Class of 2016 in their 5th Year of Retirement

[CaptTom]

Interesting fact:

May, 2021 had the dates fall on the same days of the week as May, 2016.

I officially retired June 1, 2016. But my last day of work was May 12, five years from two weeks ago last Wednesday, due to vacation days, holidays and a scheduled Friday off.

This day five years ago I was ready to go on my three-month Down East Loop cruise, just waiting for the remnants of Hurricane Bonnie to blow through. I got underway the next day.

And, for the record, I haven't missed w*rk once since then. I've missed some of the people there, but not the idea of getting up to go in.

 

[Scuba]

We retired in November of 2016, and the time has flown by. It’s been a bit different than we planned, but it’s all good. We did a couple of major things that we didn’t plan on - moved away from our coastal CA town to the desert, converted our former primary home to a long-term rental, and purchased and completely remodeled a mid-century modern place with a beautiful mountain view. We now live about 2 hours away from where we were before, which means we are still able to maintain our close friendships by spending a few days together with friends during visits instead of an evening out here and there. While I miss seeing my two best friends as frequently as I used to, we have really enjoyed the quality time of spending a few days together when friends visit.

Financially life has been good, despite spending quite a lot of money on our remodel. Even though our spending has far exceeded expectations, the market uplift has funded it and we have more than what we retired with.

Other than 2020, we’ve been able to do a lot of slow travel, which we love. We are currently in the USVI for 2 months.

Our health has been excellent, and we are more fit than when we were working, but the ravages of time have caused some issues which affected our ability to do things we enjoy. This is frustrating, and I hope, temporary. DH got a calf injury while we were playing tennis that took many months to heal. I am struggling with a groin injury now, likely caused by hiking and walking 15-20K steps per day. And while SCUBA diving on our current trip, I have been dealing with ear trauma issues. But, at least we are free from any major illnesses and our health stats are all better than when we were working, so I’m grateful for that.

I’ve never once missed my former career or had a desire to work, nor have I kept in close touch with my former employer or colleagues there. I did recently agree to serve on a couple of HOA Committees in our new neighborhood and to do a project for our rental home HOA. Between that, spending a lot more time on outdoor fitness activities, reading, traveling and spending time with DH and our friends, plus continuing the university volunteer work I did prior to ER, life feels full and very satisfying.