Big Pete

Reading up on a few threads,to catch up so to speak , as i have been so busy lately and havent had so much free time

I saw a expression along the lines of "Since not working dont know how i ever fitted work in,always so busy !" etc ..

And this i must admit is one of my niggling concerns ? Being working since age 17 with only the normal holiday breaks , to suddenly go to a life of early retirement in the sun i worry big time that i could be burnt to a crisp and Bored !!!

Wondered how those retired occupy there days ?
Do they take a siesta as well ?
Does the sunbathing get a bit of a chore after 6 skin peels ?

Maybe a few could run through there week ,on a day by day and time thing ?

I must admit although lounging in a deck chair , watching the blue sea whilst sipping me Real Ale homebrew beer , with Doris Day greatest hits blasting is gonna be great , after 2 years it could get a tad boring maybe ?

So let us know if you have had the bored periods , and how if it occurs you handle it ?

big wheels

We did take early retirement, and I must admit that I was a little worried at first about becoming bored.
To be honest I think that if we lived on the coast this could become a problem as it may feel that we were on permanent holiday. However by choosing to live inland we don't get the "being on holiday" feeling at all, and a trip to the seaside is still a treat
I can recommend buying an older property inland as there is always something that is sticking, leaking, falling off, or needs re-painting to keep me busy
Then there is the five minute walk to the local shop that can take up to three hours, depending on who you meet on the way.
If you look for it there is plenty to keep you occupied wherever you decide to settle, just don't fall into the trap of so many ex-pats and spend your days looking at Spain through the bottom of a glass.

Arco-Iris

Hi Big Pete.

What to do with your time on retirement is something that crosses people's minds the world over, I think. I imagine that those who don't know how to use their time in Spain, would have the same dilemma in their country of origin.

It's great that you are thinking of this and be a bit more prepared before the time comes. Some colleges in UK run evening classes in preparing for retirement and might give you more ideas. It's very noticeable, both here and in UK, that retired people who don't prepare themselves suddenly feel useless when they don't go to work. Some (mainly women) take up voluntary work but unless you're fluent in Spanish here, or live in a big ex-pat English-speaking area, this wouldn't be possible.

This is a time for you to indulge your interests and hobbies, and you could investigate what might suit you before you leave. Big Wheels makes sense - many people fall into the trap of getting through their day in a boozy haze, lounging in the sun or in front of t.v.

We live 10 minutes drive to the beach in a semi-rural area outside a town. Apart from all the on-going domestic things that need doing around the house, shopping for stuff can take up much more time when you have to find the place that sells the "very-thing" and find the Spanish words to buy it. This could take up most of the day sometimes. Tackling regular bureaucratic problems is another time-consuming headache.

I don't believe in being busy/occupied for busy-ness sake, otherwise it all becomes a chore. And if I have a regular to-do list, I always include "do nothing" to let me off the hook.

Here are some of the ways we use our time, which will vary from winter to summer.

Spanish classes and homework
Gardening - a work in progress, includes fruit and veg growing
Reading - readers are never bored! It's never too late to become addicted!
Sourcing English language books locally can be time-consuming.
Arts and crafts, mainly mosaicing for the garden
Photography
The PC for all kinds - creating a Blog, writing, keeping in contact with friends and family.
Regular meet-ups with friends to eat, drink and be merry
Regular sight-seeing outings around this Province

If you're into Spanish fiestas, concerts and social events, most things don't get going until after 11/12 at night, so a siesta becomes essential.

A lot will depend on income, but this is true wherever you live your retirement. I find pensions go further here and that enables us to lead a satisfying life.

And, lastly, however much we fight it and deny it, we do slow down as we get older. It takes me much longer to do ordinary things: I run out of strength and stamina, although I'm relatively fit. In late July and August in the real heat, we all slow down even more - only the bare essentials get done ....any slower and I'd be going backwards.

I hope other retired people will give you their point of view, Big Pete. I wish you all the best and a happy retirement when you make the move.

