Retirement

[beaglebuddy]

As a diversion from hateful politics I would like to discuss retirement, I know quite a few of you have retired and are pursuing windsurfing more or less full time.
I would like to know your thoughts on how retirement has worked for you, if you took an early retirement, and most importantly if you missed working. Did it leave you without a sense of fulfillment or gratification? Does windsurfing, skiing, bicycle riding etc.. offer sufficient mental stimulation? What has all this free time done for you? Do you wish you had retired earlier?
My situation such that if I were to leave Kauai and move to somewhere cheaper, Hood River for instance I could retire, I'm 52 now. Funny thing is I'm a plumbing contractor and I'm really enjoying working now but I wonder if it's because my life is so empty here on the culturally barren and isolated North Shore of Kauai that work is my only stimulating contact with other humans beings.
Being a plumber one falls into a cycle of instant gratification, I arrive at a residence where there is a problem nobody can fix, within a short time the problem is fixed, the customers are happy and grateful and I have been paid. I think I will miss this.
My problem is such that I seem incapable of balancing work, exercise, play and social, work seems to hog all the time and I feel like if I don't stop working I will never realize my other desires.

[scottwerden]

I retired almost 2 years ago at age 62. I was pretty much burned out on hi-tech so I don't really miss it and I think I retired about the right time. Retiring earlier would have been nice but we earned more money by waiting so it makes retirement more comfortable.

We sold our house in Seattle and moved to Maui but we have had a cabin in the gorge for 20 years, which we kept.

I love windsurfing but it takes a heavy toll on my joints and so I am slowing down on it. I SUP surf more than I windsurf while on the rock and am really liking that. Ironically, I mostly SUS with other people from the gorge who live on Maui and were long time windsurfers.

Both Maui and the gorge are rural places so it takes some work to find intellectually stimulating stuff. It is there, just not nearly as much as in Seattle. I am more of a hermit than my wife so I am OK with living rurally and working on our land and working in my wood shop, building furniture. Those are my main non-sports activities.

One thing about Hood River - a lot of people leave in the winter so it changes between seasons. We are selling our place in the gorge to live year around in Maui.

[swchandler]

I retired over 10 1/2 years ago at 55 1/2. Do I miss work? No, not at all. My job was complicated and satisfying, but it was in a very high stress environment where schedules and the constant pressure could make things daunting and difficult. That was a big ingredient that led to a heart attack during my final months of working. Although I was already committed to retiring at the end of the year before the heart attack, after it, I loss all interest in the job. Reluctantly, I came back for only 5 weeks to tie up some loose ends. It was over, and I turned my back on it and never looked back. I will admit though, I still have lots of dreams about work.

With respect to windsurfing, it was a big escape for me while working, and I was very dedicated to it and the beach. For years I was averaging 100 days a year, and that was while working 50-60 hours a week. However, after retiring, I have to admit to windsurfing a lot less. Some of has to do with age and a number of surgeries that I've had, my desire to escape and invest in sport as a relief valve isn't as great as it used to be.

The biggest factor affecting my life after retirement has been homeownership. I bought my first place a month after retiring, and I've invested a lot of effort in remodeling and trying to create a unique and special environment that says a lot about me. While most folks buy property much earlier in life and center their efforts around it, I did the opposite. I make it a point to always having big projects going on that involve me mentally and physically. And, by doing all the work myself, I'm always very busy and challenged. That's the key to an interesting and fulfilling retirement.

While I still have a few major remodel and landscaping projects left to go, after that I'll open a new door by creating artwork. I can't think of a better way to keep myself intellectually stimulated and dedicated over the final chapters of my life, especially as age makes physical sports more difficult. Even though I'm quite content being alone much of the time, doing artwork will give me the opportunity to invest in the art scene and socially mix with others that share that focus.

[techno900]

I retired 6 years ago at age 64. I tried a year earlier, but my boss wanted me to stay one more year, so I did a deal where I worked a 4 day week and trained my replacement for a full year.

Loved work, but like retirement more. My wife is younger so she kept working for four more years, then we moved to N.C. where her family is located. Been here 2.5 years and very much like the city (actually Cary).

