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

[Koolau]

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

It's amazing how quickly that can happen, too. Most things I've given up have been something I really enjoyed - and then I suddenly didn't. Can't even explain it. Could say "too much like w*rk" or some such but it just seems my interests can change on a dime. (heh, heh, If I don't show up here some day...)

 

[Midpack]

I’ve shared this before, but we gave up sailing/sail racing. It was the center of my outside activity world for 25 years, over which we owned a series of 5 boats. I stopped because a) it’s really expensive, especially competitive racing, and one day I summed up what I’d spent on sailing over 25 years and was appalled, b) I’d accomplished everything I’d hoped to, doing more would have cost even more, and c) DW kind of lost interest/confidence as her physical abilities have declined. It never occurred to me I’d quit sailing, but I did.

I don’t regret it so much, I had a great run. What we spent on sailing I now spend at least in part on healthcare so it was a net gain budget wise. We also owned our boats on Lake Erie, Tampa Bay and Lake Michigan and I did some ocean racing off San Diego and all over New England - we don’t live near “big waters” anymore and even large lakes don’t cut it for me anymore. I did a 500 mile race from Chicago to Port Huron on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and several long ocean passages - inland lakes feel like ponds to me after that. And I’m not as confident in my physical abilities anymore either.

I’ve resumed golf and pickleball as a main outside activities now. When I hear my golf buddies complain about how expensive golf is, it makes me laugh (to myself) - golf is cheap compared to owning boats, especially race boats.

 

[Koolau]

I’ve shared this before, but we gave up sailing/sail racing. It was the center of my outside activity world for 25 years, over which we owned a series of 5 boats. I stopped because a) it’s really expensive, especially competitive racing, and one day I summed up what I’d spent on sailing over 25 years and was appalled, b) I’d accomplished everything I’d hoped to, doing more would have cost even more, and c) DW kind of lost interest/confidence as her physical abilities have declined. It never occurred to me I’d quit sailing, but I did.

I don’t regret it so much, I had a great run. What we spent on sailing I now spend at least in part on healthcare so it was a net gain budget wise. We also owned our boats on Lake Erie, Tampa Bay and Lake Michigan and I did some ocean racing off San Diego and all over New England - we don’t live near “big waters” anymore and even large lakes don’t cut it for me anymore. I did a 500 mile race from Chicago to Port Huron on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and several long ocean passages - inland lakes feel like ponds to me after that. And I’m not as confident in my physical abilities anymore either.

I’ve resumed golf and pickleball as a main outside activities now. When I hear my golf buddies complain about how expensive golf is, it makes me laugh (to myself) - golf is cheap compared to owning boats, especially race boats.

Sounds just a bit like flying. Back in the day, I concluded that I'd never be able to afford a truly practical aircraft - suitable for "vacation" flying. Too expensive and I (we - DW and I) had "better" things to do with our money - like actually buy a house!

Sorta glad I gave it up when I did. I miss it to this day, but being able to live a nice life AND FIRE was probably a good trade. But, every once in a while...

 

[B-Guy]

Like many of you, I’ve had hobbies come and go. Most of the time I discover something interesting and it becomes a hobby, until I would learn as much as I could then move on to another. Most have had the same fate. A couple hobbies that I have not gotten bored with long term is beekeeping and reloading/long distance shooting. Another was a hobby that turned into a career, then back to hobby was computers. I was in IT for over 40 years. I still enjoy learning and keeping up with computer technology on my home lab. Most everything is virtualized giving the opportunity to continue learning. I can't think of any I've given up that I wish I could still do.

 

[Pointby2]

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...

Looking back, when I quit doing driving events I lost the entire social part that was associated with it. I was on the board of Audi Club and we would meet monthly and set up track days at the various tracks in the area. We would have social events, canyon and mountain driving days. Made a lot of friends there and they've all since disappeared.

 

[Dtail]

As I have mentioned many times, I am fairly obsessed with Pickleball. In order to play the sport as much as I do, I gave up tennis and golf. I don't miss either sport, as I still get a good cardio workout with pickleball.
Although I was fairly decent at the other 2 sports, I am much better at pickleball and it also provides an ego satisfaction.

 

[Dtail]

Just read the whole thread, so my hobby was just a replacement type decision vs purely giving something up.
As for skiing, living in Florida plus tearing my ACL at age 40 ended that hobby.

 

[Tom52]

We have started to scale back on travel a bit as we get older. I used to like to tinker on old cars but have nearly stopped this even though I still have my classic Chevy. This is also partly because I do not a a big shop to work on cars anymore. We have taken up golf again in retirement and I picked up my old hobby of playing guitar.

