31–40 of 190 posts
It went really well for him for about 30 years, and then he started to decline into depression. I don't think it was directly related to being retired.
He built a barbecue out of cinder blocks, then rebuilt it out of bricks. He learned to knot in order to make hammocks. He took up painting with acrylics -- I wouldn't say he ever became good at it, but he liked it and that's the point. The same for charcoal -- but he didn't like the mess, so he dropped it quickly.
He took up teaching advanced math to the local elementary school kids. He taught himself programming in BASIC and wrote math games and text adventures about our neighborhood.
He watched a lot of movies, read a lot of books, and kept the house on a schedule. He went from being an adequate cook to a reasonably good one.
He built relationships with the neighbors and went for a walk twice a day when the weather was adequate.
Strangely, I get up earlier as there's no dread of the corporate environment.
I have standing time with friends and family: Depending on the season, Weekly golf, lunch, tennis. Daily walks with my spouse.
Volunteer efforts provide some opportunities to give, feel internal and external appreciation and a sense of adding value to others.
Plenty of time for reading, learning, experimenting and puzzle solving. There are so many resources to learn about new topics and try things.
When I hear people express fear of being bored after their career, I have to pick my jaw off the floor. I can't imagine there has been a time with more information freely available.
On my days off I catch up on chores. I take care of my body by going to the gym, yoga studio, boxing gym, or ride my bike. I spend time with friends if they are available, which is tricky because I'm only off every other weekend. I bake sourdough bread and seek perfection in extracting the perfect cup of espresso. I read HN.
I often think what I would be doing if I met your criteria for answering this questions and didn't have to work the other 3-4 days of my week, and I think the answer would be to look for meaningful work. There is a fulfillment or sense of purpose in work that doesn't come to me in the prolonged absence of it, I don't define myself by it, but as Marcus Aurelius said in his Meditations:
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.”
Retirement is great and you shouldn't let anyone talk you out of it. The guys at the top of the pyramid aren't working very hard, so why should you?
To quote Kurt Vonnegut: "I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please don’t listen to this. These are the words of someone who allowed work to destroy the part of themselves that had their own hopes and dreams. Only a shell that could take directions was left.
Do you know this person? Because I actually love my job, and I feel like if I retired right now it would suck. I would definitely be bored.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was fired, but you know how HR will gussy it up with cringey language like "mutual agreement" and what not.
Did you cash out early or were you fired?
I know, first-world problems.
I worked a ho-hum programming job for nearly 20 years (yes, just the one), feeling miserable for at least the last 3. There was no "cashing out", though when the company sold to private investors I got something like an extra 75% of a year of pay. It wasn't that money, but saving (index fund investing) all along that would have let me say "to heck with it, I can retire today" (albeit with a slightly reduced standard of living).
Instead, I waited until something part time & much more fulfilling came my way. Now I get to work on open source all day, or as little as I want, and I get paid for a substantial chunk of it. To my surprise, working 50-60% as long each week not only means I don't have to do dip into investments, but I can still add to my investments.
Now, the timing of this change was not great, because 5 months later COVID hit, so the travel aspects of my new life haven't materialized in the way I thought they would. When I start travelling as freely as I thought I would when I left traditional work in late 2019, that's when I hope to truly feel semi-retired.
When will I fully retire? Not while I can get paid to work on open source software, largely on my own terms. When will I stop working on open source? Hopefully not anytime soon.
If I had a way to make more money without losing the ^ balance, I'd jump on it. But, I am not running crazy behind any one of those.
I realise what I said would probably not make sense to me from 10 years ago - it was all about fun, and money then.