# When we retire do most of us...



## Shrek

...retire to a new lifestyle/carreer , regress a bit to our childhood or some of both?

GF called me and said she got her boss to give her a property pass for a couple broken toy robotic arms the training center at the plant used as introductory robotic cell control training and had thrown in the trash because they were broken and she figured I might enjoy tinkering with them like I did with broken TVs and radios when she first met me in high school


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## Ramblin Wreck

I went from a job that had one deadline after another (and required the cooperation of 100's of other people) to a life that has no deadlines (and the whole operation consists primarily of just me). I steadfastly refuse to let others impose changes that would create those old deadline headaches for me. It irritates them, but they get over it. Even with my rebellion against schedules and commitments, a lot still gets done around here...just when I choose to get 'round to it. I don't think I would call that regression, but rather progression or maybe Nirvana.


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## COSunflower

I agree RW - I would call being "schedule free" Nirvana!!! Now that I'm retired and am "scheduleless" I feel SO much more relaxed!!! I actually think we get MORE done not having to look at the clock constantly....I don't even wear a watch!!!!


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## Micheal

Shrek said:


> ...retire to a new lifestyle/carreer , regress a bit to our childhood or some of both?


Hummm, don't really know?

I didn't go to a new lifestyle/career, just sorta expanded my so called free time to cover the time I use to spend in the labor force. Although now most all of what needs to be or I want to get done around here is all done on my schedule and not because that is the only time I have..... And may I add it is done right, not slapped together as in the past!

As to "regress to childhood"?
In my case maybe. I still own and use the canoe I, as a young teen, bought back in the 1950's, but I do prefer the kayak I bought 3 years ago.
I really enjoy (to a point ) playing games and such with the GG kids. Although I no longer have the energy to keep up with them for as long as they want to play.  
Off-hand there isn't much I remember doing in my "childhood" that I didn't do into my adult years and still do now. Ahh, Maybe selective memory on my part? Who knows? :shrug: Of course taking into account the bod isn't any where near as durable as once was. :sob:


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## Shrek

I had no actual scheduling to my Emmits's fix it shop in the back of my garage when I tinkered fixing the occasional TV to sell for $15 to $50 for night out money.

A decade after retiring I still have a fix it tinkering shop only now instead of a soldering gun and a lighted magnifier I designed my own set up with PC microscope and PC controlled robotic arm assisted component placement and hot air soldering.

Now if I can fix a TV instead of charging cash , I tell them to bring me a couple pounds of coffee, bags of flour or such.


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## COSunflower

Good bartering idea Shrek!!!


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## jwal10

I have regressed to 12 years old. No phone to answer and just a little place to mess with. But now, I probably spend 1/4th my time doing something productive instead of having to spend all my time running around, getting things done. Now I check the gardens, mostly auto watering, pick a little for fresh use. Canning days picking for that. We don't can 1/4th what we used to. We have extended the seasons for fresh use. Less work, much cheaper and cost effective, less time consuming. Now, we just do the bare minimum, daily. Now we get to travel more, much more secure financially. No worries, be happy....James


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## TheMartianChick

When my parents retired, they just stayed in the home that they've owned since 1970 and began to spend more time on the things that they always enjoyed: gardening, collecting antiques, etc. They had more time to spend with grandchildren, so my kids reaped the benefits of that. They are still in the same house and in their 80's. Mom has been talking about downsizing, but they both zip all over the place and are very active. They never had much interest in taking up new hobbies...they just wanted to not have to work for someone else and money was never an issue.

Hubby and I plan an entirely different lifestyle that includes snowbirding, travel and hving time to try new things.

Most of the retirees that I know, seem to be more like my parents, though. I don't know if this is driven by their finances or just their interests.


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## Queen Bee

Dh will retire in 10 months! He has worked at this for 38yrs. We are living in our retirement home now.. Moved from a 4000sq. house to a 1100sq. on our farm. We have lists and we will see how much we get done but it will be on our time!!


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## Karen

I think the older I get the busier I get and the more broad my interests become. In fact, my husband and I often joke about how it's a good thing we're retired because we wouldn't have time for a job! 

Currently, I returned to college full time, started a blog on Collaborative Family Living, freelance write, and quilt and sew. My husband does woodworking and various other hobbies and volunteer work. We are currently planning and downsizing to move into a tiny house that we are designing so we can live debt free and do more traveling.

Maybe it's the getting older thing that seems to be prompting us into such a busy life. We realize time and our health is running out and we need to do whatever is left on the bucket list because time seems to be going by in light speed! :grin:

We are a lot like RW though. Unless it's absolutely necessary (like doctor's appointments or college deadlines), we refuse to set most deadlines. In fact, we have a rule at our house that there is no sleep or food police. We stay up or sleep when we want and have meals when (or if) we get hungry. We pretty much go at our own pace and refuse to allow others to make us feel like we're weird or undisciplined if we don't follow the usual bedtime and mealtime routines. We both have a lot of pain and so establishing our own routine (or lack of) really does give us a better quality of life.

