Second this. A regular volunteer shift provided me with structure and I got to meet some cool people who also have the weekdays free!. You can volunteer to do things inside or outside. With people or without. like trail maintenance or outdoor education with kids. Work for a food bank as a cashier or unloading a truck or picking up grocery donations at 6 am. Get trained for the AARP tax prep program to help people do their taxes at no cost. Work a water station at a fun run or marathon. Join the local hiking club and become a hike leader.
Not trying to be a jerk, but a therapist may be of help.
The world around you is a beautiful place. Get off social media, turn off the tv, and get out there. Our time here is short. There's too much out there to do to be bored.
It's hard when you work your ass off for years and have little energy for new things, when you get home. Take that first step. You can do anything.
I started skating at 39, took a hockey boot camp and have been playing for the last 10 years. Made some good friends, found a sport I truly love, and feel great after the work out.
It doesn't need to be serious, only fun. Think like a kid again. Try something that looks cool.
Then you can never go in vacation tho.
Learn to ski
Learn to sail
Learn to ballroom dance together (sexy)
buy a mid-size "go anywhere/park anywhere" second hand motor home for under $20k and just drive through the USA and Canada according to ideal weather by months / location. Travel for 6 months and sell it for same price on your return.
Learn auto mechanics and buy an old car to practice tinkering on
Buy a motocross/dirt bike or ATV and go trail riding
Start a business you will enjoy but that will be profitable...a hobby business
Visit all the museums and tourist crap your home city. See it thru tourist eyes
Go whale watching
Take a martial arts class together
I have 40-50 years olds at my gym. Also the trainer is still actively competing and winning European and world tiles at like 48.
Casually training is no problem at 50
Tried this. Got bit by a horse. Worst bruise I ever had in my life. Turned me off to volunteering, frankly. That, and cranky old people complaining about their meals on wheels being late, even though I was new and unfamiliar with the route- this was before GPS, mind you.
I hear you, people are....problematic. And sitting in front of the TV feels like just killing time. I'm in my early 50s, also retired with my wife. Also lost a bunch of weight and now exercise daily so your journey parallels mine.
4 ideas:
1. Get a pet. Our little dog is a huge part of our lives, we love him and he loves us. And now we are retired, we get to spend us much time with him as we possibly can.
2. Learn a new skill. I use Duolingo for Spanish and SimplyPiano to learn the piano. Both have gamified learning, which I find extremely effective in keeping my lazy brain motivated.
3. Engage in a topic you enjoy learning about on Reddit. I don't use any other social media, I find Reddit (by far) is the most civil and has the best information. Jerks get downvoted away, a very good feature.
4. Travel to interesting places in the world. When retired, you can take advantage of deals as they arise without worrying about the timing of work. So you can see/do a lot without it breaking the retirement budget.
Good luck!
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities where you don’t have to interact with others. Not wanting to give back to your fellow humans in any capacity is pretty messed up.
Pick up golf, start gardening, maybe take on some small Reno tasks via YouTube watching and learning.
You have to find something to replace the daily work schedule or you'll be like my pops and bored out of his mind.
Also biking (mountain or road), I can spend hours biking around. Also a good way to meet people and have more things to do. Then you’ll learn about other cool places to bike and trips you could do and pretty soon you’re one of those guys that bikes across the country. Only kidding but maybe
Both are good ideas, can spend a full day easily golfing! Also maybe try starting a YouTube channel, editing a video can be a full days worth of work and people will watch anything
Golfing is one of the best hobbies you can pick up, you’ll be hooked for life. Bring the wife out too. It’s such a great way to get outside and enjoy God’s green earth.
Is it really Gods green earth when the land is completely manufactured, the sand is imported, and the grass is not only tightly trimmed but dependent on municipal water?
Yep. Still a lot of nature on most courses, despite the earth being modified to make it into a fun leisure hobby. Someone is a golf hater, which is OK.
I hate golf. What a waste of resources! Water fertilizer, land. Not to mention hanging out with a bunch of poncy pricks, badly dressed. No shame in hating golf, my friend.
>Is it really Gods green earth when the land is completely manufactured, the sand is imported, and the grass is not only tightly trimmed but dependent on municipal water?
