Retirement?

[Cudedog]

I have been mulling over this retirement thing for quite a while - I am of "the age", but I (mostly) like my job, I live close to my job (5 minutes!), like the people I work with (most of the time) and certainly like having a paycheck.

And yet. And yet. . .

The Open Road calls. It's on speed dial, actually. On the other hand, I have never travel/camped. What if I hate it?

Question: what was the final trigger, or final triggers, that made you decide to "take the plunge". Are you happy with your decision? Do you have regrets? If given the choice, would you retire yesterday, or would you work just a little bit longer?

Is there something you would have done differently in your retirement planning? Or not?

[sigh]

I wish I could make up my mind.

Any input any of you would care to share would be immensely appreciated. Thank you.

Anne

[VickieP]

I'd be gone in a minute, but that's just me and everybody is different.

[grammynmaggie]

If you question this...I would spend as much time as I could
vacay and days off...traveling and camping to see how well
I like it...before I left my job...now me..i was ready to move
on..and retire...have a great day and stay safe...donna

[monik7]

I guess my situation was a little different from yours. While I lived close to my job (2 minutes), I didn't like my boss, my job, or the other people I worked with. It was in high-tech and waaaay too much politics. My boss was bipolar I'm sure. What's strange is that she was a friend for 16 years but had a way of turning on people. After all those years I was her target. So I left to retire early. Best thing I ever did. While the paycheck was nice, the negatives outweighed it. I didn't start RVing until last year. I don't full time, but sure enjoy the trips I've had. I think it's an individual decision. Everyone's situation is different. I wanted out of the drama and tension. Life is too short for that. My life is so much better now. I was able to care for my 3 grandchildren for 10 years and now that they're all in school, I RV wherever I want to go.
Sandi

[sharon]

Husband died and there just wasn't the incentive to work any more since working was going to pay for our retirement. With just me the money was ok, so I worked another year and then retired. It was a 90 minute drive each way in heavy traffic and I was just done with it, even tho I loved my job and my supervisors. My heart wasn't in it anymore.

[mitch5252]

..
George was so much older than I was, we figured we'd never have our "golden years" together if we waited until I retired. So, we packed up our stuff and moved to Tennessee.

Had about 4 really good years retired together; then the dementia set in and then ultimately, he died from infection.

I say GO FOR IT. Never know how much time you have left.

(boy, would George be pissed that I bought this truck! He wouldn't consider a truck back when we bought the Sienna. Serves him right for dyin' on me.)

[WickedLady]

Today is the oldest you've ever been, yet the youngest you'll ever be, so enjoy this day while it lasts, for you never know what tomorrow will bring.

[JudyJB]

I waited until I was 69 to get more SS income since I had no pension. I had also worked two jobs for over 20 years, and wanted to put as much away into my 401K as I could by working both of those jobs.

Actually, I was planning on working until 70, but that last year I found myself horribly grumpy and biting the heads off of store clerks. Even ordering a hamburger at a McDonald's drive-thru would set me off yelling and grumping at whoever took my order. I was just exhausted from working so many hours, and even though I liked my coworkers, my primary job was boring. I also was afraid that my health would go down before I could get to do what I had dreamed about doing all my life--traveling full time.

Also, my mother had passed away a couple of years before, and I had almost no relatives in Michigan so no reason to continue to live there. Kids were on opposite sides of the country. I did not know where else I wanted to live, but I knew it would NOT have snow and ice!!! I figured I might find a good place to finally settle down someday while I was traveling.

I had never even driven an RV and never really liked camping in a tent, but I knew a motorhome would be my key to travel, so I sold my condo and car and took the plunge. Never regretted a moment that decision. I still work online teaching, so I am not quite 100% retired, but it is just about the right amount of work, keeps me busy, and pays my traveling bills.

[Olive600]

I keep looking at this thread and wondering ....

I think there are two questions here: 1) what made you pull the trigger on retirement and 2) what if I hate the camping/travel thing.

I "retired" at 57. It's been 5 years and I'm still not sure what "retirement" means for me. There were many reasons why I walked away from spending my life doing things I didn't want to do for people I didn't respect. Some of those reasons were personal and some professional and some financial. The short answer is that I was in a long delayed and much deserved meltdown and I needed to make some big changes. The only definition I have for retirement is that now I'm in charge. I enjoy working, so I might work for $ again. But I won't do anything I don't want to do and I won't work for people I don't respect. I don't have to like them, but I do have to respect them.

