Has retirement been what you thought…

[RetiMent]

Just that really. I’m seriously considering taking VR (I’m 58). Has it been what you thought? Looking at the positives and negatives, advice welcome, thank you.

I'm retired at 58, 7 years ago...dh retires in September. I love my life and it's going to be great when dh is able to go away spontaneously. We won't be doing childcare either!

I retired at 49 and haven't regretted it.

I'd love to do childcare if DD has children.

I’m looking forward to travelling…maybe living in South America for a bit.

I retired at 58. I’m now 66. Divorced so I’m single. I love it. Love lazy breakfasts, lots of time in the garden. Small circle of good friends I see regularly. Time for my family and can help them out. I’ve done some volunteering and now have a unit in an antiques centre. Living my best life!

I retired at 59 9years ago. I’ve made sure that I have somewhere to go every morning, mostly craft activities but these days I’m at the gym almost every day. I’m married with dogs and cats. We see our daughter most days and our son often. My costs are pretty low. My gym membership isn’t bad and spread out it cost me about £1 an hour. My craft classes are about £1.50 an hour. I’m learning to play the ukulele at no cost.
I’ve never been so fit and have a great social life. Go for it.

Thought I would update. DH and I have settled in to him being retired, it was weird for a while as I had a specific routine. We have now bought a Motorhome which we pick up in a weeks time. First trip of about 10 days is in the planning. He does have a months work so will be back for that. We are then off for a month going round Devon and Cornwall catching up with three lots of friends along the way. Returning just before school holidays and then we will be off all of September and maybe some of October depending on the weather and then Spain for Jan and Feb. I will miss my voluntary work and walking groups a bit but they will still be there.

@GreenEngland Didn’t retire as early as that other poster but I planned to retire early at 21 as soon as I started my pension. Back then retirement was 60 so I had decided on 50. This was to do voluntary work in the charity sector. It was never going to pay enough to do as an actual career. In the end I stopped working in my early fifties.

Going completely off-topic here but picked up on your imminent purchase of a Moho........😁

Have you had one before?
You say you are picking it up soon and planning a 10-day trip.
Having been Moho owners for yonks, we would always recommend having a short familiarisation stopover close to home to ensure you know how everything works, that everything actually does work and that you have packed everything. I always suggest stopping on the driveway as that way, you can pop inside if you have forgotten anything.🙂

What model are you getting?

@Nourishinghandcream we have hired a couple last year and one this year and been looking for over a year. It’s a Buerstener, very low mileage, about 5k and in mint condition. We are staying for a couple of days down the road from our house and then it’s the 10 day trip. The Motorhome can't sit on our drive easily so we have secure storage booked, plus friends DS who is a police officer said it shows when the house is empty is it’s away.

@ISpendFarTooMuchOnFood
I think when you’ve gone through a difficult and stressful period, then a bit of a rest and time to regroup is just what you need. But after a while it’s good to either meet up with existing friends or join a group activity. And at 52 don’t completely discount dating again in future.

I retired 18 months ago and don’t seem to be doing as much as I hoped. First 3 months were a bit of a rest, and then I got into a routine with walking dog, some craft activities, online courses and some exercise, lunching with friends and visiting family members in other parts of the UK, plus DH and I go away quite a lot. But some health issues this year have made it difficult to plan and instead of doing my hobby activities at home, I’ve retreated into sitting on the sofa and reading a good deal of the time. I have a holiday planned at the beginning of June and I hope to be back to scratch by that time.

My DH retired before me and I was mainly working from home, so the being at home together didn’t have so much of an impact on us.

I retired from secondary teaching at 57 but I'm still a foster carer to one 16 year old and a shared lives carer Gor an 18 year old. I love it. For the first 6 months I caught up on lots of little jobs I'd been putting off because never had time to do. Then I started growing my own fruit and vegetables which I harvest and freeze a lot for later in the year. I bake every week which my family loves. For the first 2 years my friends were all still at work so I learned to crochet, I read, watch Netflix, and generally take it easy and relax. I joined a gym with a nice spa and I must admit after doing a few classes I realised I preferred a swim then spa session. DH retired last September at 60 because he has a knee issue which affects his mobility. Now he's home we eat out 3 breakfast or lunches each week. We go out for full days and we got membership for county cricket team and both go to watch them play during the summer months. We go on more holidays and weekend breaks too. No more paying premium prices to holiday during August. We go in first couple of weeks on July and again in September. We have nice weekend breaks sometimes too. We bought a small holiday home right on the Promenade and we're enjoying doing it up. DH sometimes goes for 2-3 days to get work done on it. Our 2 dogs have had longer walks. When my DD had to go into hospital for a minor op I was able to go down to look after the DGC so her DH didn't have to take time away from work. I've gone to stay at DS house for a few days to cat sit DD o his cat didn't need to be put into the cattery last year. I wouldn't want to go back to secondary teaching again. I've got plenty to keep me occupied. Once DH has put in new kitchen in holiday home I shall enjoy furnishing it.

I haven’t retired yet (am 58) but in preparation I’ve started a hobby and volunteering so that I’m geared up and ready for the change in a couple of years.

It’s only good if you can afford it IMO

A sudden health catastrophe, three operations and days in a coma, have brought on retirement overnight at the age of 69.
I had planned to continue working, self employed, but the above and partner's disability getting worse changed all.
Now limited to the local area as I cannot drive so holidays are off.
Tidying the house, one room at a time. No idea what to do when they are all done.
Only a small garden so a bit limiting.
Just a bit sad to miss the daily social interactions of work.
I want to get out of the house but have no reason to go anywhere.

Goodness @purpleleotard2 you've had a lot to contend with 💐

Can't the reason for getting out of the house be because you want to.

Start by just going out for a walk, a coffee, a trip to the library. Then maybe join the U3A, an exercise class for over 60s.

I'm going to have to find some opportunities to meet people outside of work.

We worked in our own retail business for 30 years, planning to retire at the end of our lease, when we would have been 68. However, plummeting high street footfall resulted in us forced to close 3 years earlier, so no retirement celebrations, just had to go quietly, and worry how it would pan out, with 2 years of legal work clearing up the business. Plus MIL moved in with us, with dementia fir us to care for her. So not the retirement we thought we would have. Them Covid, then MIL died, at 99. So didn't really feel retired till we were 69. However, we have both loved being retired. Love deciding to do what we want, when we want. We have a good social life with a smallish circle of friends, DH is involved in a Rotary Club, which gives a wider social life, and keeps him busy. They organise a rock and comedy night every year which makes him think he is Robert Stigwood!. We have enough to last us, I think, but we find it difficult to switch from a saving to a spending mentality. So finances are holding up better than expected, health OK, we have both had issues that need trips to the docs, and DH had a major op on his face to remove a BCC, along with most if his nose, but overall absolutely loving retirement.

Pros
More time to spend as you choose
If you are in good health, early retirement increases your active retirement years.
A chance to consider whether you want to stay put or move.

Cons
Chores and life admin don't disappear.
You may miss the easy day to day contact with people that many people have through working.

Advice (feel free to ignor)

• Invest time and effort in keeping fit - with whatever activities you enjoy.
• You don’t have to rush – take your time...
• It is OK to change your mind.
• Say a clear no if appropriate. You can always say yes later if you want to.
• Be flexible and make most of opportunities. We've joined the u3a (we do a little, others do a lot), we already belonged to walking clubs, and we have time (and are lucky to have enough money) for holidays.
• Do what you can whilst you can, you never know what the future holds.