With regards to digressing to our childhood. Sometimes we find we do. Probably because it takes us back to a simpler time of when we had few worries and life was about just "having fun". It's a nice break every once in a while from all the turmoil and responsibilities in today's world.


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## TheMartianChick

Shrek said:


> ...retire to a new lifestyle/carreer , regress a bit to our childhood or some of both?
> 
> GF called me and said she got her boss to give her a property pass for a couple broken toy robotic arms the training center at the plant used as introductory robotic cell control training and had thrown in the trash because they were broken and she figured I might enjoy tinkering with them like I did with broken TVs and radios when she first met me in high school


My husband would love to have some toys like this to play with. He programs industrial robots for a living!


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## Shrek

TheMartianChick said:


> My husband would love to have some toys like this to play with. He programs industrial robots for a living!


Tell him to check out Jameco Electronics web site. They have all sorts of gear still at fairly reasonable price and send out free quarterly print catalogs also. 

I first found them as a hobby/prototype parts source back in 1985 while working our R&D section and they are still geared to small scale production companies , education and hobbyists.


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## TxGypsy

I am hoping to one day be able to retire from my retirement! I'm ready for winter to get here so that I can go to the beach and have fun while the bees are taking their rest. 

I have more fun now than I did when I was a kid. I definitely have better toys


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## sss3

I, too, don't wear a watch. Don't care what time it is; unless I have an appt.


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## susieneddy

We will let you know when we retire next yr


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## MoonRiver

I tend to make a major change about every 5 years. I retired early and moved to the beach. After about 5 years, sold my condo and moved closer to the mountains with about 4 acres of land. I've been here for about 5 years and feel the itch again.

This year I bought a travel trailer and am considering selling my house and traveling full-time for a few years. Taking my 3rd beach trip soon and then planning on heading South for most of the winter. If I enjoy traveling as much as I think I will, I will probably put the house up for sale next spring.

After that, I have no plan. Have to see how my body is holding up when I hit 70.


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## bryant

Wife and I are in the process of building our retirement farm. I retire in four years (will be67). Our plan is to raise most all our own food including; gardens, orchards, herbs, chickens, rabbits goats and potbellied pigs. Wife was raised a farm girl, I spent early summers at my grandparent's dairy farm, so neither of us are new to this "new" life style.

I will be re-opening the guitar repair/ building business since I hold a Martin Guitar Master Repairman certification. Many of the Players here have asked me to open a shop. I will be building guitars, mandolins, banjos and fiddles along with doing repairs. 

I will actually be busier in retirement than I was before we started getting ready for retirement. I am a firm believer in the saying "If I rest, I rust", I've had friends that retired and stopped being busy, all were dead within five years of sitting down. 

Everything we own is paid for, so just have taxes and utility bills to deal with once the doctor bills are gone.


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## sss3

It's nice to hear from people who have a 'Plan.'


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## susieneddy

we just booked our flight to visit Belize in Feb. This will be a 2.5 week trip to check out the country. We will visit all of the cities/towns we are interested in to see what they have to offer. When you visit a place you are thinking about moving to do not go in with a tourist attitude. You have to go in as a resident and see what stores offer the items you will need and use. It is so easy to get caught up that you forget to look at everything.
One thing we will do is to check on getting a bank account down there. We want to be able to transfer money from our US bank account down there each month to live on. 
We want to be able to live off our SS and not touch our retirement except to use it for traveling.
We won't buy a house but will rent a furnished home for 2-3 months then move to another town for 2-3 months. We may even move up to Mexico for a few months.
is it Feb. yet..lol


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## TxGypsy

bryant said:


> I will be building guitars, mandolins, banjos and fiddles along with doing repairs.


I am a fiddle player. Please let me know when you open your shop!



susieneddy said:


> we just booked our flight to visit Belize in Feb. This will be a 2.5 week trip to check out the country. We will visit all of the cities/towns we are interested in to see what they have to offer. When you visit a place you are thinking about moving to do not go in with a tourist attitude. You have to go in as a resident and see what stores offer the items you will need and use. It is so easy to get caught up that you forget to look at everything.
> One thing we will do is to check on getting a bank account down there. We want to be able to transfer money from our US bank account down there each month to live on.
> We want to be able to live off our SS and not touch our retirement except to use it for traveling.
> We won't buy a house but will rent a furnished home for 2-3 months then move to another town for 2-3 months. We may even move up to Mexico for a few months.
> is it Feb. yet..lol


The only reason I can see for living in Belize over living in Mexico is the language. It is cheaper to live in Mexico and an overall better/more varied climate. My experience in Mexico has led me to not consider buying property in a country where I am not a citizen. I'd rent for at least a year before I ever considered buying. Good luck on your trip and please post updates.


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## susieneddy

TxMex, we are planning on renting for a while just to make sure we like it there. If not there are lots of other places to check out. Yes the language is the main reason we have picked Belize. Who knows we may learn to speak Spanish since we won't have to get up and go to work each day.


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## simi-steading

I think for most people, retirement means taking a couple months to a couple years off, then finding a really crappy job that pays very little, and working not so many hours, and wishing you could find better...


