Retired - Now What?

[steve white]

Forty plus years of 100+ hours a week as a surgeon then have my fourth bout of Covid leave me with a
voice that has taken more than a year to recover forced retirement at 70yo. I now have at least a functional voice. So, retirement initially sucked! The future for me is bright in a world that sometimes
isn't so bright (the political world around us). In 11 days, I leave for Uganda, one of my favorite places in the world to hunt. Hunting and fishing, shooting and completing projects that for 50 years of education and surgical practice have been on the back burner is exciting. The hardest part is establishing a new social network and life that medicine was previously the core of. It just takes work!

Glad you got your voice back! I know you are a doctor, but take great pains with malaria prevention in Uganda. I knew missionaries there who all got malaria, including both their kids 4 times each while doing their best to stay properly medicated.

 

[Andrew62]

You have to find purpose!!!

For me personally, finding purpose in retirement was the real struggle. I spent 40+ years owning my own businesses such as a couple of small motels, family restaurant, pizza shop, residential and commercial rental complexes. Once I finally sold out of those positions and went home to retire, I no longer had people calling for this or that, didn't have a restaurant to go to and keep up on local affairs/gossip, lol, the first few months of my retirement I found myself wanting to jump off the house roof. Now that I have been fully retired 1 year, I have grown to enjoy my time away from the hustle and bustle of business ownership and tenant issues.

To everyone contemplating retirement, I say do it as soon as you can, but retire with some sort of purpose. I now get to go hunt with my grandchildren as well as my nieces and nephews, go to their ball games, going to put in a small orchard for my youngest daughter this year, and for the first time ever I am going to start developing food plots on my 3 hunting properties.

I have grown quite fond of doing what I want when I want!!!

@NIGHTHAWK, thank you for starting this thread, I have found it very helpful!!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I am about to turn 72 and have been a part-owner of my own show from about 28 years old. Right now I am the CEO of our company that manufactures mining processing equipment, which is interesting, but can be stressful too when you get a difficult client. If we make a mistake, as occasionally happens, the buck stops with me, and I know the 2 am feeling all too well. In the good times it is absolutely fantastic though, the total freedom to develop new things and bring it all to fruition - very satisfying.
I therefore swing from "just sell this wretched thing off and get out of here", to "wow, life couldn't be better".
The older I get, though, the more I am swinging towards selling it off, but retaining some role without responsibility and especially not consequence. I have been blessed with an inquiring and inventive mind, and perhaps therein lies a possible formula.
I also think that it is important in retirement to have projects to work on, as others have said. I am building up a car to do some touring in in South Africa, and also have one in Scotland. Some hunts are planned, and some rail trips, which I love. But the trick is to have something to clock into at the end of the day of playing to remain of consequence. Maybe buy a widget factory that is fun but not too demanding and can't bite? I have a few ideas already!

 

[odonata]

My retirement journey got kicked off a few years ago when I had a major heart attack & spent four days in an ICU staring at the ceiling listening to machines beep. It's moments like this that bring your mortality into sharp focus. If there was anything I wanted to get done during this particular life, I might want to prioritize that list starting now. So to a certain degree, I threw caution to the wind & started setting some large goals for myself. Guaranteed success was not a criteria. If I failed, I failed trying & hopefully learned something new.

Like a lot of people, for many years I had prioritized other people's needs over my own: The lovely & charming ex, the kids, my elderly parents, etc. But now I've reached a nice spot in my life where it's all about me. The ex is remarried, the kids are grown and my parents have passed away. I can do whatever I want without hurting anyone. I picked a few things to keep myself busy but these items reflect my own personal interests so they may not appeal to anyone else.

I decided to build a small wooden boat. It was simply the challenge of taking a 2D blueprint & converting it into a 3D object. To make it more engaging & time-consuming, I decided to make it out of as much native Arkansas wood as possible. Mostly sassafras, black locust, cypress, white oak, osage orange & old-growth longleaf pine. It's been a lot of fun & eventually I'll use it for remote exploration & camping.

