living the life you envisioned? or totally changed?

[Dreamer]

I love my retirement. I feel very blessed to be able to be retired. I retired in 06/06 and can not believe how quickly the time goes. I have traveled, took classes, arranged my DD's wedding, read, exercised, etc. I will be a grandma for the first time around 07/16/08 and will be watching my granddaughter when my DD goes back to college in the fall. I can't wait! Today, I went to my dance class and ran some errands and tomorrow I go to a class where I am learning to play Mah Jong. I went to a Square Dance last weekend and also went on my first bird walk. I am going on a Reptile and Amphibian walk this Saturday. I also like days where I do not have anything to do and I am the only one at home. I have many books that I want to read and many movies that I would like to watch. There are still many places that I would like to go. I am definitely not bored in my retirement!

 

[zoey]

Retirement came suddenly, so I didn't have time to have a vision of what I thought it would be like. I had planned to retire at the earliest in two years, probably more like four, when I was laid off. Family talked me into pulling the plug...job was really stressful and they feared that it would kill me.

It has been four months now since it was official, six since I've done any work, and I'm liking it very much. Not bored at all. Every day I think of how lucky I am to have been laid off.

I'm finding that retirement isn't static, but more of an evolution as the months unfold. We're presently building a small home and that is keeping us very busy. I'm looking forward to when the house is finished and I can spend more time gardening, cooking, baking, and doing other hobbies. So far, retirement is great.

 

[chinaco]

11 months into retirement and I am still going 100 miles per hour.

You are going to have to go back to w*rk so you can get some rest.

 

[W2R]

Sold house (today!) after 4 weeks on the market.

Now THAT has to be a great feeling! Congratulations!

 

[megacorp-firee]

Retirement is turning out pretty much as I planned it. Traveling to where we want to go and see, being with people we want to be with. Doing what we want when we want to.
The only thing we have to get used to is being with each other 24/7. I think I need to stop going with DW on her shopping jaunts, maybe that will give us each a break.
We do have to get into some routine when we are at home. I also need to buckle down and get started on some of the house cleaning and tossing out old stuff that needs to be done.
DW still has not gotten used to no salary coming in. She's a bit nervous as we go from accumulation to distribution phase. It doesn't matter that we are 'on plan'. I guess it's psychological.

 

[M Paquette]

My ER was a sort of 'run screaming into the night'.

Heh... On my Last Day at The Fruit Company, I walked out to my little car, put the top down, and popped a CD into the player. I tore out of that parking lot leaving a trail of smoke, with the theme music from "The Prisoner" blaring across the asphalt wasteland.

I don't know if anyone noticed me, but damn, it felt good.

I am an extreme introvert, and spent the first several months of retirement recovering from over-stimulation of lights, sounds, smells, all those people, and a large building with concrete floors.

Much of my time is spent at home: gardening, puttering around, surfing the net. It is wonderfully quiet.

Ditto... The gardening and puttering around is relaxing. If I need exercise, I can always play tag with the Attack Cat. (OK, I do an hour of cardio 5 days a week.)

 

[Jarhead*]

Wow, 25 tournaments a year. You have shelled out some bucks over the years playing tournament golf.

What Admiral Nords said.

 

[fisherman]

I am only a little over four months into ESR. It took me about three months to adjust [-]purge my system from w#rk[/-] but after that I have really started to enjoy it. I am fishing two or three days a week now that the weather is good and I am managing to get some of the honey do list done although new items do continue to be added.

We have made a couple of trips so far and one was for 16 days which is the longest vacation I have ever had. This summer will top that with a six week trip and then another 16 day trip this fall.

I have really enjoyed the time I now have with my sons. I find I now have the energy to play with them and give them plenty of attention.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

yakers,

How was NO?

Was that the NO Jazz & Heritage Festival?

We have been afraid to go back thinking it would be a shadow of what we knew.

Input, please.

Gypsy

 

[Walt34]

The only thing we have to get used to is being with each other 24/7. I think I need to stop going with DW on her shopping jaunts, maybe that will give us each a break.

