Retirement? Good idea or put it off as long as possible?
Curious about how your retirement is going...
When you’re my age, you think about retirement. Let’s just say I’m going to celebrate a rather large number on my next birthday. I’m not ready to take the retirement leap but I am curious.
But instead of merely thinking and reading about retirement, I want to ask those who already have taken that step to give me some feedback.
I want to keep this relatively simple so I’m only going to ask three questions:
— Do you enjoy being retired?
— What would you have done differently?
— What do you do all day? I’ve always thought this was the most insightful of questions when asking about a job so why not retirement? What is your average day like? What do you do with all that time? New hobbies?
Is that more than three questions? Whatever, you know what I’m getting at. I’m quite curious so please let me know and please be honest. It would be great if you would post your answer but, if you’d rather send me a private email, that’s okay too.
Thanks so much.
Hey Paul: Just saw this. I retired in 2012 at age 65. I stopped because I was finding it harder and harder to travel on assignments. The ENQUIRER made me a senior editor and took me off the road but I still wanted to stop. The day I left the ENQUIRER office, I went home, drank a bottle of wine. and passed out. Over the next two years, I was called in on vacation relief to write stories for special issues AMI put out. I also lost 67 pounds, finally getting back in shape. My day is simple. Some exercise, some TV time with the wife, some puffs on medical marijuana to fight off back pain, and some occasional writing for Substack, which keeps the brain active. When I was still a young man, an elderly man I bumped into at a doctor's office told me what he thought was the worst thing about growing old. He said he felt fragile, as if the slightest trip or stumble could sideline you for quite a while. His advice: "Slow down." I follow that rule. It works. The health issues started hitting me at 72, just like Bob Kapstatter predicted. Things do start to break. But medical science keeps us alive a lot longer. I also downsized, selling the big two-story home in West Palm for smaller one-story digs in a gated community. That was a good move. Remember, if you haven't already done it, to update or make a will. It does nothing for you but makes life easier for your heirs. As for you, keep writing. That's a talent you have and it's easy to do, sitting at your comfortable desk, in your underwear.
— Do you enjoy being retired?
Hi Paul... Yes, I enjoy being retired, esp. since I retired just before the pandemic, and it would have been an adjustment to work remotely ALL the time. I could/did work remotely at times, but I preferred going to my office in SF or SF - East Bay. I liked the p2p interactions. I can't imagine working now, because frankly, I like the freedom/flexibility to do whatever I want... or not to do anything if that's what I want on a given day. I'm contented.
— What would you have done differently?
When I retired, at about 68.5 yrs, it was 1.5 yrs earlier than "planned", but the timing was best for me, because otherwise I would have been tied to some lengthy executive search projects (that can sometimes extend out 8 mos. or more). I'm now 71, and it seemed like the right thing to do. It was becoming stressful; my physical health wasn't good -- not bad, just not good. Financially, I didn't think I was in a good place, but in fact, I was. This may sound funny for somebody w/ net worth in 7 figures, no mortgage, and no debts, but maybe I just worry too much. Plus, all of my siblings were already retired, and they have net worths in multi-7 figures, so I was always looking at them. I would have made the same decision today as I did 3 yrs ago. What influenced me a lot was that the year before, my sister's husband (69 yrs at the time) went to bed and never woke up. He was in good health, and they were both retired and traveling a lot, enjoying life. It reminds me of what happened to my father who passed away at age 59. He was still working when he died of cancer, but he voiced regret that he had not traveled more w/ my mom -- who later became quite a traveler (Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Australia/NZ, South Seas, etc.). I remember my brother-in-law's words maybe a year or two earlier: "Life is a crap shoot, you don't know when you're going to kick the bucket." Sure enough, prescient sentiments. As well, in the year prior, my good friend John, who taught at Stanford for decades, had turned in his keys to his office at Stanford, then promptly had a stroke soon thereafter at age 71. He's still dealing w/ some medical issues stemming from that event. He had to learn to talk and even drink water again. He's better now, but these two events left me pondering my life more... and realizing that "working for the Man" wasn't the best option for me. I'm thankful I have my health to be able to simply walk/hike, since mobility is helpful if I'm to travel even more.
— What do you do all day?
Today, I watch more movies; read more (from medical journals to modern fiction); exercise/walk more; ride my bike more; and take little trips whenever I want. It'd be nice if my best friend/ significant other wasn't working, but she does, so that requires more planning. My daughter lives in Chicago, and I'm glad for the opportunities to go visit whenever I want (usually in summer/fall when the weather is decent). I'm actually thinking of a road trip soon down to SoCal and San Diego, visiting friends along the way. I think about driving to the Sierra foothills in search of the perfect apple cider donut. Oh, and I've done a lot more cooking/baking, and some people think I do a pretty good job of it. Now that COVID is less of an issue, I even think about coming out to NYC, since it's been years since I've seen you and Susan. There are too many places on my list to visit... South of France, Italy, Istanbul/Turkey, Japan, etc.
I don't have life figured out, but I don't know that I need to. I'm going to die some day, but I don't have much to say about when, where, how... I have given a lot, and I still do, but I'm reconciled that I'm not going to save the world, and that'll be up to the younger generations to prioritize. My sole daughter is happy, healthy (after some earlier health issues), married and a homeowner in Chicago. Her father-in-law told me on my last visit there that he's never seen his son/my daughter so happy. That's all I can ask. She likes her job in the publishing industry, and she won't have to worry about money in the future, so I have nothing to be concerned about there. In a way, my life is done. It's been good, and everything else is going to be like gravy.