Are you enjoying your retirement?

I retired Jan 20,so it's been a bit disorganised; but yes, I am. I used to get up at 6.30 to walk the dogs and have breakfast before I left for work at 8am.Now I can sleep until I wake up naturally (usually between 8 and 8.30) Also, my DH has health problems and it's nice not to have to take time off to accompany him to the GP or the hospital.

So many teachers (or retired) on GN!!
?

Much as I loved teaching 36 years was enough so I went aged 58!
I am 71 now and really enjoy retirement but not this week as no petrol is having a detrimental effect on life! We are back to walking or catching the train but should have gone away for a couple of days but chose not to waste fuel!
I go to choir, walking netball, WI, book groups , volunteer at the library and am a town councillor plus NHW fir my street! We have an allotment which has been great this year plus 2 beautiful grand daughters ! Life is full and I do not miss the classroom at all! Getting involved with the local community us worth doing !

Absolutely love retirement ! To get up every day and be able to choose exactly what I want to do, or do absolutely nothing, is bliss. I’ve bought up 3 AC, have been heavily involved with 5GC, all teenagers who don’t need Nanny so much now ... plus I had a very stressful job. So I feel I’ve led a useful life and now it’s me time. Prior to covid I travelled loads, now I go and stay with my kids regularly to catch up on lost time, meet up with friends regularly. I have lost 5 dear loved ones in the past 2 years, 2 more are very ill so it’s really focussed me on living my life to the full. We’re only here once and we so have to make the most of it.

I love being retired, I haven't missed teaching at all. After 40 years working I'd done my bit. We are very fortunate in that I can afford to pursue my hobbies and interests. I have taken up the piano again, have had some lovely holidays and sit on church and village committees. There is a retirement education centre near us which runs great courses and trips, and I have made some good new friends there, as well as days out with my old ones. I count myself very blessed. My DH and I rub along together happily with our individual hobbies, and I see my children and grandchildren regularly too. I did prepare and plan carefully for what I was going to do, I knew I couldn't just sit around with empty days. I think that helped.

The jury’s out on that one. I cut down my hours at work gradually so not as stressed in the last few years. Have retired fully this year as state pension has kicked in. I am fit and well (luckily!) and feel guilty now for not working!

Not much scope for voluntary work where I live but will keep looking.

I do enjoy the freedom and the not having to get up early and lunching with friends. Also look after GC some of the time.

I’m single and I cannot wait!! My bucket list is written and I’m raring to go. Only 8 months to go.

Adore being retired, time to do what I love

I miss the company at times. When the sun's out and I can go on long dog walks, gardening, etc, it's ok, but a rainy day stuck in the house, talking to the dog gets a bit boring. Those days I bake, but then I end up eating it all

I was a teacher, a job I loved but found exhausting. I enjoy being retired and not having to get up early and work late in the evenings. I do voluntary work which thankfully is getting back to normal after 18 months.
I enjoy singing in choirs, concerts, theatre and walking.
I find it easier to keep in touch with friends and I have a few friendship groups as a result of activities such as book club and choirs.
I am not free to travel because I look after my daughter who has been ill for 26 years with ME. She isn’t often well enough to go out and relies on me for most things.
I agree with earlier posts that those of us who are widowed or divorced generally have it harder financially but there are compensations. You are free to do as you like and spend what money you have without having to compromise.
In my experience retirement is wonderful and I am thankful every day that I no longer have to work.

I like being retired on the whole but have always got a guilty feeling in the morning when I wave goodbye to my poor DH who has to still work full time in a tough manual job to keep us both. Mortgage doesn’t finish till we get to 66 when we get state pension.
It’s hard to feel useful in spite of doing voluntary work I always feel I’m not pulling my weight even though he reminds me that I did my bit working 40 years!

I was on until Covid pandemic. It seems to have thrown me
off course somehow and I’m
Not sure why. I love no time constraints but feel a bit lost at the moment and lacking motivation to start something new which I definitely need.

I retired early due to ill health so my pension is not all it could be especially as I am alone now after a gruelling (and expensive!) divorce. But I have three great children and four beautiful, interesting grandchildren whom I adore and with whom I spend such happy times. I have several hobbies, love to read and am always busy with helping out where needed! Whether it’s caring for my gc with my elder daughter, helping my younger daughter write blurbs for her new business or reading my son’s latest essay over to check for grammatical errors, (he’s back at uni at 29 to do his MSc and having just bought his first home, he is busy!) , I always seem to be involved somewhere! I am also considering voluntary work with a local charity to expand my horizons a bit!Retirement won’t be the lovely holidays and rediscovery I had envisaged when working hard to fund it, but I look forward to its challenges and opportunities as long as I have tolerably good health (fingers crossed!) and my loving family around me.