Yes, we went through that phase. Very enjoyable for the first year, it sort of felt like getting reacquainted with DW without the distractions of jobs. But after a while it started to feel like being "joined at the hip". So we split up on some days and just go do our own thing and that seems to work out better.

 

[novaman]

I had a patient come in earlier this week who had sold his business and retired to a life of golf last year. I asked him how it was going, and he replied that the tough thing is not having a good reason to get out of bed in the morning....so he is about to start a part time job at a hardware store.

...I think for many people, meaningful activity is an important and necessary part of life.

 

[Khan]

I had a patient come in earlier this week who had sold his business and retired to a life of golf last year. I asked him how it was going, and he replied that the tough thing is not having a good reason to get out of bed in the morning....so he is about to start a part time job at a hardware store.

...I think for many people, meaningful activity is an important and necessary part of life.

Somebody has to watch the squirrels.

 

[Jarhead*]

I had a patient come in earlier this week who had sold his business and retired to a life of golf last year. I asked him how it was going, and he replied that the tough thing is not having a good reason to get out of bed in the morning....so he is about to start a part time job at a hardware store.

...I think for many people, meaningful activity is an important and necessary part of life.

Novaman: If your patient needed the extra income to help fund his retirement, it's understandable.

However, if that's not the case, and taking a part-time job in a hardware store is the only way that he could find a reason to get out of bed in the morning after retiring is another matter.

"Left arm straight, right elbow tucked at impact. Grip it and rip it."

 

[megacorp-firee]

Yes, we went through that phase. Very enjoyable for the first year, it sort of felt like getting reacquainted with DW without the distractions of jobs. But after a while it started to feel like being "joined at the hip". So we split up on some days and just go do our own thing and that seems to work out better.

Yep, that's what we are trying to do too. It'll shake itself out I think. I figured it's one of those things couples have to learn to deal with ... smartly

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

"mann traoch, gott lauch." "man plans, god laughs."~~yiddish saying

for all the planning that i do, this does not even remotely resemble what i thought my life would be.

firstly, i never even planned to retire until shortly before the event. when i did, i planned to sail the world with my best friend. also i figured on house money, having no idea that market could drop so far so fast.

so now i have given up my job, my best friend died and the bubble popped. at least god is getting a good laugh out of all this.

 

[yakers]

yakers,

How was NO?

Was that the NO Jazz & Heritage Festival?

We have been afraid to go back thinking it would be a shadow of what we knew.

Input, please.

Gypsy

It was great. We had been to Jazz Fest some years back and it was just as good this time, except we got pretty wet one night. There are a lot of headline acts (Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Krause/Plant ...) but the most fun is finding groups I have never heard of or even types of music I am not familiar with to enjoy. The food is great and the crowd good. The hardest part is choosing which of 8 to 11 bands to listen to at any one time. And the food is great; glad I don't live in NO, I'd be 300 lbs.
We may go back next year but would hit the Cajun music fair in Lafayette on the first weekend and catch the Jazz Fest on the second.

The week before JF we toured around Cajun country, even the fish camps are coming back, maybe a fameous fish camp expat wants to return?

 

[unclemick]

It was great. We had been to Jazz Fest some years back and it was just as good this time, except we got pretty wet one night. There are a lot of headline acts (Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Krause/Plant ...) but the most fun is finding groups I have never heard of or even types of music I am not familiar with to enjoy. The food is great and the crowd good. The hardest part is choosing which of 8 to 11 bands to listen to at any one time. And the food is great; glad I don't live in NO, I'd be 300 lbs.
We may go back next year but would hit the Cajun music fair in Lafayette on the first weekend and catch the Jazz Fest on the second.

The week before JF we toured around Cajun country, even the fish camps are coming back, maybe a fameous fish camp expat wants to return?

Never say never. But KC is still entertaining - high winds and possible tornado to very near south of us last night.

Skipped the first weekend of Jazz Fest(been there done that) - was across the Lake near Bush at Gina's 47th Birthday party admiring her new used Harley and stocking up on Blue Runner New Orleans Red Beans(Winn Dixie) to take back. Some of the crowd left early to attend Jazz Fest.

heh heh heh - Monday the sun came out - go figure.

