I was asked this question this weekend when I made a stereotypical joke about wanting to retire (I'm 35 and unlikely to retire any time soon).
That combined with rd95's post about moving has me thinking about what I want to do when I retire. This isn't a lottery question, it's a question of what I think I want to be doing and where I want to be doing it when I'm 65 and living off the previous forty year's of savings.
The best I can come up with is to live somewhere like Adirondack Park. Land is reasonably priced if you don't have any views, and I think I'd enjoy the solitude and company of nature. But that's 35 year old me thinking that. Would I be able to live that way in my late 60s? Medical care is accessible only with a car, and even then there are only small hospitals in the area. Major medical care probably means going to Albany two hours away.
My local alternative is probably to buy a small house in town, something with only one story and reasonable access to mass transit. That sounds like a bland retirement goal. This is bugging me now. I wish I had a good answer.
What about you, hubski? What do you want to do when you retire?
I am in my 40s and pretty much retired but will never stop working as long as someone will have me and I get to do things that are interesting. I recently came back to the area I grew up in after 20 years of thinking I would never come back. Too red neck. Too rural. But circumstances change and my job is not location dependent so I did. I used to be a big condo fan with views like this and have recently started thinking about getting another big city place. But I doubt I will. I absolutely love big city life and always chose to either be in the middle of everything.... or in the middle of nowhere. I love country life as well. I live in a house in a town of about 100K and have a farm about 25 minutes away. I had always justified spending so much money on a central location by saying "Hey I am in the middle of everything and there is so much available at my doorstep." And then realizing that I was not taking advantage of 90% of that most of the time. I do miss not having a bookstore, record store, live music venues, grocery store, pub, etc. within a 5 minute walk. But on the other hand, I get to see duck chicks take their first steps.
Easy. Kick-ass craft hobby like woodworking or metalworking. Make canoes like Nick Offerman.
I like this. A coworker was working on making a violin. An awesome hobby like that isn't just passing the time, it's getting to the end of a project and having something to show for it. Maybe even something to sell to fund the next project.
I love canoeing. Three fun facts: 1. Nick Offerman apparently comes to my area on a regular basis because there are so may canoe factories around here. 2. I went to the Canadian Canoe Museum 2 weeks ago. 3. I recently found out there is a homeless guy sleeping in a canoe in my backyard.
God damn, that's Canadian. How did you handle your backyard Survivorman?
Apparently he was there at the end of last summer as well and I hadn't noticed until now. You can't see him from land until you get right up close as there is a steep bank next to the lake. I should clarify that it is not my canoe and it isn't really in my backyard as it is in the water. But he does hang out on shore. I have been down to talk to him a few times and he is always drinking beer but has always been coherent. I told him I was cool with it as long as he didn't cause trouble or make a mess. I gave him a trash bag and told him that garbage days were Fridays so he could just put the bag by my backdoor and I would put it out for him. Which he did last week. So far, so good.
Although its way, way in the future from now. I really do like the idea of just escaping society. My father lives in the country in the middle of nowhere. No internet and all. And I love it. Each time I visit him I feel like I'm in heaven and don't want to go back. The feeling of being free of all the stress and hard work that society brings is awesome. And just to concentrate on doing the work that is needed on the land, house etc. is freedom for me. will be interesting if I feel this way later on in life.
That's sort of like what I imagine. I keep getting stuck on various what-ifs. Like, what if I'm not healthy? What if I can get around ok but can't do the outdoors things I enjoy now? At 35 I probably don't need to worry about that yet as "save money" sort of applies to any scenario. But it still leaves me with a lot of uncertainty.
I'm already physically super messed up. If I'm to the point where I can't putter around with a shovel and a small tractor of some kind for a few hours a day... Well I already know what I'm going to do. Not sure how healthy people address that kind of concern. The money thing alternates between being super stressful to me and not stressful at all. I will have enough, or I won't. Those are really the only two options.
I'm pursuing financial independence (shoutout to /r/financialindependence) so I'm hoping to be done with "working for the man" in a decade or so. I'll be 31-32. I don't plan to own a home anytime soon. Instead I want to overland around the world at a leisurely pace. Once I get back I'll buy some land, build a barn/house, and restore Land Cruisers for fun and no profit. May even start a business or freelance. Not sure. Sure as hell not doing I.T work anymore, though.
cargo cruises edit: https://www.cma-cgm.com/products-services/cargo-cruise
Snatch people's luggage from the airport and build a raft out on the lake to take the kids fishing?
Retirement is such a weird concept. I always find it strange that people in their 50's are thinking about retiring and thats like a real possibility for them. Im in my early 30's the only way I could possibly retire would be if I won the lottery or something. In the current interest rate environment it would take like 2+ million dollars saved to even have a chance at living off savings interest. The older generation had pensions to retire on, us younger folks are expected to work till we die. I don't really think of retirement except in that the idea has been retired for anyone born after 1970.
I probably fall in the diminishing sliver of people once called middle class. At this point in my life, I do expect to retire in the traditional sense. It'll be well into my 60s; the days of retiring early at 62 will be long gone in thirty years. If I give myself fifteen years between retirement and death, how do I live those years in a way that's worthwhile? That's what I'm struggling with. If I don't know, how can I hope to set myself up for it?
I mean I haven't entered the workforce yet, so I'm far from this. Barring any real environment tragedy, and assuming the world remains intact long enough for me to retire. I would love to spend my time traveling to learn about foods and musics from different cultures.