Retirement life

[BG2015]

So I retired in the summer from my teaching job after 29 years. I'm nearly 57 so I've retired, early but my love for the job just wasn't there anymore and after recovering from a cancer diagnosis in 2021 I just decided life was too short.

Im waiting to start my very flexible part time freelance job delivering speed awareness courses which I plan on doing for about 12 hours a week.

But I am loving having a slower pace each day. I can't say I've been bored at all.

I've enjoyed swimming three times a week, walking with a local Nordic walking group, meeting a couple of friends for coffee, reading, cooking new things from scratch for our evening meal ( I live with my DP, adult son and his gf), watching TV and just pleasing myself.

Anyone else newly retired? How are you finding it?

I do love reading these posts, hearing about what everyone else is doing and the holidays they have planned. The sense of relief and contentment really comes through.

Like you @BigSkies2022I’m also one of the sandwich generation. We have one DS who although now launched in his career is finding life at home so comfortable he shows no signs of leaving (and I’m secretly happy with that). My DM86 has undiagnosed dementia. She was seen at the memory clinic but she refused to proceed further with scans etc and I get that. I don’t need scans to tell me what I already know. She does require a lot of help (luckily not personal care) but it’s mentally hardwork every day. She’s also very unsteady on her feet now and broke her hip a couple of years ago and tripped last week and hurt her knee. She’s classed as disabled so taking her out has to be thought through carefully and there are only so many garden centres you can visit!

I would like DH and I to be able to go away more but DM has to go and stay with my DSis and this is becoming more difficult as she gets confused staying away from her own home. I think I will need to ask DSis to come and stay with DM for weekends so we can have a few short breaks away but it’s difficult as she lives 200 miles away and has her own business and lots of professional/personal commitments. I’m not sure how we would have managed had I still been working full time.

@Icequeen01so sorry to hear about your mum. My grandma had dementia and it's tough.

I'm writing this lying in bed with a cup of tea! This is truly one of the joys of semi- retirement. Yesterday I was teaching on supply at a lovely little school I know and tomorrow I'm somewhere new but today is an easy day.

We have my DS and his girlfriend living with us. They're both 23, DS is working in a good job with Ford and his girlfriend (who's lovely) is coming to the end of her nursing degree. They are not a problem to have around and make us laugh. They will probably be with us now for a few more years as they save for a house deposit.

My parents are still relatively fit and well, both in their early 80's they are totally independent, my dad still drives, they're always visiting friends and planning a cruise somewhere. I know I'm very lucky that they are both ok but am aware that this can change in a heartbeat and am bracing myself for it.

Today im meeting a group for coffee I'm part of at 12. Other than that i might do a bit of cleaning, read my book which ive nearly finished and start a new TV series. Recently finished Mad Men on Netflix and now may tackle Greys Anatomy.

We're also finalising our plans for Amsterdam, we go in two weeks and planning a trip to Whitby for Easter - never been on the East coast of the U.K. so that will be good.

Retirement really is the best.

Retirement really is the best

But you're not retired, OP. You work part time.

@LornaDuh- define retirement, the difference is I don't HAVE to work, I choose to. I've retired from full time teaching in a permanent role. I take my teachers pension every month.

I don't have a contract, I don't have a boss, I don't have fixed hours, or days or set holidays.

Lots of people 'retire' from the job they have done for many years but choose to do odd bits of work, whether that's voluntary or paid.

I have a choice.

But you still work albeit when you choose to. Therefore you're not retired. There's a reason why you still work.

@LornaDuh are you retired? Or still working?

When I retire at the end of this year I'm choosing to call it retiring from the corporate world. I may get ad hoc part time work if I feel like it at some point. But then again I might not. So I understand where you're coming from Op.

I work part time. Like you.

I love being retired. I don't miss one thing about work. I worked as a clinician in the NHS. Glad I'm out of it.

@loveawineloveacrisp yeah I’m retired from teaching and when ever anyone asks me I say I’m semi retired.

Today I haven’t worked, so I’m retired 🤣 tomorrow I’m a casual worker! I’ve worked 4 days so far in January.

Im lucky that my pension pays my bills. My casual work pays for the nice things.

Whatever anyone wants to call it, I’m loving it! 🥰

Whatever anyone wants to call it, I’m loving it!

You certainly are, OP - I do enjoy your thread.

And your set up with your adult DS and his girlfriend living at home sounds lovely. MNetters act like it's some Terrible Thing to live with your parents when you're over 18 but I think it's perfectly normal and makes sense.

I'm looking forward to DD moving home after uni. She can even move her boyfriend in 🥰

We're off to Amsterdam tomorrow for a city break to celebrate my 57th birthday (on Friday). It's still such a novelty to make my own choices and not be beholden to an employer. Makes it even better knowing it's term time!

Happy Birthday OP 🥳.
I hope you have a lovely time away 🙌 ☺️

Happy Birthday @BG2015 I hope you have a wonderful time. We went a couple of years ago and we had such a lovely time. It’s so easy to jump on the train and visit Haarlem and Utrecht. We also enjoyed the Foodhallen which had great food and a really nice vibe. Have fun!