 

[tangomonster]

I had planned/hoped to retire at 57, but thanks to this board, DH and I decided to pull the plug and leave stressful, soul-numbing, and low-paid jobs at 52. The first year was actually kind of stressful due to a sudden and unplanned for move about 20 miles away (the condo below us was being rented and we saw how difficult it was going to be to deal with the type of renters that this owner was allowing).

Now it's wonderful! I love our new place and retired life. I'm discovering a part of me that I didn't know existed---buried under all the anxiety and stress and lack of time!

But there were aspects of FIRE and our new selves that we would never have anticipated. I thought I would write books (I wrote 11 of them while working full-time), but I haven't even felt like doing that---it seems too much like work (and as with my old job, way too much time and energy for the financial rewards). I also thought I would do volunteer work as my whole identity has been about helping others through health/human services employment, but meaningful volunteer opportunities seem to be limited. All I've done so far is donate blood every other month. But I've discovered that I don't need to be productive to be happy.

The other aspect that we never saw coming was new friends and socializing. We were always too introverted and drained from work to want to be with anyone else in our leisure time. After a year of FIRE and just each other, we have the time/energy/interest in connecting with others. We've begun to make a bunch of new friends and have really enjoyed this aspect of our new life.

 

[REWahoo]

I've discovered that I don't need to be productive to be happy.

Can you say that on this forum?

 

[Nords]

Novaman: If your patient needed the extra income to help fund his retirement, it's understandable.
However, if that's not the case, and taking a part-time job in a hardware store is the only way that he could find a reason to get out of bed in the morning after retiring is another matter.

Same thought here-- "bored & unfulfilled" seems to be a euphemism for "broke"...

 

[Kitty]

ER turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. I am not very productive in that I don't work or produce anything for anyone and don't care to either.
I bought a farm and had a wonderful time raising calves, goats, ducks, chickens and a big garden. Due to changes in my health I have sold the farm and I am off to a new adventure. Bored, not me I have so much to do and places, people to see it will be hard to fit it all in.
Not working for someone has improved my attitude and my life style. I find I don't need the structure of a J O B to make me feel useful, I think I have always been a free spirit and now I have the time and means to enjoy that free spirit.
Kitty

 

[Notmuchlonger]

ER turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. I am not very productive in that I don't work or produce anything for anyone and don't care to either.
I bought a farm and had a wonderful time raising calves, goats, ducks, chickens and a big garden. Due to changes in my health I have sold the farm and I am off to a new adventure. Bored, not me I have so much to do and places, people to see it will be hard to fit it all in.
Not working for someone has improved my attitude and my life style. I find I don't need the structure of a J O B to make me feel useful, I think I have always been a free spirit and now I have the time and means to enjoy that free spirit.
Kitty

Thats pretty neat. You did what you wanted to do. Sorry about your health though. Enjoy your new adventure.

 

[newlife06]

Enjoying Early Retirement

DH and myself retired in early '06. For him, no more 3am wake up and bitching about his work environment. For me, leaving a job I loved was heartbreaking.

Now, we LOVE our time together, meeting new folks, planning our running around town to avoid the working folks, traveling, more time with family, and home projects. We are both driven people, so we always find things to do. However, some days, are spent just relaxing or surfing the internet.

Our prized accomplishment has been changing our lifestyle to a healthier one. We hired a personal trainer and work out 3 days a week, aquatics fitness, and now cycling. We have lost 155 combined pounds. We added years unto our lives. We feel and look 20 yrs younger!

Yep, retirement looks great on us!

 

[Moemg]

.

Our prized accomplishment has been changing our lifestyle to a healthier one. We hired a personal trainer and work out 3 days a week, aquatics fitness, and now cycling. We have lost 155 combined pounds. We added years unto our lives. We feel and look 20 yrs younger!

Yep, retirement looks great on us!

Congratulations ! I have become a gym rat and only lost 6 pounds .

 

[newlife06]

Awwww, well, 6 lbs less is better than gained! Not every month's progress is worth shouting about, but as long as I dont gain an inch or pound I dont shed a tear. Congrats on your loss and I hope you continue to do well. Are you on the Wednesday Weigh In topic?