Doc
Member
knockonit said:
This makes sense.
When’s the BBQ
Really really depressing question for the older guys
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This makes sense.
When’s the BBQ
Old Jeff H said:
This is good advice... I enjoy farming enough to eat and feeding and watching my chickens and ducks in the evening while sipping a beer. I love living way out in the country. I heard a kid once say it must suck getting old... I laughed and told him no it sucks being young and broke... When you're old you can afford or have all the toys...
Longevity... Is worthless if you have bad health... My advice to younger and even some older guys... Avoid carbs, sugar, fast food, processed foods and excess alcohol. I had diabetes high BP and a poor immune system.. My doctor earlier this year when I spent 5 days in the hospital told me do not exert yourself or get my BP too high and to start taking a bunch of meds... I told him I would rather get off my butt and change my un-healthy lifestyle instead...
In Oct. I finished an 8 day high country elk hunt, hiking around at 10k feet, I no longer suffer from diabetes, high BP, lost 40 pounds and my immune system is in pretty good shape now.. After doing all my blood tests my doctor told me keep doing what ever you're doing it's working great... My neurologist told me a couple weeks ago I am no longer a patient and to have a good life...
Have fun in retirement relax and remember boredom is a state of mind... Just like being happy is a choice we make not a person place or thing... Always be thankful and happy for what you can do not sad, mad or upset at what you can't...
Interesting topic that's very relevant.
I'm about 3 years away from retirement myself. Work consumes so much of our daily life that there must be something to fill that huge void once retired. I can't tell you how many guys from work I have seen retire and then die in short order because the didn't do anything but drink and watch TV.
Its an exciting time for me now. The planning and dreaming for retirement.
I'm personally done with traffic and big city shit. Looking forward to cooler weather and small town life. Could I be in for a huge disappointment once I have what I desire? Possibly.. but I have many plans and ideas to fill my days. Reloading and shooting much more is on the list. But like all things in life I guess the only true way to know is to do it.
Fingers crossed.
I'm about 3 years away from retirement myself. Work consumes so much of our daily life that there must be something to fill that huge void once retired. I can't tell you how many guys from work I have seen retire and then die in short order because the didn't do anything but drink and watch TV.
Its an exciting time for me now. The planning and dreaming for retirement.
I'm personally done with traffic and big city shit. Looking forward to cooler weather and small town life. Could I be in for a huge disappointment once I have what I desire? Possibly.. but I have many plans and ideas to fill my days. Reloading and shooting much more is on the list. But like all things in life I guess the only true way to know is to do it.
Fingers crossed.
brandyspaw
Member
I guess its a matter of perspective and past experiences. I retired early and moved here to Arizona almost 12 years ago and I'm having the time of my life. I'm pushing 70 now and have some health issues but I'm really glad I'm not in the work force these days.
Perhaps my work wasn't as fulfilling as some of yours but I always looked at work as merely a means to an end to support my family and funding my hobbies. Work for me was never about being an end within itself.
Also, when I worked I never had the time to pursue my interests but now I do.
So I'm having a great time doing what I want and staying just as busy as I want to be. I do live in a old geezer community and there's always some bitching going on but there's always stuff to do plus I'm still pursuing my three life long hobbies of guns, cars and guitars.
Perhaps my work wasn't as fulfilling as some of yours but I always looked at work as merely a means to an end to support my family and funding my hobbies. Work for me was never about being an end within itself.
Also, when I worked I never had the time to pursue my interests but now I do.
So I'm having a great time doing what I want and staying just as busy as I want to be. I do live in a old geezer community and there's always some bitching going on but there's always stuff to do plus I'm still pursuing my three life long hobbies of guns, cars and guitars.
Electric303
Member
OK, I've just read through this thread for the first time and being at the tail end of the baby boom generation with maybe 4-5 years to retirement, I felt compelled to post. First my opinion about my own job of fixing automated production equipment and working in factories for the past 35 years. People around my age in this field are retiring in droves and manufacturing companies are not at all prepared for it. Typically their entire training program consists of "follow that guy" and the new guy looks around to find there's nobody experienced left to follow. Over the decades while the computer controlled automation has become much more complicated, management and the engineering staff they hire have become more incompetent. None of them have a clue how to develop an in-house training program for the very inexperienced next generation they are trying to backfill maintenance jobs with. In some ways in reminds me of my younger days when the WW2 generation was retiring but things are much more complicated now. There is also a "snowball effect" where as the experienced people leave, the fewer experienced people still working get more and more dumped on them until more them leave and so forth. Production line downtime becomes more common and more extended. Stress levels rise. Now throw gas on that fire from people sent home for testing positive for COVID and those around them for COVID exposure quarantine. On top of being stressful, the work is physical to the point of being damaging and as the years go by that's becoming harder and longer to recover from. Just laying it out there why there is not much motivation for me to continue working past age 65 or so. Some have posted about the rewards and accomplishments at work. I've changed employers enough times over the years to realize all those great accomplishments I made during my years with a former employer suddenly meant nothing the minute I walked out the door for the last time. Why is that so? Because they never meant anything in the first place, its not my business, just my paycheck. If you don't own the business, then its what you do outside of work that's truly important to your life and its the only things you're going to take with you into retirement.
