What is on your bucket list

Savvy_Sue

victor2 said:

Some wonderful ideas here, but most are not exactly money saving...

I find the notion of having too much money-saving on a bucket list slightly jarring! Obviously, if I had one, I'd do things on it as inexpensively as I could, but I wouldn't reject anything because it was going to cost a lot of money!

I've not really had a bucket list, but I do sometimes get an idea of something I really really want to do. Nearly 20 years ago, I had a benign brain tumour removed, and in the run up, I saw something on TV about the Millau Viaduct: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct

I just got this notion that I wanted to see That Bridge, so February half-term, off we went, DS3 in tow (I think the older 2 were on a school ski trip). It was bitterly cold, and not many tourist attractions open, and we had to keep DS entertained, and we spotted a go-kart track, which was sort of open, so they went off to play while I huddled in the reception area with coffee. When they'd finished, they needed to thaw out, and the manager basically asked, in French, what on EARTH we were doing there at this time of year.

So, in my best French, I explained that I'd just had this idée fixe to see this bridge, and we'd come now just in case I didn't get through the brain surgery ...

I do not think I changed his opinion of les Anglais fous one little tiny bit. And I've never again felt 'I MUST see THAT'.

cfw1994

Savvy_Sue said:

victor2 said:

Some wonderful ideas here, but most are not exactly money saving...

I find the notion of having too much money-saving on a bucket list slightly jarring! Obviously, if I had one, I'd do things on it as inexpensively as I could, but I wouldn't reject anything because it was going to cost a lot of money!

I've not really had a bucket list, but I do sometimes get an idea of something I really really want to do. Nearly 20 years ago, I had a benign brain tumour removed, and in the run up, I saw something on TV about the Millau Viaduct: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct

I just got this notion that I wanted to see That Bridge, so February half-term, off we went, DS3 in tow (I think the older 2 were on a school ski trip). It was bitterly cold, and not many tourist attractions open, and we had to keep DS entertained, and we spotted a go-kart track, which was sort of open, so they went off to play while I huddled in the reception area with coffee. When they'd finished, they needed to thaw out, and the manager basically asked, in French, what on EARTH we were doing there at this time of year.

So, in my best French, I explained that I'd just had this idée fixe to see this bridge, and we'd come now just in case I didn't get through the brain surgery ...

I do not think I changed his opinion of les Anglais fous one little tiny bit. And I've never again felt 'I MUST see THAT'.

Glad you got to see That Bridge: sounds an adventure🤣

Agree with the bit in bold though.

We haven’t yet got into package holidays, & we do look up deals: the 2 month Interrail extravaganza was when they had their 50 years half price sale, & we were happy to mostly wander about the places we stayed.  Just one example would be that in Amsterdam, you can take day tours to Zanse Schans to see the windmills.  Might be €30-60 (or more).  We hopped on a free boat then a €2 bus, then hopped on a train back to the city. 

For skiing, we discovered that a 2 week lift pass covered a full season at Les Arcs, & that some Airbnbs offer a 30% discount on 4 week stays, so going for a month costs roughly what 2 weeks would normally cost 💪  We drive out, & stopover to see some more of France (Dijon/Lyon) & have a fabulous time.  Sure, skiing is not a cheap holiday, but there are ways to make it cheaper than it otherwise might be 🤷‍♂️

I would like to get to Easter Island and Madagascar, but I can’t imagine a ‘moneysaving’ way to do those… 🤪

P933alilli

stuhse said:

For me its about lots of things that can be done relatively cheaply. Before retirement there was no time. Scotland is absolutely stunning if you can time your trip for good weather.  Once retired i can watch the forecast and jump in the car.

Explore Scotland, especially the West coast..... Arisaig---google images this place...i want to sea kayak here it looks amazing.
The Wainwrights lake district walks
wainwrights coast to coast...it goes past our house and ive never done it !
Walk the Yorkshire 3 peaks
Explore my local footpaths...start from my home and radiate outwards.
More/longer ski holidays- money saved by more considired choosing ...perhaps driving and staying further from the slopes.

More cycling/mountain biking

More swimming...maybe outdoor

 The northern lights

Camper van trip of europe

Bigger trips- funds and health permitting

Norwegein fjords

Iceland

Canada

Ive just started walking the Wainwrights in the Lake District, well i started last year and ive done 12 so far! Fantastic views. Ive been doing them solo and going and coming back on the day, 1 hr and 45 minutes away generally, and that makes it quite hard. But each time i go and do another walk my prep has improved and it seems easier. I have, however, only done them in good conditions so far! Catbells, Haystacks, (Helvellyn, Nethermost & Dollywagon pikes), (Helm crag, Gibson Knott, Calf crag, Steel fell), (Coniston old man, Brim fell and Dow crag). The three latter ones i did last week and are my favourite so far, the ones in brackets done together on the same walk generally taking 6-7 hours!

snowbird20

i'm enjoying this thread!

dh retired 3 years ago and we've been doing things we had put off.  We now spend every summer where his family spent their summers in Western New York state.  A bucket list item--or maybe 'fantasy list'--is that we purchased a flat there so that we don't have to pack and unpack and take things with us on every trip.  It's just our second home--quite a luxury.

We're traveling much more now that he's retired.   Our son took our grandchildren to live in Germany so we go to Europe a couple of times a year to visit them as well as explore.   We stayed home during Covid so we are now making up for lost time.