I bought a BMW motorcycle. I'm going to start touring the backroads of North America a lot more.

After years of not backpacking much, I've been adding some epic remote hikes to the itinerary. Here's a photo of me in the Wind River Range outside of Lander, Wyoming last year.

A few months ago, I went to Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah for a week. Very desolate. We had a couple of million acres all to ourselves.

I've always loved photography so I started shooting large format B&W film again. It's slow, laborious, highly inconvenient & produces great results enough times to make all of that sacrifice worthwhile whenever I visit someplace like Bryce Canyon NP.

As you might be able to tell, whenever I travel, I like to avoid lots of people. The last trip I took with my daughter was to the Dry Tortugas National Park for a week of rustic camping, snorkeling & sea kayaking.

I bought a retirement sailboat & I'm going to see where that takes me. Sailing into an unknown anchorage in the dark can be high-anxiety but every day I'm out on the ocean is way better than a day inside an office. I've worked as a computer programmer for 39 years now & I'm looking forward to finally pulling the plug in a few months. I'm currently working remotely from my sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay & enjoying making plans for when I can cast the lines & head for the horizon soon.

The best part about my upcoming retirement is the uncertainty of it all. I don't have a rigid fixed plan. I'm just making it up as I go along. I've enjoyed being a programmer but moving forward, I think I'm just going to work on open-source projects at my leisure & avoid the pressure of any kind of contractual commitment. I just want something to keep my mind sharp & challenged without any unnecessary pressure or stress. I doubt I'll do everything on my bucket list but I'm going to keep trying to check them off for as long as I'm able.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

I officially retired from the work force at the age of 56. I had a successful military career and later worked my way up to become an executive in an elevator company. After spending almost 2 months in ICU in 2019, my boss made me "medically retire" from the company with the option to return after 6 month of needed convalescence. He gave me a nice bonus to not go work for the competition during those 6 months and give the company first option to rehire if I so chose to return to the industry. I was getting calls to come back to work when COVID hit and shut down the world.

Me and Mama were outside grilling and drinking sundowners at our home outside Fort Worth one evening (isn't that what most of us did for COVID?) when we had a deep talk about retiring completely and living part time in the US and part time in her home town in Colombia. She loved the idea so that is what we did! We sold the big house and bought a condo. We wanted to be able to lock the door and go without worries. Hard to do that with a home and yard/property.

Our situation is different than most. It is just her and me. No children or any other dependents and we have no debts. Everyone who thought they knew me didn't think I could do it, as I am considered a little "intense" at times. However, it was one of the best decisions we made. Military life, and later a travel intense civilian career demanded that we be apart a lot. We love being able to make up for all those times we were apart. All of my "toys" that didn't get the attention they deserve get used regularly now. Retirement is great even if the pay sucks. We have a little deer lease in Texoma that's close to the house, and the owner lets us manage it as we wish.

Colombia is an interesting place even on a boring day. My wife knows or is related to most everyone in town and we have a very active social life here. I call it "my Mama mandated socialization". I am active in the coffee community here and have become trained in everything from barista to toasting and grading/tasting coffee for the international market. Keeps me active and required my brain to learn something new. By the way, a real coffee barista is nothing like the purple haired coffee milkshake makers at Starsucks. We actually know coffee and methods of brewing that doesn't involve pushing a button on a machine.

Moving from a 4800sf home to a 2200sf condo was a big change but the downsizing wasn't difficult for us. I certainly don't miss yard work. After letting things go that were not being used (to include firearms), our lives became easier.

No regrets on retirement!

Safe travels and safe hunting.

 

[jpr9954]

I have been thinking on this some more. Time is your biggest asset. At this time in our lives -without trying to sound morbid - we only have so much left.

