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!

 

[Palatine]

I retired at the end of 2016.

With my wife's permission, I drove a lap around the USA. Started in DC, went to the UConn football spring game, drove to Pittsburgh to see the Andy Warhol Museum. Headed west to KC (the only top 50 American city I had never visited). Tried the barbeque. Headed north than west across the Rockies to Yellowstone. Stopped at Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse. Went through Wyoming, drove across Nevada. Went skiing at Tahoe. Visited friends in San Fran, LA and San Diego. Across the desert to Phoenix, more friends in Albuquerque, Then Austin and across the south and then back up to DC. Took About six weeks.

The next year I walked the Appalachian Trail, just a bit ( 150 miles) until my knee gave out. Just did some stuff I wanted to try and that takes time. Now I play more golf. Take longer visits with family. I still take vacations and write so I'm in front of the computer a good bit.

Just think about things you wanted to do but couldn't because of time -- especially the big ones.

 

[HuskyHawk]

My brother and sister in law just retired. Younger than me. They had a custom Mercedes van built, it functions like a camper but is much better to actually drive. They plan to just go wherever they want to go. They have airBnBs in a few spots where their kids live. So he can deduct some of the cost of checking on the properties. Has it all figured out. Not what I would do but sharing because it’s an idea that may appeal to some.

Grech RV Luxury Sprinter RVs | Motorhomes | Camper Vans

Grech RV has brought our over 42 years of luxury coach-building experience to the market with our new motorhome models from Grech RV.

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[Edward Sargent]

I retired from a large company at 55. I started a sole proprietor consulting company cherrypicking all the good things about my old job. It was a great transition. Three years ago I sold my consulting firm and never looked back. I am 72 and healthy and like many others really enjoy retirement. My wife and I will be married 50 years this year. A couple of things I might add, One is travel. If you plan on travelling do it in your 60s and 70s as it gets a more difficult as you get into your 80s. Don't waste time and try not to get stuck in your ways. If you do something you don't like change it up. If your anatomy is affecting your physiology (ie bad hip prevents you from any exercise) get it fixed. Don't wait as it only gets harder as you age. Covid was an eye opener for us all. We lost a year or more. In your 20s or 30s a year doesn't sound so bad but at 72 its a lifetime. Congratulations on retirement, enjoy the ride

 

[Stinger92860]

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 “retired” in the spring of 23. I was (am?) completely bored, partly due to a physical issue which was recently resolved. I was hoping to work a few more years because I enjoy what I do. In the last 3 weeks I re-joined local Y, reimplemented my tennis membership, and I am going to take up golf when the weather permits. These changes have a made a difference for me quickly. I am still figuring it out, DM me if you want to discuss.

 

[SoFla Steve]

I retired 6 years ago this month, about four years sooner than I planned, because of health reasons.

• Started walking about 2 miles every weekday and worked up to 5-6 miles a day. Lost 100 lbs.
• One year into it, my old boss asked me if I'd do some work at home on the laptop each month so I work 5-10 hrs/mo and make extra money.
• Traveled to NYC for the first time in years, went to New Orleans and caught our last ever AAC basketball game, but Covid killed our trip to Ireland (still need to resched that one).
• Rediscovered my guitars and amps. I have more time for music and for the hundreds of books I collected over the years.
• Just last week I wondered aloud how I fit a full-time job into my life.
• As mentioned previously by others, day drinking is popular in retirement. I have some great places to do that here like the Walkabout Tiki . . . in January!
  

 

[AZHuskiePop]

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 wasn’t a workaholic I was a maniac . People predicted I could not survive in retirement. I also loved my job.
In my true obsessive nature I decided to play golf seriously . I took lessens got an annual pass and found a bunch of guys like me.. We played our own little tournament daily $2 Nassau.,I went from a guy would was happy to break 100 to a condistant 80‘s and occasionally 70’s dhoiter . I golfed 200 rounds a year , pretty much every weekday morning.. I did that for the first 5 years and it was an excellent transition. I also read 5-6 books a year . Lurked on the BY . We went back to Ct twice a year plus traveled a bit mostly Cabo with a couple of Europe trips . The thing is have something you can throw yourself into learning .a new skill or honing a current one. Take a class learn a new language. Stay active both mentally and physically. It been 16 years for me and I jut went for a 2-3 mile walk and posted a semi coherent message.

 

[uconnyankee]

It's not quite the same thing as pickleball. Platform tennis has it's own special court. Were you at Wamp by any chance? They still have a couple of platform tennis courts.

I belong to club in MA and play platform tennis regularly in the winter. Very different from pickle.

paddles are heavier and more gritty. Ball is like a spongy lacrosse ball. Biggest difference is you can play ball off walls in platform tennis.

Surface is heated to melt ice/snow in winter.

