Retirement isn't it amazing that even paradise can get routine

[1nshort]

I think I might retire sometime between july and september of this year. The problem is that I have been having so much fun doing what I do. The DW says it is time........so now I am getting serious and doing hard research on the fun I am going to have when I retire. So much I want to do and need more toys to do it with. It's all about the toys folks.
1nshort

[trackmanbfa]

Volunteer at your church or any church or other good cause. You pick the things you like to do and when you want to do them. Meet great people and maybe get closer to God. That is what we all should do if we have that kind of time on our hands. Get closer to God cause you are closer to meeting him than you ever were.

[Rstrahan]

I had to retire on disability a couple of years ago, was able to get maxed out on my SS for being disabled. Wife pulled the trigger last spring. We closed the business. Sold the home in Dallas, and moved to SW Florida. Now, I am writing, wife is developing her photography business. Going to use our MH in the businesses as there is nothing to anchor us down. Setting around watching daytime TV will rot your brain, so we are staying busy. But not too busy to watch sunsets on the beach.

[KD 1]

After 4 years in the US Air Force I got out & went to work as a civilian with the AF. When I started as a young 'boy' of about 25 I saw so many men in their 70s and more struggling to come in to work. I asked why? The answer was they couldn't afford to retire. We could retire at 55 if we had the years so I made a vow to myself I would be out of there at 55.
Divorce & college tuition,etc. set me back only 6 months. I retired at 55 1/2 & then worked for almost 2 years doing the same job for more money at the same place with a private contractor.
I had planned & saved over the years so I am OK now & don't have to work but I was getting restless too. I told my Daddy I had to do something but I couldn't see minimum wage & working like a teenager. I told him I felt like I was just sitting at home waiting to die.
I decided to do something I liked. I have a Work & Play Toyhauler so I take the fishing gear, the Harley & the dog & I work for the State as a Campground Host. I absolutely love it. I make no money but I am basically my own boss and when I'm not working I fish, ride the Harley and hang out with the dog.
Life is great & I feel needed & appreciated. I have been home now for about 2 weeks until my next assignment in about a month & I can hardy wait !
(and by the way, I just turned 61 & take no meds & I think I'm in pretty good health)

[DDC]

Probably the one thing I miss the most is the socializing at work, all the characters, peoples great or strange take on life, all the stories, I do miss that but not enough to go back looking for work.

[Phil57]

The other side of retirement is what I ended up with. At 55 I medically retired from a job that I loved. Good pay and my own boss. Well it wasn't our plan but we decided to sell the house and took our MH out full time. Chronic pain keeps me from doing all the fun things I planned on when retiring but we make the best out of a bad situation. I never dreamed I would be like this at 57. Not complaining but wondering if anyone else is in the same boat?

[Sandy Farrar]

Hi folks. We are in our early 70's and in fair health. Thinking very seriously of taking the plunge and retiring. Have a 2010 Georgetown MH with quite a few extras that came with it. We owe $50,000 on it. (our only debt) Want to move from Calif. to Colo. where we have family. Our biggest concern is financial. Will only be getting around $24,000yr. income and have enough savings to perhaps buy/rent a park model or factory built home. Also, it has been suggested we purchase an RV lot, live in it awhile THEN, later sell RV and buy park model, etc. Don't know what we could get for the Georgetown in a couple yrs. These are scary thoughts but I believe once you stop dreaming, it's all over. Has anyone been able to make retirement work with buying/renting an RV lot and were there any unexpected surprises? (good or bad). Thanks for the input and happy/safe New Year! Sandy

[Rstrahan]

Phil, dealing with neuromuscular issues, deal with pain every day.

I took too much aspirin based pain killers, ended up with a perforated ulcer. I now know what a '10' pain level is. I just deal with it by moving. I sit too long, I have more pain. I use a power chair. That is why I tow my minivan with the chair and lift.

I go to the gym at our community center. I do a light workout at least every other day to keep the muscles moving.

You just have to keep moving. I have, and been dealing with this stuff for almost 30 years. It doesn't get better. But we did find that by moving tomSW Florida away from the cold, the pain is much less, much easier to move around.

[Rstrahan]

Sandy, I have lived in Colo. it gets COLD. OMG cold! And the cost of living is high due to heating costs.