Use it wisely. Be selfish. Be ready to say no. Your only real obligation is to yourself and those you love.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

One reason to keep working:

I need a game room for all these mounts! My girlfriends place is getting plugged…

 

[dlmac]

I have been retired 4 years now from medicine. I started out in the Military and retired with 22 years...did not want to but the wife was ready. Retire from medicine was not easy, but retiring from the military that I truly loved, was a killer. I made a lousy civilian for about 10 years before I came around to excepting it. I could have made it easier, but I did want to....my mistake. Now years later I am finally enjoying retire fully. Went to med school age 47.

 

[Scott CWO]

This is absolutely one of the hardest things to reconcile….letting go of things you have controlled and we perceive we need to.
Question though.. I know you go on say 2 week hunts…do things “blow up” when you do? I’m guessing NO…
I find that is also largely because we communicate ahead of time we will be “out of pocket”
I’m in basically the exact same boat.
I don’t think you can do that very long term because you will be too disengaged perhaps and value will be diminished
Your healthcare expenses will be some $25k-28k per year till you hit Medicare age

Yes, I have taken several longer trips to Africa but usually only in my off-season here in the States. I did go to Tanzania for 21 days in November 2023 for my lion safari but all our wilderness horseback operations were done and we were then just doing private land ranch hunts that are much easier to manage. I don't feel right taking a trip in September or October while still dealing with wilderness horse trips but those days are coming.

The insurance is a real issue for those of us in the private sector. Before I sold the business, we were paying $2200 per month for the two of us with a ridiculous $6600 deductible each thanks to ObamaCare. Prior to ObamaCare, we were paying $750 per month with a $2000 deductible! The first year of OC it went to $1250 and just kept going up from there every year. We made too much money to get discounts and were paying for the deadbeats! So unfair!

I'm guessing when I semi-retire next year that I will just reduce my salary to minimum wage so I can still get the company insurance. I will still get the rent that the company pays me for our headquarters, barn and pastures as well. I will also make some tips while guiding. My personal hunts for this year are paid off and have deposits paid for 2027 and 2028 but will probably slow down on the hunts afterwards.

 

[Woodcarver]

I retired at 57, right before the world went stupid in 2020. The past 6 years have been busier than when I had a job. Been asked a number of times "what do you do?". Whatever I feel like, is the typical answer.
It is critical to have hobbies or interests that will keep you busy. I'd wager more than a few of us knew someone who retired, sat down in front of the TV, and was dead in a fairly short time. Fortunately, I have more hobbies and interests than I have time or money to indulge, but I try, lol.
Goals now include getting to Africa, probably more than a few times. Spending time with grandkids. Hunting more states. More dive trips. As others have pointed out, time is the unknown. Live the time you have.
That freedom from the calendar is what allowed me to decide, kinda on a whim, to spend most of November last year driving to North Carolina to hunt with a nephew, visiting family and friends both going and coming home. Great trip!
One of my Grandpas was retired longer than he carried the mail. He and Grandma were constantly on the go. Mom sent me a newspaper article written about him bowling a 700 series when he was 88. Staying active and going is key to surviving retirement. I use him as my model.

 

[Datchew]

You guys are a welcome channel of insight on this topic.
I admit I've been thinking a lot about it and I very much appreciate the stories on this thread.
It has made me do some real thinking that I hadn't done before.

I just hit the big cinco zero last year. Career has been fruitful. I could punch out in another year or so but I don't really see myself enjoying not having a task.

I can fill a LOT of time working on old motorcycles and LC70's, reloading, hunting, hiking, and the like. But I don't want to grow weary of any of them.

I like the discussions about jobs you're doing for enjoyment.
I'm thinking i might go back to turbine commissioning or something that gives me some travel and playing with the big iron again. Wife can come with me now that the kids are in college.
Best of all, no boards, no politics, no direct employees.

Please keep the lessons learned, plans, and stories coming.

Here's a much younger Datchew (less white in the beard) somewhere in Netherlands having fun.

 

[Datchew]

Went to med school age 47.

