High Maintenance Hobbies?

[griffithee]

A good buddy once told me this: "Want to know what it's like to own a sailboat? Just jump in the shower fully clothed, turn the faucet on full blast cold, and start ripping up $100 bills!"

So yea, I don't own a sailboat...

Want one? I got one for sale. And it is in Hawaii right next to Pearl Harbor. I'll make you a great deal...

 

[Ronstar]

Woodworking and photography are my high maintenance hobbies. To maintain variety, there are always new and different avenues to take within a hobby. So there is always more tools and camera equipment to acquire. And these hobbies are time consuming- I usually spend more than 40 hours a week on woodworking and photography related stuff.

 

[O2Bfree]

I expect to deepen my study of mind and strengthen my samadhi addiction by devoting more time to Zen practice. Since my vacation time is limited while working, I've been doing only a couple week-long retreats a year. A week can give you a good snoot full of samadhi, but it's difficult to deepen in such a short time and very difficult to maintain while working.

 

[FreeBear]

Woodworking and photography are my high maintenance hobbies. To maintain variety, there are always new and different avenues to take within a hobby. So there is always more tools and camera equipment to acquire. And these hobbies are time consuming- I usually spend more than 40 hours a week on woodworking and photography related stuff.

Wow! How long have you been keeping up this pace?

My music and photography would probably take up 25 hours/week when working, but the hours have dropped since I've retired. Also, I've been doing photo since high school, on and off. Got into bird photo several years ago and it was a burning obsession. The last 2 years, I often keep my photo bag at my w*rk desk and shot at a local park afterwards. Now in my third year of retirement, I haven't done any serious photo since April.

As others have commented, I sometimes think my passion for my hobbies has waned in retirement. On the other hand, perhaps I am having the same amount of "fun" as when w*rking, but it doesn't have to be crammed into the 8 pm to 2 am (!) time slot. I am no longer perpetually exhausted from digital printing to 2 am or staying out late to kayak by moonlight. Most days, I would drag into w*rk a zombie and hunch over my desk to recover for the first few hours. I hate early meetings first thing in the morning...

 

[audreyh1]

We also enjoy birds and bird photography. The equipment for bird photo can be very expensive, but we bought used pro-level gear while still w*rking and it still is good enough years later. Our camera bodies are rather dated but the progress in image quality has slowed, so we can get more years out of each generation. We are still using old software on old computers, but the combination is good enough for us.

This spring we spent almost a month chasing warblers on the Gulf coast and Great Lakes. Nothing like a storm to bring bird fallout, where these colorful little birds seem to flit about in every tree and shrub.

The photography aspect to birding forces us to move more slowly, even more slowly than a typical birder. Photography requires even more patience and the right conditions of flattering light and very close proximity, even with larger lenses. On the other hand, it's rewarding to work on our pictures and confirm or correct our field ID's. We also notice behavior and subtle visual details that aren't obvious in the field, real time.

Half of our vacation time typically involves bird photography. Like others have mentioned, we plan trips very carefully, both for birding potential as well as comfortable lodging and excellent food. We could never do trips like this when w*rking!

Oh this was definitely us the first few years in retirement! We still have the huge lenses from 1999 and they work great with the latest camera bodies.

DH transitioned to butterflies, so he rarely has to carry around the humongous gear. Just occasionally when he finds something really worthwhile. Also - he has started doing more wildlife video. Me, I do landscapes now, and enjoy our Europe visits with landscapes and old buildings.

We live not far from a good coast migration area, so occasionally we'll go. But there are so many photographers competing for the tiny birds that it's not that fun anymore.

 

[Music Lover]

I do admire those in regular bands, but I fear the emotional overhead would be too much w*rk for me.

It can be hard...a lot of musicians seem to lack certain "social skills"

I'm fortunate to be in 3 bands that all have good people, but I had to endure 30 or so auditions (no exaggeration) to find the right bands. I spent a lot of time learning entire 40 - 50 song set lists only to quit after a couple months...that's where the high maintenance part comes in. Although, to be fair, I do believe that it's never really a waste of time to learn a lot of songs.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow! How long have you been keeping up this pace?

My music and photography would probably take up 25 hours/week when working, but the hours have dropped since I've retired. Also, I've been doing photo since high school, on and off. Got into bird photo several years ago and it was a burning obsession. The last 2 years, I often keep my photo bag at my w*rk desk and shot at a local park afterwards. Now in my third year of retirement, I haven't done any serious photo since April.

As others have commented, I sometimes think my passion for my hobbies has waned in retirement. On the other hand, perhaps I am having the same amount of "fun" as when w*rking, but it doesn't have to be crammed into the 8 pm to 2 am (!) time slot. I am no longer perpetually exhausted from digital printing to 2 am or staying out late to kayak by moonlight. Most days, I would drag into w*rk a zombie and hunch over my desk to recover for the first few hours. I hate early meetings first thing in the morning...

