What hobbies have you quit and how did it affect you?

[Kings over Queens]

attending more baseball games and starting to loosen the checkbook

We're 10 or 12 stadiums in on our quest to see every one. Not a hobby per se.

 

[shortstop14]

At 69, I've been slowly cutting back on baseball, especially in the local 35+ league. Eyesight and skills just deteriorate with time, and my competitive side doesn't like feeling less competent at game speed. I still enjoy practicing, and playing in tournaments in the over 60 divisions - we're all in a similar position. Also, living abroad half the year tends to conflict with team commitments. So instead, I'm focusing on masters track - shot, discus, javelin, short sprints. It's still fun to learn new physical activities, and you're always competing with the kids your own age.

 

[Janet H]

I was into ceramics for a number of years, wheel, kiln, etc... the issue however was that this hobby generated 'stuff' that no one wanted. Friends looked away when I tried to give them my "beautiful" creations, my cabinets were full, etc. It's also a surprisingly expensive hobby. Happy to have the memory.

 

[audreyh1]

I dropped a lot of hobbies over the years. Main reason was they lost priority compared to other hobbies. And older and wiser I made a rule not to have too many hobbies at once, so I would put the demoted hobby stuff away or get rid of it.

Downhill skiing - after a few years my knees couldn’t handle it so that went out the window.

 

[rk911]

How many gallons/mile does that get?

Over the life of the pictured motor home (39' + towing a Jeep SUV) we averaged right around 5mpg. Our food costs were about the same as being home but far less than eating all meals in restaurants. But campground costs were waaaaay less than staying in motels. Our stays in campgrounds and RV parks likely averaged between 3-days and a week or more. On our trips to AZ each January we would make 4 1-week stops along the way.

 

[audreyh1]

RVing costs were super low over 5 years if you didn’t take into account the cost of the big Diesel pusher! Our favorite locations were state and federal parks. We averaged about 10mpg pulling the Jeep Liberty which we thought was pretty amazing considering we were moving our whole house!

I think our food costs dropped quite a bit too as we weren’t eating out nearly as much and we were doing a lot of campsite cooking outside. We also traveled through a lot of low cost of living areas. Out in the boonies, enjoying nature and wide open spaces.

And we weren’t paying for airfare, hotels, rental cars etc.

 

[scrabbler1]

I had 2 hobbies I began in 2001 when I first switched from working full-time to part-time.

I returned to square dancing, a hobby I had done off and on in the late 1970s and the 1980s before giving it up as my work schedule wore me out more in the 1990s. I danced 2 nights a week starting in 2002 and expanded it to 3 nights starting in 2009 after I fully retired in late 2008. I was also helping out one of my dance callers teach a class at a local college (volunteer) 1 or 2 days week starting in 2003.

The class ended in 2012 and in 2014 I had to cut back to my night dancing to 2 nights because I had become overextended and didn't like the other caller any more. In 2018, my main caller became ill and stopped calling before sadly passing away that November at age 85. By then, I wasn't enjoying the dancing as much as I used to. We had one Christmas dance run by an out-of-town caller I liked, but I wasn't into it much. I have not danced since.

Also in 2001 I began my involvement in the local School Scrabble program, starting with one school before expanding to 2 schools in 2002. I also helped run the big regional tourney here on Long Island before the corporate sponsors withdrew their support after the 2005 event. Some of the schools , including those I worked with, began holding their own small tourneys in 2005 and asked me to run them. We had 2-4 tourneys per school year through 2019. Then the pandemic hit and shut the schools down. Even without the pandemic, the groups of schools I worked with was beginning to dissolve due to teacher retirements and one going on maternity leave. My volunteer work there was beginning to be a grind so I wasn't upset that it ended.

I still play Scrabble every week against a friend as we have nearly every week since 1988 when we met.

 

[pacergal]

I used to knit and crochet many years ago.
I took over growing roses from my Mom when we bought this house. There were over 30 rose bushes in our backyard. I finally stopped replacing the ones that died, some of them were over 20-30 years old. Roses take a lot of work and I just didn't have it in me anymore.

My interests change over time and now, I simply don't get into anything deeply anymore.
Other than reading books--love that!

 

[Speculator]

I recently retired at 64. I have been downhill skiing since I was 12, but I am seriously considering giving it up. I always thought I would be one of those "old guys" you see skiing into their 70's or later, but honestly, I am not feeling it this year.