Hello, I feel compelled to post, though only usually read posts. I love being retired, only problem is I don't like being old!! I worked until I reached 70. Have any of your good readers tried line dancing? It is not hard, don't need a partner, and is great fun. Also a very active social life, we go away for weekends of dancing, mainly in the north of England. I have made a lot of friends, it is all very friendly. Definitely a hobby for the retired.

I agree Lucca and would add no longer having that Sunday night feeling.

I retired at 67 with a plan to move house closer to family and my mother, this was 2019. The week of my retirement my mother died suddenly the shock of this and other stressors found me in hospital on 3 occasions with heart attacks ( broken heart syndrome); The third incident was January last year. Then Covid struck, we did manage to sell our home and move in December last year.
We had lots of plans but many had to be shelved because of the pandemic. Life is very different to how I imagined but I’m beginning to feel like I have actually retired and am hoping to do some of the things on my to do list.

I retired because I had lost 2 siblings within 4 weeks of each other. They were both in their 70s. I was heading for 69. It made me wonder why I was still working. I do regret retiring....did within a few months. Two years on it seems impossible to get another job.

I retired at 60 when my two occupational pensions kicked in - loved my job but thought why work when I don’t need to? I am lucky to have been able to make provision for my retirement so could afford holidays, treats etc. But my arthritis in my knees is now so bad that I’m severely restricted in how far I can walk and holidays are not an option really - even without the lockdowns!

So my retirement has not been as fulfilling as I had planned but I’m able to enjoy crafting, reading and meeting friends for lunch. No more exploring foreign places until I lose weight and can have replacement knees!

But no way do I yearn for my old job, I would not have been able to carry on teaching and it is nice to have a slower pace of life - I am one of those still in my nightie at mid day! It’s now 1.30 am and I’ve only just gone to bed after a fairly lazy day baking a cake, sorting out some WI admin ( I’m President of our group and we have a meeting this week) and starting a new crochet project! My diary is pretty full for the rest of the week though no where near as bust as when I worked but I’ve learnt to pace my self and relax after years of working and being a single mother of three children.

I just hope I lose the weight, sort out my knees and live long enough to start phase two of my retirement!

I am enjoying retirement- I am no longer stressed to the hilt and permanently exhausted. My mobility is not great, I broke my ankle a few years ago, it is pinned and plated and I have 2 knee replacements. I have dry AMD which can be a pain but I can still read a book but reading a newspaper is too difficult now.
I do volunteering for the Macular Society and am thinking about applying to assist at the local food bank.
My life would not appeal to many but it suits me fine.

Hi all
Lovely to read all your responses, and to hear about all the interesting things you are doing.
I seem to be busy with grandchild care at least two or three days a week, what with household chores and shopping, it doesn't leave much time to fill.
I previously did volunteering before the DGC arrived so now I consider this to be my new voluntary job!
Redhead, so sorry to read of your daughter's illness, hope there is light at the end of the tunnel for you.

I can't get motivated unless something is going on. I have to do something every day otherwise I can get depressed and bored. I much preferred being younger with children to look after, a job and a hectic life. I just feel old now. Would love to put the clock back.

I love being retired. I’m enjoying days out & trips away with DH. I enjoy seeing friends & having lots of time to walk and play tennis.

I can’t understand why anyone would just sit & watch TV. I’d find that really depressing.

Love it, love ❤️ it, Love it!
Never a dull moment, even during deepest lock down.
Loved my job, retired on the crest of a wave 7 years ago. Still in touch with ex colleagues. Still get a thrill from no alarm to wake me up. Bliss.

I look back fondly at days at work when all went well and would love to live them again. Sadly things changed and work was a lot more stressful but it did make me feel useful and fulfilled. Not much voluntary work here in our small town and no longer as fit as I used to be,

I was a SAHM, helping DH when necessary and doing his admin. We have 5 children and 9 grandchildren so my life has always been home based but I have also done a lot of volunteering

DH retired 5 years ago and we are both busy with volunteering and the family so, yes, I am enjoying my 'retirement'.