Recently retired and ready for new adventures.

Diane8

Diane8

New Member
Hello everyone
This is my first post. I have retired this week after 41 years working. At first I thought I was too young to retire but as 60 approached I realised I no-longer enjoyed working and because I was financially able to retire I decided it was time to call it a day. There are only so many "strategy" meetings I eagerly wanted to miss, so I did!
I love the outdoors and being out with my dog, I am creative and very health conscious, although I am partial to a wine (or 2). I live in a pretty village and enjoy village life.

So how did anyone else find their first few weeks of retirement - does it take a lot of adjustment?
 

I retired in 2013! We had planned on retiring in 2016, but my employer moved out of the area I live in, and I did not want to relocate, so I took early retirement at 63. I had enough money saved to retire early, and I was able to put off starting my Social Security until I reached 66.

I am a person who has always had a lot of things I wanted to do, most of which, I have done some of, during my life, but never had ample time to do it as well as I wanted. Let me name a few on that list...learn to play a banjo, improve how I play a guitar, travel with my wife to the many international countries I have traveled to for business purposes (e.g., Japan, China, England, Sweden, Germany, France, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, etc.), Remodel our upstairs, put in a lap pool, Run our Golden Retrievers in Field Trials, start oil painting again, build a model wooden sailing ship for our mantel...

Having this list has kept me from day one busy! That's a good thing. During the first year or so I focused on home and getting myself going on guitar and banjo, as that is very relaxing and has gone well. I also did much of the upstairs, but when Covid hit, we had to stop. During the major Covid all I really had was my music and started oil painting as I had the supplies stored away. We did run our youngest Golden in some hunt tests and will run him more this Spring to get his MH title. I am still painting, but the travel has to wait until the airlines and Europe get opened up more. That may take a long while...

My wife participates in much of this, but she has her own passions also. She is an avid gardener and cook! She is amazing at both...unfortunately, she is also a professional shopper, if you know what I mean? After over 52 years, she hasn't broken the bank yet...

So bottom line is having a long list of things you love to do is a good plan. Have your finances set with budget in hand? I like it so I spend minimal time managing finances, but still know what I have and no worries about it. That takes some time to get to this point. Getting new appliances, or a pool right now with the shortages and logistics issues makes this impossible to do well. So we put that all off until later this year...we hope.

Good luck
 

Silent Rose said:
Welcome, I just joined the other day although I am not retired yet. I just recently turned 50 in February so I still have some time in the working world.

Enjoying yourself here.
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Hi Rose...thanks for the welcome...I see you are near Baltimore! Many years ago I was in the area on business and an associate took me to dinner at a local pub. Their I had my first soft shelled crab sandwich! I became addicted right away. I live in the middle of the country, and we cannot get good crab here, but when I get to the east coast, I always search out those wonderful little crabs. Found memories of your city they are...not to mention the great history and museums... in the area!
 
Welcome Diane and congrats on retirement!

Diane8 said:
So how did anyone else find their first few weeks of retirement - does it take a lot of adjustment?
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Mine has been a bit different, I am a consulting engineer and I began my retirement about 5 years ago. Slowly cutting back on clients and accepting new assignments. At this point I am about 90% retired but still finishing up a couple of small things.

For me it has taken a little adjustment, but not a lot. It is new to have free time with fewer obligations. New but nice, I am sure you will adjust.

Hope to be hearing more from and about you!
 
Timewise 60+ said:
Hi Rose...thanks for the welcome...I see you are near Baltimore! Many years ago I was in the area on business and an associate took me to dinner at a local pub. Their I had my first soft shelled crab sandwich! I became addicted right away. I live in the middle of the country, and we cannot get good crab here, but when I get to the east coast, I always search out those wonderful little crabs. Found memories of your city they are...not to mention the great history and museums... in the area!
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Crabs, Soft Shell Crabs, Crab Cakes are a delicacy here. That is for sure. I have lived in the State of Maryland all of my life growing up in Ellicott City and now living in a Northern Part of Baltimore City. I have actually loved living here because it has a bit of everything. Of course it has the Inner Harbor area, but really not that far of a drive away is the Mountains in Western Maryland and then there is the Beach on the Eastern part of the State.

Oh by the way, my name is Molly. My middle name is actually Rose. :)
 
I takes a little time, but you will find a natural daily and weekly schedule that will fit you just fine. Time to enjoy yourself and time to get those pesky chores done. One nice thing is that there is no hurry. Not feeling rushed was the hardest adjustment for me. That 'hurry up I've got to get things done before or after work' feeling. But I adjusted after awhile.
You'll love it here. Welcome !
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Diane8 said:
Hello everyone
This is my first post. I have retired this week after 41 years working. At first I thought I was too young to retire but as 60 approached I realised I no-longer enjoyed working and because I was financially able to retire I decided it was time to call it a day. There are only so many "strategy" meetings I eagerly wanted to miss, so I did!
I love the outdoors and being out with my dog, I am creative and very health conscious, although I am partial to a wine (or 2). I live in a pretty village and enjoy village life.