Mitzyboy

Mmmmm , well being a relatively young retiree who has worked quite hard and long hours most of his working life, I had the same concerns.

The first 6 months I spent doing relatively little, as planned. We didn't change our way of life here to what we had in the UK (I actually stopped working in March 2006, moved here October.)

Recent times have been spent hard at work in the underbuild, but once that is finished we will be spending our time:

Travelling within Spain
Lot of gardening to do
My car ... its my hobby
Digital photography ... its my other hobby
Always jobs to do around the house
The computer
Wife plays scrabble on line!
Wifes going to start painting again (no ... not the underbuild!)
Reading
We don't have a siesta yet, but maybe when it gets hot
Walking, nothing like a walk on the beach and a beer in the evening

Compared to the UK?

Well, I hardly ever used to read other than holidays, although I enjoy it
I never took trips for my photography as I had no time
Gardening was always a chore which I had to finish quickly
And life was a rush ..... I was always knackered

I don't think you'll have a problem Pete ... the difference is you fill your life doing things you enjoy, rather than the things you had to do to get by.

jdr

I only have time to look after you lot.......

Yeah right..

jo-ann

Typical week is going to spanish classes for an hour 3 times a week followed by coffee and a chat with rest of group plus doing the homework, trying to talk spanish with my intercambio once a week, watercolour painting group meets once a week for 4 hours, learning to dance sevillanas, walking the dogs on the beach, trying out different restaurants, looking up things on the internet, photography, lots and lots of gardening and jobs around the house, painting and decorating etc. No time to get bored its a great life out here.

TheArmChairDetective

Pete, speaking as someone who is semi retired, you will find that a lot of people wont understand that time does seem to slip by without being noticed
Having a to-do list is important as a must-do list for things that matter, like learning/improving spanish, or working out how old mitzyboy is to retire so young and still have dosh
What you have to remember is that eventually we all retire, some people manage to enjoy it more than others because they rememberd the 7 "P's" and prepaired properly.
Time you started on that must-do list mate

mikelincs

LOL...

mikelincs

we know friends out here who complain they have nothing to do, well we keep busy with hobbies, both old ones and starting new ones. I garden, but have a very small garden and many pots, so although there is not a lot, I can easily spend an hour or two tidying things, removing dead flowers etc, planting new seeds, setting up new pots, and it doesn't take over, in the UK when working I started each year full of good intentions, but once smmer came along, anf weeds were growing too quickly I just didn't have the time to do it all, so it got to be a CHORE that HAD to be done.

Mitzyboy

Smart (lucky) investment in property over the years and 10 years running my own business working 10-12 hour days. I'm only 53 but I look like 112.

TheArmChairDetective

I quite often have "If he can why can't I moment" nothing personal intended
I always felt you were younger than I, but alas wrong in that also

What was your business if you don't mind me asking, or is that a pm question?

Mitzyboy

International Shipping
We served Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Norway, Spain & strangely enough Hong Kong

Big_john

I actually retired when I was 46, and since then have just bought the odd pieces of land and old houses as and when , even though it was my profession.

I trained as a Carpenter & Joiner, then went on to become a Quantity Surveyor but still enjoy building but without the pressure except what I set myself.

I have other hobbies like motorcycles, 4x4's and off roading, travelling around Spain, Computers, photography, cycling.

You can never get bored out here there are so many things to do and see and so little time left to do them

TheArmChairDetective

Thanks for that info Big John, I'm into 4x4's too I am on my fourth Land Rover, two RR's and now my second Disco (D2 TD5) wanted a D3 but hey you can buy a house for the same money. Off-roading, yep me too Salisbury Plain.

Thanks for sharing mitzyboy.
Funnily enough, my forum name is a big clue to my job prior to retirement at 50, but my experience and quals have not gotten me anywhere as of yet

Big_john

Hi,

My Disco D2 TD5 chipped has over 350,000kms from when I bought it new some 4 yrs ago, and lots of people moan about them but for me it's been a great vehicle on & off road & has alway's been reliable, if I could buy another one with v low mileage I would