If you are soon to retire what are some of your dreams that you would like to do, go, and experience? Are you having any difficulties with the process, troubles, etc.
If you are already retired, is it what you hoped, do you have any advice for us newbies, have you done or met with some of your retirement dreams?
Here is the place where we can share your plans, dreams, and nightmares regarding your life after work.
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Hey everyone, I’m soon to be retired and facing a new way of life. I had wanted to do so much with my life and as I look back all I ever did was work. I have never gone anywhere, or done anything except raise my family. I wish I was rich but being special education teacher is not an occupation where you can become wealthy. I have so many dreams that I want to do and I seem to be fighting my spouse who is content to sit and watch TV. Granted he is disabled and has been home for 16 years now and I do have some health issues which is limiting me, but I don’t think I can live staying at home watching TV and experience nothing until I die. What are your opinions? Have you had a similar situation as me? Let’s talk
Hi Bubby
Retirement is a big step in anyone’s life and you’re wise to get ideas and views before taking the ‘golden years’ road’.
Semi-retirement is the best entree if you can. That way you get a taste of what full retirement could be.
The most important thing is to keep both your mind and body moving to maintain both mental and physical health. Nothing too strenuous on the physical front, but a long walk in the fresh air is good for you and very uplifting – all those endorphins! If you can get a dog, or take up dog walking for someone. Mentally – you have great teaching experience so don’t waste it. You obviously live in the USA. I live in England and used to teach computers within the U3A (University of the Third Age)- do you have anything similar in The States? I do so hope so as you can do/learn all sorts for a flat annual fee. I’m doing French conversation, singing for pleasure and crime fiction this year.
Also, you must have the equivalent of the Women’s Insitute. They do cheap holidays for members and theatre trips etc. They offer friendship and support.
Finally, volunteer – it gets you out of the house. It is very satisfying as you’re doing good whilst making friends and it’s fun.
I agree with Drummer: you’ve got to go out and make a life for yourself. It won’t come to you and after a life of work that’s what you deserve YOUR LIFE back. Enjoy what ever you do and the very best of luck.
Hi Bubby,
I’m sure you are ready after all of those years of teaching to finally retire and enjoy retirement. A few of my friends are retired educators and have found plenty to do with their now ‘new’ life. A couple of them did get another job; they just could not adapt retirement. I hope you learn to enjoy a new chapter in your life with your husband and grandchildren in tow.
My husband is a workaholic… which makes it difficult to travel and visit my family in my hometown and other parts of Texas.
I am actually hoping for Social security disability since I haven’t been able to work since last April, right now I’m income free. When my hubby was a cop and on shift work I always went to family visits without my hubby. After a while they didn’t even expect him and believe it today they still don’t expect him. The problem is since April I haven’t been able to drive so I’m homebound too.
Where in Texas are you? My first husband was in the Air Force and we lived in Del Rio for two years and San Angelo Texas for another year. Loved it!
I keep wanting to type, ‘bubbly’. 😀 My hometown is Uvalde, a small town between San Antonio and Del Rio. I’m in Edinburg now.
I remember going through there all the time as I got my shopping fixes in San Antonio.
bubby, The best part of retirement is that you do not go to work every day, That is a lot of fun, so make sure you enjoy that first. So, take a long vacation from work and build a new life, explore your hidden talents, visit friends or family in a far away place, or just take a long trip. I did a lot during my life and I had no pent up desires left when I retired.
You seemed to have lived a good life and now rest and have fun.
Thanks Rose, you put a smile on my face. Your right I did have a good life so I am now going to rest and have some FUN!
Hi Buddy, life very often does not go as planned, life happens, bad things things happen to change our dreams…….you can still make plans now within your limitations and budget……..and no it doesn’t mean just sitting doing nothing and watching TV…..that’s your hubbys choice, doesn’t have to be yours…….you are not there to be his personal maid, you have a life…….maybe some little day trips out, and local groups participating in various activities, you will meet and chat to new people……….don’t become housebound until you have to, don’t live in regrets…..
