living the life you envisioned? or totally changed?

[retiringat50]

Im "early retiring" in 14 days (whos counting?)
Actually going in for foot surgery and wont be returning to work
I recently joined lots of different groups, learning new things, lots of new interests
I was talking to someone the other day who said "well you do need money to do things, you'll get bored doing the same thing day after day"
I havent even left yet and she's saying these things to me!

So are you living the life you envisioned or did you get bored quickly? Did you find totally different interests than you imagined?

 

[socca]

So are you living the life you envisioned or did you get bored quickly? Did you find totally different interests than you imagined?

I've gone from having a high-paying terrible job to a low-paying great job. I still have a real b*stard for a boss, but now it's myself. I have enough work on my plate to last for several lifetimes. The open question is whether my entrepreneurial adventures will ever pay off.

Enjoy your ER!

 

[Dawg52]

I'm doing exactly what I envisioned. Playing golf. And no I'm not bored.

 

[kat]

I'm doing whatever appeals to me and having a ridiculously good time.

I had the time to take the lead documenting/investigating in a public corruption case the state took an interest in. Go figure.

I started a non-profit to help crime victims after a career of seeing the need.

I learned a lot about winterizing my camp in the woods, a place which is a great joy to me and my dog. New mountains to climb and people to meet.

I will finally learn to ski and ride horses. My camp is down the dirt road from a huge horse ranch.

I'm finding early semi-retirement suits my impulsive nature and curiosity in a way work didn't do.

 

[Moemg]

For me the only difference from the vision and reality is time . I though I would have endless time to accomplish things and I'd just whip thru home projects . That did not happen but I'm relaxed ,happy and not bored . Slowly meting new friends and having time to entertain old ones to me is priceless .

 

[Walt34]

Sometimes I sits and thinks. Sometimes I just sits.

Really, I'm just kind of bumming around day to day and enjoying not having much in the way of responsibilities. Offer what help/encouragement I can to DW to finish her BA degree, it's hard for her, I've never seen anyone spend the time studying that she does, but I'm looking forward to seeing her finally earn it. When she finishes she'll get either a part time job or a low-impact full time job. Both of us have had our fill of high-stress jobs.

Go for a walk, a bike ride, or take the boat out and go fishing.

It's what I thought I wanted. Now I'm not so sure.

I have the reading list from another post, I'm starting on that.

 

[statsman]

It's what I thought I wanted. Now I'm not so sure.

I hear that a lot from fellow employees who can't seem to make the switch to retirement. A couple of them who I have worked with in recent years are 67 and 70 years old. Neither of these two have financial issues requiring them to be here. They just WANT to be here.

I think this may be an issue for my wife and I as we look at future retirement. I'm 49, and if we could afford to do it, I would retire today. My wife, who's 55, is going to have a problem retiring. As much as she dislikes the workplace politics, she thoroughly enjoys the interaction with people at work (that's the psych degree kicking in there).

Some people have said why doesn't she volunteer after she retires. My wife's response is if she's going to "work", why not get paid for it.

 

[Reelax]

I'm not bored. I'm very relaxed and doing the things I always wanted to do. I'm finding that I have more things that I want to do and will probably not have the time to do. So, I'm getting more selective.

 

[rmh]

DW loved retirement from day one. She enjoys the free time, gardening, birding, and quiet. She RE'd in 06' and I followed in Jan. 07'. The first 3-4 months were frustrating to me as I had always been in the center of decisions and action and I felt a bit lost. Our plans were for lots of travel, we've been to Alaska since then, but extended family health issues have taken up time, from a parent's death to a daughter's car wreck (she is healing but had to have help with grandchild and with driving and will continue that need same for about 6 more weeks). I found I needed some activity and was fortunate to have former professional connections that allowed me to begin a start-up that takes only a few hours per week and is doing well, so am involved in something I like (on my own time and terms), and have found that is an excellent balance for me. On the really enjoyable side of retirement, I have come to love the ability to control my own time, to get up when I want (7:30 to 8:30 instead of 5:00a.m.) and to decide that day what I want to do, or not do. It took awhile, but the adjustment is becoming a real pleasure and the stress (that I did not know was taking a toll) has fallen away and I can actually feel the difference and the lightness. I seldom post, but have been a member a long time now, and enjoy reading here daily. Good info and excellent cross section of views and positions on most everything. This topic is one I have personally felt the transition in and am liking the outcome.

 

[dex]

So are you living the life you envisioned or did you get bored quickly? Did you find totally different interests than you imagined?

ER is not a fixed state; it is a journey and what you make of it. Like many things in life there is a learning curve. If you are worried about being bored you will be looking at it through that lenze. Fear will take away your happiness.

Yes there will be boring times. Those are opportunities to ask yourself what will make you happy next.

It has been less than 2 years that I ERd and it seems like a lifetime.

I do not have any totally different interest right now. I am surprised how much I like RVing. I expect I will do other things I haven't done before like learn to scuba diving.

Most of the time I walk around with an inner smile.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

49, retired 18 months from a relaxing programming career. My 'envisioning' was
financial, I figured the rest would take care of itself. It has. I have not had a day of
boredom, started traveling more, doing everything I want to whenever I want. I am
doing mostly the same things as before retirement, but with alot more time to do them.