You have an RV. You can purchase a MH in SW Florida for $15K, lot rent of about $600. Utilities cost of about $100 (water, sewer, etc included in rent). Alternately, there are combo parks down here where you can rent a space monthly, including all utilities.

Come down and you will save big time on living costs, travel up to Colo to visit kinfolks. You will make many friends in these RV/MH developments. Lot friendlier than you will find in other areas as many are Over-55 developments.

As to selling the RV, you will have a hard time just breaking even due to depreciation unless it is real fancy. Hope this helps

[Roll]

Originally Posted by Maron

I feel a bit cheated in that I retired 1 1/2 years ago at 70 and sometimes feel guilty that I'm not still working...then I read about all you folks in your 50's and 60's that have retired and few if any feel guilty.

No, there is no guilt here. I worked for 50 years (13 to 63) providing support to my mother (when I was young) and then my family after I got married.

After 50 years of service I felt I had more than earned the retirement I had looked forward to.

I did miss work for a while, I ran a program for a University that I had in part created and it was difficult to let it go. But now after 18 months, when I think about work it is only the people I think of, not the work.

Enjoy your retirement I am sure you earned it too.

Gary

[Sandy Farrar]

Hey Roger, I know how cold it gets in Colo. We lived there some time ago in a stick house. At this stage, thinking about spending June thru Oct. as a base, then look around. I hear Florida is very crowded. Is there a lot of humidity? Maybe we will become "snowbirds." Again, money may be an issue to do a lot of traveling. We are thinking positive! Cheers, Sandy and Gary

[mlsa3]

I retired about 1 1/2 years ago for the second time. I retired the first time at 62...was retired about 15 months and they started calling me back to help them finish the job....can't find anybody that can do what you did...you know the story....went back for another 10 months and helped them finish that job and then retired again.

Retired about 6 months and on Valentines day of last year had a heart attack...no warning...one who was never sick...ate healthy...fairly active..everybody was surprised. Had a double bypass....felt really great after that...but still was too weak...took more tests and they found out I had more heart damage than they thought to the heart...went back into hospital and had defibulator/monitor put in. My heart is only pumping about 23% of what it's suppose to. I feel great but have to be careful and not over do it.

That helps put a perspective on things. We bought a new Aframe camper for my retirement...I've been able to use it 5 times last year and can't wait for this rain to quit to start again this year. If I get tired, I rest....if I don't finish it today...then I'll do it tomorrow. I don't sweat the small stuff.

Yes, I miss working...I liked what I did...I miss my old friends...but I also love retirement. Life has a way of changing our plans so I've learned to adapt and over come. Things and hobbies I can't do now I replaced with other things I can do and enjoy.

Enjoy life today no matter what you are doing because you may not have it tomorrow.

David

[RamblerGuy]

As stated in an earlier post, when you are retired, every day is Saturday. For me that means the chores and honey-do's never end.

However, when we are in our motorhome, every day is vacation!

We like to travel, do bird watching, and photography. Birding is an excuse to travel. Traveling is an excuse to bird watch. Finding birds and scenery to photograph are excuses to travel. It all works together.

Since I retired on April Fool's Day, 2011, we've driven our motorhome about 33,000 miles, have spent over 325 nights in it, been though 46 states, and have overnighted in 43 of them.

We went to Alaska this past June, by air, which is the 50th state that I have visited. My dearly beloved has been in 49 states - only Hawaii is missing from her list.

[Timberdog]

Been retired for a year now, travelled across Canada and then down to Montana and back to eastern Canada. Do I miss work, nope. I've started building log furniture and have started building a cabin on a piece of land we bought years ago. The DW paints, knits and keeps herself busy. The RV is icing on the cake.

[ZBoater]

Originally Posted by Phil57

The other side of retirement is what I ended up with. At 55 I medically retired from a job that I loved. Good pay and my own boss. Well it wasn't our plan but we decided to sell the house and took our MH out full time. Chronic pain keeps me from doing all the fun things I planned on when retiring but we make the best out of a bad situation. I never dreamed I would be like this at 57. Not complaining but wondering if anyone else is in the same boat?

Not in the same boat but wanted to reply. I'm 46 and planning on retiring earlier rather than later. Want to sell the house and want to full time in a Motor Home for as long as my health lets me. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Until recently I didn't even think about retirement, but I wish I had started sooner.

