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  #16  
Old 09-03-2020, 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Neil K Walk View Post
I'm sorry to hear that. FWIW as the parent of a child in the special education system let me say thank you. You probably didn't hear it enough.
I appreciate that, and no, I didn't hear it very much in 30+ years.
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  #17  
Old 09-03-2020, 06:54 PM
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I agree mostly. Retirement has been really wonderful for me because I grew to really dislike the stresses and responsibilities of being a Special Education teacher after 30 years. I think that the degree to which one dislikes his job is directly proportional to how much he enjoys and readily adapts to retirement...
Well said. I was going 10/31 but that has been pushed back to the end of the year. I've had enough. Management has changed to an absolute clown show and the public has changed for the worse over the years.

Frankly I can't wait.
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Old 09-05-2020, 07:11 AM
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I agree mostly. Retirement has been really wonderful for me because I grew to really dislike the stresses and responsibilities of being a Special Education teacher after 30 years. I think that the degree o which one dislikes his job is directly proportional to how much he enjoys and readily adapts to retirement...
Not always... as I said in my earlier post, I really enjoyed my job, even up to the end. It was more a matter of the physical and mental toll adding up and retirement brought relief from that. I still miss parts of my job...
...sometimes.
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  #19  
Old 09-05-2020, 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
...It was more a matter of the physical and mental toll adding up and retirement brought relief from that. I still miss parts of my job...
...sometimes.
Uh, you kind of made my point. It seems like there were parts of your job that you were glad to leave behind in retirement. As in most things, loving or hating our work is generally not an all-or-none deal but a matter of degree-there are some things we like and some things we dislike. As I previously said, the degree to which we dislike our work is proportional to the ease with which we transition into retirement...
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  #20  
Old 09-05-2020, 08:08 AM
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In a way I look at retirement as a once in a lifetime opportunity. Those that go back to work never really retired mentally in my mind. Those that retire at 72 don't get to experience retirement at 66, etc. One never gets to experience the paths you don't take in life. Retirement is a life experience like no other. Seize the day.
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  #21  
Old 09-05-2020, 10:55 AM
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Uh, you kind of made my point. It seems like there were parts of your job that you were glad to leave behind in retirement. As in most things, loving or hating our work is generally not an all-or-none deal but a matter of degree-there are some things we like and some things we dislike. As I previously said, the degree to which we dislike our work is proportional to the ease with which we transition into retirement...
Yeah, I suppose we’re mincing words here to an extent.
To be clear, the things I don’t miss were the air travel, hotel stays, eating alone and so on, all of which were tiresome and stress-inducing. I don’t consider any of that “the job”.
The actual work I did was still enjoyable, though admittedly,I had lost some of my drive.
Lucky for me, my boss allowed me to phase out gradually over the last two years. If it had been up to him, they would have carted me out of that place in a casket.
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  #22  
Old 09-05-2020, 11:10 AM
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Although the retirement aspect of "About Schmidt" was just a few minutes of film at the beginning, I found many things interesting in the way that Schmidt saw himself through his job. He saw what he did on the job as very important, and probably thought that he was irreplaceable. When he returned to the building after he'd retired, he thought that his replacement would welcome his counsel, but that was not the case. However important his work had been to the company, he was not important anymore and he was very replaceable. Without his job and the feelings of self-worth that his job had given him, the man was pretty empty. That's obviously an extreme case of being tied to one's job, but is indicative of having a tough time transitioning to retirement after getting so much of his self-validation from something that had a finite shelf-life....

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  #23  
Old 09-05-2020, 11:54 AM
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Retirement is not like vacation. For me, vacations are relatively brief periods when I am completely carefree And fully absorbed in things that are pleasant (and often, things that are novel: new places, new scenery, new foods, activities that are not a part of day-to-day life).

Retirement is not as carefree as vacation, but it is a lot more carefree than work.

Retirement is a much less stressful existence....so that is great. Loved my job, but it was stressful. And while the structure and the schedule was helpful for me, it was a bit too rigid, and therefore confining.

The lack of structure is a mixed bag: there is freedom, but it is also easy to become less efficient and less dynamic. And work limits your options, but it also limits the number of decisions you have to make. Retirement can present some challenges regarding the creation of supportive structure for oneself. And if there isn’t enough structure, it is possible to experience days when you feel some “decision fatigue”, or bored, or discontented.

If you are at all inclined towards procrastination, that can become much more common in retirement....which some people are OK with, but some people feel badly when they procrastinate.

I sometimes feel bored, but I sometimes felt bored at work.

Lots of other good points made by others posting to this thread.

I’ve been retired 9 years. I miss the good parts of work, but I’d never return to working unless I absolutely had to. And I am very happy being retired....it just isn’t a panacea or an unending vacation, IMO.