 

[jibsey]

Never too late to learn or take a crack at a musical instrument. Started piano (keyboards are inexpensive to start) at 50 and I like it because thinking about music gives your brain a workout. Find a really good teacher, do some research, at least to start.

 

[TheChamps990411]

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

Unless youre a wierdo like me thatll post at 4am lol!

 

[cohenzone]

Don’t think of yourself as tetired, just doing other things. I did some part time consulting but basically did a lot of travel, wrote some - had a novel published, improved my cooking and after my better half passed away I started volunteer mentoring young kids at a local school and that has been very rewarding. My golf has even improved a little but it had a way to go and moving up to the senior tees helps. Have fun with it.

 

[giddyup]

Learn something new just because - keep your mind active.

 

[jbdphi]

Congrats to you on a big milestone.

I’ve been retired for two years now at a relatively young age and agree with a lot of the wisdom shared above. One thing I’d add is that you’ll need to figure out the balance between “enjoying” retirement (ie travel, adventure, mid life crisis toys, etc) and eating into whatever nest egg you’ve created over the years. Needs to be a balance and too many folks tends to go a bit wild early and spend more than they should. Others go the completely opposite direction and don’t spend anything for fear of too much and then don’t enjoy all the free time.

As for me, I play golf 2x/week, pickleball 1x/week and baseball 1-2x/week. Keeping some sort of regular schedule has been good (ie golf on Wednesdays and Fridays, etc) so I can plan ahead. I also try to do exercise outside of sports like walking 3-4 miles a few times a week.

I didn’t see it mentioned anywhere but since I have kids still in high school, I spend a lot more time with them to get as much in as I can. I also picked up League of Legends to play with my son so we have something to have in common and bond over.

It’s been a great ride so far and I have no regrets. The absence of work stress has made life so much more pleasant.

 

[Conndog]

Never too late to learn or take a crack at a musical instrument. Started piano (keyboards are inexpensive to start) at 50 and I like it because thinking about music gives your brain a workout. Find a really good teacher, do some research, at least to start.

I played piano as a kid (well, took lessons- all my brothers and sisters took lessons for about two years and then stopped for other interests), and I always have liked piano music. Getting a keyboard is a great idea. One problem with a regular piano is that I'm self-conscious and get nervous in front of others. With a keyboard, I think you can play and hear what it sounds like through headphones & thus spare others. Would love to be able to play kind of spontaneously rather than just off sheet music- probably a good teacher could help make that happen.

 

[Conndog]

Don’t think of yourself as tetired, just doing other things. I did some part time consulting but basically did a lot of travel, wrote some - had a novel published, improved my cooking and after my better half passed away I started volunteer mentoring young kids at a local school and that has been very rewarding. My golf has even improved a little but it had a way to go and moving up to the senior tees helps. Have fun with it.

That's true, I should go up to the senior tees!

 

[Conndog]

One thing I used to do was jog, did a couple of marathons but basically just ran a 3-4 times a week and just 3 miles. When I lived in South Glastonbury in late 90s, my route was from home on Hopewell Road to ferry and back again. I stopped after knee operation 3 years ago, but my wife wants to pick up jogging, so I might begin again. When I was jogging regularly, I started keeping track of the states I lived in or visited where I jogged, had to be 3 miles, eventually I totaled 38 states. So, if I can visit and jog in the remaining 12, then I'll have visited and jogged in all 50 states.

Definitely will do a lot of reading. Yardwork is big with lots of projects which i love doing anyway. Would love to meet up with some Boneyarders too!

 

[Improviser]

Never too late to learn or take a crack at a musical instrument. Started piano (keyboards are inexpensive to start) at 50 and I like it because thinking about music gives your brain a workout. Find a really good teacher, do some research, at least to start.

Playing an instrument builds up both sides of the brain.

Playing an Instrument: Better for Your Brain than Just Listening - Penn Medicine

While research has long suggested listening to an orchestra’s performance of such well-known pieces as Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro may boost the audience’s brain power – a hypothesis aptly named The Mozart Effect—Penn Medicine experts suggest those playing in the...

www.pennmedicine.org

 

[Palatine]

Playing an instrument builds up both sides of the brain.

Playing an Instrument: Better for Your Brain than Just Listening - Penn Medicine

While research has long suggested listening to an orchestra’s performance of such well-known pieces as Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro may boost the audience’s brain power – a hypothesis aptly named The Mozart Effect—Penn Medicine experts suggest those playing in the...

www.pennmedicine.org

But it punishes everyone around you. I once lived with a woman who decided she wanted to learn to play the banjo. Think about that for a minute. I'll wait.

I must have heard the song "Amy" a thousand times, on a banjo, at varying speeds, and varying levels of competence. Think about that for a minute. My brain hasn't been right since.