I would echo the suggestion of another poster to move to a different level of skiing.

I felt the same way as you seem to feel 20 years ago when I retired and moved to Vermont. However, I discovered that most ski resort ski schools are staffed by a large cadre of recently retired folks, most of whom work on a part-time basis. So I went to my local area, Stratton, and inquired about working there as a ski instructor. It appears that as long as you are personable and trainable, they will welcome you with open arms. To make a long story short, I found that working as a ski instructor rekindled my enjoyment of the sport and I continue to enjoy it to this day as a 20-year member of the PSIA/AASI at age 73. And you can't beat the benefits: free pass, no lift lines, meeting like-minded folks, and "pro-form" gear at greatly reduced prices. And, best of all, the chance to instill in others the love of the sport you love. "Think snow!"

 

[Pointby2]

I quit racing motocross, playing softball and golf. I wouldn't call those hobbies exactly, more like sports. I still have my golf clubs but after years of playing and lessons I realize I suck at it and I won't be getting any better at age 70.

The hobby I was really into was high performance driving. Started in 1997 with Audi Club events in Minnesota and had a blast. Moved to Southern California and spent all my time and lots of money on modifying the Audi. Became an instructor, went to a ton of events. Finally did some "racing" with NASA via time attack events. Sold the Audi, bought a Porsche GT3 and did a few more events in that. Spun it at 100mph and luckily didn't get injured or hurt the car. I just got tired of the whole thing. All the long drives, the maintenance and the cost of everything. I was driving to an event at Laguna Seca with friends one day and I just turned around and went home. That was it. Sold the Porsche and really never missed it. It had totally run it's course.

 

[Major Tom]

I wouldn't call it a hobby, but I have always enjoyed cycling. For quite a few years, it was my only mode of transport. My artificial knee recently decided that it doesn't like it when I cycle. I'm going to physical therapy to help deal with the issue but, so far, it is not making much difference. Luckily, I can walk briskly for long stretches with no problem. I may have to give up cycling. Oddly, it is not bothering me as much as I thought it would, because I'm realizing how much I enjoy walking. I agree with Focus; everything has a life cycle.

One of my interests used to be photography. I got to a certain point where I had proved to myself that I could take the types of pictures I wanted to. After I had proved to myself that I could do it, I had "scratched that itch", and the desire to keep doing it gradually dissipated. I still take pictures, but I limit my photos mainly to pictures of my homebuilt radio projects for my radio blog. It's good to have the camera to take decent pictures that serve my other interests, but I no longer feel the need to prove, either to myself or to others, that I am a "good photographer". It's too much work!

I relate to the comments about traveling too. I haven't traveled extensively, but I've been to enough places and countries, that staying on my home turf really appeals; it's so much easier. I'm beginning to sound like an old guy, but I'm only 61, and already enjoy sitting in coffee shops, talking to anyone who'll talk to me, and watching the world go by. I think my new hobby might be going for long walks (5-10 miles one way) in different directions, and trying out new coffee shops

 

[Trailwalker]

I brewed beer from the mid-90's until about 2015. I was a fairly serious homebrewer with several corny kegs, grain mill, etc. Had an online monthly paid column and was active in my homebrew club. Gradually, my friends and I reduced our consumption so five gallon batches no longer made sense. I enjoy more variety now and sometimes even buy a bottle at a time. All of the equipment was recently sold, as we continue to prepare for downsizing/moving.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I returned to skiing last year, because DS wanted to go to Whistler with a group and my sister and her family live in the Puget Sound area. I could not really handle the slopes and the crowds of Wistler. But our tiny home resort is a 30 minute drive from our house, and we have had our coldest winter in at least 15 years. The slopes are easy and I got a season's pass. I also rented an annual locker at the resort, where I can store my skis, boots, and poles so I don't have to lug anything from the parking lot. I'm going to Vermont this year and next year we're planning to go to Stevens Pass, which is near my sister's family. She doesn't ski but her adult kids and her husband do. I'm not very good at it, but managed Whistler with only one fall when someone had to cross in front of me (couldn't blame her-it was a bottleneck at the end of the day).

My gear is old but it works fine, and for my level, I don't plan to replace it. I'm 65 and in better shape than I've been in years. Knees are doing pretty good, which is a blessing.