And some people don’t do well with retirement: my Dad was one of them. Watched too much TV, didn’t create enough ways to have contact with people other than my Mom, drank too much, wasn’t physically active, etc. etc. He enjoyed the first year or two of retirement, but then seemed restless and purposeless and rather unhappy for most of the next 20 years. It broke my heart to watch it unfold that way...but I learned a few things by watching what happened to him.
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Old 09-06-2020, 06:00 AM
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My life goal as far as work was concerned was to be able to get to a point where I did not have to work.

After 44 years in IT, mission accomplished. I am now not working, and doing whatever I want to on a day to day basis. Don't really think of it as retirement, or vacation for that matter.

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  #25  
Old 09-06-2020, 06:47 AM
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I can retire in about six months at the earliest. I don't hate my job, I don't love my job. It's a means to an end. It would behoove me to work a few more years and pad the retirement account but we're all ticking time bombs that can go off at any moment and putting things off in life is a dangerous game. I'll look at where I am in six months and make a decision then. But I'm already ready. I have so many fun hobbies in life and would love to be able to pursue them 'full time'!
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  #26  
Old 09-15-2020, 11:27 PM
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Pulled the plug 3 years ago at 62.

I've enjoyed some exciting and interesting jobs since the 70s, but management and policy at my last gig were absolutely horrible. So, first and foremost, it was a huge relief to abruptly stop going there (of course), but to also stop taking vacations with the gnawing dread of simmering dysfunction waiting for me back at the salt mine. Make no mistake. If you have it, shedding chronic toxicity is a life-changing improvement.

And even if I had loved that particular job, it was consuming 50 hours a week (getting ready, getting there, working 40 hours, lunch, and getting home). 45 weeks a year!

YMMV, but in retirement, I have time to take on new hobbies, pursue/refine existing ones, practice guitar, start (and finish) long-term projects, and commit to taking care of things for people I really care about.

My calendar is finally mine, and it's WAY different than any vacation.

Last edited by tinnitus; 09-16-2020 at 09:51 PM.
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  #27  
Old 09-16-2020, 03:36 AM
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Originally Posted by tinnitus View Post
...My calendar is finally mine, and it's WAY different than any vacation.
Very well put....
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  #28  
Old 09-16-2020, 04:59 AM
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Originally Posted by buddyhu View Post
And some people don’t do well with retirement: my Dad was one of them. Watched too much TV, didn’t create enough ways to have contact with people other than my Mom, drank too much, wasn’t physically active, etc. etc. He enjoyed the first year or two of retirement, but then seemed restless and purposeless and rather unhappy for most of the next 20 years. It broke my heart to watch it unfold that way...but I learned a few things by watching what happened to him.
I wasn't aware we were related.

Like the "About Schmidt" character, I saw myself through my job, and I thought what I did was very important. When I returned to the building after I retired, I thought that my replacement would welcome my counsel. But, that was not the case. However important my work had been to the company, I was not important anymore. When I worked, I was in charge, and everyone had to care what I thought. Now, no one cares what I think...about anything. Very few people will even read this post, much less respect the thoughts behind it.

Without my job and the feelings of self-worth that my job gave me, I'm pretty empty. My hobbies are unfulfilling, because I'm not very good at them, and they haven't helped me connect with other people. Former colleagues have drifted away. I've made zero new friends since I retired 10 years ago, and I spend most of my time alone. I eat right and exercise regularly, but at 70 my body is now starting to fail me. The vigor is exiting quickly. I'm not looking forward to the next segment of my life, which appears to be directed at managing pain.

Has it been a vacation? No, not hardly.
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  #29  
Old 09-16-2020, 05:49 AM
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I'm not too young to retire, I'm too poor to retire.

But when I do get to that point, I'm thinking that a transition that includes going part time will be the best bet for me. I think that ramp down will help me go from Corporate RedJoker to Citizen RedJoker in a much healthier fashion.
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  #30  
Old 09-16-2020, 05:50 AM
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It is a common sight to see a little wisened man steering his monster RV (With his wife/other in the passenger seat) through town towing a small car for when they're parked in some camp ground. He is retired and NOW he's going to enjoy life. Too late guy, you're closer to the end than the start. He's several years from the end but he can see it from where he is now.

Enjoy your life NOW, work of course but not to the exclusion of the other side of life. If you put $20/week away in your 20's, and let it build and don't touch it (I know, I know I'm telling you too late)you'd have an ungodly amount of money along with your pension/SS, to spend when the time comes.

In my next life, I'm gonna do that, color inside the lines, get good grades and play the violin/mandolin (Hauling my Kay stand-up bass around sucks) and a few other things too!

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