So how did anyone else find their first few weeks of retirement - does it take a lot of adjustment?
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Diane8, remember that lousy job you just wanted to ditch, well, you're going to miss it. And you are going to miss the people, who gave you so much aggravation. You are going to miss the routine of going to work. You are going to be bored to death, It's going to take you a while to get use to being your own boss. Somebody else has been making your time schedule. You , now, make your own schedule. You fill your days. It's going to take some time for that to sink it. Then you'll wonder why you don't have enough time.
 
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I retired at 62... 4 years ago.....
 
Diane8 said:
Hello everyone
This is my first post. I have retired this week after 41 years working. At first I thought I was too young to retire but as 60 approached I realised I no-longer enjoyed working and because I was financially able to retire I decided it was time to call it a day. There are only so many "strategy" meetings I eagerly wanted to miss, so I did!
I love the outdoors and being out with my dog, I am creative and very health conscious, although I am partial to a wine (or 2). I live in a pretty village and enjoy village life.

So how did anyone else find their first few weeks of retirement - does it take a lot of adjustment?
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Welcome, Diane8. :)
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Retirement was the best career move that I ever made. I had always planned to retire at 56 not 65 and that's what I did. Mrs. L is a couple of years younger. We found it strange being able to set our own agenda - get up when we wanted, go where and when we wanted. The drop in income meant being a tad more careful with the finances, but it worked out OK.

Initially we thought we might need things to keep us occupied, but we soon found we were busier than ever (until Covid spoiled it).
 
Welcome to the group, I hope you will enjoy your time here. DH retired at 67, he is 84 today. He has never asked me what to do as many friends said their husbands do. He has enjoyed retirement, he has puttered in house and yard, read more books than he ever dreamed he would have time for. He has slowed down a lot over the past 2 or 3 years but still enjoys his retirement.
 
@Diane8 welcome to this forum and congratulations on your recent retirement. I am semi-retired (I work on a contract basis but will be stopping that soon). I adore not being accountable to anyone, not having to sit through umpteen meetings every day, not feeling like I was even remotely caught up on my work, not being able to take a vacation....and the list goes on.

For many of us, work is part of our identity so letting go of it takes some adjusting. This is a time in life when you get to know yourself and you get to do it in your own way, on your own timeline. Embrace it, enjoy it, encourage new things to come into your life.
 
Diane8 said:
Hello everyone
This is my first post. I have retired this week after 41 years working. At first I thought I was too young to retire but as 60 approached I realised I no-longer enjoyed working and because I was financially able to retire I decided it was time to call it a day. There are only so many "strategy" meetings I eagerly wanted to miss, so I did!
I love the outdoors and being out with my dog, I am creative and very health conscious, although I am partial to a wine (or 2). I live in a pretty village and enjoy village life.

So how did anyone else find their first few weeks of retirement - does it take a lot of adjustment?
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You are very lucky with your life! I spent 4 years taking care of my husband with dementia. I gave up one full time job for another as he had to be supervised according to his doctor. I also forgot about my own health and am now paying for it. My husband died of COVID in 2020. I am left with little of a life since I can no longer drive and am a total shut in! I have to have nearly everything done for me. :(
 
chic said:
Welcome. I hope to live long enough to retire but I don't think I ever will. šŸ¤—
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I remember feeling that way, especially on Mondays! Trust me, it will sneak up on you. Life happens and one day someone will ask you if you are about ready to retire. It may shock you and over the next few days you will realize that not only are you going to 'make it' but it is almost time. Prepare, mind, body, and spirit now (including finances) and you will be there before you know it! Like High School, it all goes by to quickly...
 
One day, I was returning from a meeting in the English midlands and at one point the road passed over a canal. I glanced across, and there coming up the canal was a longboat with a man at the tiller and smoke drifting from the chimney. It all looked so ideal and I thought to myself, what the **** am I doing here. I enjoyed my work, but retirement is so much better.
 
Timewise 60+ said:
I remember feeling that way, especially on Mondays! Trust me, it will sneak up on you. Life happens and one day someone will ask you if you are about ready to retire. It may shock you and over the next few days you will realize that not only are you going to 'make it' but it is almost time. Prepare, mind, body, and spirit now (including finances) and you will be there before you know it! Like High School, it all goes by to quickly...
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Financially, I cannot afford to retire so that makes it a non issue for me. ā˜ŗļø
 
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