Electric303
Member
Now in anticipation of retirement I've tried to develop some hobbies in advance to keep me occupied. Mountain hiking is one that is not only great exercise, there are so many beautiful places to experience that are only accessible by hiking a few miles. Any trip anywhere in the world can include at least one good hike. Some have mentioned camping, I much prefer a pop-up camper over a big RV. It only requires a smaller vehicle to tow and its much easier to maneuver. A person can take 3-4 day trips and spend their retirement years just exploring the 4-corner states. Another thing about being way out away from the cities is very little light pollution (dark skies). I have an computerized 8in telescope (Celestron 8SE) that's I got last year. After viewing the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn with my 20-60X spotting scope and seeing the moons of Jupiter I was hooked. The 8 inch telescope allows me to see the cloud bands on Jupiter and the Great Red Eye along with the shadows of its moons passing over the cloud bands. I can see the rings of Saturn clear enough to make out the Cassini Division which is the gap between the inner and outer rings. This is from my back yard. Gardening is another hobby. Feb 21 is the average last frost in the Phoenix area so in the next 2-3 weeks it will be time to plant a garden. There are planting guides available online, just search for your area. You can grow microgreens (bean sprouts, etc...) inside in small containers. If you like to talk, there is ham radio. There are at least 500 ham radio repeaters around the state and every state has several. There are weekly nets at set times on different repeaters where people gather to talk. If you can't put up an antenna at your house, there is a cellphone app called Echolink that will connect to repeaters all over the would through the internet. You'll just have to study and pass the Technician level test. Speaking of studying, you have the greatest information source that's every been available in history, use it. Youtube is overflowing with information videos. Learn a musical instrument, even a harmonica. Learn a new language. You've got time now, why not learn and grow. There's also a multitude of activities to volunteer for. If you have applicable skills, you could assist or even teach at a community college.
i volunteered at a trade school last year to run kids thru interviews and advise the idiot teaching them const. trade methods, guy had good intentions but in reality had no idea of the real world, typical educator , imo, uh oh gonna get some flack on that one.
i built a huge shop out back, gonna make some saw dust, melt some metal, set in a ac office when the heat comes, and tinker with copious amounts of drool libation.
a few trips in there, a couple places i wanna go for a bit, and well, just have fun
Rj
i built a huge shop out back, gonna make some saw dust, melt some metal, set in a ac office when the heat comes, and tinker with copious amounts of drool libation.
a few trips in there, a couple places i wanna go for a bit, and well, just have fun
Rj
I have no regrets on retiring "early".
Liked my work but disliked a lot of general contractors we worked with.
We can afford to travel and do what we want.
I keep myself as busy as I want to be.
Everyone is different. Do what you want to or can do to be happy.
The years go fast at this end of the trip.
Liked my work but disliked a lot of general contractors we worked with.
We can afford to travel and do what we want.
I keep myself as busy as I want to be.
Everyone is different. Do what you want to or can do to be happy.
The years go fast at this end of the trip.
Electric303
Member
The years go by fast indeed.
About 10yr ago I decided to take a TIG welding class at CAC. Had some experience with stick and wire welding but the factory where I worked had a lot of stainless steel that required a TIG welder. The guy that taught the class was a feller named Bob and although rheumatoid arthritis was turning his hands flipper shaped, he was still one hell of a welder, learned a lot from him. But he was well into his 70's and it was his last semester as an instructor. He was interviewing candidates for his replacement and told me while most had teaching experience, none had welding experience. One the first question they would ask was whether the class was taught primarily from the text book. Bob would just gesture toward the big welding shop there with more than a couple dozen welding booths and say, "The class is taught there." He said the interview pretty much over then.
Another hobby I enjoy is brewing beer and wine making. Easy hobby to get into and the rewards are obvious...
About 10yr ago I decided to take a TIG welding class at CAC. Had some experience with stick and wire welding but the factory where I worked had a lot of stainless steel that required a TIG welder. The guy that taught the class was a feller named Bob and although rheumatoid arthritis was turning his hands flipper shaped, he was still one hell of a welder, learned a lot from him. But he was well into his 70's and it was his last semester as an instructor. He was interviewing candidates for his replacement and told me while most had teaching experience, none had welding experience. One the first question they would ask was whether the class was taught primarily from the text book. Bob would just gesture toward the big welding shop there with more than a couple dozen welding booths and say, "The class is taught there." He said the interview pretty much over then.
Another hobby I enjoy is brewing beer and wine making. Easy hobby to get into and the rewards are obvious...
oldslurrydog1
Member
xerts1191 said:
I'm a couple of years away. Looking forward to the next step in life. I hope you're correct.
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