 

[CL82]

My brother and sister in law just retired. Younger than me. They had a custom Mercedes van built, it functions like a camper but is much better to actually drive. They plan to just go wherever they want to go. They have airBnBs in a few spots where their kids live. So he can deduct some of the cost of checking on the properties. Has it all figured out. Not what I would do but sharing because it’s an idea that may appeal to some.

Grech RV Luxury Sprinter RVs | Motorhomes | Camper Vans

Grech RV has brought our over 42 years of luxury coach-building experience to the market with our new motorhome models from Grech RV.

grechrv.com

My wife, for whatever reason, somehow thinks that RVing would be "fun." Me? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love camping. I also like traveling and staying in a hotel. RVing seems like the worst of both to me in many ways.

My wife was low-key researching RVs. First, she was looking at class A's. I really don't want to have to deal with either driving, or storm one of those things. Second, I think her mini obsession with them will evaporate after the first trip, in which case end up eating the new vehicle depreciation on it.

I told her pick anyone you want to lease and let's go on a trip with it. Who knows? Maybe we both end up loving it, but I don't see it happening.

 

[Conndog]

But it punishes everyone around you. I once lived with a woman who decided she wanted to learn to play the banjo. Think about that for a minute. I'll wait.

I must have heard the song "Amy" a thousand times, on a banjo, at varying speeds, and varying levels of competence. Think about that for a minute. My brain hasn't been right since.

Where I work, it's even worse than the banjo woman you mention. We have someone who at company functions will often take out her accordion and play some crap song she made for the occasion. My God, she is awful!

 

[GlastonTim]

My wife, for whatever reason, somehow thinks that RVing would be "fun." Me? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love camping. I also like traveling and staying in a hotel. RVing seems like the worst of both to me in many ways.

My wife was low-key researching RVs. First, she was looking at class A's. I really don't want to have to deal with either driving, or storm one of those things. Second, I think her mini obsession with them will evaporate after the first trip, in which case end up eating the new vehicle depreciation on it.
We want to try that also. Thinking of renting one to see how we like it. Really want to rent one of those smaller ones. Have a brother in SLC, would be our starting point for a Rocky Mountain High.

I told her pick anyone you want to lease and let's go on a trip with it. Who knows? Maybe we both end up loving it, but I don't see it happening.

 

[HuskyHawk]

My wife, for whatever reason, somehow thinks that RVing would be "fun." Me? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love camping. I also like traveling and staying in a hotel. RVing seems like the worst of both to me in many ways.

My wife was low-key researching RVs. First, she was looking at class A's. I really don't want to have to deal with either driving, or storm one of those things. Second, I think her mini obsession with them will evaporate after the first trip, in which case end up eating the new vehicle depreciation on it.

I told her pick anyone you want to lease and let's go on a trip with it. Who knows? Maybe we both end up loving it, but I don't see it happening.

You can rent them. I have friends with RVs (tow behind pickup) that go camping in them. The Mercedes Sprinter van seems designed to let you just kind of go anywhere, places that aren't campgrounds for example, and still spend the night. I'd say they are pretty good for exploring scenery in out of the way places.

I don't even like most hotel beds, I end up with bad back. So I can't even fathom sleeping in an RV.

 

[CL82]

I have friends with RVs (tow behind pickup) that go camping in them.

For the record, if you're in a trailer, you're not camping.

At a soccer tournament one weekend, I heard a group of moms discussing a Girl Scout "hotel camping trip." as I walked by I shook my head and laughed and said "with those three words you just summed up everything that's wrong with Girl Scouting."

 

[Improviser]

But it punishes everyone around you. I once lived with a woman who decided she wanted to learn to play the banjo. Think about that for a minute. I'll wait.

I must have heard the song "Amy" a thousand times, on a banjo, at varying speeds, and varying levels of competence. Think about that for a minute. My brain hasn't been right since.

I hope the woman's name wasn't Amy, too.

How did it sound compared with this guy's version?

banjo version of Amy youtube - Google Search

 

[Peacefrog]

Ah, I guess I never looked closely enough. They look about the same from a casual observance. I was a member at Highfield in Middlebury.

It's not quite the same thing as pickleball. Platform tennis has its own special court. Were you at Wamp by any chance? They still have a couple of platform tennis courts.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I have 2 years to go and honestly I'm scared. I've always worked. I live alone and don't have a husband or companion to do stuff with. I feel like I'd still be too young for the senior center. I want to get a part time job and hope to meet some people that way. I used to work out a lot, but I was compulsive and did some permanent damage to my feet that limit me now. A 2 or 2-1/2 mile walk is about all I can handle though I can still lift weights, etc. I don't think I'll have too much to worry about financially (I hope) but you all are doing so much stuff I'm not sure I can afford. I have a financial planner, who like me, plays it close to the vest. I'm scared I'll sink further into a depression and that'll be it for me.