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Old 03-01-2020, 05:10 AM   #21
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Primarily travel and photography (usually together). The only change was to do more of both.
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Old 03-01-2020, 05:35 AM   #22
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Since I’ve been retired for 20 years I’ve definitely had gradual hobby changes over the years.

I did experience a big change in hobbies the year after retiring. Several things I enjoyed doing while working went by the wayside - mostly because I didn’t need the stress release.

I also experimented quite a bit that first year.

By the second year, things had settled down considerably, and most of those hobbies lasted 10 years or more.
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Old 03-01-2020, 08:23 AM   #23
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Location: Conroe, Texas
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I'm one of those fortunate (or unfortunate) souls that can build or fix mostly anything. After a few years of retirement, the "word" has gotten around and I am routinely called upon by friends and family in time of their "need".

Just yesterday, I trouble shot an electrical problem at a friend's house and ended up replacing a bad GFCI breaker. Last week, I replaced a cold water supply valve on a neighbor's 10 year old fridge (in the door water and ice supply). And on and on...

My real hobby is old car restorations and those projects are getting harder to do because of physical limitations creeping into my abilities. Right now, I have no projects in this area, although I am always keeping my ear to the ground for a new challenge.

I still walk at least 10,000 steps per day,but that's not a hobby but a requirement to stay healthy.
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Old 03-01-2020, 08:49 AM   #24
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,148
My main hobbies/pastimes: Sailing (much less racing), Golf, Cooking/Foodie, Fitness (resistance, walking, biking, hiking, rowing)

Second tier: Investing/financial planning, Kayaking, Causes (conservation, environment, animal rights), Theatre & Concert season tickets, Technology, Any excuse to be outdoors

Former hobbies: Woodworking (loved it, but stopped due to diminished eyesight and no room for it in new house), Videography, Century rides & marathon/running

Like some others here, I’ve always enjoyed many pastimes, not focused on one or two.
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Old 03-01-2020, 09:33 AM   #25
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My hobbies have changed slightly since retiring. I looked at everything I was doing, and eliminated a few (photography, high-end audio - my hearing was getting worse) and added some (hiking, mountain biking, weight training). The hobbies that remain are travel, star gazing and cooking.
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Old 03-01-2020, 10:03 AM   #26
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I've been retired 11 years, and it seems all I've done is move. Hobbies ended up being:
1. Moving relatives belongings in their old age--parents 2x and aunt 3x.
2. Buying houses (that are a bargain) and moving into them.
3. Cutting grass at our home--and at our lake house.
4. Building projects--that never seem to cease. Next up--a boat barn.
5. Going to our RV in the mountains to rest.
6. Traveling to Germany, Poland and Hungary in 3 weeks. 3rd European trip since June.

This week, I must move an 800 pound hot tub on a trailer and tow a car up a steep hill after our daughter lost the key.
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Old 03-01-2020, 01:32 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bamaman View Post
I've been retired 11 years, and it seems all I've done is move. Hobbies ended up being:
1. Moving relatives belongings in their old age--parents 2x and aunt 3x.
2. Buying houses (that are a bargain) and moving into them.
3. Cutting grass at our home--and at our lake house.
4. Building projects--that never seem to cease. Next up--a boat barn.
5. Going to our RV in the mountains to rest.
6. Traveling to Germany, Poland and Hungary in 3 weeks. 3rd European trip since June.

This week, I must move an 800 pound hot tub on a trailer and tow a car up a steep hill after our daughter lost the key.
Well just concentrate on point #6 and all is good then.
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Old 03-01-2020, 03:54 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bamaman View Post

This week, I must move an 800 pound hot tub on a trailer .

