Do you just "bum around town" as a retired person?

[Gumby]

I go to Walmart occasionally. I go there to buy things, not for the social environment or to improve my station in the societal pecking order. So, I am not bothered by people--young or old, rich or poor--who take their time with their shopping, or if they are just looking at the stuff on the shelves.

Same here. In fact, I usually don't even notice the other shoppers, unless they are standing in front of the thing I want to buy.

 

[kcowan]

He's a young man, 62 to my 68 years old. So maybe they just seemed like the walking dead to him. I thought it was a good example of how people can be old AND happy AND not lonely, but I think to him they were just one step from the grave.

Our ROMEO Group walks 3x a week: 10,000 steps and breakfast. Mostly we meet dog-walkers and jogging tourists. We pick a new restaurant each day (because 10k steps gives us lots of range) and are often the first people in the restaurant.

(Often our crowd gets other patrons to try the restaurant. The good-looking babes are all in Pilates or yoga classes.)

 

[W2R]

Our ROMEO Group walks 3x a week: 10,000 steps and breakfast. Mostly we meet dog-walkers and jogging tourists. We pick a new restaurant each day (because 10k steps gives us lots of range) and are often the first people in the restaurant.

(Often our crowd gets other patrons to try the restaurant. The good-looking babes are all in Pilates or yoga classes.)

Sounds like a terrific group! I am in awe of your 10K steps, too. I suspect the men in the ROMEO group we saw was about 20 years older than those in your group.

 

[PawPrint53]

Congratulations on that one! That is a killer hill. I live on Capitol Hill but the hills over here are only Queen Anne caliber coming up the east side. And though steep, they are not so long as Queen Anne Avenue coming up from Mercer..

Ha

One Saturday, my DH and I decided to walk from Ballard across the locks to Magnolia, then up the north side of Queen Anne (scary dirt trail with homeless encampments) and down the other side to Westlake, then up Capitol Hill at Denny (stopped at Monsoon for dim sum), down through the Arboreteum, through U District to Ravenna Park, then to Green Lake, and up 73rd to Phinney Ridge (Ridge Pizza) and back down to Ballard. A little over 23 miles. Best part? Frequent food and coffee stops. Gotta keep the energy up!

 

[ponyboy]

Another reason why its so important to find a balance in your life.

No one should have to put off life experiences because of work. We work to live...not live to work. I realized that when I was around 28...after seeing so many layoffs and surviving each one...the bottom line is if you work for a company you are just a number that can be replaced in a very short amount of time.

 

[Bestwifeever]

One Saturday, my DH and I decided to walk from Ballard across the locks to Magnolia, then up the north side of Queen Anne (scary dirt trail with homeless encampments) and down the other side to Westlake, then up Capitol Hill at Denny (stopped at Monsoon for dim sum), down through the Arboreteum, through U District to Ravenna Park, then to Green Lake, and up 73rd to Phinney Ridge (Ridge Pizza) and back down to Ballard. A little over 23 miles. Best part? Frequent food and coffee stops. Gotta keep the energy up!

Holy moly that's a lot of walking! I am most impressed! Do you get blisters?

 

[Ready]

Am I the only one who likes to bum around the Costco stores for the free samples?


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[2017ish]

I rarely go to Walmart but occasionally have to make a visit (e.g., to pick up an item for an elderly or disabled relative that they know is sold at Walmart). And with the exception of a couple of stores in the wealthiest part of the city (which are also the greatest distance from my house), many of the customers are weird and/or scary.

I don't remember seeing older guys wandering the aisles at Walmart but I have recently noticed this at grocery stores that I frequent. Slightly disheveled men in their 50's slowing pushing a shopping cart and sometimes putting items back on the shelf. .....

Hmmm--you sure you aren't in Nashville area? I tend to go to WMT after work at 7-9 pm. Thus, I am either in full suit/tie, or in my sweaty running clothes. I suspect I'd fit into the "weird and/or scary" and "[-]slightly[/-] [extremely] disheveled" category in the latter instance!

 

[aja8888]

I think he just didn't find a bunch of 80+ year old guys to be as cute and pleasant to be around, as I thought they were.

There are younger ROMEO groups that just stop for coffee and then do planned things for the day. At ours, F would be in the middle of the pack, age-wise.

Staying active and having friends is important to many retirees. One loses a sense of who you were "before" retirement and that loss can cause health/emotional problems if it is not addressed. This ROMEO stuff has worked for me during the last year that I have been retired.

I'll have to agree that it is not for everyone.

 

[aja8888]

Am I the only one who likes to bum around the Costco stores for the free samples?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

No, occasionally I drift in to sample the latest goodies and maybe make a purchase or two.

 

[haha]

One Saturday, my DH and I decided to walk from Ballard across the locks to Magnolia, then up the north side of Queen Anne (scary dirt trail with homeless encampments) and down the other side to Westlake, then up Capitol Hill at Denny (stopped at Monsoon for dim sum), down through the Arboreteum, through U District to Ravenna Park, then to Green Lake, and up 73rd to Phinney Ridge (Ridge Pizza) and back down to Ballard. A little over 23 miles. Best part? Frequent food and coffee stops. Gotta keep the energy up!

That is a huge walk! And lots of hills. Do you have fitbit or something that measures floors or other elevation gained? If so, please tell us.

Ha

 

[sengsational]

Back on the topic of WalMart wondering... I'd like to avoid it. I've got much better things to do and generally don't like to shop (for more, see the thread on irrational frugality).

WalMart has been plugging free at-store pick-up (grocery.walmart.com), which really appeals to me....never have to even walk in and see the WalMartians!

For a group houseboat trip, my sister made a very specific (non perishable) list, and I was the designated shopper for it. I realized (only afterwards) when poking around on the walmart site that I could have got that done with a lot less head scratching if I'd done it online (where I have search capability), rather than wander around doing something I don't know how to do, since I never do it (finding the locations of things in a grocery store). If you sign-up, they give you $10 off your first order. I HAD to do that, just to get the $10 credit

Bottom line is that I'd do just about anything to AVOID bumming around a place that is primarily there for shopping.

 

[travelover]

Once a week I make a tour of a working class town near me and pop into various stores to see what I can find in their bargain bins. The final stop is a metal recycler where I've scored a lot of nice raw materials (aluminum / stainless steel) to do projects like bike / kayak racks, modifications for my camper, etc. Today someone had dumped boxes of new stainless metric fasteners. I scored a lifetime supply of ny-lock stainless metric nuts. The owner gave them to me for free.

I'm easily pleased and amused.

 

[jim584672]

At Walmart today I saw a guy being taken outside by cops in handcuffs. Walmart doesn't disappoint when it comes to weird.

 

[athena53]

At Walmart today I saw a guy being taken outside by cops in handcuffs. Walmart doesn't disappoint when it comes to weird.

According to our local freebie paper, the police reports show at least one call to Wal-Mart daily, with an arrest for either shoplifting or theft by deception.

 

[Helena]

.

I seem to know more about the local Kohl's store than the clerks.