This is why I retired!

My DP has been working in Edinburgh and his boss said I could tag along. I ummed and ahhhed, thought about whether I wanted to do any supply work this week.....those thoughts lasted about 10 seconds.

We're staying in a lovely country hotel about 7 miles out of Edinburgh. The hotel has a gym, pool and sauna, lovely walks and a golf course ( I don't play). But it's lovely.

Been into Edinburgh earlier with DP. Will be on my own a bit more over the next couple of days but I've got my Kindle, swimsuit, Netflix on my laptop and my trainers so I'm happy to do my own thing.

🤩

How lovely! I’m very envious as I love Edinburgh. Good for you making the most of your retirement. This is what you have worked all those years for. You deserve this.

I hope you enjoyed your birthday trip to Amsterdam too?

Great thread OP - I am 47 and can't anywhere near afford to semi retire till 50 at the very very least, health permitting (in the horrible throes of peri meno now with fibroids and the works, zero motivation at work, in the same corporate world since age 20 , an accountant)

This thread has given me the idea of being able to semi retire by 50s and continue with some 10 hours of paid easier work a week to top up savings till I can take my pension, thanks !

Hope you had a lovely trip to Edinurgh last month and yay its finally Spring !

@NobodysGirl ahhh thanks for your comments.

To be honest I didn't think about retirement until I was about 52-53, I loved my teaching job and was happy at my school. It was only after Covid and then my breast cancer diagnosis that I just realised I couldn't carry on.

Paying off the mortgage was the clincher, everything fell into place after that.

We've just enjoyed a few (very windy) days up in Whitby over Easter. I'd never been before and absolutely loved it. We walked along the coastal path past the Abbey towards Robin Hoods Bay, ate some delicious fish and chips and just enjoyed the area. We will definitely return in the future.

DP is back at work now and I'm hoping to pick up a few days supply over the next fortnight and then we're off to Tunisia for a couple of weeks.

Before Easter I worked for three consecutive days in a really tough inner city school and it was absolutely exhausting. There were some really challenging children in the class and I didn't have any TA support. I found it really hard and drew on all of my 30 years experience whilst there. As a result I decided that I shall only be doing 2 days a week supply going forward. Three days (especially if consecutive) was really wearing.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. The year is whizzing by.

Well Tunisia seems like a distant memory. We stayed in one of the nicest hotels I've ever been in, the food was really good for an all inclusive and the staff were fabulous. We don't usually go back to the same place but we are really tempted to return next May as for the money it was really good value.

For the past few weeks we have been home and both working, I've been doing 2 days a week at various schools, we enjoyed the brief heatwave with family and had bbqs and visits to parks etc which was lovely.

We now have a couple of weekends away to look forward to - Chester to see Fat Boy Slim, then Madrid for a music festival to see Pulp and David Byrne - we are so looking forward to that.

My spare time is spent swimming twice a week, reading ( I've read 42 books so far this year), meeting friends for coffee or lunch, walking with my Nordic walking group and just enjoying a relaxed day at home planning meals and catching up on TV my DP won't watch.

We have a cruise booked for August to experience the total eclipse that is happening off Spain, this will be our first cruise so we're excited to see whether it's something we would do again.

I love reading this thread! I’m 60 and semi retired 2 years ago. I’m freelance and work 2 days a week, look after grandkids 1 day a week and my times my own the other 4 days. It’s blissful. Dh will semi retire also next year and we cannot wait for more holidays and days out. We live on the coast and when the suns shining and you walk out for an ice cream, it does feel like a holiday. We won’t have a huge income but our mortgage will be paid off, and we will manage on our small pensions and the bit of freelance work, and I can’t wait

@Queenageyour life sounds lovely. It really is amazing how little we need to have a happy and contented life.

We would love to buy a motorhome but it would wipe out all our savings so we're just enjoying researching until we win the lottery 😂

Lovely to have an update from you @BG2015. It sounds like semi retirement is working well for you and it seems like the slight angst we all felt when this thread first started has now lifted as we start to relax into the new phase of our lives.

I can’t believe it’s almost a year since I finished at my school. I still miss the people, although still keep in touch with lots of ex-colleagues, but I definitely do not miss the job at all.

My part time job of 2 days at the hospital is working out well as I feel more confident in the role. June has had every weekend filled so far with a fabulous weekend away with DH’s cousins and their wives and this weekend I had my DN, his partner and gorgeous 4 year old great niece with us. We have had a glorious weekend. My DM who has dementia came with us and has loved every minute but looks utterly worn out now so she needs a couple of quiet days. Next weekend DM will go to my sister for 2 weeks whilst DH and I have a holiday in Lake Garda which I’m looking forward to. The week after we are back I’m then doing jury service which I’ve always wanted to do but fear I might be disappointed as it won’t be as exciting as I imagined!

@Icequeen01 Lake Garda is definitely on our list of places to visit, I look forward to hearing what you thought about it!