Done that a couple times in recent years. You do know the trick about using PVC pipes to roll it on, right??
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Old 03-01-2020, 03:58 PM   #29
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Been FIRE'd 3 years. Hobbies I have had have not changed:

Travel
SCUBA diving
Racquetball
Vintage automobiles and the restoration, preservation and maintenance thereof
Landscaping and forest management (own 30+ acres across 3 properties)
Building/fixing just about anything in my shop
A hobby business that I started in 2003 making wiring harnesses for 1953 and older VWS
A hobby business restoring some very expensive and hard to find parts used on vintage VWs




New hobbies taken up after retiring:

Hiking with our 2 dogs, 485 miles in 2019, goal of 500 this year
Foodie/cooking and wine pairing
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Old 03-01-2020, 04:18 PM   #30
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The hobbies have remained the same but the focus has changed. I've flown model airplanes off and on since about age seven but there were large gaps of time when I did nothing with that hobby because of life circumstances. For example, living in an apartment severely limits one's building something that generates large quantities of balsa dust. Especially if there is a roommate. Later on I owned a full size airplane for a couple of years and had neither time or money for models.

Photography is another. I've had a camera since I was single digit age (can't remember exactly when) but was more often than not frustrated with the results and didn't have the money, time, or opportunity for instruction to learn what I was doing wrong. It wasn't until after retirement and I discovered digital photography (which meant that mistakes cost nothing but time and feedback was immediate) and I found some books that I could understand that I got halfway decent with a camera. Activity waxes and wanes with it.

After retirement I no longer build model airplanes, I guess I went as far as I was going to go with that, and now fly very small foam airplanes in the back yard. Joint issues make bending and larger airplanes and the travel to a larger flying site impractical. So the miniaturization of electronics that make cheap and small R/C aircraft possible came just in time for me.

I generally enjoy home maintenance/repair projects but the same joint issues are making that somewhat problematic. Last summer, for the first time in my life, I hired a painter for that reason.
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Old 03-01-2020, 07:50 PM   #31
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It wasn't so much my retirement in late 2008 which changed my hobbies and activities list. It was switching from working full-time to part-time in 2001 which had a bigger change. Switching to part-time freed up some weekday evenings to do things in the evening as well as freeing up some weekdays to do some more daytime stuff.


When I made the big switch in 2001, I already had 2 items planned to start doing. One was resurrecting my long-dormant square dancing hobby, something I hadn't done since 1988 because I was too worm out after a full day at work. That began with one night a week but grew to 2 nights in 2002.


The other activity was a new one, my participation as a volunteer in the local school Scrabble program with several area schools. It began with one but grew to two in 2002.


In 2005, I resurrected another long-dormant hobby, playing Strat-O-Matic baseball. My collection of teams, mostly from the 1970s and 1980s when I played the game a lot as a teenager and in my 20s, was safely stored in some boxes in my closet. I also joined a message board like this one but made up of my fellow gamers from all over North America. Over the years, I have expanded my collection and filled in the many gaps in it, from missing players to teams to complete seasons.


Also in 2005, I began getting involved with my co-op's annual meeting, mainly its election of the Board as well as determining a quorum. Using my spreadsheet skills, I greatly automated a process which was slow and often chaotic.


When I retired in 2008, I was able to expand my square dancing to include a third night now that I had no more conflicts with even part-time work. That went back to 2 nights in 2014 when I became disenchanted with one dance club and had become a little overextended on my weeknights. Sadly, the caller of my remaining 2 nights passed away in 2018 and I haven't had any real desire to dance any more.


But before that caller passed away, he began teaching a square dance class at a local college. In 2003, just after I began working part-time, I began helping the caller at his class. I only had time for 1 day a week because I had to fit it in with my part-time work schedule and my school Scrabble which was often at the same time. Once I retired, those conflicts disappeared, so I was able to help out at the dance class both days a week until the college stopped offering it in 2012. But it was nice while it lasted.


After not playing the piano since 2004 and not playing it regularly since the 1990s, I dusted it off, tuned it up, and began playing some of my songs back in late 2018 after the square dancing ended. Once I got the songs (6 of my favorite Scott Joplin piano rags) up to speed, I eased back on my playing frequency, just enough to keep my skills at a respectable level.
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Old 03-01-2020, 09:33 PM   #32
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I used to enjoy bowling through my college years, but with working and raising a family it was one of the things that fell by the wayside. I have gotten back into it since retirement.DW's gift to me for my first birthday in retirement was to have my first custom bowling ball made. A local bowling alley has discounts for seniors a couple of days a week. It can also be a "date afternoon" for us, DW will sometimes meet me at the alley after a morning of teaching class, we'll bowl and have lunch.

