Age Wave retirement--what do you think?

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

One of the few things I really wanted when in school was to take 'Wood Shop'. I tend to think a worrisome parent was influential in preventing my taking that course. I was led in the direction of 'doing something', typical of career goals. And yes, in reflection it is my loss.

Reflecting on that is the reason I'm in this particular forum today, searching for a place that teaches wood working as a hobby. I tend to want to do things about the house with wood, maybe build some interesting, conceptual yet functional pieces for home use. Maybe create interesting objects for friends.

And if some wood working learning center were in an Ozarkian retirement sort of community, the better.

Don't know if any of these are near you:

Woodworking Schools, Woodworking Classes and Woodworking Courses (Where to Learn Woodworking) @ Woodworking News

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Skill....aspx?id=28165

[flyfishnevada]

Originally Posted by marcopolo

So there's a theory that life is evolving. In the olden days, we went to school, then we worked for 40 years, then we retired. Increasingly, all these phases are mixed up instead of separate stages. Some go back to school at 40 or 60, others take a long sabbatical (like a year of retirement in the mid-career), some work perpetually but at a scaled-down pace, others after a few years of retirement start a business or go back to work at something they like. This is about people seeking personal fulfillment, not focused so much on economic needs.

I think a couple of factors are at work causing what you are seeing. One, we live longer. You say "In the olden days" we retired, but all to frequently we didn't. We didn't live long enough. Many of us died before we were "retirement" age. Now people routinely live into their 80's and 90's. Doing the dame thing you chose as a career when you were in your teens or 20's would be hard. We change and mature. What once enthralled us (if you were lucky) becomes mudane. We need change. We retire and begin anew, which brings me to the second factor.

We are much better off financially. The standard of living is such in western society that we can not only own a home, two cars, a TV and all the other luxuries of modern life, but still save enough to retire fairly young. In the past, a pay check was barely enough to feed, clothe and house your family. Today, many of us spend less on those basics than we do saving for retirement and engaing in leisure, except maybe your home, which in itself is a luxury and leisure expense in many ways. It is far more than we need to provide basic shelter.

More money and longevity has changed the way we live our lives. Those allow us the freedom to stop working for a paycheck and begin working for ourselves, whatever shape that may take.

[brightdoglover]

I don't think the current economy (and the foreseeable future economy) allows for flexibility except for a rare few whose jobs or businesses allow it. For instance, people used to come and go and return to the hospital where I worked. Used to be, if you worked a year or two and left in good standing (for whatever dream) you could always get a job when you wanted to come back.
Now, there are few jobs, and they are hotly contested. If you want to remain in the pension system (old-fashioned cash benefit) you cannot be gone for a year.
I think many people find, if and when they have mortgages or kids, it's harder if not impossible to go sail around the world for a year or two.
Me, I did a lot of my daydreams in my 20s and 30s. They cost me a lot in many ways, and largely were not what I thought they would be. Now I'm in the saddle for the pension and the mortgage, and find my home to be the most nourishing thing I've ever done.
I used to be more daring. The economy used to be somewhat more forgiving.