Took the plunge - finishing up

[NanoSour]

Congratulations. Don't expect too much of yourself in the beginning and know it'll take some time to adjust to the new you. Watching that first sunrise is great advise.

[skyking1]

you want to know where a great place is to watch that sunset?
The room on the far end of this B&B in Kona. The sun just eases up out of the ocean, very memorable spot.
https://www.halekaihawaii.com/
We stay in Kona but book one night in Hilo to make the drive around reasonable.

[DangerDad]

Congratulations!
I’m also retiring as of 12/31/21…it’ll be 26 1/2 years.
Can’t wait to join the ranks of you fine folks.
Regards,
DangerDad

[TheWizard]

I retired in March, 2013 after a similarly long time with one employer.
A few times, after an adult beverage or two, I pondered: I spent four decades getting rather good at what I do, so I could QUIT?

But I was basically okay and went back part-time twice, most recently in 2016, at the same engineering hourly rate, but without the 40 hours per week grind.

I'm all finished with that now and life is good...

[a60dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mystang52 39 years with one company, so it's not just retirement, but a significant change to your routine. I think you'll find, like the majority do, that shortly after 12/31 you'll be happy with the decision. If you haven't already done so, start planning what you'll do not just during retirement, but in the immediate days after 12/31.

I did ask an 11 year retired friend to be my “retirement mentor”.

The engineer in me resulted in a written plan with a variety of ideas and some measureable objectives.

Day 1 I’m taking a friend out to lunch for his birthday.

I “practiced” my routine this week, and it feels good.

The transition from lifelong saving to spending will be the most difficult.

[a60dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Cosmic Avenger In fact, depending on how involved you were in hobbies while working, you could easily spend the first 6-12 months trying new things and gradually adjusting your schedule! After almost 40 years it will take a long time to decompress, as well it should.

I call that “figuring out what I want to do when I grow up” [emoji2]

[a60dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Congratulations on making it 39 years. I cut out after 36 1/2 years. We're both probably few that will ever work for one employer that long. Just enjoy the little time you've got left. Look back a couple of years from now and you will wonder why you didn't leave sooner. I hope you have hobbies and other interests to where you'll have something to look forward to. We're international travelers. Funny thing is that so many of my co-workers left about the same time I did. And nobody ever talks to each other--going their own separate ways. It's what to expect.

We have a group of friends I met in high school. Most have retired or will be shortly.

They have been a source of encouragement.

In the past year we lost one of them to a health event at our age. Another sign that it is time …….

[a60dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking1 you want to know where a great place is to watch that sunset? The room on the far end of this B&B in Kona. The sun just eases up out of the ocean, very memorable spot. https://www.halekaihawaii.com/ We stay in Kona but book one night in Hilo to make the drive around reasonable.

I’ll put watching that sunrise on my first days plan!

The location goes on “future travel / bucket list” for our soon to be delivered Airstream. We have great plans for that [emoji3]


Our first travel trailer was sold to a young couple who planned to take it when they moved to Hawaii.

[a60dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a60dan I told my boss on Monday that I’m resigning my position after 39 years at the same company. It was a “significant emotional event” for me. He’s the best “boss” I’ve had. Regardless of my intense long term scrupulous planning for this day, and the relief I felt after telling him, the pangs of doubt ebb and flow as I count down the remaining days to 12/31. It’s uncomfortable walking away from the steady paycheck and exciting to think of the new doors that are opening. I’ll miss my team and won’t miss some others at all. I guess the grieving won’t be over for some time. It started in May 2020. It’s good to know there is this community of “successful” retirees and several friends who have offered encouragement.

UPDATE
We’re enrolled in our new (ACA) medical plan. That’s a key part of the plan. It was sobering to sign off on my “termination” memo, but no surprises yet.

I practiced my new routine by taking this week off. Felt really relaxed most of the week.

I wasted a lot of time repairing a paper shredder that had been broken for some time. I did pretty well at “puttering” and finding the part I needed in the to-be-organized piles of stuff in the garage [emoji3]

Life is good!

[Ronstar]

Congrats! All you need now are some hobbies and some fun places to travel to. Then work will become a distant memory.

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a60dan We have a group of friends I met in high school. Most have retired or will be shortly. They have been a source of encouragement. In the past year we lost one of them to a health event at our age. Another sign that it is time …….

Sorry for your loss, but the peer group is great. I have a group of 3 friends that I see regularly, and we discuss our plans in great detail. With two of them, we've discussed numbers in detail and we're surprisingly close, the 3rd has had family challenges that might make him feel behind, but he's definitely come the farthest of all of us. We will all do a group distillery tour of Scotland eventually.

[Dtail]

Congrats and welcome to the best part of your life.

[brett]

My spouse thought that I would have this problem. I loved my job and worked for a great company.

I/we ended up being very busy after retirement. This seemed to move us into a new phase of retirement.

I was downsized, with a package. I spent two or three months of back and forth between my lawyer and my former employer to agree on an equitable settlement.

The bigger distraction was a decision to downsize, sell our home, and travel. It took us about six or seven months to get our home ready for sale and to downsize/store our belongings.

After that travel overtook our thoughts. There have been times when I have missed my former work environment but those feelings never lasted very long. I believe that I was fortunate in that regard inasmuch as our new life slowly took over my perspective.

[Koolau]

Congratulations. Welcome to the "club." I thought I had a long c*reer at 36 1/2 years at the same place. Wow! 39 - that is quite and achievement - especially since it sounds like you really enjoyed your time. My empl*yer was even in my home town so I didn't have to move (or more to the point, Megacorp didn't have to move ME!)

16 years into ER now and still loving it. Never a (real) doubt about my decision. I only very rarely dream of my previous j*b now. Life is good. YMMV