 

[Jarhead*]

I'm doing exactly what I envisioned. Playing golf. And no I'm not bored.

And not likely that you'll ever be bored.

After we got out kids launched, I retired, (21 years ago) and built a home in the Sierras of No. Calif.

After the dust cleared, there were 3 places you'd be likely to find me.

At a Driving range, the local golf club, or an out of town "tournament".

Time marches on, and painful as it was, I had to finally admit that I was no longer as competitve as I was when I retired. (I used to play about 25 tournaments a year, and cut that down to "once in a while"

I still play 4 or 5 days a week, and play in local tournaments.

Fly-fishing (which I also enjoy), is my back-up for my lack of playing in out of town tournaments.

I mentioned this before, but, I very much doubt if you'll ever be bored.

Upset with yourself for not managing the course as well as you should have, using the wrong club, at the wrong time, etc. etc., but bored, I don't think so.

I envy your age, and the time you have to enjoy the great game of golf.

P.S. I know that you're single, so this doesn't count. (My wife has been totally behind my schedule for the last 21 years)

 

[FinanceDude]

P.S. I know that you're single, so this doesn't count. (My wife has been totally behind my schedule for the last 21 years)

I am trying to convince my wife that the only way for me to get BETTER at golf is to play a LOT more.......so far......NO GOOD!!!

 

[haha]

I retired early; I was married, had 2 kids at home, lived in the country, wife was not working.

Over time kids grew up and left, wife threw herself into her art, went to graduate school, moved to the city and stayed.

I didn't like being alone in the sticks, so I moved to the city myself, got divorced, and took up some activities that I had left 25 years ago, and some others that I had never done.

So I would say my retirement has definitely not been what I envisioned, but it is fun, it is not boring, and I hope it goes on a very long time.

I do think many of us will need a focus, which functions as golf does for many here. A demanding skill with social aspects, in which one can set goals and work to improve.

Ha

 

[Ronstar]

Semi-retired now, retiring in 2011 and right where I thought I would be. I've only increased my free time by maybe 60% so far, but I still dont have enough time to do all I want. And I have picked up some extra interests I had not planned on.

 

[yakers]

Retired May 2nd 2008, so I'm an expert

I just ended my first day of a week long Habitat for Hymanity project in Biloxi MS, I'm tired. After a week in Cajun country and New Orleans Jazz Fest. At home in California I was scanning old slides intot the computer and turning old vinyl into MP3s. Lots of things to do, this summer will be a long 4 to 6 week driving trip. As long as I have an imagination I can't see getting bored. I actually do miss work a little as I really liked my job but so far being retired is better.

 

[Nords]

So are you living the life you envisioned or did you get bored quickly? Did you find totally different interests than you imagined?

Well, when I started college I would've found it hard to believe that 24 years later I'd be ER'd and living in Hawaii in a house with two gorgeous women.

I learned to surf on the first day of ER and haven't looked back. I may have overscheduled myself, worked myself to exhaustion, and overslept during my naps... but "bored"?!? Not a chance.

Gotta be responsible for your own entertainment. It's one of the top worries of Young Dreamers, but about six months after you ER you'll wonder what the heck you were worrying about.

 

[Dawg52]

I used to play about 25 tournaments a year, and cut that down to "once in a while"

I envy your age, and the time you have to enjoy the great game of golf.

P.S. I know that you're single, so this doesn't count. (My wife has been totally behind my schedule for the last 21 years)

Wow, 25 tournaments a year. You have shelled out some bucks over the years playing tournament golf. I don't play in many tournaments but i do enjoy playing courses other than my normal club. Going to Gulf Shores next month for a few rounds. BTW, I went to the Masters this year. Also going to a Seniors tour event in a couple of weeks.

Your are right, golf truly is a great game. Your are very fortunate to have had such a supportive wife. My furry female friend just licks me in the face when I come home. Wags her tale too!

 

[Khan]

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

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.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I was able to "retire" much earlier than I thought. Most of it was luck. Some hard work. Dont care and damn im enjoying it. Im happy with my little postage stamp in this world.

 

[Nords]

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

Only if he lost...

 

[Rustic23]

If I were bored, I would do something else. Is it what I envisioned?.... Absolutely! Most evenings we are out on the deck with a margarita looking at the sunset over the lake. It is about the most stress free thing we have ever done, and we truly love it.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

What bores me is trying to hook up with my friends and relatives who are working. You have to work around their schedules. The tribulations of life /sigh..

 

[UncleHoney]

Would you apply if you saw this in the Sunday paper?
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[SteveR]

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

We:
Adopted two puppies.
Sold a RV.
Bought another one.
Drove it coast to coast and lived in it for 3 months.

Took a Caribbean cruise.

Spent several weeks with my mom during her surgery and recovery.

Spent 3 months downsizing the house.
Remodeled several sections of the basement.
Looked and found a new house 300 miles away.
Bought new house.
Sold house (today!) after 4 weeks on the market.

We move June 3 to a new city, new area, new house, and a new way of living.

Next on the horizion:
More travel.
More RVing (fewer miles and longer stays).
Volunteer with a local theater company.
Take some classes.
Make new friends and enjoy life.
Etc.

Every day you enjoy a sunset is a day well spent.