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Old 11-08-2016, 05:35 AM   #41
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I never thought I would want to retire/semi-retire early, but circumstances with the economy forced the issue a little. Now I am glad we did it.

Not bored. Not unhappy. Not in the least.

Have had days with a few hours "left over", but have found it a good time to read a novel.
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Old 11-08-2016, 05:36 AM   #42
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Nearly ten years out of the daily grind, realize that w*rk defeinitely and rudely interfered with enjoying life and hobbies. I have yet to find a downside to retirement, with the exception that I know it will end, and not ny going back to w*rk.
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Old 11-08-2016, 06:14 AM   #43
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For me there haven't been any big downsides yet (1.5 years in). My wife stopped working a decade ago and found that she missed the the positive reinforcement of doing a job well - compliments, raises, bonuses, etc. For me that stuff was nice but not something that feels like a loss but then she is a lot more social/extroverted than I am so maybe that is a difference.
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Old 11-08-2016, 06:21 AM   #44
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The only downside of retirement for me is the increased chance of injury or accident. I was rarely in danger sitting at my desk at work. But hobbies and travel introduce situations where I could easily hurt myself.
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Old 11-08-2016, 07:18 AM   #45
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But, once you’re fully settled in, retirement can be a scary proposition. Fact is, you’ve closed out a major chapter of your life. And the next one is entirely up to you. Nobody else can take on that responsibility. Meanwhile, the final chapter, just over the hill, doesn’t look like much fun….
I think this is the heart of the article's subject, he doesn't like what he sees "over the hill". I am not sure how old he is, but I would *guess* that there might be some "mid-life crisis" working here. Statistically speaking, I am around the 1/2 way point of my life and while I do think about my mortality, I also know there isn't too much I can do about it and worrying about sure doesn't do any good.

For me, retirement has been all I thought it would be and even more. There is one thing that is a little scary though...and that is how FAST time seems to go by. Before, life went by pretty quick...but now...there is NO slowing it down. I am not sure why this is, exactly. Sometimes I wonder if time would not move so fast if I was still w*rking and that is somewhat of conundrum. I *do* know that if this was also the case when I was 60+ years old, then I am glad I retired when I did.
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Old 11-08-2016, 07:22 AM   #46
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Sometimes I wonder if time would not move so fast if I was still w*rking...
It would move at exactly the same speed, but it would seem to go much, much slower. Especially on your commute to work each day...
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Old 11-08-2016, 07:27 AM   #47
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It would move at exactly the same speed, but it would seem to go much, much slower. Especially on your commute to work each day...
Yeah, so I think I will stick with the "seems" faster speed!

Here is a somewhat interesting article that I came across in another forum. I think it does a decent job of "reminding" folks about happiness.

6 Reasons Why You’re Not Happy
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Old 11-08-2016, 08:32 AM   #48
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So, if you don't think there is any downside to early retirement or you think people who have trouble adjusting are flawed, stupid or otherwise worthy of snarky comments
I think there's an element of confirmation bias. How many people are going to admit, even under an assumed name, that they reached a goal that has been almost a singular focus for years, and it turns out that it's not all it's cracked up to be?

For me it's very much like that article. There are many moments when I am so thankful, and I certainly would not want to go back, but it's not nirvana. It's another stage of life that requires work to build.
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Old 11-08-2016, 08:51 AM   #49
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I think there's an element of confirmation bias. How many people are going to admit, even under an assumed name, that they reached a goal that has been almost a singular focus for years, and it turns out that it's not all it's cracked up to be?
For me, when I see young people hitting the happy hours downtown after work, especially on Friday, I wish I were one of them. But I think that is mostly age. As far as purpose, I have purpose outside of work, mostly in family and right living, courtesy, treating people right.

I do think that misshathaway is right, most people do not enjoy cognitive dissonance, and there would be peck of cognitive dissonance if you scrimped to save or forewent having children in in order to retire early, and then it wasn't as cool as you had assumed.

Bog Dylan was right, the answer is blowin'in the wind. Much of what we do and believe is social fashion though we usually do not realize this.

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Old 11-08-2016, 09:41 AM   #50
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I think the article was right on target. Even forewarned, I experienced cognitive dissonance when having nearly 100% free time wasn't as great as I thought it might be.

Any change, even "positive" ones, are stressful. Getting married, moving to a "better" house, etc. So having free time is great, but introduces the "good problem" of having a wider variety of activities to select from. That might just be a bit stressful for some people. For me, more early in retirement than now, but unlike some of the lucky ones here, I can at times identify with the article content.
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Old 11-08-2016, 10:03 AM   #51
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For me, when I see young people hitting the happy hours downtown after work, especially on Friday, I wish I were one of them.
You know, in my entire life I have never seen people of any age "hitting the happy hours" after work. Not that there is anything wrong with that! We just live in such very, very different worlds.
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Old 11-08-2016, 10:25 AM   #52
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For me, when I see young people hitting the happy hours downtown after work, especially on Friday, I wish I were one of them. But I think that is mostly age. As far as purpose, I have purpose outside of work, mostly in family and right living, courtesy, treating people right.
Just curious why you don't go to the happy hours? We do that sometimes, especially combined with Taco Tuesdays around here. In our area many restaurants have $3 - $4 Margarita specials and $1 - $2 tacos, so it is a cheap night out.
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Old 11-08-2016, 10:45 AM   #53
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Just curious why you don't go to the happy hours? We do that sometimes, especially combined with Taco Tuesdays around here. In our area many restaurants have $3 - $4 Margarita specials and $1 - $2 tacos, so it is a cheap night out.
I do go, for sure. Maybe it's all the young women, not just the happy hours that makes me feel nostalgic.

