What would your ideal retirement look like?

[CommeIlFaut]

Assuming good health and a decent income, what would your ideal retirement be like?

DH and I are starting to think about this at the moment. It’s scary as it’s a very different life stage, but also exciting.

Where would you live?
Who would you live with?
What will holidays look like?
What interests do you hope to follow?

So far I’ve (not very imaginatively) managed:

Dropping to one day a week of freelance work at 55
Doing a degree in anthropology (DH hopes to do a creative writing MA.)
Visiting some amazing places around the world while we still can.
A bolthole in a village in France we love, and where we have family ties.)
Buying a three bedroom Victorian house in a market town near London with plenty going in.
Volunteering with a local charity supporting refugees.
Joining a walking group. Keeping up singing in a choir. Avoiding becoming involved in local politics.
Staying fit, swimming or Pilates most days.
Cooking lovely food, making a beautiful garden.
Keeping friendships going, visiting my BF in Oz every couple of years and my friends in Eswatini and Vermont, making new friends of all generations.
Helping out our kids practically and financially. Travelling with them if they like. Secretly yearning for grandchildren.

It sounds lovely written down. I’m sure life will get in the way!

If I have good health and a safe home I honestly don't need much else. I will feel so lucky if I have those.

DH and I are now living our ideal retirement. DH retired end of March this year.

We've bought membership tickets for the cricket and have been going twice a week. We have lunch there once a week.

We've been lunching out twice a week in pubs/Wetherspoons type of place. We go for a slow walk first. Then pop in for lunch. Then home again. DH has already cut the grass twice and is thinking about a third time. He's usually only done one cut by now. He's painted the downstairs cloakroom and we've closed paper and paint for redecorating the lounge. We have a 2 week holiday booked for the last 2 weeks of August. A second fortnight cruise holiday booked for the last week of October and first week of November. I'm planning a 5 day spring trip to Amsterdam to see the tulips. We're also planning on taking our foster son away for a week first week in July after his college course ends. I've recently done a cricket scorers course so I can score foster sons cricket club matches. DH has also just completed a cricket coaching course and Poland to do the next level up in early October at the end of the season. DH has been up to Yorkshire to visit his Mum who is elderly. He's also done some DIY at my son's house with him one weekend. We have online courses we will be doing. When the weather is a bit warmer we'll be going to the National Trust places more with a posh picnic. We've been members for years, but up to now, often too busy to go. The big thing we want to do is to go to the Boxing Day Ashes in Australia in December 2025. We'll probably go for 3 or 4 weeks and spend time in several locations.

We've talked about it and have a fairly realistic view of our finances.

We are mid 50s and I'd like to drop a day a week this year or next year. I'd also like to retire before I'm 60.

DH used to be a complete workaholic but he's starting to think he could enjoy retirement. But would probably do some freelance or a bit of work for current employer.

We aren't quite on the same page - partly because my family pops their clogs early and his go on for every, healthily. I'm keener to start doing other stuff, I'm also not as interested in my job.

We have talked about travelling.
Talked about renting a flat in central London and renting our place out.
Talked about renting a flat in the Lake District and renting our place out.

Entirely different but it probably depends on how the dog is doing by the time we retire.

At the moment DH mostly wants to retire to spend more time with the dog.

I can find things to occupy my time and would join things. DH would find that much much harder. And would also be a bit needy.

If anyone is single, or maybe even if not, I recommend house-sitting. I have a friend who travels all over Europe staying in some amazing places.

Dh retires next year...possibly will do 2 days a week. I work very part time.
We currently go away monthly somewhere....European city break or just a couple of nights away here. London every 3 months.
No desire to go long haul anywhere....or cruising. Road trip in US for next year.
Dh has gc but we don't so childcare nor do we plan to.
Eat out once a week, go walking, drink gin. We eat well, exercise and go to gigs/ theatre.

Ooo I forgot - I also see a personal trainer once a week and have taken up cycling (in the park) and spin. So I’m fitter than I’ve ever been!

We like the idea of renting places for six months at a time in different parts of the uk to see where we might like to settle - Yorkshire, Northumberland or wales. Also want to do a trip to New Zealand where we used to live for five years. Also Japan and Canada and lots of European mini breaks. It all depends on finances and health though. We both have chronic illnesses. we also can't travel until both our dogs are no longer with us as we won't leave them.

Retirement for the wealthy is a different world.
I am retired and have a reasonable income but not in that league.
You just do more of what you enjoy. The key is health though, you can't predict ill health. You can do your best to look after yourself but illness or injury can mess up those plans so make sure you have plenty you enjoy that doesn't require huge physical activity as well.

One thing I would say is that having no deadlines means you do less.

Travel travel travel.

I always thought we’d retire to a nice rural cottage somewhere pretty, but now I’m thinking maybe a luxury city apartment with everything on our doorstep and amazing security. That way we could bugger off for weeks on end and possibly rent it out to fund our travels.

Seeing my in-laws in a lovely but remote house that’s already too big to manage (and they’re screwed if ever they can’t drive as there’s nothing in walking distance) has really put me off.

My hopeful plan is to semi retire in early to mid 50s. Take a year out and travel when we’re healthy. Then do very part time work - a day or two a week. Maybe some volunteering if I can find a charity where the pace and bureaucracy doesn’t drive me insane! Continue with lots of travel. Read, garden and gym. Depending on finances, might move to London for a year and make the most of shows and exhibitions.