[CSMRetired]

I retired Mar of 2012, so just about have three solid years under my belt. DW retired April of last year, still a rookie, but she is learning. We thoroughly enjoy it!

Not being tied down to work schedules is a big plus, right now the only thing we are tied to is Doctors appointments (some of those are coming more often than we like, but no complaints)

It's very nice to not 'have' to set an alarm, be somewhere at a certain time, and run around like a chicken with your head cut off making sure you have everything covered. If you decided you want to 'up and go somewhere' I'll be darn, just go......nothing stopping you.

You do miss the people you worked with, but if you keep in touch with them as we do.....you don't miss them that much.

We added a new grandson to the family earlier this month and we were able to be there the entire time, not looking at a watch wondering if you could make to work on time or be late for your next 'meeting' (don't miss the meetings at ALL) Matter of fact, DW and I don't even wear a watch anymore!

I could go on and on with the plus side of retirement, you just have to pace yourself, not try to complete your 'bucket list' as some call it overnight. You go with 'Rome wasn't built in a day' it probably took a couple of weeks....take your time. Your mind still believes you're 30, but sometimes your body says "not this time" so get your mind and body to talk things out and go at the compromised pace. Ain't so bad once you get adjusted.

In a nutshell, you 'earned' your 'easier way' of doing things.

[Oakman]

I’ve been retired for 11 years and have been very lucky health wise. My wife and I can still travel and we do so when we can and as often as we can afford. We don’t limit ourselves to RVing either, we also go on cruises and we like to visit all-inclusive resorts in Mexico during winter months. Our retirement has been great thank God, and I hope it continues for many more years. BTW, the credit card companies love us.

[Rstrahan]

Sandy:

I don't know what you mean 'crowded'. Now Miami/Lauderdale is crowded, but it is a major strip city, bounded by the Everglades on the west, unable to expand in that direction. Orlando, OMG. But if you get out of those major cities, no, its not crowded. And inland communities are for the most very empty.

Port Charlotte has many empty lots, so while it is platted,it is not crowded. There are plenty of Rac sites. For example, Harbor Lakes southwest on 776 has a combination of RV spaces and manufactured homes on lots set among a golf course. You have to reserve early for long term spaces, but, no it is not crowded for us.

Yes, Florida is the third most populous state,but it is like Texas in that the population is concentrated in urban areas. But we love the blue water, white sand, mild temps.

Yes, it gets humid, but running around in T-shirts and shorts in the middle of January, who cares. Now the heat and humidity can get brutal in inland Florida, but along the coasts, it doesn't bother us as we have the coastal breezes.

[mark0224]

After looking at this I am kind of wondering if retirement is as all it's cracked up to be, I can retire in April and am looking forward to it. I have been in law enforcement for 25 yrs now and seen too many nasty people over the years and need to get out. I love my time off and going with our trailer and have several hobbies plus an old house to keep me busy. Thought about volunteering for the VA and trying to get some positive things to look at. My wife and I are looking forward to doing some traveling and seeing something other than here. We have been locked into this area because of my job and limited time off, seems that all I do is work get up at 6am come home at midnight 2 to 3 days a week. I'm hoping that it really doesn't get as routine or monotonous as some have said. I really wish every day was a new day and the only routine was getting up in the morning.

[Rstrahan]

Mark, retirement is what you make of it. Wife and I are real estate appraisers,but getting out of it due to the legal BS, slicing of fees in half, etc. Now I am writing a book of my own, have access to an editor and agent, working with him to get it published. Doing a second with the wife (she is also a professional photographer) where it will be a combination of writing and photographs.

If you vegetate, you will end up looking at 4 walls and wondering what happened

We were exhausted, trying to keep the appraisal business going in light of current regs. We looked at each other, sold the home in Dallas, moved to Florida, bought our current MH (4th RV). We have more energy and go than we had in Dallas, enjoying life more. Always something to do here that doesn't cost much or anything. Have a beach and boat ramp one mile from the house. 3 hours from Lauderdale/Miami so day trips to the Atlantic coast is quite doable. 3 1/2 hours by jet ferry to Key West.

What is not to like about retirement.