What's the best thing about retirement?

Up at 9,long dog walk,coffee with friend,FaceTime chat with son in Poland,vacced and mopped floors, 20 lengths at the pool,quick lunch,on here and now up to the stables for a hack over the moors in this glorious weather. Like Sillyoldfool I too am lucky to be in good health and with dogs and a horse I get lots of exercise .The best thing about retirement is that you can choose what and when you do things ,no more of trying to fit everything in. After 45 years of having to go to work it takes time to adjust to all the free time.Ive only been at it 4 years and it still feels like an extended holiday.

I am lucky enough to still be fit enough to ride my horse and walk my large dog every day. Like Day6 I often feel a bit guilty that on some days that is all I do, apart from cooking an evening meal. Have recently joined Rock Choir so that is another half day gone and I enjoy time spent with my grand children. Only drawback is my huband is seven years younger than me and has three more years of work still to so. I do look forward to sharing much more time with him then. Just hope I stay fit and healthy to enjoy the best time of my life.

Today it occurred to me, as I strolled by the local lake under a glorious blue sky, that the very best thing about being retired is not being tied to a timetable and workplace that impose restrictions on me when I would much rather be outdoors and soaking up the sunshine. In other words, retirement equals freedom!

Day 6 (Hope I have your name right!) I too was a single parent for seven years, trying to make ends meet. Although my life is now full of things I want to do and find time to do, there are days when I just play Computer Scrabble, daydream and "potter".

If you are happy doing what you are doing/not doing - don't fight it. Just remember the days when some 20 something year old was standing on your head in order to make their way up the greasy pole. And all you could do was agree with them or lose your job!

Goodbye to the Dog-eat-Dog life. Hello Freedom!

Really great to hear all the good things about retirement, and I am looking forward to every one of them. I will be retiring from being a universitry lecturer at the end of this academic year. There's a bit of me that just wants to do absolutely nothing workwise thereafter, but it is possible I could negotiate a part time role. To help me decide it would be great to hear about the downsides of going from all to nothing or to a half-way position for a couple of years.

A friend retired 3 years before me; like me, he'd done a long commute for years, and when I retired, he told me that the sweetest sound in the world was the sound of someone scraping their windscreen as you returned from the bathroom at 6am - he was right...!

not being ordered about by some idiot boss, for a start. not having to keep on going on silly courses when im trying to get my work done.u can go on and on .

Petra you are a star. Not retired yet but finding it harder and harder to hold my tongue! Two and a half years to go!

I retire at the end of next month (October) and 90% of me can't wait. The other 10% is a bit anxious. Until I see how much money I have to live on I don't think I'll relax. However, the first thing I will do is to turn my alarm clock off.

I have already joined a local Rock Choir and I love it.

Everyone's posts have been really helpful and I look forward to meeting friends and using my bus pass for a more relaxed life style.

Many sound very busy. I enjoy being retired, but think I may be one of those people not terribly motivated to make the best use of time.

After three years retirement I still feel incredibly joy on Sunday evenings knowing I don't have to go to work the next day. I was a single (divorced) parent and had to work full time for over thirty five years to make ends meet. I was always knackered but I did achieve and was considered good at what I did and was promoted etc...but work was very stressful and the climate changed too, so I was very pleased to get out when I did. I suppose my work - and motherhood - did identify me.

Now, my children are adults and have lives of their own. We get together every now and then but trying to get them all to the one place at the same time is quite a feat. I realise it's up to me now to make the most of my retirement - but I find I am quite a slacker. I know I am not making the most of myself, my time, my days, and I do feel lots of niggling guilt. (Is this a little-felt emotion?)

I have to budget, but I don't mind that. I cannot take off on the holidays I'd like and many friends of a similar age have husbands and family and fairly active lives. We do get together occasionally, but we are not 'ladies who lunch' regularly

I think I am suffering from not having a routine or a job. It gave a structure to my days. I am quite a gregarious person, but not a 'joiner'. I know myself. If I have to be somewhere at the same time, same day every week I tend to drop out.

So, not being someone who finds housework fulfilling or fascinating, I have discovered in retirement that I can very easily waste my days doing nothing much and I find I am feeling guilty quite often. Does anyone identify with this?

However, they do say a day doing nothing much, if enjoyable, is not a day wasted. So, I'd say I NEED structure to my days but I tend to cop out of organising it and am not sure if I disapprove or not of a recently retired friend who almost has a weekly timetable of events she must attend/things she must do. It all seems rather rigid.

We're all different, but I think we agree that not having to rush out to work in the morning is absolute bliss.

The best thing about retirement is having the time to ACHIEVE!

Since I retired I have taught myself Canal Art and, along with my husband, taken our craft stall - Shabby Pots - to Festivals and Rallies. Not only do we get the satisfaction of selling our craft (our decorated horseshoes are a best seller) but you meet some fascinating people.

