If money were no object, what would you do in retirement?

Travel in luxury as much as possible, join a gym, learn to play golf, try a new restaurant once a week, go shopping in Knightsbridge once a month and go to Turkey for a deep plane facelift

I'd buy the thatched cottage in the countryside with a beautiful garden (and pay someone else to maintain it) and have my own room for crafting and reading that I've always wanted. I'd travel a little but make sure my DC were able to do whatever they wanted to do - help with buying a house, travel, pursue academic qualifications, etc.

I would begin aggressively buying all major stocks on the stock market and building an empire, then would ‘remove’ people like Elon Musk from existence positions of authority (where possible as some aren’t in publicly listed companies or they’re the major shareholder).

If you just mean that I would have a bunch of money but not that level then I’m moving to Orlando.

@BoldBeans DH cousins bought the woodland between their properties for that reason. Four of them owned houses that bordered each other, they already had a bit of land each and the woodland bordered two of them.

I’m very sorry you were widowed so young and have had friends have caring responsibilities and seen just how hard it is. I also ended up with a lot of pastoral care for adult students with additional needs when I worked at my last University. They were high achievers but some had very complex needs, especially emotional.

We are living how we want to in retirement as have bought a motorhome, we are off to Ireland for 6 weeks tomorrow having had a couple of breaks of 3 weeks earlier in the summer going to the the coast. The plan is away for at least six months of the year.

We are fortunate to have very good pensions plus investments but I had a heart issue diagnosed this January and our lovely DD died just over a decade ago so it’s not a total bed of roses. I was 60 this year and had a party at my house. Had 30 people attend, not everyone could make it but some travelled quite far. That’s what I call my life's greatest achievement having people I care about and feeling cared for.

Home in the country with a few acres and a pied a terre in London.
A lot of walking, gardening, cooking and crafts.
Time in London will be spent seeing friends and going to galleries, concerts and the theatre.
Spend a decent amount of time on my rusty musical skills.
I would like to buy a decent plot of land and rewild it.
Being available as childcare for DC.
Maybe a few MAs.

I would love to live on a hot country only problem is they do tend to have cyclones and other problems.

Very wise choices!

Definitely open a cat rescue/sanctuary.

Buy a holiday home in Italy on the Amalfi coast and come and go as I please. Travel elsewhere as well of course. I’d never be here! Maybe at Christmas

At least four holidays a year.
Spend lots of time gardening. More than I’m able to at the moment. I’d grow loads of herbs and maybe even some veggies.
Home cooking and baking for every meal.
Hopefully I’ll also have grandkids to look after and spoil.

Oh yes do!

If you have played one instrument then you are already further on than DH was as he had never played anything and couldn't even read music. He eventually took Grade 5 theory, even though he didn't need it to progress, because he wanted to understand more.

I have a whole list:
Move back to the city I moved away from in 2002
Do my Grade VIII piano exam
Attend a 12 week cookery course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School (just for fun and the commercial aspects as I already cook well)
Volunteer
Travel again to all the places my late husband and I visited on holiday in the early years of our relationship & marriage
Spend an extended time in Sri Lanka at various luxury hotels/Ayurveda establishments
Improve my photography
That will do, I think.

Work on my garden as much as I wanted and get a couple of pygmy goats too.

I know, it's more about having the time and headspace at that stage of life than financial means. I have two DC with additional needs, I can't find the mental capacity for the instrument I already know how to play at the moment never mind learning a new one.

But your DH gives me hope. It's not that long till my 50th, maybe I should start hinting to my DH 🙂

I think I would get the train, first class

I’d look to set up some sort of supported living scenario onsite For your son or daughter in an area where you would like to live. You may find that your late husband’s family would love to visit you more if you were in Norfolk, for example….

How would you commute like what’s your preferred method? Or would you regularly change it? Personally I like a train but sometimes I’d probably have my driver take me in my sports car on days I didn’t care about the environment. Probably wouldn’t drive myself as I’ve always preferred being the passenger on long journeys.

It depends on the season really Goodcat. In summer I garden with a passion and grow a lot of my own fruit and veg. I keep hens for eggs and their lovely company. I walk the coast path and often camp somewhere so I can explore new areas. I cycle to the beach and swim most days. In the winter I swim until I can't bear it any more. Luckily I don't mind walking in the cold so I do that then cosy up at home where I walk, bake, knit, sew, paint and enjoy prettifying my home.

Luckily my friends are mostly in my choir or are fellow campers, walkers and sea swimmers so all our socialising is cheap. It's amazing how little I get by on and I count my blessings I have my little house and garden. I know it's a little life but it suits me.

@Retiringplans I do live in Dorset and know Lyme well. It's a beautiful place to live. I hope you have a wonderful retirement.

Move to Venice. Properly. Or Portugal and move my family out there with me.
Write a novel. I have thousands of half finished manuscripts and would love to publish a collection of stories my grandad wrote for me.

I’d buy a holiday home on a Greek island . Visit as often as I could .

I’m retiring in a couple of months, am 57 by husband just shortly after, we have already started to do stuff and use up our hols. We are comfortable but it’s not money is no object.

we have a big luxury holiday to the Caribbean planned just after I retire, we have multiple gigs and experiences in the diary ie Michelin star tasting menu dinners, major artists gigs, London shows etc, and we have started doing day trips out, London to see the museums, national trust properties etc

we also plan to join the gym together and go a couple of mornings a week, do the gym and a class, off peak times, and we want to do a lot of city breaks, cheap flights to Europe, stay in a central but reasonably priced hotel for 3 nights, and do tourist stuff and out to dinner, we reckon one a month, then go nd see family and friends a lot more, and of course trips to the cinema on a weekday afternoon and then dinner after.

DH died recently, so I'll be moving elsewhere and doing more birdwatching. I hope to be able to mess around in a boat too. I'm 63.