Or do you not intend to? Or have you already? Retirement is coming up for me in a few years, so I’m considering my options.
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Yell at clouds
Get some fucking peace and quiet.
Pretty much what I do now, but between the hours of 8-5.
Monthly briskets, brewing alcohols, fine overcomplicated precision woodworking with exotic wood inlays because “bubinga” is fun to say, road trips for natural features and new taco joints, painting, restore/modicfy cars, and a concerning amount of day-drinking because that is the only way I can get through the day knowing what the world has come to when I can’t distract myself with any of the other things.
I kind of enjoyed being a tutor in college so maybe go back and be a staff-level instructor (lower level courses). If it wasn’t actual work (for pay) probably I’d focus on contributing to open source projects I thought would really help people.
I considered this, but I actually kind of want to get away from teaching what I currently do for a living.
Not die. But that’s a tough ask as my current retirement plan is unaliving.
Go back to college. But this time to stay
That would be pretty neat to do. What would you want to study?
A lot of things. Psychology. Physics, maybe try for more engineering degrees, humanities, creative writing, whatever feels right.
haha, retire. as long as we’re dreaming, i guess i’ll spend my time riding unicorns on the moon.
but seriously, if this is somehow really an option for you… i’d teach community education classes. art, programming, basic cooking, whatever. i’ve met a lot of great friends in community ed. i think it’d be rad to contribute back.
The main thing I really want to do is something that will let me give back and help people, so all of that sounds great. I thought about teaching, but I’m also really sick of IT, so I’m not sure. I did recently get a chance to speak to some college students about IT and really enjoyed that, so maybe that would be OK. Otherwise I’ve considered personal training or maybe even opening a gym.
Camping, traveling, hiking and going places that are enjoyable and accessible with my wife and dogs.
Gardening / homesteading in such a way to live as self-sufficiently as possible.
My way I want to give back in retirement is working as a volunteer urban/wildland canine search and rescue team.
I train my dogs in scent/detection sports and tracking now so I’m prepared to understand how to do the real deal once I have time to volunteer in retirement. My current job is in a related field, so I already have many of the other skills and certifications that would be needed, but I don’t work with dogs for my job.
If I need extra income in retirement, I’ll probably get into offering dog training for detection/tracking.
I train my dogs in scent/detection sports and tracking now
I’ve been training our puppy in scent work. It’s pretty fun. He gets so excited when he finds his little birch tree oil soaked cotton ball in a perforated tin.
Travel, play board games, and watch movies.
Whatever the fuck I feel like that day. Maybe some gardening, maybe some backpacking, maybe just laying on the couch and fucking around on my phone all day. The best part of this mythical retirement I’m teased with, is that I wouldn’t have any obligations on a day-to-day basis.
The obligations thing is huge. Like literally anything I end up doing - even work - will be because I want to and not because I need to.
I just took a week off and was so wildly productive at home, so I assume it would be the same if I could ever voluntarily retire. Haul wheelbarrows of mulch, tend to the garden, make bread and tepache, take care of the animals. Clean up the house. Like a stay at home mom who didn’t have to take care of kids, would just manage the house and yard.
In reality it is probably only disability that would force me into retirement though. So I’m not sure.
I just made a batch of tepache. My first time. Delicious!
I used to bake sourdough quite a lot, but then I developed a wheat allergy. Before the allergy I thought quite a bit about switching careers and baking for a living.
If you like fermenting, I highly recommend ginger beer from ginger bug. You need organic ginger for the bug (I think the non organic must be irradiated or something, ginger alone I find the conventionally grown won’t ferment.) Once the starter is established you can use it to ferment any juice.
I have a ginger bug going. I made naturally carobanted “cola” using it. Def would love to try making ginger beer!
What do I want to do when I retire? Pretty much nothing! I want to watch TV shows and soccer games, play video games, sleep in, take naps during the day as I see fit, hang out with my wife, and shit-post online.
But I know that hobbies, side-projects, and socializing are important for delaying cognitive decline and staying active. So I’ll probably, begrudgingly, do some of that shit too.
Still a decade or two before I can even think about retiring though. And things can change. So who knows.
I am retired and you’re describing me, other than the fact that you’d have to pay me to watch soccer. I watch bicycle racing instead. It’s a damn nice life.
Probably sleep late, then spend some quiet afternoons digging through the wreckage for a can of something that doesn’t seem too radioactive. Maybe get into painting or something.
I’m a millennial in the US, what’s retirement?