On one occasion we took our caravan with us and early the next morning walked around a deserted Fun Fair; popping in and out of the empty Craft Marquee in between mouthfuls of breakfast. It must be what running away with the circus feels like!

But my Piece de Resistance is the completion of my first full length book - a 412 page historical novel - Áine. amzn.to/1qMkmJK

Inspired by an entry from the 1881 Census that I believe may belong to my Great Grandfather from Ireland, I have taken the, by now fictitious family, Fitzgerald, back in time to that of the Great Famine in Ireland.

It is primarily a love story, albeit a tangled one when cousins Jeremiah and Breandán Fitzgerald find themselves in love with the same woman - Áine (pronounced Arn-ya)

I am currently working on the sequel with a third book in the pipeline but with a newly retired husband, time is not as forgiving as it once was. But that's another story ...

U3A have lots of groups, activities and interests for men.

Not having to go back to work when you come back off holiday.
Having the whole family round for a big Sunday lunch then being able to have a very self indulgent day on Monday to recover.
Being able to take advantage of the weather from walking to drying washing on the line.

I have retired and moved to another county within a few months. I am enjoying meeting people at the U3A with whom I have something in common other than just work. We have joined a new gym and are exploring new places with and without our dog. DH takes a bit of prompting as he is always happy just watching or listening to the cricket and so on or reading.

Apologies if that was the impression albeit not the intention ginny.
Fact is that there are far more womens interest retirement groups about than there are for men. Not a case of 'better or worse than' just 'more of'.
Maybe should have mentioned that this is a small seaside hamlet with one pub one shop and we're eight miles away from a town.
Volunteer opportunities there are for sure and good luck to those who do them, for the most part, round here; volunteering entails a journey into town.

Volunteer drivers are always in short supply RG, what about a sport or the gym? Men do charity work as much as women. I agree with ginny

Plenty of important things for men to do if they want them. Lots of women do important things too, and don't just settle for the coffee round, they are just better than men at seeing gaps that they could fill. Retiredguy has the energy and ability to help with the Residents Association. If he had found that when he first retired he would not have got so fed-up.

There are volunteer websites in all areas, where everyone can find something that uses their skills and gives them "non-job satisfaction"

Here is one, but there are others.
www.ncvo.org.uk/ncvo-volunteering/find-a-volunteer-centre

Retiredguy I would disagree that there is little for retired men to do. There are plenty of volunteers needed in many different areas. Classes and clubs for all different interests . Try all sorts of thing that you never had time for.

I have to say (maybe I am wrong) that your post comes over a bit like "oh, the women can amuse themselves but us chaps need something more important."

Not having to smile and be nice to difficult stupid and awkward colleagues. Not spending the weekend dreading Monday mornings.
Complete and utter freedom to do exactly what you want, not just for two weeks (annual leave) but for ever and ever. The novelty never wears off.
These are the golden years, the best years of your life. Taking care of your health is more important than ever now.
Time passes more quickly these days so live life to the full as much as you can. You have worked all your life for this so make the most of it.

Like most of the above I am not sticking to the one best thing!

I agree with most of the above plus just one other thing - no aspirations. I no longer wonder about promotion, the next appraisal, pay rise etc. or whether we will have to move with DH's job. We can relax and just be, it is wonderful.

Taking early retirement age 62 from teaching last September and downsizing to the seaside, by December once all decorating and refurbishment that I could do was done- I became bored off my bits.
Mrs RG had settled into a busy round of WI, Knit n Natter, worthy causes and sundry other activities engaged in by women. There's little enough for men to do that does not involve pub games.
By late January, enough was enough so, the local chap having retired; I took over a window cleaning round.
It gets me out during the day, keeps me busy and the customers are great.
Via customer contacts I've linked up with the Residents Association have done a bit of bid-chasing work for them.
Experience has shown that whilst there is plenty 'up front' to do for retired women there's little enough on offer for men who wish to remain active and interested.

I turned 70 in April and have no intention of retiring. I have just started a publishing company with my husband.

Mind you it helps that I have been self-employed for most of my adult working life! I have a very understanding boss, who doesn't mind if I take a day off, as long as the work gets done.

On the other hand, there is only one employee and she has to work quite hard sometimes.

Seriously, retirement has never had any appeal for me; my work (I am a writer) defines me as much as my family do.

To find work according to my former female form captain.of the 1950's.

ItS just lovely to have time to smell the coffee the flowers to spent precious time with our granddaughter. The bond we have with her I believe is so strong because I have helped look after her since she was 12 months old. Hard work but do I regret it????? A big fat no!! And the pension keeps going into my account every month. I do voluntary work twice a week too. I highly yr commend it x

I retired 4 years ago and love it but you do need to plan for retirement.
My plan was my horse. My passion that fills my days, keeps me fit and gives me a social group of all ages. The days can be very long if you are used to working and daytime T.V. is grim.