Did you have a "real" life before retirement? (spouse, vacation)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I always saw my life past as I phases really that just natural happen .I had life as Kid; then as teen in school then early work years; later work years and now retirement. The most common difference is time and physical ability. Often they controlled what I did differently than another phase.If I had been born rich I might have gone from early work years to never retiring actually has often seen.
Work is part of life, not separate from it. I always find it very sad when people post that they only started to live after retiring.
I think enjoying what one does in their work/job life is certainly a great thing and some people find this element in their job. However, I think the job itself is only part of the picture as some people may not be happy working because of other job related factors that are just as important as the job itself in my book:
- hard to get along with coworkers(2 sides to every story of course!)
- the stress of being downsized no matter how good some one it at a job, how hard they work, or how much they may love their job
- stress of long commutes
etc, etc.
In another words, sometimes the job for many is the easy/"fun" part, but all the "external"/uncontrollable things (environment, people) make it all not so nice for many and I think that's why some will say they only started to live after retiring, finally being able to breathe from all the "noise"/stress.
Personally, when I worked, I had a nice compressed work week schedule(4 days on, 3 day "weekends") and overall the people I worked with were very decent people. It was a very good environment. My job was challenging(over 20 years of working in different areas of IT) but the work environment was just as important to me as the job in making my life ok while working. The 3 day weekends especially gave us the freedom to do more travel, get more things done around the home, allowed me to pursue my hobbies/side projects, etc.
With all that said, nothing compares to retirement in my experience. And most importantly, getting out early in the "game" of life when one has their health/time to enjoy the freedom.
And I'd also like to mention that I believe retirement and the work life don't have to be considered mutually exclusive for one can have a hobby/passion/talent they pursue in "retirement" as a "job" and earn a few $ with it if they choose, setting their own time schedule of course, and I think that can still be defined as retirement. Or make no money and just donate their time to a cause or whatever. If the bs gets thick/it isn't fun anymore? Easy to move on as one isn't relying on that paycheck to earn their living.
I am just seeing this. Since I was half of your inspiration in starting this thread, I will expand on my comment in the other thread. I have worked since I was 16. I really have worked full time plus all that time, in addition to raising three children and going back to school while working and raising children. I also had a business for 22 years that took a lot of time and energy and I didn't take much time off.
Now that the kids are grown and I'm not running a business, I'm still working full time and I am taking classes for a certification I want/need to get, so still very busy. And yes, at age 57 I have slowed down and I am tired. After working 40 to 50 hours a week, taking classes and spending time with a grandchild, I am tired and I don't have the time or energy to do other things I would like to focus on. I'd like to spend my days getting things done around the house, doing gardening that I haven't had time to do, cooking, spending more time with grandchild, meeting friends for coffee.
So I am looking forward to retiring, and the sooner the better, while I still have the health to enjoy it! But in reality I will probably just work less hours in the near future so I can begin to incorporate some of the things I don't have time for now. Hard to do when about 12 hours of your day is scheduled, 8 hours is for sleeping, and the other 4 is taken up with shower, meals and housework.
I am retired a year now. Had a life before, and got one now. Not enough time in a day to do all I want, and have lists to do. I have more Hobbies than most 20 people have, the Hobbies pay for themselves, I collect a lot of stuff, sell some stuff, and buy more stuff. I restore and fix things, and have tooling and equipment to do almost any Hobby one can mention, in any medium, wood, glass, metal, casting, hot glass, engraving, and on and on. Love auctions, yard sales, flea markets, and camping. Never a dull moment. Do a lot of Antique Lighting Repairs/Restorations that pays for all the Hobby stuff, and a backlog of work for 8 months. Life is Grand...
Two posters gave me the idea for starting this thread, Stevek64 and Luzianne. In TuborgP's thread "Is there life after retirement?", Luzianne posted the following:
"My question is: Is there life BEFORE retirement? Real life? I don't think so, at least not for everyone. We slave away 40+ hours a week and after that we are too tired to do anything that we would LIKE to do - or at least I am. I'm 57 and I WISH I could retire now. I am trying to find something part time or prn so I can still work, but not full time."
I am so sorry that Luzianne is "too tired to do anything" after her working hours. However, I didn't usually feel that way. I pursued several hobbies, and pursued them intensely, while still working. In addition, I read, travelled a bit, saw interesting films, etc. Of course I wasn't raising children, so both my energy and my free time outside of the workplace were greater.
So as the OP, I will answer YES, I definitely had a "real" life before retirement, which included my work. Work is part of life, not separate from it. I always find it very sad when people post that they only started to live after retiring. Now that doesn't mean I wasn't glad to retire. One can be happy working and ALSO be happy retired.
Interesting question, I would answer I think so.
I had a very intense and high profile career, and it really wasn't by my own choice. As a result, my time generally was not my own, especially the last 10-11 years of working. So in that respect I was probably somewhat of the classic workaholic. But I always set time aside for the family interactions, and didn't make them an afterthought. But there is only so much time, so stuff I enjoy doing in retirement, such as learning about science or doing deeper reading on sports and stuff wasn't something I had much time to do.
But I also enjoyed the work, especially the challenges of trying to do something major and making something happen that was considered too difficult, and persuading and/or negotiating with others to buy in on a different vision. I also enjoyed team building, finding the different personalities and skills that would work well together, and getting folks through challenges. So in that way I was enjoying my life and not feeling overly burdened, though the time requirements were extensive.
Putting together a 100+ step project plan, plus lots of subsidiary tasks, probably isn't what many folks would consider as having a "real life", but if you enjoy the challenges and the interactions with folks in the working environment then I guess it was reasonably enjoyable but alternative real life.
It's because my department was downsized to a department of one...
It's one of those jobs (Medical) when there is a problem... it needs to be addressed.
Was not always like this... mergers, acquisition, downsizing, you name it. In 24 years, I have seen a lot and the last 5 has been once we get through this rough spot... things will start looking up.
Have the feeling the next 60 days will be critical... then, I have thought that before.
One of the big reasons I came aboard all those years ago was for the big company benefits... pension, 401k match, profit sharing, stock plan, 5 year sabbatical... etc... over the year they have all been suspended to never return...
In hindsight... should have stayed the course being self employed... trading in investment properties and managing rentals served me well and if the job ended tomorrow... that would be OK.
This topic caught my eye because I did have a real and very active mover and shaker type life before going corporate... once corporate... not so much... again, chalk it up to being a Department of One as anyone that has gone through any of the above knows...
Hope to pick up where I left off not in the too distant future...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.