I dream of retiring and....

[LaurieFairyCake]

Reading all of Austen

Walking 15000 steps a day, specifically around London

Going out to every decent pub and cake shop in London

Doing an hour of yoga every morning

Joining: choir/dance/badminton/am dram/going on a climbing wall/taking up archery (all of these activities are within half a mile of my house)

Write my novel

Paint 🎨

So so many things ....

I’m retired and living your dream. It’s as fabulous as it sounds.

Never thinking about work ever again. Having my mind free of it rather than it always being there.

Oh I have much the same dream except for me it's walking around Rome and truly experiencing it properly.

Keep em coming - really want to hear everyone's dream (so I can add new possibilities to my own ... )

Unclenching. I'm permanently braced, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I might turn out to be taller than I think.

Swimming when pool is quiet during school day mornings

Italy particularly in the cooler months here

Cheeky lunchtime drink with H, newspapers and crosswords.

Lazy mornings listening to rain not having to actually go anywhere

Playing piano

Not having a daily weekly timetable

You should have read all 13 Austen novels long ago! An hour of yoga and 15000 steps is a good objective... and make some more friends? perhaps? No one ever had too many!

I mean.. I've watched the TV adaptations of all the novels but sitting down to read them... not so much

(And my first degree was in Eng Lit)

@LaurieFairyCake you know you don’t have to wait till you retire to do some of these things right? Don’t wait til you retire to live your life! Sorry to bring negativity to your thread of dreams but the awful reality is that some people don’t live long enough to retire.

I get that there is less time while you’re still working obviously. I’m looking forward to being retired too (still a long way off).

That is a shocking revelation @LaurieFairyCake. All of the pleasure of JA is in the subtleties. You are in for such a treat! I almost wish I had deferred the delights.

I’m retired
We love going for walks ( live in the back of beyond with nice coast easy driving distance )
DC live in London , we can go & see them ( and walk miles ) when ever we want too
next year is not book holidays in advance , go out of the comfort zone and do some last minute hopeful bargains
I’m learning to crochet , who knew a crochet flower could take hours to get right and lots of swearing and muttering
And , best of all , no alarm clock , and if the weather is awful , just stay in bed with a coffee ( me ) tea ( DH ) and the iPads

I'm going to walk and listen to audiobooks.
Potter in my garden
Take an art class
Just enjoy the slower pace of life.
Can't wait!

I've been retired for nearly two years now, and it's great:
Lots of gardening
Daytime cinema
Holidays when I like
Guiding at an art gallery
Meeting the similarly retired for lunch

The only sad bit is DH died before all of this, so the happy travels together were scuppered, though we did lots of traveling before, not putting it off.

So sorry echt

I dreamed of retiring and doing nothing. I'd never done nothing and I wanted to know what it was like.

It's brilliant.

Thank you @LaurieFairyCake

I didn't want to be the skeleton at the feast, just say not to put things off too much. We didn't, and had a fabulous time.

I’m semi retired (teacher, and I’ve switched to supply). I bloody love it. I play in a band, sing in a choir, do a book club, am studying a university course… I can lie in when I want and walk when 8 want and meet people for coffee when 8 want…

Motoring around France.

You need to be retired to get away with calling it "motoring"!

Me too, but only mid thirties 😣

I don't want to retire, love my job and scared I'm going to be bored as the things i love doing I already do anyway (gym, walking, reading, puzzles, weekend drives), i need some new hobbies.

Do you think it's a sign of aging that I now spend more time planning my retirement than I do thinking about what to do with lottery winnings?
I've just had the past week off work. It has been delightful. However, if has reminded me that I can quickly descend into someone who sits on the sofa and watches rubbish whilst eating chocolate. When I do retire (not for at least a decade), I will need some structure & routine.

I'm so sorry @echt
I will be in the same position. Have you still been able to find some joy ?

I dream of unrealistic retirement where I'm not disabled and am rich 😊

So.....

Having a mini animal sanctuary with various animals but definitely cows and a duck of two

City breaks at the weekend or actually I suppose during the week! (Ignoring impracticality of the combination of these first two)

Beach walks with my two golden retriever I'll have

Reading lots and lots of books

Learning how to decorate cakes properly

For me it is waking up when I want to or when Ddogs decide it is time for breakfast.
Not having to set an alarm is bliss!

We do all the normal things (gardening, taking Ddogs for lovely country walks, hobbies etc) but our main relaxation is going away midweek for a few nights in our Moho visiting different parts of the country.
Retiring at 60 was always my plan but managing to do it a few years earlier makes me feel great with no regrets. 🙂

The thought of retiring is making me panic because DH & I have mainly Defined Contribution pensions so it's a pot that can run out. And unfortunately nobody knows how long they will live!

I'm 58 and DH is 55. My dad died at 46 and my step mum at 62. Yet we both had grandmothers who lived to 95 and 99. So how many years do we need to plan for? Scary!

DH's parents (85 and 89) are burning through money at £75,000 a year each with dementia care in a lovely care home. DH's mother can't remember yesterday but her heart and lungs are strong like her mother's so she could have years left. We looked round lots and some that were not much cheaper were horrendous. Worried what will happen when the money runs out. I doubt whether DH and I would ever be able to afford the nice home so unfortunately we'd be in one of the grotty ones.

Our plan is to get a Round the World ticket as soon as we retire so that we can get some bucket list countries ticked off while we are still fit. Then get a motor home (and dog) and potter around Europe (though in short bursts thanks to Brexit).

We want to spend time on our family histories and go and visit local history centres and the National Archives in Kew. Get to know how to do the non-online research properly.

But we really need to be frugal after that to pay for potential care home fees. Arrgghh.