Where do you think you'll be in 5 years?

[Pitar]

No idea. I'm a gypsy. Have been all my life so whatever @ wherever it happens. I have this romance with the Pacific islands so maybe I'll retrace my steps and hole up on one.

[dhodgeh]

Retired, living on the Gulf Coast in the Florida Panhandle. We have our lot - just have to build the dwelling.

When I'm not playing guitar, I'll be fishing or working on my photography.

D

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

So, where do you think you'll be in 5 years? I'm not talking a physical location but feel free to respond if it's relevant for you. Career advancement? Retirement? Marriage? Kids?

I don't want a career advancement. I hope to still be doing what I'm doing now (college instructor). My kids will be 11, 13, and (gulp) 16. I used to have all of these plans for what I'll be doing musically, but I've pretty much quit making plans centered on music because at this point, if someone handed me a contract there's no way I could do it now. In addition, I hope to be in a lot better shape than I am, but I'm definitely not where I was. I lost 30 lbs last year, and I've not lost any this year although I work my butt off in the gym 1-2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. My metabolism sucks and I didn't exactly win the gene pool lottery, but I keep fighting the good fight. I definitely feel better, and that's what matters.

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

If you would have answered this question 5, 10, 20, etc years ago, how correct (or incorrect) would you have been?

5 years ago, we had JUST moved into the house where we are now, and I am at the same job I was then. 10 years ago, I had a fairly good idea as to what I'd be doing career-wise. 20 years ago? I was clueless. I actually thought I'd be playing music, if not full time, close to full time. At the worst, I thought I could actually supplement my income playing music. These days? The thought of getting to play music full time and making decent money is laughable at best. I had to let that dream die a slow and very painful death.

[frances50]

Hopefully retired to a condo/townhouse on the beach, walking my dogs in the morning, playing my Rainsong on the beach in the afternoon, and drinking a Sam Adams while watching the sun set over the marsh on my porch.

Time will tell.

[Johnny K]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

So, where do you think you'll be in 5 years? I'm not talking a physical location but feel free to respond if it's relevant for you. Career advancement? Retirement? Marriage? Kids?

If you would have answered this question 5, 10, 20, etc years ago, how correct (or incorrect) would you have been?

Wishfully, working as a 60 year old full time musician, after I cash out on my business.

[Steve-arino]

My last post didn't talk about my 5 years past, only the future. Here's a bit of my past.

5 years ago I lived in a luxury condo on the ocean in Long Beach, NY (an island right off the south shore of Long Island). I was getting my act together from my divorce of 2011. I was a hotshot salesguy for a major IT company. Made a lot of money. My clients were the major banks in NYC/Wall Street.

October 29, 2012, Long Beach was decimated by Hurricane Sandy. Beach to Bay, 5 feet of ocean. Rivers of destroyed cars on sand dunes were outside my front door. Long Beach turned into a 24 x 7 garbage dump while debris from moldy houses was transferred to what looked like a scene from an alien movie set a mile away. Homeland Security and garbage trucks took over for close to a year. I lived on a futon at my ex wife's house for a month and a half, made business calls from parking lots. My clients moved their IT systems out of NYC. I developed a severe case of ptsd. I lost my job in February of 2015.

Advance 5 years from hurricane Sandy. Sold the condo in NY, I'm living in Florida, on a marina with an incredible view of the ocean. Reduced my cost of living by probably close to 40% by moving to FL. I eat well, I'm making new friends. Quite proficient in photography and getting better playing guitar. Reading lots of books. Taking my kids to San Francisco for a week in a couple of weeks. Living life! Met a nice girl over the weekend (but this falls into the category of who knows). Leaving in a few minutes to do some macro photography at Butterfly World. Ha.

The biggest lesson for me has been to live in the moment whenever possible. Do the things you want to do. If today is a lousy day tomorrow will be better.
Love your kids and your family (my ex is still my friend). Simplify. Try to live in a place with a nice view.

[Pura Vida]

I have thoughts, ideas, plans... but a lot can change in five years. If you had asked me five years ago, I would probably have different answers than I do today, so any answers are likely to continue to change and evolve.

Generally speaking, I'm hoping to be doing much of the same things that I'm doing now, but perhaps shifting more into the things that I prefer (i.e. less work, more exercise and music).

[reeve21]

This is a timely question as I'm turning 60 this year and have given this some thought recently, having been on autopilot most of my life

I'm still doing the exact same thing now I was doing 30 years ago, and hope to be doing for the next 10 years...living and working in the same small town where my grandparents and parents lived (my folks are still alive and well in their 80's). We are lucky to be a very close family.

I'm self employed so I don't long for retirement like many, but I can see slowing down in my 70's. My wife works for "the man" and she will be all done in another year or 2, she deserves the rest. Her employer's benefits and steady salary allowed me to weather the ups and downs of the economy and an uncertain income.

