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Pets are absolutely a hindrance to those who want to have the freedom to go anywhere without a lot of preparation. You absolutely have to make preparations for your pets. You have to rely on others that might or might not be available, you have to rely on boarders, that may or may not have spots. And of course you have to arrange for drop off and pick up, and all are issues I do not want to deal with. It would severely inhibit my ability to pick up and go. For those of us that do not want these ties, and want to be “untethered” to travel, pets are not for us.
If we wanted to leave town tomorrow, we could do so by making arrangement for our pets with a simple phone call. If you believe that this is a "severe hinderance" to being able to "pick up and go", then that's fine. Something tells me though that that isn't the only reason that you don't have pets, and that's fine as well. But just because you consider pets to be an inconvenience, that doesn't mean that you should be telling others that they need to get rid of their pets if they want to have the freedom to travel.
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Originally Posted by ChessieMom
Good grief. Find a home for your pets and travel!!! Life is too short!
This is exactly why I don't want any pets - I want to be able to take off any time and hit the road.
I think there's no greater luxury than being able to live contentedly without needing to work.
I am so looking forward to removing myself from the working world. I have a guy across the street, he is about my age, and he has not worked since I moved here 5 years ago. Maybe before that. I guess he is retired and has some kind of income. He walks his dogs, he mows an elderly man's grass next door, plays with grand kids that visit. He does not look like he misses working one bit. I know people that got corporate buy outs and never worked again. It seems once you make the leap, you don't want to go back to the work a day world. I know I won't. My fear is running out of money, so I am tracking every dime and watching my pension like a hawk. I read the annual report (Pension is 113% funded) and participate in other savings programs. When I qualify for social security at 62 I will take it soon after. The threads about not taking it early are endless, but for me it will mean no more working. Having each day to do as I please is the most valuable thing I can think of.
If we wanted to leave town tomorrow, we could do so by making arrangement for our pets with a simple phone call. If you believe that this is a "severe hinderance" to being able to "pick up and go", then that's fine. Something tells me though that that isn't the only reason that you don't have pets, and that's fine as well. But just because you consider pets to be an inconvenience, that doesn't mean that you should be telling others that they need to get rid of their pets if they want to have the freedom to travel.
That is great that you have such a system in place. Most people do not, and many actually refuse to board their dogs at all. I am speaking about folks in my own family. There are many reasons I don't have pets anymore. But being "tied down" is absolutely the main one. I am on the go a LOT. It would be absurd and curtail many of my activities.
I offered advice. As have others. Have a good day.
I'm still trying to decide what kind of volunteer work I wish to do, but no plans to join the workforce again. In my 55+ senior mobile home co-op, I volunteered to paint all the pylons in the community, some 100 of them, scrape, wire brush them, then paint, 2 coats of acrylic. Not even looking for a thank-you for it. I just finished, took me 2 months to do them all. I bought my own paint and I didn't want any renumeration for it.
I put something in the community news letter: If you want your mailbox post painted grey or white, call me and I'll do it. All free of charge!
We have our own Helping Hands here, to volunteer to help seniors in the community, take some for Dr. visits, but, having worked with seniors in a LTC/Rehab facility for 17 years, I'm going to pass on that one.
What I'm more interested in is working as a Volunteer at the Benedictine Monastery, where asylum seekers arrive from Mexico. There's over 50 volunteers working there and, being bi-lingual, I'd fit in quite well there.
We are pretty fortunate, just got to remind ourselves. Health care taken care of, pension, free time....really not much more you can ask for. The rest is up to you.
I must admit that i do have a "live-in" dog sitter. He tells me to go and not to worry about them. But i do, so it is just me making a big deal about it. He won't spoil them like i do.
I am retiring in about three months. People are finding out and asking me "what are you going to do next?"
I often feel kind of sheepish about my response, which tends to be "Nothing, nothing, and nothing" because I get the feeling that many people think that retirement means being as productive as our work environments expect us to be.
I'm tired of being productive! I want to be a sloth, at least for a while. And when the spirit moves me, I'll look into taking a guitar class, volunteering at the animal shelter, and taking some day trips. But until then: "nothing, nothing, and nothing."
The freedom to do whatever I feel like (within my limited financial means) goes way beyond "just ok" to me.
I think there's no greater luxury than being able to live contentedly without needing to work.
True
I did tell my breakfast group the other day, that there is no need to put on regular clothes on before 10am!
One lady that goes on and on about how busy and tired she is, looked at me like i was crazy.
So i do have it good. Just have to remind myself from time to time.
And y'all have helped.
I'm still in my pjs, second cup of coffee, enjoying this beautiful weather.
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This is so true
because I get the feeling that many people think that retirement means being as productive as our work environments expect us to be.
