what do you do in retirement?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Anyone here retired...what do you do in retirement? I am not talking covid, but pre covid? Where and how often did you travel? Or do you have an all consuming hobby or volunteer? How did you find your passion? Did you retire to do it? Or did you retire because you were forced too? Or did you retire because wanted too? How has covid changed it for you?

[disneysteve]

I am not retired so I can't answer personally, but my cousin in Florida retired at 55 and moved to Florida. I can tell you how he has spent his days - and loved every second.

He is a big antique car guy. He owns 2 show cars. So he spend a lot of time maintaining his cars, shopping for parts, going to cruise nights and car shows, etc. He has traveled around the country to big car shows, visited car museums, and more. He did some of that stuff when he was still working but in retirement he's had far more time.

He moved into a 55+ community that has a very active slate of social and educational activities and clubs. He joined the History club and has attended numerous programs. He goes to the movie nights. He's been to various speaker programs. They host all sorts of events for all of the holidays. He joined the neighborhood watch so one day a week he does a few hour shift driving the patrol car around the development.

He has traveled to Europe, both on land-based and cruise-based vacations. A couple of years ago he went out to California for a couple of weeks and visited a few relatives as well as doing a bunch of tourist stuff. Two years ago I went down for a week and he took me all around the area and then we drove down to Key West for a couple of days. He generally has come back "home" to this area twice a year in the spring and fall to visit friends and family.

That's just a smattering of how he lives in retirement. Unfortunately, he was also diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago so has spent a lot of time getting medical care, chemotherapy, radiation, scans, etc. Not how anybody wants to spend their retirement but at least it was better than having to do it while working.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I am not retired so I can't answer personally, but my cousin in Florida retired at 55 and moved to Florida. I can tell you how he has spent his days - and loved every second.

He is a big antique car guy. He owns 2 show cars. So he spend a lot of time maintaining his cars, shopping for parts, going to cruise nights and car shows, etc. He has traveled around the country to big car shows, visited car museums, and more. He did some of that stuff when he was still working but in retirement he's had far more time.

He moved into a 55+ community that has a very active slate of social and educational activities and clubs. He joined the History club and has attended numerous programs. He goes to the movie nights. He's been to various speaker programs. They host all sorts of events for all of the holidays. He joined the neighborhood watch so one day a week he does a few hour shift driving the patrol car around the development.

He has traveled to Europe, both on land-based and cruise-based vacations. A couple of years ago he went out to California for a couple of weeks and visited a few relatives as well as doing a bunch of tourist stuff. Two years ago I went down for a week and he took me all around the area and then we drove down to Key West for a couple of days. He generally has come back "home" to this area twice a year in the spring and fall to visit friends and family.

That's just a smattering of how he lives in retirement. Unfortunately, he was also diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago so has spent a lot of time getting medical care, chemotherapy, radiation, scans, etc. Not how anybody wants to spend their retirement but at least it was better than having to do it while working.

How long was he retired for? How long did he enjoy his rewards?

[disneysteve]

How long was he retired for? How long did he enjoy his rewards?

He retired at 55. He just turned 66 on Sunday. June 2021 would be 10 years that he moved to Florida.

[Like2Plan]

This will be my 10th year of retirement this year, so I am just hitting some of the highlights. I've done a lot of travel (US only). We've made it a point to go to as many family events as we could like graduations, weddings and family reunions (we live on the east coast and most of the events were on the west coast). I also arranged some girls only outings with the extended family that were a lot of fun. We had tailgate season in the fall-- to give moral support to family and friends going to college. Lots of visits to Disney World/Land. DH was doing a lot of travel for his work and I would go with him as much as I could. I used to get together with my friends from work about once a month for lunch. DH and I have an interest in genealogy, so we made a lot of visits to the national archives, library of congress, county records offices all over the country and lots of cemeteries.