The wild card is my kids and hopefully some grandchildren in the not too distant future. The kids have married and moved away to pursue their dreams, and are doing very well. We miss them greatly, even though we see them often. It is possible one or both of them could return to the area, but we are trying not to talk about that. My wife had a much more nomadic life as a child than I did, so she is not as tied to the area as I am, even though she is very active in the community, too. We both dislike the winter despite making it through almost 60 of them! So if my folks are gone and we have grandchildren living in a warmer climate, who knows where we might end up???

I think I have found a lifetime hobby in acoustic guitar and hope to continue to improve with finger style. I figured it would be about a 5 year project to get half way decent and I think I'm on track 15 months into it. I'd really love to play in a band again some day (I played the sax through college) and have this dream of taking up the bass and playing support for acoustic guitar players/vocalists

My other passion is boating, we spend about 30 days on the water each summer including one 15 day cruise, and I'd like to do more of that while I'm still able to handle the sails and the physical work on the boat to keep it on the right side of the water. I also enjoy hiking and biking when I have the time, but I'm a little old for any big goals in those areas, the body is telling me its time to smell the roses and enjoy shorter trips.

It's not as boring as it sounds, really!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Johnny K

Wishfully, working as a 60 year old full time musician, after I cash out on my business.

Now that sounds like a plan.

Originally Posted by PorkPieGuy

I don't want a career advancement. I hope to still be doing what I'm doing now (college instructor). My kids will be 11, 13, and (gulp) 16. I used to have all of these plans for what I'll be doing musically, but I've pretty much quit making plans centered on music because at this point, if someone handed me a contract there's no way I could do it now. In addition, I hope to be in a lot better shape than I am, but I'm definitely not where I was. I lost 30 lbs last year, and I've not lost any this year although I work my butt off in the gym 1-2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. My metabolism sucks and I didn't exactly win the gene pool lottery, but I keep fighting the good fight. I definitely feel better, and that's what matters.


5 years ago, we had JUST moved into the house where we are now, and I am at the same job I was then. 10 years ago, I had a fairly good idea as to what I'd be doing career-wise. 20 years ago? I was clueless. I actually thought I'd be playing music, if not full time, close to full time. At the worst, I thought I could actually supplement my income playing music. These days? The thought of getting to play music full time and making decent money is laughable at best. I had to let that dream die a slow and very painful death.

Hey PPG, congrats on getting into shape! It's not an easy journey and one that takes great discipline.

[buzzardwhiskey]

I suspect I'll be dead. But then, 20, 10 and 5 years ago I would have said the same.

[buddyhu]

I have been contemplating these questions since the thread first popped up.

While I can conjure some thoughts and scenarios, they don't carry much weight or power...which is different than the way things felt for much of my life.

Such projections/fantasies seem much less relevant for me now...perhaps because I feel more free than I did in my earlier life. I am content to wait and see, and I feel a wide array of choice about each day.

My projections about the future were pretty accurate up until 10 years ago (through my mid-50's). But things were turned inside out about 10 years ago, and life has been full of surprises since then (most of them have been positive!).

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey PPG, congrats on getting into shape! It's not an easy journey and one that takes great discipline.

Thanks Dru.

Oh, I'm nowhere "in shape," but I'm fighting hard. My diet is up and down, but I'm lifting weights about 45 min and doing an hour of cardio about 5 days a week. I'm not really losing weight, but my body is changing ever-so-slowly. This has been the longest I've ever worked out consistently (a little over a year). I fight backaches every day, but the harder I work, the better I feel.

[Neil K Walk]

In 5 years I'll be 54 with a 19 year old severely autistic son and a wife who hopefully will have resolved her own midlife crisis, as I struggle with my own. I try not to think about the future with any absolutes other than the yearning that we come through the current trials as a more cohesive family and that I will be healthy enough to enjoy it after all the emotional stress I've endured. In 5 years our youngest son will also be 16. You know what that means: learning to drive, chasing girls and trying to get him to decide on a college and study for the SATs. I'm hoping that somehow we can get big brother emotionally stable enough to possibly go on an RV vacation across the country. Too bad they probably won't let a 16 year old take a turn at the wheel - though it could also be good practice for him to go to truck driving school should he lose focus on his grades!

[Jim_G]

In 5 years I'll be well into retirement. 14 months away right now.

10 years ago I was going through a brutal divorce and had no idea what life had in store. But I bounced back nicely, meeting my current wife, doing more travelling than I ever imagined.

Musically I started playing out about 8 years ago. This is something I never would have imagined doing. Back then I was so shy I could barely play on the sofa in front of anyone except my cats. I hate paid restaurant gigs. Never liked those from the start, but I do them because my main playing partners like that stuff. But I do love playing informally in front of small crowds at parties now.

[MikeBmusic]

I always hated this question when asked in a job interview or annual review. My boss (same one for 8 years now) stopped asking me!