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Old 11-08-2016, 11:02 AM   #54
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Not saying that this applies to most folks here, but there's been another recent thread where someone with 10s of millions net worth in his 40s and had been retired for 2 years and was a bit unhappy/depressed.

Darrow Kirkpatrick's blog post addresses some issues and concerns that some folks have with regard to retirement.

The Downside of Retirement - Can I Retire Yet?

omni
Had to chuckle in reading Darrow's post:

Quote:
At 3:00 am in the morning my wife tearfully packed boxes in the living room, while I drove 30-gallon garbage bags to the dumpster at the nearby convenience store.
Contrasted with his bio statement of:
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Early retirement has been good, in general. I reached my goal of financial independence after years of frugality and hard work.
Mmmhmm....nothing like stealing from others to reach ER, with however much money he had. Perhaps he writes another blog with a reference to an "emotional" anniversary dinner at a steakhouse, and making a side comment about leaving no tip for the waitstaff?

And funny how people claim to "not being able to find meaning in retirement" when they are free to do whatever in the hell they want....then resort to blogging about finding meaning Kind of like a 10 year old child complaining they are bored out of their minds during summer vacation, then making hours and hours of YouTube video commentary about how they are utterly bored out of their minds with nothing to do!
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Old 11-08-2016, 11:07 AM   #55
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Retirement has made me realize the ride is coming to an end, and that doesn't create happiness as I realize every wasted day is gone forever and 1 more step toward the final destination. A real annoyance is there are some things out of my control that will waste away various amounts of days.

I do appreciate NOT shopping on weekends, renting redbox movies during the week, eating lunch at the restaurant at 1:30 (no crowd), and probably most satisfying is realizing that "I made it" and all those worries when younger are gone.
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I think there's an element of confirmation bias. How many people are going to admit, even under an assumed name, that they reached a goal that has been almost a singular focus for years, and it turns out that it's not all it's cracked up to be?

For me it's very much like that article. There are many moments when I am so thankful, and I certainly would not want to go back, but it's not nirvana. It's another stage of life that requires work to build.

Sunset and misshathaway, your posts reflect very closely what I'm experiencing. I'm only 8+ months into it, and I have no desire to return to the workforce, but I do feel as though it is an adjustment period. I shouldn't expect it to always feel like the afternoon school lets out for the summer. It does feel that way sometimes, though.
DW will retire March 1, 2017, and I'm more excited about it than she is. I think this at least partly because I'm farther down that road of adjustment, and she sees it looming ahead. Or she is just focused on all of the crap she has to get done before March 1.
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Old 11-08-2016, 11:19 AM   #56
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You know, in my entire life I have never seen people of any age "hitting the happy hours" after work. Not that there is anything wrong with that! We just live in such very, very different worlds.
Indeed we do. We sometimes stay at our condo in downtown Toronto, within a few hundred yards of the main financial district. On occasion I am there around 5pm and I must admit, miss the excitement sometimes. The hustle and bustle, meeting people for drinks or dinner. Rushing off somewhere. Not enough to want to go back to work, of course, but still.

My working life wasn't all terrible and my retired life not all perfection. Still on balance I like retirement a lot better than working. Points of view are filtered here as it is,after all, an early retirement site.
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Old 11-08-2016, 11:26 AM   #57
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I do go, for sure. Maybe it's all the young women, not just the happy hours that makes me feel nostalgic.

Ha
Good to hear. DH had a long commute and we had kids with soccer practice and other activities after school so for us being able to go to happy hours again is a lot of fun. Sometimes we go to events in the city where we'll be the oldest people there and the only ones not wearing skinny jeans and hoodies but we don't care.
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Old 11-08-2016, 11:57 AM   #58
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Good to hear. DH had a long commute and we had kids with soccer practice and other activities after school so for us being able to go to happy hours again is a lot of fun. Sometimes we go to events in the city where we'll be the oldest people there and the only ones not wearing skinny jeans and hoodies but we don't care.
Yes, it is fun. Glad to hear that you also enjoy this experience. I went before I got a girlfriend, and we go together now. We especially like oyster bars. We know the bartenders at places we like, and thoroughly like the experience.

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Old 11-08-2016, 12:12 PM   #59
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We do the happy hour thing too because drinks and food so cheap. Never did it when working. First I had kids to go to and then I was tired after work.
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Old 11-08-2016, 12:23 PM   #60
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11 years in now and the only time I entertained the thought that ER had been a "mistake" was 20 months after when Megacorp offered a generous package. Dang! I missed it. I quickly talked myself out of it because I recalled why I pulled the plug when I did and also about the travail my former w*rk mates went through during that 20 months. Many folks were forced to play "musical chairs" with their positions (applying for their own positions or applying for the remaining positions that had not been deleted.) Those who found positions had to move 50 or 100 miles (or commute) once the dust had settled.

While I agree with folks who suggest retirement isn't everything, it certainly beats w*rking for me. I still get a thrill for folks I know as they anticipate their own retirements. Go figure! Naturally, YMMV.
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