Thanks so much for the advice and your right I should face my new future head-on and that WILL not be mandated by my hubby just my migraines.
Hi bubby welcome to the club.
I’m thinking of retiring in 2 years. I am asking anyone that I know how they view retirement. Some say it’s the best times and that they should have done it sooner. Some say that if they would have known, they would have continued working.
In Canada we can work past 65 years of age. I know one teacher at least who is still replacing part time and he is in his mid 70’s.
I have worked since 1978. In the last 27 years I have had dream jobs, jobs that I wanted to learn. Jobs that are demanding intellectually and that are hands on also. I used to tell my co workers that I was semi retired; not bad, since 1989.
My present job is fulfilling, at least to me. There is so much to read and learn. I look forward to going in to work. And I look forward to coming back home at the end of my shift.
My dream retirement would be to become a consultant in my field. This would involve travelling, which my wife loves, meeting new people, and comparing how things are done, which I naturally do.
Of course this is all possible as long as my health is good.
I’ve talked with other retired people and they said that if they could have got over that “fed up” feeling at work, they wished they could have worked a few more years before retiring.
So in a sense I’m still undecided because I still have that choice available; to retire or not to retire, that is the question.
Hope you find your answer.
Davidrv that sounds like you have had an interesting life. I loved being a teacher but the paperwork that is required especially in Special Education is astounding. They leave you no time to teach, just fill in the paperwork and make the school district look good, even though I haven’t been able to push my student to my high expectations. They could achieve if only they would let me do my job, which is “Teach”! hey if you still enjoy what you do and you still feel like there is something you can learn from it than stay in it until you can’t. I wish in many ways I could be in the class doing what I do best, but it is the expectation from others that stress me out so I maintain a blinding migraine until I pass out. Not good for my students to see.
Hello David
Have just read your response to Bubby and if I may be so bold I would dare offer a little advice based on 27 years of retirement living- quite simply if your health allows it, and the opportunity to continue working is still there – GRAB IT WITH BOTH HANDS!
kindest regards Drummer
Thank you Drummer. I have been fortunate to work closely with a lot of guys here since 1978. The ones that would retire soon would open up more, as though they wanted to leave a legacy of their passage in the workforce. I was and am always receptive to the opinions of people. Then for 15 years I was under apprenticeship and learned under 2 great guys that were 10 years older than me. Unfortunately they have been retired for 13 years now and I have to get my information from other sources. I see them once in a while but they are not as talkative; I can sense that and I respect that also.
So here I am in Seniorchatters, looking for bits of information here and there, reading about experiences and questions asked. I know I won’t be able to be completely satisfied with my decisions but at least I will have done a lot of research.
I appreciate your candor Drummer. Thanks again,
David
My pleasure – If I can help in anyway feel free
to contact me any time.
Kind regards Drummer
Bubby, I worked only 17 years at Marshalls and when I turned 60 I retired . I am a widow and was able to draw my husband Social Security. I sold my house and bought a condo I had 2 grandsons who were 3 & 8 at that time who I spent a lot of time with. I also traveled to Ireland where I always wanted to visited and then took some trips to different places here in the US and Canada. In 2012 I took my family on a cruise to Bermuda as I had never been on a cruise. So do hope you will be able to do the things that you enjoy once you retire from being a special education teacher which you should be commended for and know that all the students you taught were very lucky to have you as their teacher. Best of luck to you in your retirement.
God Bless you Annemarie! I think you are my new hero, Did you do everything alone or did you go with friends? My sister has a condo in Florida so I think I am going to spend the new Year with her and her husband. My first of many thank you Annemarie!
Hello Bubby as you will see from my latest blog – your blog Retirement Dreams made my mind work and was entirely responsible for my current blog – maybe some of our chatters will read both and maybe be prompted to take some sort of action for I do feel that things wont come to us – we have to create or join something like the over sixties etc. – assuming we are able of course.