While in Dallas and retired, I was getting 90 days of windsurfing in per year, probably 99% planing days, including formula. Then one day of golf per week.

Now in Raleigh N.C., I am getting about half the windsurfing days since the wind here is infrequent and gusty. The Outer Banks is 3 - 4.5 hours away, depending on where I go, and that's where 80% of my windsurfing days occur.

I live in a 1300 home community of 55+ age people. I play golf 2 times a week with the "golf group" (100 guys) and have played 28 different courses. The courses love us since we usually show up with 40 or so guys for a shotgun start on week days, and pay very reasonable rates which average about $28 including carts.

I see the majority of the people here in my community as "old", but not me. I drove 4 hours to Virginia Beach yesterday and met 5 friends for a 5.2 day with a NE wind, 4-6' swells and 2-3' surf. I am a long time lake sailor, so this was challenging, but worth the trip. Then 4 hrs. back home.

The community is very close (lots of clubs/activities/socializing) so plenty to do. If I ever get board, it's my fault.

Probably too much time sitting here at the computer. Oh well.

[jp5]

19 months to go.

[swchandler]

"With respect to windsurfing, it was a big escape for me while working, and I was very dedicated to it and the beach."


I wanted to revisit what I said earlier and focus a bit more on being dedicated to the beach. I got into a scene for probably 10-15 years before retiring where I was concentrating on windsurfing at more unusual spots that many didn't seem to have the patience for. One spot was about 8 miles from home, and the other only a mile away. While waiting for the wind to come up late in the day, I used that time to beachcomb looking for interesting driftwood, or different fossilized rocks that had be worked and shaped on the beach. Over that time, I have collected thousands of pounds of really special stuff. Believe me, if you have an eye, and diligently do the work, it pays off.

I guess the point I want to make is that if you want an interesting and engaging retirement, invest in other things early that focus on your longer term interests. Ask yourself how you might leverage today for your future.

That said, I have to emphasize that life's not always about money. My beach collection really has nothing to do about making money, it's about having and working with stuff that few folks have.

[beaglebuddy]

[beaglebuddy]

Interesting replies, it seems that many have had stressful and demanding jobs, paid well but perhaps not so rewarding? Most people seem glad to have retired.
It's funny, nothing typical ever seems to apply to me. I enjoy my work but "feel" I should retire so I can concentrate on other things, my health, fitness, windsurfing, finding a social life, guitar...
After 6 years on Kauai I'm getting some island fever, tired of the mono climate, hateful local people, fake culture, trustifarian hippies, pretentious yoga people, lousy windsurfing, horrible L.A. surfer culture and vibe which includes 60 year old men that dress and talk like Spicoli, etc..

[boggsman1]

BB...it looks like you started this thread to gripe about your boredom in Hawaii...maybe you should see a therapist?

[techno900]

Deciding when and where to retire SHOULD take some extensive planning, which I think many bypass, mostly because of ignorance or carelessness.

In a nut shell - What do you want in retirement? Where can that be best provided?

One example that I found is that when looking into relocating to the Raleigh area, I spent hours on line and two trips to the area looking at homes. Eventually, we discovered that while there were plenty of appealing homes at an affordable price in desirable neighborhoods, we didn't want to live in a neighborhood with young families with lots of kids and dogs. Simply, we would have little in common with the neighbors and the social atmosphere would be less than stimulating for us.

Then, we found an over 55 community (one of the buyers/couple must be over 55), which has turned out to be profoundly stimulating, close knit, friendly and fun.

I agreed I would move to N.C. upon my wife's retirement to be near her family, but I had the option of where to live. Considering windsurfing, I looked into Charlotte near Lake Norman, then Wilmington to be at the coast, but in a somewhat larger community, plus Raleigh near Jordan Lake & a lot closer to the coast than Charlotte. Raleigh was a clear choice over Charlotte and my hurricane/tropical storm research for Wilmington steered me away, so Raleigh it was.

I have been to Hawaii a couple of times, and it's a great place to visit and windsurf, but I can't see living there. Generally speaking, too isolated for me.

Everyone is different, so the challenge is to find the correctly styled shoe that fits perfectly.