Thanks so much to everyone who replied. I love that the responses are so varied.

We have talked about retiring overseas (I have a French passport) but if the DC stay here, I can’t imagine wanting to live in a different country. But being able to spend a month or two in the Alps (in the village where DFIL had a chalet And we now have a small apartment) would be lovely. We try to go for a week each winter and summer and it never feels like enough.

I fantasise about buying a flat in the Barbican. But, having been raised in Zone 1, DH is a country mouse nowadays so it’s more likely to be life in a market town with good links to London.

@LoserWinner that sounds interesting, I'd also like to retire to London, how did you get a flat share?

I plan to design my own house on the edge of a water filled chalk quarry.
I’m Tired of designing for clients and always having to ‘compromise’ because it’s their money 😳🤣

It will be the one building I will have designed in my entire career with no design compromises.

After that I may be too exhausted for anything else 😵‍💫

Plan is to go travelling first of all then decide if we want to stay abroad for part of the year. I will likely work a bit and do can do consulting if we need the money. 2 years to go!

We're semi retired - I'm fully retired and he is teetering on the brink - he's younger than me.

Just waking up every day and thinking "I don't have to go to work today!" is brilliant. I do do some work but it's paid hobbies.

After long consideration we're not moving. We're well embedded locally with friends, volunteering, community stuff. Excellent GPs and easy access to local hospitals. Very good public transport and we can walk to trains to London, the town centre and the big supermarkets (and later will be able to reach them by mobility scooter). Taxi reach of both Gatwick and Heathrow. Downsizing from our 4-bed to a 3 bed isn't worth it; we'll wait till the sheltered housing/bungalow stage.

We're doing more hobby stuff, some house sorting (bathrooms, decluttering, cars) and are planning some big holidays but as he's still working that's slightly further off.

I had a running search going on Gumtree, but as it turned out, a couple I already knew wanted a third person to share a two bedroom apartment. So it was very easy. But finding somewhere to flat share in London is always easy if you’re not too picky, and I’m not.

I'm getting my state pension next month when I'm 66.(Should have been 60 but they changed it).
I've bought a cottage by the sea with savings. It needs doing up completely,new windows, kitchen,bathroom,central heating.

Plan to sell family home and top up pension using the money from it.

I want to get a whippet or lurcher too.

Hoping to retire in 5 years, at 60. I'll in no way have some of the enormous pensions on this thread, plus I'm single.

I plan to move out of London, to a cheaper city and cheaper property, to free up some money.

I've travelled a lot in my life so won't be doing the long haul trips when I'm retired, I think just Europe and UK shorter breaks. Maybe housesitting like a PP suggested.

A creative writing MA sounds interesting. And just spending some time on my other hobbies (reading, painting, learning languages, walking, gardening), make some friends in my new city. Nice dinners and theatre with these new friends. Pretty low-key.

I'm only 45 but I love the sound of a holiday every 6 weeks! Will go part time at 60 when I can take the majority of my civil service pension.

Not sure if we'll downsize as I love where I live and moving was very stressful.

All these plans sound great. Must make a list of stuff I want to do.

Retire at 60, hopefully. Still got a way to go.

I want a dog, and a caravan. And I want to go travelling. I don't currently have a partner.

I want a small house in a large town so I still have plenty to do. I may even join the WI like DM did. Cinema is a must, theatre desirable. Maybe a local college to do some courses part-time. A decent local library would be nice.

I'm hoping my DD lives somewhere cool abroad so that I can go and see her.

I will start my bee garden and grow a few veggies.

At the moment I live in a flat in London so things people take for granted like a garden I covet more as I've never had one.

There are places I want to travel to in the first few years of my retirement, and so I will stay where I live now to begin with. Might then move.

Re making friends of different generations I'm finding being a member of a running club ticks that box. I love that can talk all things running with 20-70 year olds and it doesn't matter if we all run at different paces.

I'm due to retire in 4 years and haven't got very far in planning what I'll do, except I do seem to have started doing bucket list holidays - being 60 was the original excuse and now I'm just carrying on as finances allow

I'm 48 so a way off retirement. I'm very likely to need pension credit (or whatever equivalent appears between now and my retirement). I've been a single parent for last 13yrs so haven't built a decent career.

Once my children fly the nest I'd like to downsize my council property to something in town (very rural atm) ideally one or two bed bungalow with a small garden to potter in. I'd like to carry on novel writing and get published as money to live on through my retirement years. Living in town would mean i wouldn't need a car if I couldn't drive for health reasons. I'd like to so more travelling for as long as possible. I'd like to live either near my children and hypothetical grandchildren or my best friend. I've been single for 12yrs so it might be nice to find someone to retire with too.

Firstly, I very much hope to make it to this stage of life. I'd like to walk my dogs on the beach with my DH every day and for us both to be fit enough to walk in the hills. I'd like my children and family to live close by and I'd like to see lots of my friends.

I had kids young, so would like grandchildren well before retirement 😁.
My kids grandparents ranged from late 30s to 40s when they first became grandparents, and you could see that mostly they had more energy for them than when younger ones came along.