How are you spending your retirement?

[shipgeeks]

Cruising more often/longer?

Working part-time in a new field?

Doing volunteer work?

Or?

[NSnJW]

Number 1 and number 3

Cruising 3 to 5 times a year. I try to cruise 30 or 40 days a year.  If I get to do all 4 cruises we have reserved, it will be 52 days for 2024.

Also been working at a volunteer job 5 or 6 hours a day 5 days a week whenever I am not traveling.  Been doing a few motorcycle camping trips in there too.

[crystalspin]

Dr'spin retired on the last day of 2019, unknowingly dodging the bullet of COVID in a busy family medical practice. We were going to travel! We made one escorted tour to South America in January 2020, and at the beginning of February, we had SIX cruises booked over the next two years! None of them happened of course...

 

When my husband ran out of projects on our house in southern California, he surprised me by saying, 'What about buying a house in Utah?' My mom, plus brother and sister and their spouses, live here. We found a wonderful home and bought it! Thanks to both the pandemic and the immense amount of STUFF we had accumulated over thirty years of marriage, it took six+ months to get moved, but we officially changed our residence on 1 Jan. 2021.

 

The next two years have been taken up by settling in and many projects in a house (on 1.3 acres) which had sat empty for five years and may have been a little neglected before that. We were finally able to take a B2B cruise over New Years last year! Spent the rest of the year with more projects and helping my family. 

 

As far as your questions: if all goes well, 2024 will be the year of cruising more often and longer. We have THREE cruises booked, each 35-days (one is B2B2B). Someday I would like to volunteer tutoring English-as-a-second-language at the local multi-cultural center, but for now we keep to ourselves by way of protecting three medically fragile family members. 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by crystalspin

[clackey]

We cruise one or two times a year and have done road trips the last three.  Visited Rapid City SD and saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, and the Badlands.  Then drove to Devils Tower and camped.  Landed up in Rocky Mountain  NP and then Pikes Peak. That one was about 3000 Miles.

 

Been to Yellowstone, the Tetons and Dinosaur National Monument.  Another 3000 miles.

 

Last year was the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon and Mesa Verde.  3500 mile.

 

To be honest, I would rather cruise.  We don't have to plan everything 6-12 months out.  Don't have to pack camping gear and research where to camp.  No cooking, laundry, or dishwashing. Yeah, I am spoiled.

 

[lenquixote66]

After I retired I went to work with a company owned by one of my friends.

It was in an industry that I had no prior experience.After 4 years I became VP of the company.

[SargassoPirate]

On 12/20/2023 at 6:40 PM, shipgeeks said:

Cruising more often/longer?

Working part-time in a new field?

Doing volunteer work?

Or?

Doing what we want, when we want, and trying spend our kid's inheritance.  Right now I'm enjoying my morning coffee in my favorite chair, reading a newspaper, and listening to the traffic backups that I'm not in.

 

Like NSnJW, I take long motorcycle trips, although camping out with minimal gear is less appealing than when I first retired.

 

I've restored several classic muscle cars since I retired, the profits from which have gone toward our Pirate Fund For Better Living.

 

Every day this side of the grass is to be savored.

 

[Mary229]

Our first year in retirement,2023, was spent house projects so the house is in tip top shape when we leave for our travels.  We also “filled the gaps” taking as late of 4-6 day self-driving tours in our region.  We managed to stay fairly busy until the past few months.  We have a very busy travel schedule for 2024 currently with 140 days already booked  cruises and likely will also do some of our self-driving weekends. This year our tours focused on regional history prehistoric to modern.  Next years self driving will focus on visiting CCC state parks. 
 

We likely will settle down and engage more in our local community after 2024

[shipgeeks]

We're not doing these jobs ourselves, but we've noticed two jobs here that retired people are filling:

At the Port of Baltimore, many of the RC staff seem to be over-55s, including some couples.  As the ships sail less than once a week, it seems like a good part-time job.  They obviously have an enthusiasm for cruising, as well as great skills with handling all the pax, and sometimes we see them onboard (off duty) as well.

Locally, we use a county ride-share service to get to appointments, stores, etc.  I would guess that about half of the drivers we've had are over-55s, and most tell us they are retired but decided to take up another job.

[Mary229]

To all of the outdoor enthusiasts.  As a former backpacker, wilderness trekker and tent camper I have been rediscovering the state parks.  While we were working the state parks have really upped their lodging alternatives and improved their trail systems over the past 20 years.  My niece and I took a road trip last month and we stayed in state park lodges and cabins every single night.  It was wonderful , cost less than a roadside hotel, had full kitchens, multiple bedding options, balconies, porches, fireplaces - even a bundle  of wood was provided.  We were able to find accommodations within 12 miles of the interstate highways we were driving (visiting relatives out east). I can’t wait to spend more long weekends exploring those parks. 

[JoePatNYCT]

I'm happy to hear this info about the state parks.  After the passing of my wife, my plan has been to cruise as much as possible.  I have 17 booked so far for 2024.  then, when I slow down, I'd like to travel the US and visit the national and state parks.

 

Joe

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, JoePatNYCT said:

I'm happy to hear this info about the state parks.  After the passing of my wife, my plan has been to cruise as much as possible.  I have 17 booked so far for 2024.  then, when I slow down, I'd like to travel the US and visit the national and state parks.

 

Joe

Many of the state parks now use Reserve America for booking.  RA has a nice email newsletter monthly to explore parks    https://www.reserveamerica.com

[SFRiA]

We cruise 2-3x/year, and fly overseas another 2-3x.

We spent a lot of time with global travel for business before retirement, but it's different now that we're traveling for pleasure. It's so much nicer now that we don't HAVE to be anywhere and can do what we want, when we want.

[Lois R]

Last year I took 4 cruises........the most recent one was Nov on a TA crossing. So now we are almost in March and I am trying to find a spring cruise but haven't booked anything yet. I keep going back and forth on some options but nothing that says.....BUY ME..........and I am getting really annoyed LOL.......I am ready to get back on a ship!  I even looked at a land tour with Tauck but cruising is so much easier......unpack once!

 

I volunteer 2 days a week at the hospital.......I work at the front information desk.

 

[Clonmelgal]

I retired the November before Covid hit. I wonder how long we will date everything by pre-covid and post-covid? Our 60's are what I call our "Golden decade". Still young and with resources. But we just started traveling after covid so the Golden decade is now "for as long as it lasts". We bought our dream farm in 2008, so we can't get away together as often as we would like. My partner in travel, my sister! We plan one "city trip" - a chosen city to stay in for a week, with side trips out.  This year Dublin in April.

We discovered cruising with an Alaskan Disney cruise. That set the cruise bar high! We each book one or two solo cruises a year. My sis is very active socially, I'm the stay at home, work on the farm type. Lately I've been feeling a little useless so I volunteered at a local animal sanctuary. So outside my comfort zone!