I usually keep a torrid woodworking pace from April 1 through Jan 1. Some days 7 am to 5 pm. Some days only 4 or 5 hours. Exceptions are when we are on trips or when I'm doing house / yard projects. But most of my house projects are woodworking related. Photography is year round - usually do landscape photo sessions in early am or late afternoon (ties in nicely with hiking hobby) , with a lot of post processing and research time.

 

[ChiliPepr]

Beekeeping. I have 9 hives and it is an insult to the bees and my pride that they be managed at anything less than extremely well. It can be quite time consuming. Money-wise, I am at the stage where the hobby is cash flow positive via the sale of honey and nucs, but only if I value my time at zero.

I have just purchased two hives, they are currently sitting in my garage waiting to be painted and moved into the yard. Will be moving the little ladies in next spring. The hive will be in Maine so it is not the longest season.

I am trying to decide if I should use a 3 pound box or a nuc to start them off, any thoughts?

Shooting/reloading/bullet casting is proving to be fairly high maintenance. My vision is poor enough that I will never be a competitive shooter, but put virtually any firearm in my hands and I can be a competent shot. Will probably look for a cheap muzzleloader after the season is over locally so I can fool with that. Actual hunting with it would probably see me bringing a fire extinguisher along, as I have seen multiple small grass fires started at the range by guys sighting in their smokepoles.

I have done a lot of shooting (I have a 75 yard range in the back yard) Spent several years reloading when I was shooting pistols competitively, but never tried casting my own. I now shoot rifles more and use factory ammo.

My other hobby that takes time is karate. I have been studying for 19 years and am starting to teach more regularly. I need to train just to keep skilled, and a few steps ahead of the students.

 

[brewer12345]

I have just purchased two hives, they are currently sitting in my garage waiting to be painted and moved into the yard. Will be moving the little ladies in next spring. The hive will be in Maine so it is not the longest season.

I am trying to decide if I should use a 3 pound box or a nuc to start them off, any thoughts?

Either one will work, either option can fizzle for reasons ranging from the obvious to the completely mystifying. The absolute best option would be if you could find nucs from a local beek who is known to be a high quality producer of bees. That way they are hopefully acclimated to your climate, good quality, and ready to build up a nice colony at the get go. The challenge (at least in my area) is that the commercial beeks are struggling vs. heavy losses every year and the amateur ranks keep increasing. This means supply struggles to keep up with demand and prices spiral upward. I would suggest that you figure out who you are going to buy from and be one of the first customers in line to order your bees. The best suppliers here sell out by February at the latest.

 

[Starsky]

I've also played around with Bandhub, an online music collaboration site. It helped identify my strengths and weaknesses, and I did grow a bit as a musician. Still, I never managed to get help on own projects, so I mainly w*rk on others' project, for free.

This year, I started writing and recording my own songs, solo, at home. As an introvert, sometimes a very strong introvert, I greatly enjoy this. No emotional overhead dealing with the other people to carry out my plan. I enjoy the music itself. Also I write Christian music, so it serves as a regular part of my devotion.

I have several friends who do a lot of online collaboration. For example, my incredibly talented drummer friend (and pool cleaner) has found folks online who he composes and records with. (He loves progressive rock) They like to play different composition games and they trade files back and forth for working in their respective DAWs. It's collaborative, but also individual, in that each person works alone on their parts. AFAIK none of the people he works with have ever met face to face. I would try it, except that I have enough musician friends to collaborate with locally.

There is definitely a fraternity of musicians. Wherever I have travelled - all over the world - if someone knows you are a musician, they hook you up with other musicians. This has been happening since I was an exchange student in High School. It happens on vacations, when living abroad, on visits, and even on business. The photo below is me busking in Tokyo on a business trip several years ago with a non-English speaking colleague - my singing sucks. We had some time to kill. It never fails. Talent is secondary, the love for music is everything. Music is the universal language. (We were singing the Beatles)

It's not always possible, but it's always great to work with better players who you look up to. I'd much rather stretch than have to pull others along. Even when I was playing regularly in a band, I would look for small side gigs playing in the orchestra for a musical, subbing for other players, and doing showcases - the type of music didn't matter. Most of the time I felt way out of place, but my skills were always welcomed. Pushing my comfort zone has made me a much better musician and band member.