I may cut back a bit on gardening, as I'm moving toward a more carnivore oriented diet. I'll probably grow a couple of vegetables and some herbs, and give most of the veggies away. DH eats low carb and if I make a veggie soup, he never eats it so why bother? But herbs can be used on anything. I might put some flowers in, which is not something I usually grow.

I've given up videogaming-it takes too long and I find it more boring than I once did.

 

[Koolau]

I quit antique collecting, flying, shooting, coin collecting.

 

[skyking1]

I have effectively given up flying, although it would be no thing to start back up again.
Downhill skiing for me too. I fell and tore both rotator cuffs in 2019 while cycling, and have been really leery of going back to the slopes.

 

[FIREd]

I have completely given up on photography. I realized that I was in it for the memory-keeping aspect of it and not so much for the artistic or technical aspects. So the camera on my phone is more than adequate for my purpose. I have recently rediscovered a treasure trove of older photos taken with expensive cameras and I have no regret.

I used to be a collector of many things (coins, pens, tea pottery, silverware, etc…) but it is over. I kept the best pieces and sold the rest. The thrill was in the hunt, not so much the accumulation of “stuff”.

I gave up woodworking as a hobby as well, though my skills come in handy every once in a while, when needed (I recently built a small cabin by hand for example).

 

[mystang52]

Not dropping a hobby, per se, but I used to have 2 bicycles - road bike for when i wanted to do speed sessions and hybrid for more casual cycling. I sold my road bike last year, for 2 reasons. I can no longer maintain a speed session for a full bike ride. But the second reason was more important; to wit, even doing short spurts of speed became scary to me. I feared losing control and falling.

 

[disneysteve]

Has anyone else faced a similar dilemma in voluntarily giving up a long-term activity? Any regrets?

For a few decades, we were pretty serious collectors of Disney memorabilia. That dominated a lot of our free time, activities, and even our social life. We spent our weekends at antique stores, collectible shows, flea markets, and yard sales shopping for items. We were also dealers selling Disney items at shows along the east coast from NY to VA. There is a large Disney fan community as well. We belonged to a California-based club and got their newsletters and updates. We were also founding members of a local chapter of that club. With them, we had monthly meetings at members' homes, sharing each others collections, buying, selling, and trading amongst ourselves, planning Disney-themed trips (a bus trip to the NYC 5th Ave Disney Store, for example), and more. So much of our lives revolved around our shared love of Disney. We also got involved with a Disney podcast group that held numerous events each year and owned a travel agency that planned group trips regularly. We have traveled to meets in NJ, DE, VA, MA, and PA. We cruised with them. We went to Florida several times for meets with them.

The local club lasted over 25 years before kind of fading out of existence for various reasons. As members aged, they tended to slow down or stop actively collecting and often started downsizing. A few members passed away over time. We weren't recruiting new members anymore because ebay and the internet had largely replaced the in-person collector shows where we used to set up a table to attract new folks. Personally, our house reached a point where we just didn't want to devote any more display space to our collection so we stopped buying except for the occasional one-off purchase of something that really caught our eye.

We still have most of our collection and it is still prominently displayed in our home but we rarely add anything new. We've also gradually sold off or donated at least a few hundred items that we no longer had any strong attachment to. Our main Disney display room became my wife's crafting room which necessitated condensing things a bit. We no longer belong to any clubs. I still follow a bunch of Disney Facebook groups but that's about the extent of it now.

How has it affected us? It definitely changed how we spend our leisure time. We used to love hunting around antique shops. Now we still go to them but it's just not the same. We no longer have monthly club meetings. We no longer travel with our Disney friends. Honestly, it's taken the enjoyment out of a lot of things we used to do and we've become more solitary as so much of our social circle revolved around our Disney friends. Once a month we'd have a club meeting. Four or five times a year we'd travel to a Disney meet somewhere. None of that happens anymore.

Interests change and evolve over time but this was a big one for us and losing that connection was rather sad. We do other things now, but it's not the same. We haven't found anything else yet that replaced the enjoyment of that.

 

[sengsational]

Really, the only barrier to giving up downhill skiing is that I feel like it is "giving in" somehow, especially since I have no physical reason to stop, and I have been DH skiing for so long.

A friend and former mod and member on this board, once said about several things:
"It was fun until it wasn't."

