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

[Retiringplans]

What would be the one thing you would do when you retire if money was no object? Either an experience or something you look forward to doing regularly
I am likely retiring early in my 50's & I am restricted in my options due to being a full time carer and have considered all sorts of things from holiday homes to allotments most of which won't be possible with my young adult - I have also considered moving as I grew up near the sea & love it.
This is kind of a wishes & dreams question for a quiet Friday Evening so put it in AIBU

In my imaginary position (no disabled children, but also no money !!) I would sell my current home and buy a small flat where I live now, and then buy two holiday homes - one in the Ionian Islands somewhere and one in an Italian winter resort. I would then circulate between the three until I was too old to benefit.

Does your young adult get any social care? I do understand that they might not adapt well to strangers but you are also important and if you don’t do something you really, really want to do occasionally, you will eventually implode.

Travel

Alternatively.. if I couldn’t go anywhere abroad and really did have no money, I would buy a cheap but serviceable caravan and use it for UK trips, but that presumes your young person could cope with being away from home in a caravan.

if I really was confined to my UK home, ans totally broke, I would take up some very absorbing study. I like languages and making things out of wood (niche -sorry!) but everyone is different.

I think there is a lot to be said for looking back to the one or two things that gave you a bit of joy in childhood (art, sport, nature, whatever) and go hell for leather to do that at least weekly.

Move into a luxury suite at a hotel and live there for the rest of my life.

Buy somewhere where I didn't have any bloody neighbours.

Big apartment in central London. Lots of travelling. Lots of courses in things that interest me. Personal trainer.

I might also start a business that I've wanted to run for ages, but it's an industry that notoriously drains funds, so would only be viable if the cash flowed in and it didn't matter how much the business made;

I would rescue horses and ponies. With plenty of money I could give them a nice life. I could create some jobs, including opening a cafe on site. I’d also have a horse of my own to ride.

Travel, but slow travel. So maybe six weeks somewhere, home for two or three months, then somewhere else for six weeks, etc. So not constant packing and unpacking.

Do a postgrad in Harvard, visit Antarctica, found and edit my own magazine, buy a vineyard in France, write a novel, volunteer, go to La Prairie, stay in the Ritz Paris, get the Glacier Express, do Route 66 - all of the above preferably with friends and family and good health of course!

*Edited to add - sorry, just saw you asked for one thing! Also, I hope you manage to get to Japan and get some sort of respite care/independent living sorted as your child enters their twenties. Wishing you the best.

@Retiringplans , my husband and I were really lucky and we bought a derelict bungalow next to the Thames and have reinvented it. We have made it suitable for our late old age but it is still giving us plenty of joy now. We’re doing all the travelling we didn’t have time for previously. I’m very content with our life.

Preach my friend x

I’d do everything I’m doing now, but more expensively and more luxuriously. And I’d stop worrying about affording care when I’m even older.

Travel and study. Keep busy.

Money no objective and if my kids weren’t in the picture I would move to Amsterdam and bun the zoot everyday till I died. I would just become a stoner loser and contribute nothing. I smoked when I was in my teens and at uni and loved it, but then I had to be a real grown up and have kids and a real job (that I love). But realistically that’s probably what I would do if I didn’t have to worry about money (or setting a good example for my children).

Travel first class / 5* & see the bits of the world I haven’t yet seen (eg never been to South America) for as long as I was physically capable of doing so.

My two sons have additional needs. Money no object I would buy three town houses in the same street but in a fab area with public transport and parks. Then I can provide support for my sons but have my own house to decorate, relax in and play loud music in. If I went in holiday (which I would do frequently) my house sitter can provide care for my four cats and my sons. I like gardening so I’d have three gardens to potter around in with three different styles.

OMG I think I’ve thought about it too much.

The only thing I think I can afford out of the above is one cat.

That’s refreshingly honest 😂

You could always go for long weekends to the ‘dam to admire the artwork ;)

Where I live higher education is free for 65+

Oh hey, @Retiringplans , I have just discovered the “view all” filter OP posts - so sorry, I missed some of yours.

I think your Norfolk plan actually sounds very nice and not fantastical at all.

I don’t think you should worry about your kid’s paternal family too much. They didn’t help you even when they should have, therefore all bets are off. They could (should) visit you and your kid from time time time.

I always thought a campsite or settlement with shepherds huts/ pig arcs sounded ideal - good income similar to apartments per night but without many of the cleaning/turnover hassles. Especially if kitchens are outside and guests are told they need to clean BBQ/ outdoor kitchen themselves before checkout.

Not everyone has to travel the world. If your love would be to go to see a west end show every month, and that brings you joy (without being far away from home), you could find a whole new tribe of likeminded people who share your interest.

I’d buy an apartment in the Barbican and spend my days attending free music events at lunchtime, galleries, theatre. Maybe throw in a friend with benefits too for wild sex.

(I’m married btw)

I'd probably live on cruise ships for a while and see the world.

You don't need to be retired with endless means to do this.

DH always said he wished he could play the saxophone. About 20 years ago, when I was mid 40s and he was approaching 50, I returned to an instrument I had played at school and discovered a community of adult learners/ returning players. Encouraged by this he rented a saxophone for three months and then I bought him a new one for his 50th. He took lessons, passed several grade exams and joined me in a local Concert Band.

Honestly, taking up an instrument later in life is not unusual and really does not have to be a "money is no object" -retirement thing

Travel.

I would set up a charity foundation and administer it - I would get a lot of pleasure assessing and helping good causes- alongside more travel.