Well, what if you do hate the rv/camping/travel thing? What I tell myself is that if I hate it I just point the rig toward home and start dreaming up the next adventure. What's important to me is that I know why I'm doing it. What desire do I think this experience will fulfill. I lost that for a while, but I have it back, fully articulated and visualized. So even though I've really wanted to just walk away from the whole thing (I still haven't gotten to the camping/travel parts of the trilogy), I think I'm back on track. If I get out on the road and find that I'm not accomplishing what I set out to do, I'll head home, gnash my teeth for awhile and then celebrate that I took the chance, count up the lessons learned and apply them to the next adventure. Most important, I'll always have money for a plane ride home (puppers too) and a change of clean underwear.

On Edit: Was reading thread again and it occurred to me that you might have equated retirement and the rv/camping/travel thing. They aren't the same. I know that when you've worked as hard as you have to get ready and you join this forum where there's so much enthusiasm and knowledge that it's easy to get a bit of tunnel vision. At least it was for me. But I am quite certain that being retired, whatever that means to you, and this whole rv/camping/travel adventure are not the same. You could retire tomorrow, decide to drive the van off a cliff, and still create a very happy retirement phase of life. You could drive off into the sunset and find a job you love in the next town or work online from wherever you park for the day. Whew! I've worn myself out with all this deep insight.

[JudyJB]

Nikki made some excellent points. For some of us, retirement and the RV thing coincide, but it certainly doesn't have to.

One of my sons was worried about what if I had an accident driving this big hulk. I told him if I crashed on the freeway 200 miles from home and died horribly, at least I had got off my duff and did something. Better than sitting in my recliner in my condo for the next 20 years feeling sorry for myself and regretting what I didn't do. But that's my personal situation.

[BarbaraRose]

I have no personal experience with either one yet (retirement or RV traveling), however it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Can you work part-time with your current job and travel part-time in an RV just to check it out without completely throwing in the towel at work? Or could you take a month or two off from work to do some long distance traveling to see how you like it? That way you still have your job that you like, and you get some idea of the lifestyle on the road in an RV. Then you would be able to make a more informed decision based on personal experience.

[JoanE]

Other than one RV rental trip years ago with my exDH, I had never camped but loved traveling. Both of my parents were dead by 50 and making it to 62 was a surprise for me. Decided to retire, sell my home, most belongings, buy a motorhome and go exploring. My prior employer asked me to return to work, which I did for a year, but am now fully retired. I did take a workamping job this summer, but do not plan to do it again.

I have not regretted my decision. I love seeking new vistas, regional food, different cultures.

[Acadianmom]

I retired at 63 because the company closed the office I worked at. I didn't look for another job. Looking back I probably should have. I thought I would be able to travel more than I do. My DH doesn't want to travel and the older he gets the less he wants me gone. I take 5 or 6 trips a year with some of the rv groups I belong to. I don't know that I would ever full time. I like to travel but like to come home too. I have had a motor home since the mid 1980's and use to trave with my boys on short trips. If you are unsure about whether you would like it you could take weekend trips and vacation days to see if you like it. I don't like traveling by myself much but there are so many women's groups now that you could almost go from one GTG to the next.

Martha

[snowball]

my husband always said that he retired and I quit. and I guess he was correct...7 years ago my second daughter was expecting twins
and her husband was and is in the guard and was leaving for a month right after they would be gone...I worked the lunch program for elementary we were a year round school and so needed to be back to school before the son in law got back so I called talked to the person above my manager as I was told to do...and was informed if I was more than certain amount of days late I would have to go through a rehire process...talked it over with my husband and he said quit...so I did...we planned on selling the house so we could move into the 5th wheel and he could retire.. so almost a year later we put the house on the market and in less than a week it was sold... we moved into a KOA and he retired...we did our thing traveled not as much as we wanted to work camped and boondocked lots!!! we loved being retired...I don't regret it and am so grateful we had that time and that my husband got to have a few years doing what he wanted to...he died a year ago in June don't put off as you never know what will happen... as to what if you hate it retirement and or camping if you do find something you like and go on with life...but be happy
sheila

[cnq50b]

Actually, Anne, I've had a similar question about the retirment thing.
I enjoy working for the org I work for. I've already asked them to start thinking about my replacement (at least in my current position) but wonder if anyone wishes they had held out a little longer before starting the SSN checks coming in since the sooner you start the less you receive.
I need to work until I qualify for Medicare but that's only 2 years away & then I'm free to decide what to do...

I have found out on the long trip that I'm currently one (5k miles in 3 weeks) that I need people, my family, friends, etc. I enjoy traveling, calling all the shots myself, etc, but I travel to get to those I love. Hopefully I can get to some of the great GTGs with this group once the work thing eases up. I think that's when the real fun will set in.