I have also been doing basic woodworking projects. I purchased my first set of power saws and drills so wood is not safe around me . The most elaborate item I have built is an organ bench for DW's Hammond organ.

I want to get more into flying drones. I have bought my first "starter" quadcopter to being learning, but I just have not had the time. I have only tried flying it twice in almost 2 years. It is something i will try to devote more time to once the weather is warm.

Also on my list is to take some firearms safety classes and get to a shooting range.
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Old 03-02-2020, 09:55 AM   #33
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Same as before, but get to do more of it in retirement:
Reading
Cooking (more adventurous recipes, taking more time)
Gardening/Growing Dahlias, Roses

On my future possibilities list:
Home canning
Learning ASL (American Sign Language)
Gun safety class and shooting (DH has a gun, figure if its in the house, I need to know how
to use it safely)
Glass art/glass fusing
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Old 03-03-2020, 07:42 AM   #34
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Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Champaign
Posts: 4,677
Hobbies meaning activities in spare time.
Podcasts-listen to at least one/day
Forest Preserve District-many activities: nature trails, education, citizens advisory committee, environmental programs, Dark Sky (one of our preserves is an International Dark Sky Park)...all volunteer

Swim or tread water
Walk 90 Labrador for @ hour/day
Travel
Time with family (immediate family lives close by)
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Old 03-06-2020, 03:30 PM   #35
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In no particular order:

- softball
- gym/fitness
- target shooting
- sports cars
- golf (intended a lot more when I retired, but it didn't materialize)
- spectator sports, mainly college football
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Old 03-07-2020, 12:40 PM   #36
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I've been retired about 8 months. Here are my main hobbies:

- Reading (mostly spirituality, science, and psychology)
- Enjoying nature (walks, parks, drives, occasional camping)
- Biking
- Listening to music
- Trying to take care of myself (nutrition, activity, knowledge, etc.)
- Caring for my dog and other animals (not sure if that's a "hobby," but it's a big area of interest)


How have things changed since I retired? Well, here's what comes to mind:

1. I've had a lot more time for all the above, which has been great.

2. I dropped one previous hobby, videogames. It might just be a temporary phase, I can't tell yet.

3. I'll probably try blogging soon. I've always liked expressing myself in writing. We'll see how that goes.

4. I've had the opportunity to get involved in my local OLLI. That's been good. I don't know if that's a "hobby," but I do love learning and could be described as a professional student. The local OLLI also has a very friendly sense of connection/community to it, which is a good bonus. At this point, I wouldn't want to retire anyplace that didn't have an active OLLI. I'll probably end up teaching a class there in the future.
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Old 03-10-2020, 03:46 PM   #37
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Road bicycling, guitar, cooking hobbies continuing with the addition of vegetable gardening since retiring last year. Hoping for a better crop this year! :-)

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Old 03-10-2020, 05:28 PM   #38
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I've only been retired a month so the only thing I've added to my routine (aside from my preexisting hobbies hiking, running, book club) is art classes. I've drawn and painted throughout my life but I really enjoy the classroom setting with feedback but it was too time-consuming to get across town and get to class from work. Fortunately that's no longer a problem.
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Old 03-10-2020, 06:45 PM   #39
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I loved hiking before retirement, but more time has led to a huge backpacking habit. I can take a month and go do a LASH on the Appalachian Trail. I joined the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, and work as a trail ambassador and on trail maintenance. It’s been great to be able to hop in the car and gphead to the mountains on a whim.
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Old 03-10-2020, 07:21 PM   #40
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Great thread!

The biggies for me...

1 - Travel
2 - Language learning (Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and French so far)
3 - Photography
4 - Writing
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