Retirement wishes and reality

I'm happy in our semi=rural village close to 2 towns and eveything we need. Miles from anywhere is not for me

Sadly not retired and will not until 2 years, 10 months time !!

My plan for retirement was to get a caravan by the sea and spend most of my time ther! The reality is I have a caravan by the sea ( 5 mins walk) but in the the last 3 years I have only managed to spend about 9 months all told in it due to lock downs and I'll health!

I agree with other commentators that you should grasp every opportunity as life has a habit of throwing up challenges and obstacles when you least expect them. My husband took slightly early retirement and persuaded me to stop working at 63. We had lots of plans but some health challenges and then Covid put paid to that. DH has now been diagnosed with blood cancer and that has thrown our plans into chaos again. Wish I could turn the clock back but have to just get on and cope with the hand you are dealt. Live in a nice place but transport links poor and so now need to think about a move to somewhere with good transport and health services.

I had many dreams for my retirement and it has taken me quite a while to realise they won’t ever come true. A divorce late in life, my ex’s financial problems, (and debts!), ill health and a few other challenges have put paid to them. I am thankful that I live near my lovely children and grandchildren, can get by health wise and financially and am not facing the horrors that those poor souls in Ukraine face daily. I am just grateful to be here and to be able to count my blessings.

We were going to explore the UK and spend some time abroad.

Kidney failure and covid put the mockers on that.

tanith

I retired earlier than my husband and we had lots of plans sadly he became ill within a few weeks of retiring and died 3 yrs later. We had a few UK trips in that time but the bigger plans went out the window.

same here. We didn't even get the UK trips.

I’m so sorry, LuckyGirl3. You’re right - it IS a bugger

The dream was to find a little cottage near the sea with a nice garden. Make lots of friends, join clubs and have a nice quiet retirement
Reality is we bought a 3 bed ex la terraced house. It's a seaside town. Joining clubs and making new friends not possible as we moved 2 months before lockdown. People actually avoided others due to virus fears.
As for quiet and peaceful we are inundated with family and extended family coming to stay over at least twice a month for a free holiday.
At least we are never lonely and have nice neighbours

I agree with all the people who say do things while you can and don’t put off dreams and aspirations until retirement. Six years ago we had plans to travel the world, take our children and grandchild on lovely holidays, spend the winters in our nieces apartment in Southern Spain To sell our house and downsize to a dream house, go to theatre and concerts more, have leisurely lunches out. For 4 years we did travel quite a bit, then January 2020 put house on market then before we could move Covid happened then husband diagnosed with Leukaemia. Our life turned upside down but you have to make the most of what you do have. Husband doing well and with care we are starting to go out, theatre this week first time in nearly 3 years and we have a holiday to Cromer booked in July with our granddaughter. Life not as expected but still good.

My husband is taking early retirement. He finishes next week and I will also retire early, next year. We want to live close to the sea. We’ve spent the last 5 years travelling to different parts of the UK and finally decided on Somerset and I could see ourselves on long dog walks on the beach or in the countryside everyday, stopping off in country pubs for lunch.
Our son and his partner are having a baby in June and I’ve come to realise that as they try to get on the property ladder here in London, they won’t be able to afford childcare along with a mortgage. So…our plans have changed for now and we will be looking after our grandchild next year.
I suppose the good thing is that we are only mid 50s so there’s still time for us to up sticks in a few years.

Escape to the Country makes me smile - many of the couples are retirees and what do they show them ? Houses either in the middle of nowhere (they have the usual dreams of having chickens and goats or running a camping site) or small villages where the only facilities are a pub and a church!
What happens when they can no longer drive and there is no bus service ?
Many town dwellers also have the fantasy of moving to a village and "becoming part of a community" when for years they have barely spoken to their next door neighbour !

My Dad died suddenly at the age of 58. My Mum was 54. They had such plans for retirement, but it was not to be. Mum lived until she was 90, so widowed longer than she was married. As others have said, don't put off what you want to do. If it doesn't work out, try something else.