Wow! Impressive

 

[1dirthawker]

congrats on your retirement,

a question i ask pre retired guys," what do you do on your days off? now you can do that every day"

i did 21 years in the air force, 1 year in the railroad then 20 years as a firefighter/emt. i retired at 60. the problem many firefighters have is that their job/position/title is their identity. they have a tough time no longer going to the "job" everyday, and they are no longer identified as a good guy in a uniform.

i have tried to have other things in my life that identified me more than my job. my faith, my family, being a falconer, or beekeeper, spending time with my 6 grandkids all gave me something to do. i part time guide brown bear hunters and i am a "bear guard" for 3 months off and on during the summer. (protect some kind of "ologist" biologist, archaeologist, etc with a shotgun as they do their work in the back country of alaska) so my gig work combined with plenty of other things to do (i go to the gym 3 days a week) meet a group of retired military/ff buddies every week, etc. gives me something to do and to look forward to.

find something that give you joy and dive into it. give the wife the extra time and attention that she deserves. if you have a faith, step up in your church and take a position helping out. every church i was ever at needed to have the lawn mowed.

i am happy for you and hope you find a space that gives you satisfaction and peace with your decisions.

 

[JimP]

A number of years before I retired we had to fight for our time off. The company was looking at all the hours allowed for all the members of the crew and if it didn't add up to a full years worth of entitled time off they started to block certain times during the year. It didn't bother me too much since I was more than willing to work the holidays and other more prime time but, they tried to block my hunting seasons. We managed to work that out between me and the local supervisor but it was close.

Then one day we were at a company lunch and I was talking to a upper level manager about them blocking the time off. I told him that I would take my time off non paid if I could get it when I wanted, he almost fainted thinking that a person would do something like that. I just told him that my time away from the job was that important to me that I would take it non paid. I also told him that my priorities were my time off and family, then the job. For some reason he just couldn't understand that.

Perhaps that is where I transitioned so easily into retirement. My priorities when I was working were what I did once I retired, and I still enjoy each and every one of them.

But like others have mentioned, do things while you can, you never know when you are going to wake up some day and find out that you can no longer do what you really enjoy. I'm a prime example of that. I was diagnosed with AFIB this past summer, I walked into the Dr's office and told him that I wanted to find out what was going on with a rapid heart beat when it shouldn't be beating that fast. I wore a heart monitor for a week and on the last night they picked up the rapid heart beat, if it hadn't happened when it did I may still not know what was going on. But this past summer I have gone through a number of test along with sleep test and getting diagnosed with sleep apnea, so now I am on a CPAP therapy at night, but at least I now know what is going on and can deal with it. It's not going to stop me from doing 99% of what I enjoy doing, but I do have to adapt to it.

But all these test were eye opening to me. On the sleep apnea I had no symptoms that they listed on the handout. But with two different sleep studies that I did at home it came out. Once I was diagnosed I did some research on it and found that there are over 3,000,000 Americans that have it and don't know it.

Now I can get back to packing and getting ready for my trip down to Arizona for my javelina hunt that starts on Friday, just have to pack a couple of things that now go with me on my trips.

 

[Hank2211]

Interesting article in todays WSJ:

The Hottest Commodity in the Mining Business: American Generals

Rare-earth companies bring in retired military brass to navigate Washington and win Pentagon contracts

www.wsj.com

One of our esteemed number was clearly ahead of the curve on this (@ Red Leg)!

 

[dlmac]

M

Interesting article in todays WSJ:

The Hottest Commodity in the Mining Business: American Generals

Rare-earth companies bring in retired military brass to navigate Washington and win Pentagon contracts

www.wsj.com

One of our esteemed number was clearly ahead of the curve on this (@ Red Leg)!

my first Father in law was a military contracting officer, retired and went to the other side and contracted to the Government/military. He became a multi millionaire in just a few year. He was a better man than his daughter was a wife.

 

[Woodcarver]

A number of years before I retired we had to fight for our time off. The company was looking at all the hours allowed for all the members of the crew and if it didn't add up to a full years worth of entitled time off they started to block certain times during the year. It didn't bother me too much since I was more than willing to work the holidays and other more prime time but, they tried to block my hunting seasons. We managed to work that out between me and the local supervisor but it was close.