Congratulations on your blog which certainly got my old mind working again.
Kind regards Drummer
Thank you drummer and I will be reading your blog and commenting on it.
HI, bubby – your predicament is not so unusual….I have a similar situation – though my husband would like to travel it is not possible to entertain trans-Atlantic trips with him any longer – he is diabetic and on insulin and has some compounding issues as a result of this. We lived in Canada for 40 years so our roots are deep there and have many close friends who I still continue to visit – solo…and he is quite agreeable to this. He also no longer drives – which leaves me as solo driver and I do not mind driving but am getting to the point where I do not want to be taking long, arduous journeys as solo driver – and so much construction on the roads here in the UK. However, we are able to take many coach trips – for a week or short-term two days trips. And, we are fortunate to live in an area of beautiful countryside and it is not too far to enjoy the coastal towns either on the East of West of the North of England either.
We have a trip arranged from Christmas to revisit the Costa del Sol – which was a favourite haunt of ours for many years and which I visited with a friend recently – this is just a short flight and departing from an airport not too far from where we live – not having to contend with major airports – especially the dreaded Heathrowe! —- I have my fingers crossed that this goes smoothly, but also have the company and support of my sister along. Would this type of arrangement work for you I wonder – that you could travel with friends or family – and if your hubby is agreeable take some organized tours such as coach?
Life really is too short to waste sitting watching TV all day – but many people do tend to fall into this routine once they retire.
Wish you all the best — and hold onto YOUR dreams!
Golden girl, thank you for sharing and telling me what you have done with the limitations that your husband and you deal with. My hubby always states that he doesn’t mind me going away with my best friend or even to my own children’s house to babysit………. but about three days away he starts stating he doesn’t feel good. He states how much he is going to worry even though I call him all the time. The day comes for me to leave and he needs a hospital trip. You can’t believe how many times that has happened. I just tell him that if he needs to go to the hospital go and to call me when he talks to the doctor. He then starts playing on my guilt and I always come home. Now that I can’t drive and need others to do that for me I can’t respond to him the way he is used too. We’ll see.
A wonderful blog bubby, a subject that will affect all of us at sometime.
You have received some wonderful, helpful replies.
You will probably find that you will miss the company of people when you first retire, but there is so much out there to keep you busy and have the contact with people, different groups, volunteer work etc.
You won’t have time to sit and watch t.v with hubby…..lol
Jenna thanks for responding. Do to my medical issues and my hubby’s we will have to see but I keep dreaming that I will get better enough to explore our country.
Hi bubby Scorpio here so sorry i didn’t respond to your friedship request but I’m still trying to navigate around the various places on this brilliant site, hopefully we’ll meet up in the chat room soon. Very best wishes
Hello everyone . . . my ideal retirement is to be able to put behind me once and for all those ever present proddings and compulsions to “be productive” !! I want to embrace retirement to its fullest extent by freeing my conscience from those attitudes that prevailed in my earlier life. Ideally I would have the freedom even to nap away the day should I choose to . . . or read all day . . . things of that sort. Then, from that baseline, I can choose to be productive when I wish to but without the compunction to do so.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your and friends Retirement dreams, though,true to say, it also has brought just a tiny lump to my throat……my own retirement which sort of has not materialised!
I was taken seriousely ill aged 42 and lived in a somwhat life versus death situation for many years.My husband was medically advised to seek retirement at 55 to become my full time carer, if he did not ease up on his demanding job there would be two funerals to contend with.
A jolt that well and truly hit home if ever there was one!!
So we have lived on savings until reaching pensionable age,life was extremely fraught and restrictive, but we got by because we had each other…. the best gift of all.
We both gave valuable years to voluntary work in Cancer Care and that seemingly became our retirement………..totally unplanned, but I can assure you it was immensely fulfilling.