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## TxGypsy

susieneddy said:


> TxMex, we are planning on renting for a while just to make sure we like it there. If not there are lots of other places to check out. Yes the language is the main reason we have picked Belize. Who knows we may learn to speak Spanish since we won't have to get up and go to work each day.


Belize is really being hyped right now and strongly marketed in the US. The main reason being that it is English speaking due to having been a British territory/colony. I believe they use American dollars as their currency as well. This makes the transition easier for Americans that tend to not be very worldly. 

Since it is being so heavily marketed I would expect the cost of living to go up by quite a bit in the next decade. Anywhere that Americans and Canadians live the cost of living goes up dramatically. The locals will not appreciate this at all as their wages likely won't go up. 

There are several places in Mexico that are not much cheaper than living in the US due to high numbers of Gringos living there. I generally avoid these places. Not that I don't go places where there are Gringos, but I try not to go to the heavily populated places. When I lived in an area where there were maybe 20 of us in a good sized city I lived very very cheaply. 

Part of it is that Americans feel guilty. We feel guilty that we make so much more money than people in other countries do. We tip way too much to try and make up for it. When the next guy doesn't tip so much it creates problems. We start to tell locals how much such and such would cost in the US. We can't help it! The American business model is the best in the world. Problem is that it doesn't work in other countries. It isn't part of their culture the way it is here.

Not trying to be at all negative. Just explaining dynamics. I'd dearly love to go scuba diving in Belize. Hmmm, February is a great time of year to be in Belize


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## susieneddy

TxMex said:


> Belize is really being hyped right now and strongly marketed in the US. The main reason being that it is English speaking due to having been a British territory/colony. I believe they use American dollars as their currency as well. This makes the transition easier for Americans that tend to not be very worldly.
> 
> Since it is being so heavily marketed I would expect the cost of living to go up by quite a bit in the next decade. Anywhere that Americans and Canadians live the cost of living goes up dramatically. The locals will not appreciate this at all as their wages likely won't go up.
> 
> There are several places in Mexico that are not much cheaper than living in the US due to high numbers of Gringos living there. I generally avoid these places. Not that I don't go places where there are Gringos, but I try not to go to the heavily populated places. When I lived in an area where there were maybe 20 of us in a good sized city I lived very very cheaply.
> 
> Part of it is that Americans feel guilty. We feel guilty that we make so much more money than people in other countries do. We tip way too much to try and make up for it. When the next guy doesn't tip so much it creates problems. We start to tell locals how much such and such would cost in the US. We can't help it! The American business model is the best in the world. Problem is that it doesn't work in other countries. It isn't part of their culture the way it is here.
> 
> Not trying to be at all negative. Just explaining dynamics. I'd dearly love to go scuba diving in Belize. Hmmm, February is a great time of year to be in Belize



TxMex,

I agree that Belize is being hyped a lot. So is Ecuador,Colombia, Nicaragua and like you said some places in Mexico. 

I am on quite a few FB groups about Belize. There was a whole thread about tipping. They were discussing exactly what you were saying about Americans tipping way too much.

We would like to live in town but would settle for a place outside of town. We will have to get a car while we are there but it is fairly easy to sell it when we leave the country. We would like to live in the different districts of Belize. One city we will avoid is Belize City because of the crime rate. 

We may get down there and decide it isn't for us which is why we want to live there for 3 months to see how it goes. We would like to check out Puerto Vallarta also. That town has an expat population of over 40,000 people and supposedly the prices are still affordable. Of course that all depends on where you live in town. 
We shall see but it all starts with that first step in Feb.


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## CountryWannabe

I suppose I may have regressed. When I was young I had an aunt and uncle who had a small farm. I always told them that when I grew up I was going to buy it from them. They died and the farm was sold before I could do that.

I have done a lot of things in my life - some predictable and boring, some frenetic and exciting, some had their ups and downs, some made me good money some barely a pittance... There was always that little farm at the back of my mind.

We now have 10 acres, and I am happier now than ever, I think. I don't have any strict schedule to adhere to. I can use my time more or less as I see fit. I am still busy, of course. I can't lounge around doing nothing all day. But what I do is what I love. That makes all the difference

Mary


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## Bountiful Ranch

husband retires end of November. After all these years of him travelling I am a little worry about the togetherness all the time but we do have a ranch so he will be in seven heaven with all the fencing and outdoor stuff. I intend on doing less like letting him feed the cows and I want to experiment with different cooking and adding a few hobbies to my list since he can do the ranch work.


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## Maura

I&#8217;m regressing back to my 30&#8217;s. I have not had a full time job in 25 years (not by choice) I have not had any job in about five years. Physically, I can&#8217;t do the kind of homestead work you all do with the massive gardens and crops and lots of livestock. I don&#8217;t feel useful. We will be moving next year to our retirement home and I plan on opening a yarn shop.


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## Oxankle

Simi-steading; I retired to our own place in the country and within months the rich farmer next door wanted me to drive a truck for him. To help him out I drove a few times, was paid m/w and told him I retired, did not WANT work, but would help him in an emergency. From then on I did my own work on my own place.


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