Then one day we were at a company lunch and I was talking to a upper level manager about them blocking the time off. I told him that I would take my time off non paid if I could get it when I wanted, he almost fainted thinking that a person would do something like that. I just told him that my time away from the job was that important to me that I would take it non paid. I also told him that my priorities were my time off and family, then the job. For some reason he just couldn't understand that.

Perhaps that is where I transitioned so easily into retirement. My priorities when I was working were what I did once I retired, and I still enjoy each and every one of them.

But like others have mentioned, do things while you can, you never know when you are going to wake up some day and find out that you can no longer do what you really enjoy. I'm a prime example of that. I was diagnosed with AFIB this past summer, I walked into the Dr's office and told him that I wanted to find out what was going on with a rapid heart beat when it shouldn't be beating that fast. I wore a heart monitor for a week and on the last night they picked up the rapid heart beat, if it hadn't happened when it did I may still not know what was going on. But this past summer I have gone through a number of test along with sleep test and getting diagnosed with sleep apnea, so now I am on a CPAP therapy at night, but at least I now know what is going on and can deal with it. It's not going to stop me from doing 99% of what I enjoy doing, but I do have to adapt to it.

But all these test were eye opening to me. On the sleep apnea I had no symptoms that they listed on the handout. But with two different sleep studies that I did at home it came out. Once I was diagnosed I did some research on it and found that there are over 3,000,000 Americans that have it and don't know it.

Now I can get back to packing and getting ready for my trip down to Arizona for my javelina hunt that starts on Friday, just have to pack a couple of things that now go with me on my trips.

Same industry, similar outcome. Fortunately for me, by the time CTL was trying to squeeze on paid time off, I was 4th in the seniority stack for our region. But there were a couple supervisors, and definitely a 2nd level, that couldn't grasp that the job was simply a means to an end. I had always told my kid that the only reason I had a job was to support my hobbies. Finally decided that how they wanted to do business didn't jibe with how I thought a service industry should treat it's customers, so I took the buyout offered in the fall of 2019. Transitioning to being retired involved unplugging the alarm clock.
There are definitely a lot of people, men seem to more inclined to this, that define themselves by their job. What I did for a living was never part of the definition.
Good to hear the medical stuff seems to be under control. Have fun in AZ (should be a bit warmer at least)!

 

[JimP]

Same industry, similar outcome. Fortunately for me, by the time CTL was trying to squeeze on paid time off, I was 4th in the seniority stack for our region. But there were a couple supervisors, and definitely a 2nd level, that couldn't grasp that the job was simply a means to an end. I had always told my kid that the only reason I had a job was to support my hobbies. Finally decided that how they wanted to do business didn't jibe with how I thought a service industry should treat it's customers, so I took the buyout offered in the fall of 2019. Transitioning to being retired involved unplugging the alarm clock.
There are definitely a lot of people, men seem to more inclined to this, that define themselves by their job. What I did for a living was never part of the definition.
Good to hear the medical stuff seems to be under control. Have fun in AZ (should be a bit warmer at least)!

That second levels name didn't happen to be Dave Johnson out of Casper was it?

I retired with Quest after 34 years in 2008

 

[Vanguard2279]

I just turned 57 in January. I'll break 30 years in law enforcement in mid February. I promoted last February because I didn't have enough stress and drama in my life. I still enjoy the job and I'm planning to clock three more years. I still have a number of decisions to make. However, being able to leave at any time reduces a lot of the stress I had previously.
Continue living your best lives in retirement, everyone.

 

[Woodcarver]

That second levels name didn't happen to be Dave Johnson out of Casper was it?

I retired with Quest after 34 years in 2008

No, but that name rings a bell. You got out just as our nightmare began. 2008 is when Qwest took over day to day management of El Paso. Penny Larsen was a 2nd level in Qwest, became 3rd level with CTL in 2013 or 2014 (don't quote me on the year).
The real idiot we had to deal with was Jeff (drawing a blank on his last name ?). He ended up getting his butt fired as he was as crooked as the day is long.