P.S. Part of the fun of the musical journey is in listening to others and gaining inspiration from them. It's easy to get stuck in a creative rut and I greatly appreciate other people's musical ideas, that I haven't discovered yet. I find that with the right people, my songs are no longer "my idea", they are "our ideas" and I greatly value their unique musical expression, as it is way beyond my ability to improve upon what they do. The trick is to be able to communicate the vibe you are looking for and get the players to find their voice within that musical framework. (It's probably why 'Kind of Blue' is my favorite album of all time.)

 

[Milton]

Perspective

Take golf, for instance, ten years ago I was ready to give up the game because I was only playing 8-10 times per year and couldn't break 80 because the skills couldn't be kept up. Golf is just a lot more fun for me if I'm shooting 75 than if I'm shooting 85.

Dial back your expectations, and you'll be a happier person. It's just a pastime, not worth worrying about ..

 

[pullin]

My biggest hobby expense is my boat. Small cabin cruiser but fairly complex to maintain (engine, generator, A/C, water system & water heater, flush toilet and shower, stove, fridgeetc. etc.)

I kept accurate records last year of all costs: slip rental, maintenance, fuel, taxes, insurance and upgrades. I divided this by the year's engine hours to come up with an accurate cost-per-hour of using my boat. Once I looked at the number, I deleted all the files and burned all my notes -- I never want to see THAT again.

We've had a couple of planes in the past (Cherokee, then Arrow). I still fly some, but I don't ever want another airplane. Airplanes are a good way to end up with a small fortune -- assuming you started with a large one.

When my friends ask, I tell them the best way to get your wife to agree to an expensive boat, is to buy an airplane. After a few years paying of that, she'll be thrilled to "only" pay for a cabin cruiser.

I guess our RV (Travel Trailer) is kinda costly. But it doesn't cost very much when we're not using it - just storage.

 

[Souschef]

My biggest hobby expense is my boat. Small cabin cruiser but fairly complex to maintain (engine, generator, A/C, water system & water heater, flush toilet and shower, stove, fridgeetc. etc.)

I kept accurate records last year of all costs: slip rental, maintenance, fuel, taxes, insurance and upgrades. I divided this by the year's engine hours to come up with an accurate cost-per-hour of using my boat. Once I looked at the number, I deleted all the files and burned all my notes -- I never want to see THAT again.

We've had a couple of planes in the past (Cherokee, then Arrow). I still fly some, but I don't ever want another airplane. Airplanes are a good way to end up with a small fortune -- assuming you started with a large one.

When my friends ask, I tell them the best way to get your wife to agree to an expensive boat, is to buy an airplane. After a few years paying of that, she'll be thrilled to "only" pay for a cabin cruiser.

I guess our RV (Travel Trailer) is kinda costly. But it doesn't cost very much when we're not using it - just storage.

+100! There is a psychic payoff to these activities. If it was strictly dollars and cents, every marina in the world would be empty.
I looked at buying a plane, but I rent. It is nice to have someone else park and fuel the plane.

 

[teejayevans]

+100! There is a psychic payoff to these activities. If it was strictly dollars and cents, every marina in the world would be empty.
I looked at buying a plane, but I rent. It is nice to have someone else park and fuel the plane.

True if just flying around but if traveling cross country for more than just a weekend it gets expensive because they charge both by hobbs time and usually a minimum per day charge (3-4 hours usually for lost revenue). So a 4 hour flight to get you to your vacation spot for the week costs you 7 days x 4(min) = 28 hours versus the real 8 hours of hobbs time.

 

[irishgal]

What a fun thread!

My hobby, which really morphed into a lifestyle of sorts is dog sports. Specifically, I have working dachshunds who do scent tracking competitions, earthdog competitions, and both are working on becoming SAR dogs (certified Search and Rescue). Also, I'm training now on blood tracking to be ready for deer season in 2018.

While I know some people snicker at the thought of "wiener dogs" being talented scent hounds you might be shocked at how well they do tracking and scenting.

So with training, practice, learning how environmental factors impact scent, traveling to competitions, yep, it's fairly high maintenance but for me there is nothing more fun that allowing a dog to be a dog, to use their skills and to love to do it.

 

[Badger]

No high maintenance hobbies. We never had enough money to consider expensive pursuits. Mostly enjoyed hiking, backpacking, and canoe camping all those years but that is not an option now. Wife has her tennis but use public courts and is not one to buy expensive tennis outfits. I enjoy motorcycles, bicycling and pottery. Have a couple of motorcycles I like so not interested in changing for some time. I guess I could buy an Indian but right now I am recovering from knee replacement and my bicycles have become priority. I use the local college for their pottery wheel (although I have a high quality one of my own) kiln firing and even glazes at no cost. I retired from there and it is free as a retirement perk. The only "high maintenance is keeping up the skill. I have had a number of health issues that kept me from throwing pots regularly. That causes a temporary loss of feel for the clay each time.

Cheers!