 

[sturge]

I'll be 66 in Oct and have had to give up many things over the years. Up until about 50 or so I played hoops, volleyball, softball in men's leagues, ran 2-3 times a week but the pounding eventually got to my surgically repaired ankle and I had to give all of them up.

I took up mountain biking to stay active and have continued it to this day. There are multiple great single track trail networks within 30 minutes of me so I get out 2-3 times a week until the snow hits. Many of my biking buddies have hung it up but as time goes on you always find other riders to ride with.

I've been skiing since age 5 and continue to get out when I can. I did club racing for years but gave that up so it's strictly recreational skiing. I'm in CT and close enough to VT to do day trips at Stratton and Killington...it's a long day but I still love it. I usually do a Western trip every year for a week and have skied Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Cali, OR, BC Canada, etc.

3 years ago I decided to do a full ankle replacement but I'm able to continue skiing and mountain biking at a level that keeps me in shape. I still hit all the same trails/terrain but I've started to back off a bit and will take the "B" lines a bit more LOL!

I also have lots of fun riding my Harley, I play guitar in a local band, and the wife and I enjoy boating.

 

[Flyfish1]

We gave up skiing a few years ago because DW had knee issues. I used to love bird hunting, pheasant, waterfowl but haven't gone in several years mainly because I don't have a dog that can hunt and my hearing is so bad that more shooting probably isn't wise, even with ear protection. Fishing and woodworking are my hobbies now and have been for many years. We tried to pick up golf when we retired , but she developed a foot problem and later I had a surgery that put me out of commission for several months. May still give it a go as I think the social side of golf would be fun.

 

[Lsbcal]

age 13 - gave up bowling
age 15 - gave up stamp collecting but still have those stamps. Our son isn't a fan. Maybe the grandsons?
age 39 - gave up tennis. I sucked at it but really enjoyed it with a friend.
age 55 - gave up working.
age 75 - gave up running in hills. Now I walk/hike.
age ?? - gave up living

 

[Out of Steam]

age 15 - gave up stamp collecting but still have those stamps. Our son isn't a fan. Maybe the grandsons?

Like me, except coins. Do not expect any grandchildren, so should probably look at passing them on, and selling a few things of some value.

 

[Koolau]

age 13 - gave up bowling
age 15 - gave up stamp collecting but still have those stamps. Our son isn't a fan. Maybe the grandsons?
age 39 - gave up tennis. I sucked at it but really enjoyed it with a friend.
age 55 - gave up working.
age 75 - gave up running in hills. Now I walk/hike.
age ?? - gave up living

I had an old family friend who had collected stamps for 50 years. He had a half dozen books, mostly filled plus bags of stamps yet to go through. He ran short of money and hoped that his stamps would be worth something. He asked 2 or 3 experts(?) to go through his collection and see if he had any value. They told him, it all might be worth $200 IF they could find anyone who wanted the collection to add to their collection of stamps.

More personal: DW's mom (my MIL) had a coin collection. When she passed, DW got the collection. I looked through it for "key dates" and found NONE. There was perhaps $400 face value in silver coins, so it was worth some money for scrap but virtually nothing for numismatic value.

Like me, except coins. Do not expect any grandchildren, so should probably look at passing them on, and selling a few things of some value.

I've come to the conclusion that most collections at the amateur level are pretty much valueless - except as in the case of the coins - any old silver coin pretty much has some value.

 

[Lsbcal]

Like me, except coins. Do not expect any grandchildren, so should probably look at passing them on, and selling a few things of some value.

I have a few of those cheap old blue coin holders. One for pennies, and one for nickels, and one for dimes. I'd go through my change and my parents change. It was great cheap fun for a kid. I still remember going to the bank downtown when my Mom cashed her work check on Fridays and getting those rolls of pennies. Then sitting down on the marble bench and sorting through them. Fond memories.

 

[Koolau]

I have a few of those cheap old blue coin holders. One for pennies, and one for nickels, and one for dimes. I'd go through my change and my parents change. It was great cheap fun for a kid. I still remember going to the bank downtown when my Mom cashed her work check on Fridays and getting those rolls of pennies. Then sitting down on the marble bench and sorting through them. Fond memories.

