyone has a different path to achieving a happy retirement by pursuing what they have a passion for.

During my working career, I changed jobs often and I had some jobs that I really loved doing, but there has not been one day during retirement that I've missed working. Some planning is important; as someone said, not just for the financial part of retirement, but what you'll be doing short-term and long-term. I've been retired for 5 years. During my first year transitional phase, I worked part-time and I enjoyed that immensely. I worked doing something completely different from my full-time work, but I did something that still took advantage of my skill set. It was nice to still have a schedule and some responsibilities, but no longer have to take the job home with you when you're done with your work day the way a career position can tax you and sap your entire being. Throughout retirement, I've done volunteer work and helped family and friends with activities that maintain my skillset. And I continually look for new volunteer activities that I might have a passion or calling for.

Once the pandemic was upon us, for family reasons, I gave up the part-time job. With extra time, I focused on working out more regularly and getting my body in better shape for things I want to do. I've pretty much been able to maintain my workout regimen for 4 years now. Enjoying the outdoors, I am an active hiker. Like when I was working full-time, I do daily hikes with our dogs. And I schedule travel to our nation's national parks to satisfy my need for adventure and thirst to meet interesting people who enjoy what they're doing. There's a lot out there to experience and see. I particularly enjoy hiking in canyons, so I regularly schedule learning, hiking adventures in the southwestern U.S. On every trip, I discover new opportunities for exploration that lead to more follow-up travel options.

Last year, when it got colder, I joined the local community center planning to use the treadmills in lieu of hiking in the cold. The staff recommended that I try pickleball. Playing pickleball is relatively easy to pick up and it helps satiate my competitive needs, but it can be an addictive sport. But most importantly, it is a very social sport. Playing regularly at scheduled times, I've made many new acquaintances and friends. Maintaining a competitive playing schedule helps me get out of the house early and regularly. And when I travel around town, I feel connected to the community often seeing playing friends at stores and restaurants.

Through playing pickleball, I've recently learned about a senior softball league, so I'm now considering trying that. It's been more than 40 years since I've played in a softball league, but that may be another avenue to develop more friendships and satisfy my still active thirst for competitive activities.

 

[huskeynut]

I retired when I was 60. My wife retired a few years later. Our first big decision was to leave CT and move to Florida. We did a lot of research before we decided to move.

We purchased a home in a 55+ community in central Florida. Best decision we ever made. So many clubs and so many activities. The community has 2 18 hole golf courses, 14 pools, 2 big amenities centers, a softball field with leagues, pickelball and tennis courts.

Took some time to sample the clubs, but 7 years later we have it figured out. I started playing my horn, trumpet, regularly and I was in 2 active bands. After a while, I cut down to one band. We play 5 gigs a year to a packed house in out ballroom. I started biking in the community and continue to bike. We both enjoy shooting and joined our gun club. Great group of people and much fun. We both joined our community's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). We are sponsored by our county fire department. CERT keeps us active. We continual train to be able to respond to local disasters such as hurricanes. Seven months ago I became the Team Leader.

My wife teaches computers and how to use software. She does class for our community university. She is a church organist and choir director for a local church.

We have a travel club that sponsors a wide variety of trips. We've done a couple of cruises, a lot of one week trips. Just finished one to St. Augustine, FL. Going to Daytona Beach next week for 5 days. September is a 10 day trip to the Badlands of the Dakotas. And then there is restaurant hoping with friends.

We also have lots of get togethers with our neighbors. At least once a week we gather with 2 or 3 other couples to sit around on the lanai, munch on food, have a couple of drinks and shoot the breeze.

Enjoy retirement. Take the time to explore. Enjoy the journey.