Retirement wishes and reality

We had plans for travel but Covid put paid to them!

I always wanted to live in a small, quiet country village but now realise it’s best as you age to be near dentists, gp surgery, buses, train stations, shops etc but I still need to be near trees and birdsong!!

House overlooking the sea. I now realise I need a house (or flat) near shops and resources.

We were looking forward to spending time with our grandchildren and gentle travelling, perhaps city breaks too , death put paid to that.

A cottage by the coast, roses around the door; the whole shebang.
It hasn't and won't happen.

Enjoy your life now and don't put off things until retirement.....
My husband had to finish work at 62 due to Parkinsons Disease and recently had a stroke.I retired last year but our hopes and dreams for retirement have sadly not been able to happen.These things we would never have thought would happen....so my advice is do not put off for retirement what you can do today...enjoy your life as none of us know what life has in store for us.. ??? Be happy !!

I always said that when I retired I would get up and go to bed when I liked and make no effort to fit in with other people. I also had dreams of spending winters abroad.

It didnt work out exactly that way after all!

I could not spend my time simply lying back whether it was aborad or at home. Its just not me.

I found that I missed academic work and continued to do part time consultancy and research for some years since I left the university. I also opened a shop on Ebay and began to sell off my various collections and the items I had inherited.

I now run an online business selling antiques and vintage in a very niche area where Ive built up some expertise. I have several shops. However the best of the online world is that you dont have to be awake at any particular time. Most mornings I got to bed between 2 - 4 am and get up when I want to. I can still fit in all the work of running a business and getting the packages out.

As for spending the winters abroad I have lost my taste for travelling.

tobyandsocks is right make some of your plans come true while you are still healthy and able to.
I didn't have any plans as it all happened very quickly. Now I'm in rural France with a second husband, animals and peace and quiet. I'm enjoying every minute of it apart from Covid and Brexit issues of course.

I already lived in a small village but the house was too big. We downsized to another small village, near the sea. All I wanted after decades of a demanding job was to have peace and quiet and an empty head. I achieved that and it’s pure bliss.

We just wanted a nice detached bungalow on a nice sized plot on a small estate, dreams do occasionally come true.

We wanted a cosy little house up a mountain, off the beaten track. Now we’ve reached that age, we want shops, cafes and buses.

We were going to spend 6 months abroad, but Covid struck and we had to cancel everything.

We were due to go away next week, but we both have Covid so we’ve had to cancel that as well!

Not sure if we still have the enthusiasm now, so this year we will concentrate on sorting the building works to the house.

Poor MrOops, he’s been retired for almost 2 years and has hardly been anywhere. So many plans………

If you can do it go and spend the time living elsewhere either in UK or abroad,my sister thought we where stupid moving to Spain in the early 90's and said we would never settle but how wrong she was we had the most amazing carefree life right on the coast.
We came back to UK in late 2012 to live near our DD & DGCs to help her through a tough divorce we where hoping to return in 2020 but I lost Mr.Glamma in 2019 and then along came Covid but at least I have been there & done that & have fabulous memories.

We moved from the country to town on retirement and although it means a drive out to enjoy greenery we haven't regretted it. We holidayed a lot at the beginning of retirement and are so pleased we did now.

We lived in the middle of nowhere in Devon and had planned to stay there till we died, surrounded by rolling hills and sheep. It was a 10 mile drive to the nearest supermarket, 2 miles to nearest shop for a pint of milk. Very quiet and peaceful.
I became a widow at 65 and and had to sell the house. Now I live in a busy town by the Irish sea, with library, post office, GP, chemist, supermarket, train station and bus stop all 3 minutes away, and I absolutely love it!

tobyandsocks

Enjoy your life now and don't put off things until retirement.....
My husband had to finish work at 62 due to Parkinsons Disease and recently had a stroke.I retired last year but our hopes and dreams for retirement have sadly not been able to happen.These things we would never have thought would happen....so my advice is do not put off for retirement what you can do today...enjoy your life as none of us know what life has in store for us.. ??? Be happy !!

Parkinsons also put paid to our retirement hopes of a bit of peace and bit of travel in Europe and around UK. From the day he retired I was looking after him and then he went to nursing home and died.

Now I am on my own I had hoped I might do some of these things myself. No such luck - pain and mobility problems socked me in the eye. I am only 73 and am facing perpetual pain. It's a bugger.

Carpe diem if you can.

We moved from a large town to the countryside in our 30s. We bought a cottage in Wales and it was bliss.
I have moved to a flat in the same area now I am alone. It is very rural but not too far from all the things that become more necessary as we get older.

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.

I have been retired for nearly 20 years now. I was brought up in the middle of nowhere and I had no desire to live anywhere the bus ran weekly if I was lucky. I live in a suburb of London and have no intention of moving.

House right in a favourite little seaside town, short walk from the beach, staggering distance from favourite pub, etc.

I still wouldn’t entirely say no, but will never be able to drag Dh from London, plus we’d be too far now from Gdcs. Didn’t have any, and TBH weren’t expecting any, when I first dreamt of it.
1 hr 15-30 mins is enough of a drive, esp. in emergencies - which do happen now and then.

On a train on the Settle Carlisle route, DH pointed to a solitary cottage in the back end of nowhere and said that was the sort of place he wanted to live in when we retired. Fine, I said, as long as he’d be happy living in it on his own!

He’d have hated it just as much as I would. He’s one of the most outgoing people I know and loves being busy and involved in everything that’s going on around us.

For myself, I’d really like to live by the sea, as I did growing up. But I’d only do it if all the family would come with us! I feel so lucky that we see them all the time and nothing would make up for not having that.

We are happy in a our little village, which is growing fairly rapidly. We are an equal distance from two small towns and 20 miles from Oxford and big shops and the railway station. We each have a car and drive. There is a bus service in the village but it’s pretty c**p. We’ve thought about moving every now and then and nearby villages are very attractive. Too expensive though! The three children all currently live in London, so that’s not too far away. I made a list of all the things I wanted to do when I retired, and I’m doing them. COVID hasn’t helped obviously, but things are picking up slowly. Sadly OH always refused to look into activities for his retirement. He had two hobbies, and one of those he’s had to give up for health reasons. Because he worked abroad a lot, he doesn’t know many people locally. If you aren’t retired yet, encourage your partner to find some hobbies, both outdoor and indoor!

MissAdventure

A cottage by the coast, roses around the door; the whole shebang.
It hasn't and won't happen.

Me too MissA but DH had a stroke and we have at least 2 days childcare sometimes more - in August 2 out of 3 will be at school but it has been a delight watching them grow. We have good neighbours, near a bus stop and shops and doctor so are happy to stay where we are.

It's nice to have had the dream, even if life had other plans in store.