Post covid--not much travel. Though, last year Marriott had a deal where you could buy gift cards for 20% off. (I think we bought 1,500 IIRC) I didn't think we would use them anytime soon, but we did manage to use them up by the end of the year. (Wish we had bought more. ) I have been making face masks and a some baby blankets and a baby quilt. I still do genealogy--mostly online. DH and I almost always take a walk for about an hour each day. I subscribe to WSJ, New York Times and Washington Post, so I try to spend some time reading my subscriptions each morning. I still peruse financial topics here and on Bogleheads, but I don't spend as much time on the discussion boards as I used to. (Once I get the financial plan set each year, there isn't much to do. But, I decided boring is good when it comes to finances. )

And, lately I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the COVID19 vaccine. I finally found a source for my 88 year old Mom this past week. It does give me encouragement that my Mom and my aunt and uncle (in their 90's) finally received their first dose this past week (they live in different areas with different rules).

[Fishindude77]

Retired 3+ years, just got in from ice fishing since early morning, probably going to just do a few chores and loaf the rest of the day.

I've got quite a few hobbies to keep myself entertained:
Hard core multi state deer hunter both archery and firearms
Fresh water fishing, quite a few different species
Mushroom hunting
Shed antler hunting
Vegetable & flower gardening + raise pumpkins
Butchering and food preservation
Firearms & shooting
Acrylic painting
Misc. wood working and shop projects
Build and fix lots of things
Boating & lake activities
Anything with grandkids
Ride ATV's
Walking and hiking

Also live on a farm so always have farm chores to perform:
Mowing
Tree & brush trimming
Cutting firewood
Habitat plantings & maintenance
Wildlife food plots
Pond maintenance
General clean up

Most of this stuff really hasn't been affected by Covid too much so pretty much carrying on as usual.
We do run around with a core group of 4-10 other couples and like to go out to eat, to the local clubs, bowling, movies, little trips, etc. Covid has sucked the fun out of a lot of that stuff, so we've been doing get togethers in each others homes instead to get some social interaction.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm salivating at the thought.

[bjl584]

Not retired, but I am an active person and enjoy the outdoors.
I see me continuing to do those sort of activities once I walk away from my W2 gig.

I'm not sure I'll ever fully retire.
I'll probably tinker at something on the side that I enjoy as long as I have my health to do so

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I want to do nothing. Maybe that'll get old but i'd like to wake up anytime and do nothing.

[Like2Plan]

I want to do nothing. Maybe that'll get old but i'd like to wake up anytime and do nothing.

It sounds like you need a vacation.

[bjl584]

I want to do nothing. Maybe that'll get old but i'd like to wake up anytime and do nothing.

My mom thought that too.
She has been retired for about 7 years now, and she said that she keeps busier than ever.
She doesn't know how she found time to work

[disneysteve]

I want to do nothing. Maybe that'll get old but i'd like to wake up anytime and do nothing.

That's fine, for about a day and a half. Boredom sets in really quickly.

Heck, when I have 5 consecutive days off, if I don't have stuff planned I need to find things to do with myself. I might spend one day lounging around but that's about my limit.

[ua_guy]

My parents have kept themselves very active in retirement. It's good. They have all kinds of friends that they do stuff with. They have an RV and use it often, and travel around with their friends and sometimes spend a couple of months in the Southwest during the winters. Dad raced for a long time and continued it into retirement until recently, but he is still very plugged into car hobbies. Every couple years they are off to Europe to see more historical stuff and museums. They've been very active in the grandkids' lives. They go to the gym, they walk, they volunteer, they have a huge garden and are obsessive about keeping up around their house. Dad fishes sometimes. We get together for every birthday, holiday, and just because (pre-covid). We've also been doing some RV'ing with them. I'm happy they keep very busy and have put themselves in a position where us kids won't have to worry about having resources to care for them.

[ua_guy]

I want to do nothing. Maybe that'll get old but i'd like to wake up anytime and do nothing.

I think doing nothing gets old quickly after a while, but I can relate to this statement somewhat as I want retirement to be a much slower and intentional pace of life. I agree, though, right now in my fast-paced working years, burning a day doing absolutely nothing is very enjoyable and easy to do!! It's because every other day of the week whether I want it or not, I have obligations and things I must do. To not be obliged for a day or two is absolutely sublime.

[disneysteve]

They go to the gym, they walk

That's definitely something I look forward to - not having to squeeze in exercise to a busy work schedule. I prefer to exercise in the morning, but I work 4 days a week. I like to take a walk later in the day, but can't do that during the part of the year when it gets dark at 4 or 5:00. Retirement opens up the entire day to exercise and walk whenever.