Is retirement boring?

PoGee

I think it's because I raised a family as a lone parent and have always been busy. I used today to gut out my son's room - he's moved out but uses it whenever he wants to visit. I'll retrain my brain!

Storcko14

Imagination helps.

Smudgeismydog

After being so busy raising a family on your own combined with juggling work, try reframing this to view it as finally being able to have some time for yourself after putting everyone else first.

What hobbies do you have? Is there anything you’ve always wanted to try but not had the time? My partner and I started volunteering with a local landscape organisation. We have been involved in things like dry-stone walling, balsam bashing, scything, hedge planting and birch clearing, none of these things I had ever done before, but I love working outdoors after having a career based indoors. We head out for walks or bike rides, as we now have time to explore, and take a longer route. I’ve spent time cultivating new friendships and rekindling ones that I previously didn’t have the time to. I’ve also joined the local Zumba class, I’m still pretty rubbish, but it’s fun and they are a friendly group.

Honestly, there is so much out there, my advice would be to just try some things, if you find it’s it your cup of tea, then you’ve not lost anything, just try something else

best of luck

BridgetTheCat

It’s only boring if you lack imagination. There must be things outside work that you enjoy doing, or have always wanted to try. It’s not all about gardening and holidays (or grandchildren). You could:

• study something in depth
• Make art
• Write a novel
• Help adults with literacy/numeracy
• Learn to sail a boat or fly a glider
• Volunteer at your local library, or favourite animal charity
• Help an elderly relative/friend/neighbour with shopping etc

Ok, that’s a few from my list. It’s time to start making yours 😁

subjecttocontract

I was very fortunate and was able to retire quite young. Ive been retired over 20 years and haven't once wanted to return to work (for someone else) or prop up a charity shop. I have lots of interests and find there aren't always enough hours in the day.

I often see people who's life revolves around work and often wonder how they will cope. Of course, the answer is that they usually don't cope very well because work is their life.

indiasign

As someone who has just recently retired (last month), it’s probably too early to tell, but so far, no it’s been fine! 😀

I have, however, been on a long glide path towards retirement, having dropped down to 4 days a week 3 years ago, then 3 days a week two years ago. In my non-working time, I’ve started re-designing my garden, which has just had fairly basic maintenance over the last 20 years, and I’ve also been taking photography lessons.

Me and my wife were able to retire together, and, having some extensive foreign travel over the last few years, we intend to explore some of the “domestic” tourism that we’ve never got round to.

As others have said, retirement is what you make it

FIREDreamer

Better than working.

hugheskevi

I think it might be helpful to consider whether retirement is satisfying, rather than whether it is boring.

There are many, many, things that can be done even in a very local area. However, most of them are usually fairly meaningless in a wider context.

For example, walks, looking after a dog, swimming, and so on will be things to do and contribute to maintaining health, but don't achieve anything in their own right. House improvement / maintenance is useful and productive, but would almost certainly be done better by a professional, so if you don't get pleasure from doing it yourself you might question the point of it. Travel is for personal benefit, which again you may or may not find satisfying. Voluntary work is productive, but for someone who might have been doing a high level job will arguably be less productive.

In comparison, work as a minimum brings in money, so is productive in that regard. And for many there will be a sense of satisfaction over achievements. If these things are valuable from a satisfaction perspective then work is likely to be attractive.

So it might be a question of what you get pleasure and a sense of satisfaction from.

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82034959#Comment_82034959

Yes, I definitely recommend checking if there is a u3a near you - there are over 1000 all over the country so there'll almost certainly be one fairly local, As they are all autonomous and run by their members for their members, the classes they offer will vary from u3a to u3a, but well worth looking into.

u3a - u3a Locations

elsien

Parent really struggled with retirement. They went from running their own business with very little in the way of outside interests to selling up and having nothing.

They went back to working vua consultancy and that was okay, but when they decided to stop working completely, they struggled mentally again. Summer was fine -sorting the garden, et cetera, but the winter was mentally hard for them.

in the end, they joined the gym, made new friends and have since been okay.
You need a plan for the long-term, not just the first six months while you are working through your to-do list.

I am working toward retirement. Currently on a four day week, and not sure how I ever fitted everything into a weekend I know I would find it hard if I retired completely at the moment - not that I can afford to anyway. I I would get lonely because I do find it hard to build up friendships rather than acquaintances.