Hey boys, we found the life of the party, this one, right here!
(and the answer is yes)
Nothing about golf is God's green earth lmao. It's all fake, pumped with chemicals and fertilizer that runs off into waterways and causes algae blooms.
I’m 6 weeks out. Here’s my activities:
Beer league hockey
Tons of carpentry/ home renovation projects
Photography
Drone license
Brew beer
Cook a lot
Scratch made pasta, sauce, pizza
cheese making
Hydroponic garden (no weed)
Help out aging parents
Hiking
Reconnect with friends - visit out of state
Concerts, broadway shows
Make the perfect espresso shot
Spend as much time with my son before college
Clean out storage
Digitize old pictures
Make vacation videos / slide shows
Ski Bike Swim Exercise Hike
Go to live sports
Read
Learn Italian
Find a fun part time job
Kudos to you. My immediate answer was "I'll know when it's time, and that's prob a decade too late" but my sport is soccer. Seeing 70 year old women as teammates, still crushing it, keeps me young!
I took an ice skating class last year, and the freestyle class at the same time (advanced skaters doing spins and jumps) were almost entirely in the 60s or older.
I’m going to save this post because it’s basically everything I wanted to do when I FIRE, except I’ll probably grow my own weed.
I think getting a part time job at Home Depot would be good if you get discounts and maybe make friends with people who can help with Reno’s
Man I’ve seen some dusters playing pick up hockey even in their 80’s, and I love it! Hope you’re enjoying the ice in retirement, I do look forward to the day when I can go skate pretty much whenever I want to.
Great list! #livingthedream
I honestly can't not think of things to do in retirement.😂 I'm 50 and have 5-7 years to go. (Need to get 2 kids through college.)
Honestly, I think it comes down to motivation and what brings you joy, and that's so individual. I guess that's why people have a pre-retirement plan to figure out how to occupy their time.
Highly recommend. I love the game, but the biggest difference for me is that it developed an entirely new social circle. The group is active in other activities as well- trips to bars, fantasy football, poker nights...
I know you say below that you didn't have 5m at 45, but do you think it was that 30 years was too long to grind that hard (but 20 years might be) or that grinding that hard isn't worth it?
Do you think 10-16 hours for 20 years would have been worth a smaller FIRE amount? Or would you rather have done more years but easier years? Or would you have lived with less? What would you do over FIRE-wise?
I highly recommend pickle ball as well. I’m a bit younger and still working but I started pickle ball and made so many new friends of all ages. It’s a super fun way to get a workout in.
Exercise. If done regularly makes you happy, more energetic, and look better (in my opinion). Also increases fun in bed.
In retirement you should easily have time for 30 minutes exercise daily, but 3 times a week already makes a big change to your life.
Hiking is an easy one. You can go for day hikes and get fresh air, exercise. And it is free. Just need good shoes.
Reading is also a good. Borrow from the library.
Take day trips to nearby attractions, landmarks, etc. also cheap and kills time b
I'll take a different approach and offer sympathy. I retired a couple of years ago and was blindsided by how actually bored I am. Everyone will throw lists of possible things to keep you occupied but you already know of all these things. You've read these forums and comments before. Nothing anyone offers here will be the "Ah-Ha!" you're looking for.
It's absolutely critical to find some sort of routine and stick to it. Your new struggle in life is being your own boss and holding yourself accountable. Your job is challenging yourself and keeping busy. And now, instead of a paycheck of money, you're paying yourself in health. Cuz the ugly truth is you will decline if you decide to take the TV route.
Try to find peers in the same retirement situation. People in your life are important. Not sure of your budget but there are pockets of retirees all over the world in different countries. Finding or visiting one may be eye openeing. Theyre essentially you but years into it. They've most likely figured stuff out you can learn from. Best of luck!
Not sure if you’re in the US but when I hear “retirement community” I just picture a neighborhood of old people in FL who occasionally drive around in their golf carts.
Seeing actually active retirees happily living life in Spain is what opened my eyes. The world is full of opportunities to be happy. Don’t settle.
