who's retired early? age 50 - what are you doing with your life? (pension, Canada)

[retiringat50]

Will be leaving the library June 29 after working there 10 yrs. How do you suggest I fill my days?

[ylisa7]

My dh retired at 39 and I went for the ride. He is now 49. In the last 10 years we had a skating rink, built a cabin, flipped some houses, and worked on land in TN. For the past
3 years we have been full-timing in our motorhome.

We take life slow and enjoy simple things. We love to build but we can't always do that(the real estate market stinks).

Being in our motorhome we spend the winter in FL and the summer in TN. Time seems to fly. We love our life. You do need hobbies to fill your time. If you don't have something to do you can get bored. Right now we are waiting for spring to go back to TN and look for more land. We want to build an underground house.

Congrats on your early retirement. Oh yeah people will be jealous of you b/c you retired early. Don't let it bother you. Enjoy.

Lisa

[ylisa7]

Originally Posted by retiringat50

Will be leaving the library June 29 after working there 10 yrs. How do you suggest I fill my days?

More to the point of your question. Volunteer in anything you enjoy. Join some clubs. Get some new hobbies. There are so many things you can do when you have the time.

What do you like to do? Take some classes like painting, yoga, hiking, cooking, home repair, etc.

Volunteer your time with children or animals.

Join Habitat for Humanity- you can help people, meet new people, and learn something new at the same time.

Go full-timing around the country and work camp your through the country.

You have so many wonderful opportunities b/c you are you. Don't
let life pass you by.

Have fun.

Lisa

[Submariner]

50?

I am 48, I retired when I was 42. I was thrown out from my career field due to 'high-year-tenure', I had became too old to continue working there, so they gave me a pension. [a very age discriminating employer, you can not start there if you are over 35, and once you have 20 years of experience out you go]

We returned stateside, and got another foster family license and took on five children.

I bought some forest acreage along side a river in Maine, and I am building a house.

I am producing veggies and eggs and selling them at a local organic Farmer's Market.

I have gotten active in the VFW, and the lodge.

[garth]

what are you doing with your life?

Anything and everthing I want or desire. The whole world is open to me.

[StealthRabbit]

I went back to school at a pre-50 retirement, as there were a few more things I wanted to learn... after 30+ yrs and 3 previous degrees. Plus I really enjoy school and plan to use my new education in some NGO community development work in other countries and rural spots in US and Canada.

I have enjoyed stints with Habitat since I was 40, also did "Master Gardener" program in my 30's. Play with photography, furniture, home and commercial building restorations, history clubs, helping neighbors on farms and in construction when they need a hand. I like to work for free on farms during harvest, but think I will ask for a raise with $10/ Bu wheat

Your research skills could be very helpful to folks starting new ventures, or for the new trend in "history travels". There are lots of places to volunteer and even some causes that you can embrace and champion if you need some serious responsibility. I like being involved in Community Foundation, mentoring, helping young kids with reading, and old folks with taxes. Going on crazy adventures with minimal planning and funds, Community Choirs / Orchestra. Volunteer ushering for presentations I enjoy but could never afford tickets too...

Never have thought about "wondering" what to do, a zillion needs and ten zillion desires, so few years... Unfortunately I don't 'fish' or play cards, or other common hobbies, but I'm always looking for something unique to learn about.

You will find a lot of fun things to do. Let your mind explore and body will follow.

[normie]

Jan, funny you should mention Master Gardener. I just saw a notice for that in the paper. Can you tell me some details? What did you think of it? How long did it take to fulfill those 75 hours (or does that even matter)?

[Frangi914]

My husband is 52 and will be leaving his teaching position of 25 years, I am 47. We are waiting on him due to pension issues but once we put our house on the market this spring and sell it we are off to Hawaii for good. We have done everything we could to go debt free with ample savings. Honestly I couldn't live where I do now and not work,so believe it or not Hawaii is cheaper for us to live than here in Westchester. The drop in taxes once we purchase a home there will save us over $20,000 a year. After six years of planning and saving the time is almost upon us. Yeah

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by normie

...funny you should mention Master Gardener. ..Can you tell me some details? ...How long did it take to fulfill those 75 hours ..?

I think the classes were ~ 1 day per week for ~ 10 weeks (during the 'off-season' so not missing much in our dreary climate) I was running my farm, working full-time (nights), homeschooling, + doing part-time consulting work, but the MG program was not burdensome. I did have to leave it behind in a few years due to 26 wks/ yr international business travel + 3 foreign assignments. (the farm had to go too... poor choice...)

We had several guest speakers and I felt I learned a lot, for sustainable practices of building soils, and the role of tilth, bugs, rotation crops...The chemical education was very valuable, as I was operating a 'u-pick' fruit operation in an urban area so tried to do minimal spraying, and focus on organics. Plus it is good to know these things. I still apply and share that learning frequently 20 yrs later..!

The materials alone were worth the time and price, I have a nice library that I have shared with many.

For the 'pay-back' time, I liked answering the phone questions ~ 4 hr shifts 2x / month and doing school & 4-H presentations. I also staffed the fair and garden show booth assignments, + I did volunteer pruning at a local historical orchard. It was all enjoyable, and working with interesting and engaging folks. If you are not a sociable type there are other options working behind the scenes. Plant sale prep, community gardens, admin chores, research assistance. It all needs to be done, and it can be fun. (at least that is what I found). The co-workers are really great, knowledgeable, experienced, and motivated. I found a group of fine friends there, and we had a good time at events. The T-shirt was nice too. At the time... the pay-back hours decreased by 1/2 AFTER the first yr.

[jlat]

I retired last year at 48. (my decision) It was just time to go do something else. Neither my wife nor myself had any desire to work for anyone but ourselves any longer. The wife had been home for about 6 years and was ready to back to work, but only part time. Luckily she found a pretty easy job she likes and "works for benefits." (insurance) This let me go to culinary school full time and I will be graduating soon as a pastry chef. We are also opening a coffee house - bakery late next year (the lease is signed, just waiting on the building). I also have taken on most of the household chores (laundry, cooking , carpool etc.) I do a lot of volunteering at my kids school and do some coaching (soccer and basketball) for a little while. We are doing a lot of traveling in the spring and summers and will be going to Hawaii this summer and China next summer. About 4 years ago I decided that every year on my birthday, I would celebrate somewhere that I have never been before. I'm 4 for 4 and will be on Kauai for my 50th. My girls are 7 and I plan on spending as much time with them as possible, before they get "to old" to hang with old dad. I haven't missed my company or the job I left one bit. I do miss some of the people I saw every day, but I do see a few of my closer friends on a regular basis. Its really been great.