Yeah, I recall filling "penny books" from change. Kinda fun - back then. Family had a business and took mostly cash back in the day. SO I had a real good source for pennies (never went to silver as I couldn't afford it!). I recall that back when I was messing with pennies, a quarter bought a hand made banana split at the corner drug store. Talk about value! My first j*b (when dad finally started to pay me for w*rking for him ) I received (wait for it) a quarter/hour!

 

[Lsbcal]

...

I've come to the conclusion that most collections at the amateur level are pretty much valueless - except as in the case of the coins - any old silver coin pretty much has some value.

I remember when inflation was REALLY a problem in the 1970's. I was looking into precious coins and diamonds. I concluded that the retail market had too much of a mark up and was too dicey as a true investment.

Then in the 1980 Iranian fiasco when gold shot up, I bought some Maple Leaf coins. I sold them for a modest loss early on but kept one. If I do the math, stocks have done a lot better. I think the compounded return is something like 3.7% for the Maple Leaf. At least so far it has kept up with inflation.

But that is adult thinking. As a kid it was delightful to go hunting for "rare" stamps and coins. Just like looking for Indian arrowheads in the hills. I don't think I can get quite the kick out of treasure hunting like those old days.

 

[Lsbcal]

Yeah, I recall filling "penny books" from change. Kinda fun - back then. Family had a business and took mostly cash back in the day. SO I had a real good source for pennies (never went to silver as I couldn't afford it!). I recall that back when I was messing with pennies, a quarter bought a hand made banana split at the corner drug store. Talk about value! My first j*b (when dad finally started to pay me for w*rking for him ) I received (wait for it) a quarter/hour!

My Mom started me on an allowance of 10 cents a week and told me each year it would go up maybe 10 cents more. I was rich!

 

[Koolau]

I remember when inflation was REALLY a problem in the 1970's. I was looking into precious coins and diamonds. I concluded that the retail market had too much of a mark up and was too dicey as a true investment.

Then in the 1980 Iranian fiasco when gold shot up, I bought some Maple Leaf coins. I sold them for a modest loss early on but kept one. If I do the math, stocks have done a lot better. I think the compounded return is something like 3.7% for the Maple Leaf. At least so far it has kept up with inflation.

But that is adult thinking. As a kid it was delightful to go hunting for "rare" stamps and coins. Just like looking for Indian arrowheads in the hills. I don't think I can get quite the kick out of treasure hunting like those old days.

There was a time (IIRC) in the early 2000s that one could buy gold for about $250 per troy oz. Now it's 10 times that. However, buying the S&P 500 would have been a better investment.

I mentioned recently that my very first Gold coin was a 2 Peso Mexican coin (truly beautiful) and IIRC that coin has something like 0.04 troy oz of gold in it. I paid $2 in about 1974. The coin now sells between about $180 and $250. And STILL it's probably a wash with the S&P 500 (roughly 60X for S&P and 90X for that one coin - which was very good deal to me at the time.)

YES, my days of treasure hunting are over - even in the stock market. Pretty much an index guy.

 

[FI_RElater]

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 came close to throwing in the towel last year, but at the end of the season I decided that since I would be retired this season, I would go more often and enjoy it more, so I bought another season pass. It has been a mediocre snow year in Colorado, and skiing groomed trails all day isn't that fun for me. My wife and all of my friends have given up DH skiing, either because of the same burnout I am experiencing, or because they have bad knees, backs, or whatever. The drive to/from is tedious and occasionally dangerous, and I just feel bored about the whole thing.

I realized today while I was skiing that all of my gear is overdue for a refresh. My boots are 17 years old, my skis are 10 years old, my helmet is 10 years old, I don't even know how old my ski clothes are, but trust me, they need to be replaced, duct tape only goes so far! Even if I shop sales and buy cheap or used, I am looking at $1500+ to replace everything with the same level of stuff I am skiing. Then there is the ever escalating cost of a season pass, you can't even dream of buying day passes and only skiing a few days per year now, it is simply ridiculous. So you have to commit to 12+ days to make a pass worth it, or not ski at all, and even with a pass, when you consider costs of gear, gas and the like, it is easily $100/day to ski now even at a local resort, and that does not include food.

To top it all off, there is world class cross country skiing even closer to us than DH skiing, a season pass for that *both* of us is $200, we have fresh gear for that, and we can get our fill of XC skiing in just a couple of hours instead of using up an entire day.