We are now caterpauling towards 80 years of age,both with serious health issues,and our biggest concern is having no family back up.It is not a Retirement I could heartily recommend for obvious reasons, and we both have regrets. However no way do we sit back and be moan our lot.We value the years we were able to give ourselves to help others,that has given us both a boost we really need.
As for your Reirement Bubby, I think with such a wealth of varying stories and suggestions here, you will find that perfect combo that speaks to your heart and will be just right for you.Whatever you decide, please do not let vegetation take over.Life is for living and whether you aim high and do amazing trips and holidays, or simply use your talents to benefit others………….. please make sure it satisfies your desires leaving you glowing with contentment. Wishing you well.
Hi bubby – my retirement was forced upon me with the breakup of my 38 year marriage with a subsequent breakdown. I do regret still not working – I retired 16 years ago and miss the contact with people.
The MAJOR requirement for a good retirement is MONEY ! I had planned for our future together and if circumstances had been different, we would have had enough money to travel and do the things we always wanted to do. With divorce comes splitting of assets, etc. I got enough to purchase a house for myself (I already owned my car) with a little savings in the bank. Over the past few years bank interests have dropped to practically zero, hence drawing from savings became necessary to the extent now that I am unable to afford to travel, go on bus trips to theatre shows, etc., things I really enjoyed. I have not travelled overseas and that was in my plan. I am, of course, bitter, to say the least, but life goes on. I did volunteer work in Palliative Care and I really loved it, until the Committee became “power hungry” and wanted it all “their way”. I am not a “game player” and resigned.
The parts of retirement that I do enjoy are sleeping in, having nanny naps if I want them during the day, not HAVING TO answer to anyone, doing what I WANT to do, sitting in my nightie and dressing gown having my leisurely breakfast, and not having to have my hair and make-up done every day are some.
In hindsight, I wish that I had put more money into my Super for the future. Compulsory Superannuation for women was a later event and not for too many years to accumulate enough for retirement.
Bubby enjoy YOUR retirement and do what makes YOU happy. The years go by very quickly. Take care xoxo
Dont berate yourself about not” topping up” your Super ForeverY2….I put an extra $250 a week into my super at the insistance of “Kotchy”,on GMA…Did this for several years and you know what ? Lost thousands and thousands in the Global Financial stuffup ,in 2008/9…THats why I had to work on till I was 75,to build another nest egg again…..So,even if you had been able to put more money into Super…you may have seen it evaporate too. But thats water under the bridge..Im enjoying my retirement now,and spend much of my time contributing to my GPs golf club fees. lol
I retired end of June well semi retired I still get called to do odd days and as thats the only respite i get from full time care for my spouse I take it on! AS for dreams of what to do after retirement I had many and still do but little hope of for filling them as the needs of care are total shame but thats it my lot as some say but just the thought of a holiday is a warm but brief feeling and perhaps to share human feeling again well as i said life is just a dream now!
I had to retire early in 2008 due to shattering my femur in 22 places. Left me layed up for 6 months and had to keep the money coming in so I retired.
I really miss the mental challenge of working and of course all the people I worked with.
What I love about retirement is that when it is snowing out and below zero, I don’t have to go out in that stuff! I just turn on my fireplace and make a hot cup of tea and I am happy thinking about all the mornings I had to drive to work in the winter.
The key I found is to keep busy as much as you can. Find a volunteer job in something you like to do. There are many places that need volunteers ie hospitals, libraries, museums, daycares etc.
I also like to take a class at our local community college on occasion. Feels good to use my brain and learn something new.
Meet friends for coffee in the morning, go to you local library and find some good books or just to read the daily paper.
TV is a trap….trust me on that one. I learned that first hand and it is a hard habit to break! Try to limit your time watching it.
My friend has taken up paint classes and violin lessons! There are so many wonderful things out there now that you have the time.