Reading through many of the responses exposes the reality that, with age related muscle decline, you ain't gonna do physical stuff with as much ability, and that can easily tip the fun scales. Admitting that an earlier pursuit is "hard work" now, whereas before, the effort didn't phase you, is a good place to start. Get comfortable with that, and it might feel less like "giving in."

 

[bbqcoder]

My wife/I are still into skiing but I guess we're relatively young (58). I do find myself going slower than before on the steeper trails to avoid the possibility of taking a hard fall. Just last week, my friend's wife broke her knee when she fell on the slopes. Horrible!

The only hobby I have quit is growing dahlias. I use to have a lot of different varieties but it became too much work digging/dividing them each season.

I'm looking forward to getting back into woodworking (cabinet making) when I retire.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I used to enjoy hiking, biking, and an occasional run. The knees told me to quit, and I've gained probably 25 lbs. in the last five years

 

[jollystomper]

I have stopped a lot of sports hobbies - skiing (40), tackle/flag football (40s), racquetball (50), full court basketball (mid-50s), volleyball (mid 50s), softball (late 50s). For almost all of them I decided to get out while I was still healthy and mobile. Volleyball was the exception, I tore a thumb ligament and was warned I might not get back full mobility (fortunately I have), so that ended that. But in all of those sports, volleyball was the only sport where I got injured badly enough (a couple of times) to require a cast. I feel no regrets or longings, the memories of enjoying these activities in now enough for me.

I just replaced them, or spent more time on, "non-contact" things - for example, golf (did not start until I was 50), biking (starting riding regularly again in my early 50s), bowling (started up just after retirement, after not playing since my early 20s).

I used to DJ but that was taking took so much time and cost to keep up with things that I stopped before I got married - it would have been tough for me to keep doing that after marriage. But I have still have most of the equipment and many of the records, and play around infrequently. Once last year I demonstrated to a few of DS's friends what "mixing" using vinyl records looked like .

With digitizing our family pictures and videos I got more into digital editing, and that is fun. I have been sending out sort videos to family members on their birthdays, incorporating videos and pictures from their past, with music and special effects, and they have enjoyed them.

 

[Out of Steam]

I've been a hiker and backpacker since my early 20s. While I can still do the backpacking part, my hiking friends are a few years older and are starting to age out.

I considered replacing some equipment over the winter, but decided to clean and repair my existing gear and see what the future brings. I've also been consigning excess gear.

In any case, I've decided to take a step back in the ruggedness of my overnight hiking. After this year, I don't plan to take on the mountains of Northern New England while carrying full gear any more.

 

[m3bs]

I quit racing motocross, playing softball and golf. I wouldn't call those hobbies exactly, more like sports. I still have my golf clubs but after years of playing and lessons I realize I suck at it and I won't be getting any better at age 70.

The hobby I was really into was high performance driving. Started in 1997 with Audi Club events in Minnesota and had a blast. Moved to Southern California and spent all my time and lots of money on modifying the Audi. Became an instructor, went to a ton of events. Finally did some "racing" with NASA via time attack events. Sold the Audi, bought a Porsche GT3 and did a few more events in that. Spun it at 100mph and luckily didn't get injured or hurt the car. I just got tired of the whole thing. All the long drives, the maintenance and the cost of everything. I was driving to an event at Laguna Seca with friends one day and I just turned around and went home. That was it. Sold the Porsche and really never missed it. It had totally run it's course.

I started down the slippery slope of HPDE in 1990, after 15 years of autocrossing. I’m still doing it now, with a GT4, and still love the driving part. I’m still getting faster, so I don’t think I’m over the hill yet. I gave up on instructing in 2015 after doing it for 16 years. The hassle of trailering the car to and from the track, and dealing with the idiots on the road is what will eventually make me quit. I’m very comfortable doing 150 on track, but the drive getting there and back scares the hell out of me!

Looking at simulators to fill that eventual void…

 

[ponyboy]

Golf. I used to play quite a bit. Was a consistent 10 handicap. I rarely play anymore. I find it almost boring, or a waste of time. I dont even watch it on tv anymore. I do still play in a par 3 league once a week in the summer. Only takes 1.5 hours to play 9 holes. Not sure if im going to play in it this year. Almost feels like a chore at this point.

It hasnt really impacted me much. Maybe a little sadness. It was fun hanging out with my friends for hours at a time. We eventually got older, had kids, life just kind of got in the way.