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

Have you tried East Portal ? (park at the Moffat Tunnel and go up the Boulder Creek trail)... no real cost, but can be tough if cutting new trail

I did that (four plus decades ago), couldn't do DH as was a poor student, and now that I'm back in the state (again, after many decades) I can't do it due to full replacement knee on one and ACL on the other. Ortho said no more court stuff: I'd played rec BBall (local uni players often in games, so somewhat competeive), played B+/A level VBall (competitive), and ortho said no pickleball or tennis either and not even rec softball. I used to do road bicycling (including centuries) but knees stopped that-- I might be able to do short stuff now that I'm back in an area that supports biking and has lots of trails.
Never was into running nor golf, but
I do wish I had my knees back....

 

[bigcmagor]

Golf. I did it for humanity as the world is a safer place.

 

[Out of Steam]

I've come to the conclusion that most collections at the amateur level are pretty much valueless - except as in the case of the coins - any old silver coin pretty much has some value.

What would be of value are common date US silver coins, mostly plucked from circulation in the early 1970s, though a few purchased.

 

[skipro33]

I'm 68 and DH ski as often as I can. The drive is about an hour or so away each way. It gives me time to think about all sorts of stuff! I rarely ski more than 3 hours and average 3 days a week during the season IF there's decent coverage on the mountain. The cost is negligible, and I document it as a health benefit expense in place of going to the gym. With all sports, there's only so much one can do to progress on their own. Sooner or later, you need a coach who can get you to the next level. Many people drop out of skiing because they get bored, when the reality is they are simply unable to figure out how to reach that next level. I take a couple group clinics every season and unlearn bad habits and pick up new techniques with each. Most recently been learning how to ski off-piste on wind packed, crusty snow. (Hint; wider ski under the foot, from 96mm to 112mm, plus a longer ski from 178mm to 188mm)
Something that I get often are compliments in the lift lines. Someone will approach me and remark how effortlessly and sharp my carves are, or how quiet I ski the bumps, or how I can perform in the terrain parks. If we ride the chair up together, I'll explain my history as a ski instructor and if they would like a one-run eval with tips. Sometimes on powder days, I'll offer how to ski powder if they do well on the groomed run.
Each day offers something a little different. If you only ski the 'good snow' days, then you will become limited and bored. Think of it like a roller coaster; first time, scared, every muscle tensed and locked. Exhausting by the end. 2nd time, a little more relaxed, 3rd, starting to be a little loose and raise hands, but by the 8th time, bored and ready for a bigger thrill coaster. So it is with skiing; the thrill and excitement is where the draw is for me.
As far as equipment, I highly recommend replacing boots but renting skis. Most resorts offer a deal on demo skis where you can swap them out during the day. I'll do this and test out long, short, wide skinny, stiff, soft, twin-tip, etc skis and realize they all have something to break up the boredom.
I hope you give these suggestions a try; a clinic or group lesson appropriate for your skill set, well-fitting boots, demo skis instead of buying until you find ones that work for you, striking up conversation with other skiers at the resort and taking laps with them. The last really works great if you can talk them into videoing you so you can review your own style and evaluate yourself.
Cheers!

 

[Koolau]

What would be of value are common date US silver coins, mostly plucked from circulation in the early 1970s, though a few purchased.

Absolutely, and I did that. BUT, compared to having invested my money in the equity markets, the silver coins haven't paid nearly as well (unless coins were cashed in during the Hunt run up and reinvested at the bottom in the early 2000s) Heh, heh, I only did the later.

I look at the coins as sort of an insurance policy that has had decent "dividends" but YMMV.

 

[audreyh1]

Not a multi-decade sailboat racer like Midpack, but we were seriously into sailing for many years, my last working years. We had a nice C&C 24 in a slip at the lake. It only took us 15 mins to drive to the marina, so it was an option on workday evenings as well as the weekend. Great way to enjoy a sunset! It was so wonderful being out on the lake with no sound but the wind and the boat cutting through water. The lake was often not crowded. We were really into it. Even though we were experienced we even went to the Colgate Sailing School in FL to get our captain’s certification - that was a great experience in itself. We thought we would move on to chartering in the Caribbean.

And while I was working, that sailboat really saved my sanity.

But once we retired and started traveling a great deal, that all changed. I didn’t need the help destressing anymore. Traveling a lot mean a lot less time out using it, and maintenance became a headache because we were often gone for long periods. Even more surprising to us is that our plans of sailboat chartering evaporated because we had other outdoors activities that took precedence.

Just the way it goes!

 

[Koolau]

I know the thread is about those who "gave up" a hobby, but I'd be interested in those who have maintained a hobby for a very long time and have no plans to give it up. Any interest here or should I start another thread (heh, heh, which I probably won't.)