"Had I known "that", I would have never retired" (55, spouse)

[ddeemo]

We are more with the would have retired earlier crowd. Was worried about having enough money - 5 years later (me) and 3 years later (DW), we have more than enough, not bored and still loving it.

[Tzaphkiel]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Oh, you mean like seeing the same silent face every single day and daydreaming about all the other places I could explore if it wasn't 118°F out?

Just to prove how pathetic I can be, the exterminator who comes around once a month flirts with me. I really really look forward to that.

bold above made me smile, and yes i can relate.

i have been going a little stir crazy with the weeks of 110-degree-plus temps and Teleworking from home since someone came to work sick and now several of us have active symptoms and have to stay home for several days. Anyway so i still try to walk 2-3 times a day, but instead of two of those walks being at work (on my lunch and breaks) in the trees and the park; instead all my short walks are on the paths where i live (gated community). So neighbors are seeing a lot more of me and I am seeing a lot more of them. And yes there is one gentleman who i find very handsome and his smile truly makes me weak in the knees. So when I see him yes it is quite the thrill. I know i absolutely light up when i see him, and i have never been a poker face so it shows on my face I'm sure. However he also looks really happy to see me.

Such is the stuff of feeling a bit stir-crazy these days. oh, and we are both in the over-60 age range. I was noticing yesterday how handsome his gray hair is. sigh. well, on the part of his head that still has hair that is. Mostly it's that smile and the effect it has on me. (I'm thinking he's had the women falling at his feet probably his whole life and likely still enjoys seeing that he hasn't lost it.)

[evening sun]

I love being without a job, who needs that garbage?

[TamaraSavannah]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

........Just to prove how pathetic I can be, the exterminator who comes around once a month flirts with me. I really really look forward to that.

Well, that is not too far unknown....not too far....for Barbara Feldon (yes, that Feldon) writes abut it in her book "Living Alone and Loving It"........or as illustrated by Jack Warden episode where he is a prisoner on an asteroid in The Twilight Zone.


I guess one thing that might be it is not to depend on the past company for all one's communications such as email and access. I don't know if they is the problem but there is some kind of problem in that area of communications. Or perhaps it is to take count of all the things one gets from their company to see how they will handle it....all the things......maybe.

[Mikala43]

Not yet. Before I retired I thought out how I would spend my time (I'm not good at sitting still), to have an idea whether or not I would get bored.

It happened a few times, and I went to the temp agency, got a temp job, and did that until I was tired of that. It's possible I could do that again in the future. Right now I volunteer a bit, and it's fun.

Money was planned out, so no surprises there.

I work more efficiently with deadlines, which I don't have, so I self impose them.

[trobesmom]

I was always lucky in that I loved what I did for a living and enjoyed the people I worked with for the most part. That being said, I am grateful for retirement every single day. I retired in 2015, and pinch myself every morning I wake up. Never been bored.

[Disgustedman]

Well in my case not that I really had a choice in the matter physically. The sudden stop was a bit hard to take but I have definitely passed the hours with being busy around certain minor projects and waiting for places to open up. Then there's lots of paperbacks to read from the local library.

[Hefe]

I didn't hate my work, in fact hard as it sometimes was I often really enjoyed it despite that. I sacrificed several years of steady earnings in order to stay in my field & that paid off in terms of job satisfaction the last 20 years of work.

Despite that, when I had the opportunity to retire when presented with a severance package a couple of years before I expected to quit, I took it & have never regretted it for one second. I can't imagine why someone would prefer working a job to being a free agent unless your finances were dire, but that seems to be a different issue than the OP presented.

[royalabran]

Probably a strange answer but I retired in 2019 had I known how tough COVID would be on the workforce I would of ... maybe worked on through that.

I did volunteer to
1. return to active duty
2. return as a volunteer for tribal healthcare

neither took me up on that

and 3rd I volunteered and ended up working (as a volunteer) for the public health department
Now it's just once every couple of weeks or months just for a day or 1/2 day

[Parnassia]

Retirement didn't result in any huge surprises for me. Apparently, I'd covered the bases pretty well. The only unexpected thing that comes to mind for me is how noticeable my sense of no longer being productive would be. I anticipated it to some degree as I got so much of my personal satisfaction from a career I enjoyed (for the most part), but how intense it would be did catch me off guard. Not enough to regret retirement itself, the timing in particular. It was the right decision. The volunteer opportunities available in the area haven't replaced that sense of worth as much as I hoped.