I think high on our fantasy list is still seeing the Northern Lights, probably in Iceland.
We are booked for a trip and cruise Istanbul to Athens in April 2025.
We are taking my sister on her first trip to the UK sometime in 2025 for her 65th birthday.

Other than that, i think our bucket list is just trying to stay healthy and active and enjoy what time we have.

snowbird20

oh, i would also like to drive from Key West, Florida to Ft Kent, Maine via US 1.  It does to all the quaint little towns and seasides.

helensbiggestfan

to Live Long and Prosper. 😉

 I'm 73 and in reasonable nick.  I'm not rich but I have "enough". 

I've done most of the big trips, China, Amazon, Egypt.  I've no desire to climb everest or swim the channel.  Have been up in a hot  balloon (fabulous), quite fancy a parachute jump.  Maybe one more biggie to Canada and then probably just pootle round Europe and the U.K.   

Next year will be a house move (final move??) and then I'll take it from there. 

My son bought me a keyboard so maybe have some lessons.  

Yankee24

Travel is big for us…. And I read a good book that said divide your list into GO GO , SLOW GO and NO GO.  That has really helped, as I am sure at just late 50s we take mobility and health for granted a bit 

GO GO-   Botswana okevango delta.   India for a tiger safari, Thailand, USA national parks
SLOW GO. Any cruise or city break
NO GO uk holidays and visits to kids.  

dont_use_vistaprint

stuhse said:

For me its about lots of things that can be done relatively cheaply. Before retirement there was no time. Scotland is absolutely stunning if you can time your trip for good weather.  Once retired i can watch the forecast and jump in the car.

Explore Scotland, especially the West coast..... Arisaig---google images this place...i want to sea kayak here it looks amazing.
The Wainwrights lake district walks
wainwrights coast to coast...it goes past our house and ive never done it !
Walk the Yorkshire 3 peaks
Explore my local footpaths...start from my home and radiate outwards.
More/longer ski holidays- money saved by more considired choosing ...perhaps driving and staying further from the slopes.

More cycling/mountain biking

More swimming...maybe outdoor

 The northern lights

Camper van trip of europe

Bigger trips- funds and health permitting

Norwegein fjords

Iceland

Canada

I totally agree with you. I’m 54 and retired last year, after living and working in various countries I’m really looking forward to my home in the UK I bought a few years ago. 

I’ve been lucky to have done the National three peaks, Y3P, c2C but it was always squeezed into a weekend because of work now I’m going to really enjoy revisiting some of these trails and taking my time.

I do a lot of photography & love the outdoors, I still do a fair amount of wild camping, and so I’m gonna enjoy the UK, particularly the peaks the Yorkshire Dales the Northeast coasts of Yorkshire & Northumbria, Scotland, Wales & the SW.

Trips abroad can still be done very cheaply I was in Uzbekistan recently accommodation is less than $10 a night including breakfast , taxis $1-2 and you can get self transfer flights very cheaply these days & with a free lounge pass via your CC , long layovers become part of the adventure, I’ve even landed at 3 am once took a bus into a city centre to shoot the Sunrise before coming back to the same airport to continue my transfer early evening.  I always use public transport for transfers now there’s just no rush anymore. No need to get ripped off with airport taxis when the bus into town is 75p . So in many ways travelling around central and south eastern Asia in winter becomes cheaper than staying at home in the UK.

So for me, it’s lots of travel , adventure, photography both in the UK and abroad.

In the gaps, I’m going to get my practical skills back up to what they used to be and beyond. I think it’s important to keep your mind active and continue learning new skills and sudoku isn’t enough for me. 

I’ll be planting , fencing,  landscaping laying a drive building a new garden wall to start with. 

Get the heavy stuff done before I’m too old to, and then move onto carpentry and lighter stuff, make sure I learn the basics of plumbing and electrical & have a good set of tools so I can do most jobs myself - and who knows maybe buy a fixer-upper if I get good at this stuff….. I have tentative plans  to buy a small van and convert into a camper-van too.

SouthCoastBoy

P933alilli said:

stuhse said:

For me its about lots of things that can be done relatively cheaply. Before retirement there was no time. Scotland is absolutely stunning if you can time your trip for good weather.  Once retired i can watch the forecast and jump in the car.

Explore Scotland, especially the West coast..... Arisaig---google images this place...i want to sea kayak here it looks amazing.
The Wainwrights lake district walks
wainwrights coast to coast...it goes past our house and ive never done it !
Walk the Yorkshire 3 peaks
Explore my local footpaths...start from my home and radiate outwards.
More/longer ski holidays- money saved by more considired choosing ...perhaps driving and staying further from the slopes.

More cycling/mountain biking

More swimming...maybe outdoor

 The northern lights

Camper van trip of europe

Bigger trips- funds and health permitting

Norwegein fjords

Iceland

Canada

Ive just started walking the Wainwrights in the Lake District, well i started last year and ive done 12 so far! Fantastic views. Ive been doing them solo and going and coming back on the day, 1 hr and 45 minutes away generally, and that makes it quite hard. But each time i go and do another walk my prep has improved and it seems easier. I have, however, only done them in good conditions so far! Catbells, Haystacks, (Helvellyn, Nethermost & Dollywagon pikes), (Helm crag, Gibson Knott, Calf crag, Steel fell), (Coniston old man, Brim fell and Dow crag). The three latter ones i did last week and are my favourite so far, the ones in brackets done together on the same walk generally taking 6-7 hours!

i would like to spend more time in the lake district, but it is a very long drive for us