Lucky girl 3
Sorry to hear that your plans were unable to be fulfilled. My condolences on the loss of your husband.
I’ve had similar experience as my husband became ill about 6 years ago and died last June. Sadly we weren’t able to fulfill our dreams either. I’ll be 72 next month and, like you, have various aches and pains. Knee pain and back/hip pain being most troublesome.
I recently went to an Acupuncturist and combined with the deep massage he recommended I have received considerable relief.
Whereabouts in UK are you. Would love to converse as feel we have lots in common.
Wishing you well

Maybe being a grandma to clutch of little one from our 4ds........reality? Only one has children and he's estranged, not seen them for 5years now.....others either don't or can't have any kids. Live in large detached with 3 king rooms we thought mY be well used but now we have a room each (snoring et Al!) And third houses a now in played with model railwe spent 2-3 years building (for GK again , they've never seen it) my advice? Don't plan........

I'm retiring later this year, all I wished was that I was fit and healthy enough to enjoy it, touch wood at present I am. My husband died suddenly 15 years ago aged 55. I don't forsee having the childcare that some do in retirement as my grandchildren range in age from age 18 -10. I will be

Never thought about it but it happened by default.
OH retired at 55, I was 58 and still working.
He booked a surprise holiday. While there we saw a property with a view of the sea/coast to die for.
Bought the property.
Back in the uk, put our property on the market.
We viewed the property in October. By the following April we were living there.

All my retirement plans have gone out of the window - any money I had set aside for this event is now being spent on my son's custody battle to gain access to his children.

My mother and stepfather moved to a bungalow in a small seaside village. A lot of their friends were also there, and they had a very active social life. But as the years have gone on my mother is now in her 80s and all her friends have either died or moved to be closer to relatives. My mother is now housebound, unless someone takes her out in her wheelchair. The only person she sees on a regular basis is her very kind next door neighbour who is also in her 80s.
I am trying to get her to move near me but she is refusing to move.

#UN PLAYED WITH!!

I feel I have what I love most now: caring husband, amazing AC and GC, beautiful home in a peaceful village, good friends... I can't think of anything I'd change. I love my life.

My retirement dream was a 4 bed villa with pool and fruit trees. Well in 2016 we did get the dream. It was wonderful for the 1st year. The tranquility drove me mad and it wasn’t at all what I expected. It was cold in December to March and I was bored to the extreme. We came back in 2019 but I did fulfill my dream and won’t be forever be wondering ‘what if’.

I had plans to travel and visit places in UK with my husband that we hadn't been to before. Even though he had mobility problems we were going to get a bigger car and a folding mobility scooter. U fortunately he retired in December 2019 and his health deteriorated due to various things happening to him from June 2020 to being admitted to hospital once in October 2020 and again in January 2021 where he contracted the dreaded 19 and never came home. So am having to rethink my retirement plans now.

jaylucy

Escape to the Country makes me smile - many of the couples are retirees and what do they show them ? Houses either in the middle of nowhere (they have the usual dreams of having chickens and goats or running a camping site) or small villages where the only facilities are a pub and a church!
What happens when they can no longer drive and there is no bus service ?
Many town dwellers also have the fantasy of moving to a village and "becoming part of a community" when for years they have barely spoken to their next door neighbour !

Ha haaaa! ! Hilarious ideas of what they THINK they want, why do the presenters always bang on about the pub being "the hub of the village"?!? Do they think retirement can be filled with boozy lunch dinner and supper and paying crippling prices for very limited stock in a dingey village store?!? And where the bejeezus do those budgets come from?!?!? "Young couple aged 22&24 budget of 649000-1million" ??I honestly think some couples are actors/stooges as there aren't enough takers to fill the contracted series? I keep telling him indoors we should apply! All that nosey snooping over an all expenses paid weekend wherever wefancy visiting??

We downsided before we moved, have a lovely flat with gardens which are communal surrounded woods parks and for SE London is pretty good. But and there is a but I always wanted to move to suffolk but unfortunately things didn’t go our way.
We love where we live though.