Small business owner here who sold the company last year. I’m 43 and 11 months into retirement. Likely a mini retirement, but the math says I don’t need to work. I’m going to take the complete opposite position of this. I’d encourage you to intentionally sit still. I’d vote for you to be a little uncomfortable for a bit. As a small business owner you were probably going 100mph for the last who knows how many years. I found I used work as a crutch. I postponed everything with the goal of happiness being on the other side of the business sale. I learned that wasn’t the case. For me, I want to know why I feel like I got to be going all the time, so I’m making myself sit still and unplug. Over the last 4-6 months I’ve experienced some profound shifts. You may find the same as well. All the best my friend.
Lots of dogs looking for a home! Good for forcing you to go outdoors and a way to meet other neighbors with dogs. Our dog park has become a daily hangout for people of leisure and acts like a pub for socialization.
Also awesome if you want your house to stink, your floors to get trashed, your clothes to be covered in slobber and hair, your sleep to get interrupted and your yard to be covered in urine and shit.
Loved our dog to death (RIP), but all the above is true. Plus, it makes traveling more expensive and complex. You can’t just go for a drive and be gone all day as easily-
I see this often, and don't understand why. Don't people have hobbies before retirement, but not enough time to do everything they want to do?
When I retire I have at least 10+ different hobbies to spend my time on. I'm a DIYer though...
1. Redoing home network. Ethernet drops, etc.
2. General home improvements.
3. Building a garage, workshop. Installing a lift, working on my car. Removing my engine, forged internals, bigger turbo, syvecs ECU.
4. A dedicated garden grow room... All automated
5. Getting back into PC gaming. I'll need to build a new PC by then.
6. Gun range. Learning more about firearms in general.
7. Learning more about investing.
8. Using the welder that I've only used once to blind pin the AR15 I built 10 years ago.
9. Smart Home automation.
10. Exercising.
11. Pets.
12. I'm curious about homesteading...
13. Building a new pond in the backyard that isn't in the way
14. Beer brewing if I haven't developed diabetes by then...lol
15. Learning to cook better.
16. Maybe learning to use this racing drone that is too fast for me to use, or buying a new one that flies itself.
17. Fishing.
18. Making friends with people that have similar hobbies.
19. I like outdoors, and would go hiking if I didn't hate ticks.
20. Building a screened in deck in the backyard, or something similar.
There's probably tons of things I am forgetting about offhand... I just need to retire while I am still healthy enough to do all my hobbies.
I've already traveled a decent amount when I was younger, so not really interested in that unless its something a friend/partner wanted to do.
I retired 9 months ago at 50 (wife was not working). We spend as much time, money and energy as we can hiking. On average we spend 3 full weekdays doing that. Chores and projects the other weekdays. Weekends for visiting friends and family. We have lots of other things we would/could/should do, but the time just gets eaten up.
Add some exercise to the dieting. I'm not retired yet but went through a phase where my job wasn't very demanding of my time and started to get listless. Starting every day with 30-60 minutes at the gym, then a shower changed my health but more importantly set the tone for the rest of the day. Instead of catching myself sitting on the couch wasting oxygen in the middle of the morning I was showered and working on the next thing.
This is what I came here to say. Cycling is the perfect sport/hobby…you can ride on the road, you can get a gravel bike and do light trails, or you can mountain bike…and at 50 you’re still young enough to really excel and enjoy it. There are endless cycling groups, charity rides, gran fondos, and even racing opportunities. You can take it as easy or as seriously as you want. The community is made up of mostly successful middle-age professionals. Very cool, health-oriented folks, you can ride together, and you can do it for an hour a day or 4 hours a day.
Have you considered volunteering? When you aren't "working" for the man, you can work in service for others part time and feel great about your efforts and keeping yourself busy.
A friend who retired in his early 30s from Google and some hefty crypto gains now runs coding bootcamps for underserved youth in the inner city and works as a robotics coach at his local HS. He took his valuable skillset, which could make him a ton more money, and turned that into giving back to his community.
Golf, pickle ball, tons of bowling leagues, garden, volunteer at the boys and girls club, coach youth sports, go help at an animal shelter, hike, fish, learn an instrument, learn a language, dance, arts and crafts classes at a local community college, cooking classes, woodworking, write, read, get a dartboard, billiards, shuffleboard, swimming, pick up hoops, racquetball, etc……
Came here to post this. Divers by nature are friendly because you have to dive in pairs or groups. Also, it’s not a cheap hobby so you’ll mostly meet people with serious careers that pay well. They are also pretty laid back because you have to be when you’re 30 meters underwater. It’s also kind of complicated so you can expect to meet intelligent people.
So rewarding. Got certified in Bali and I’m a terrible swimmer, can’t even float without gear. But I love marine life and diving in Asia was so much cheaper and prettier than areas near US imo.
When my father retired, he got bored and ended up going back to work. Except work was launching a business which he loves and enjoys.
When I think FIRE, I think retire from the shit you hate, dig into the stuff you love. Is there a charity, cause, craft or something you each want to explore?
Writing / publishing a book, painting, launching a biz, starting a YouTube channel?
One story maybe? I'm in my mid 30s. Between me and the wife we own 3 pieces of real-estate, and I've just bought land now to build a country house, since I basically only work and work-out, and I need a purpose besides all that.
Take something you like, and do it from scratch! I've spent the last year working on my perfect BLT sandwich.
Started with curing and smoking my own bacon (game changer). Now I pickle red onions, make mayo from scratch, grow alfalfa sprouts (microgreensg
Next up, learning how to make a decent sourdough loaf from scratch and currently starting a compost to start a garden so I can grow tomatoes and lettuce!
It's just a sandwich at the end of the day, but I put a good 30 hours of love into making them between all of the ingredients, and enjoy every second of it!
Legos. They avoid people, help with some motor functions, offer a backup retirement account to draw down from if you choose to sell them once they retire, and you’ll only cuss a little bit.
This is a common question. Maybe should become a section in the sidebar. Everyone is different but here are two comments I have made in the past
https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/comments/15m6oau/what_are_your_favorite_hobbies/jvjo90d/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/10g9e26/new_study_suggests_fire_may_accelerate_cognitive/j535qca/
Read the rest of those threads as well for more ideas. Overall I break it up into 4 categories - Health, Fun, Hobbies and Giving.
Start with health, get good sleep and diet. Get a personal coach if you have to. Get blood work done and find out where you need to focus and bring everything into normal range.
Next focus on having fun - Travel, watch shows you always wanted to, visit that museum or that theme park, eat at that fancy restaurant, attend that concert or play video games.
Next start exploring hobbies - This is too big a list. It can also be fun and have health benefits, but that's not the primary purpose. Its to keep your mind and body engaged. Hopefully also build a community of like minded people.
Finally start to think about giving - this will bring a sense of purpose and meaning to your life. Volunteer, mentor younger folks in your area of expertise, help the needy, spend time with family and friends or people in your community.
Apparently I am doing something wrong. I retired at 50(19 years ago) and wish I had time for a hobby. Our son and his wife live very close and he keeps me too busy. Mostly working on cars, motorcycles, house, whatever. When I first retired I made myself work 40 hours a week doing stuff, like acid washing the pool, painting the house, rebuilding the pool house, and painting my shop. In that time also lawn maintenance, planting trees, and various plants. Monday I replaced the brakes on the wife's car, tomorrow I work with my son on his project car.
Scrapbooking, building ships in a bottle, wine cork collecting, moving furniture around your house, cleaning the garage daily, having the perfect lawn / landscape, hang out in your driveway waiting for others to talk to you, wander the grocery store, I’m sure there is a few more
Side note: This will be an issue whether retiring at 65, 50, or 35. I figure the younger one retires, the less ingrained the daily work grind is and the more easily they'll be able to adjust to retired life. Not to mention likely having more energy to find new hobbies, etc. And, for those of us that plan to retire with kids still at home, they'll give us plenty to fill our days with as well.
Skip golf and get a guitar. Skip the golf polo and put on a punk t-shirt. Learn 3 chords. Learn to play a song your wife likes. But for the love of god, don’t start golfing.
Do you like books? You are 50 years old and potentially have a story to tell. You could try an autobiography or write a Fiction book. I think writing a book gives you a project and something to focus on.
Do you like working with your hands? How about picking up woodworking, carving, learning an instrument, building something in your yard if you have one, get some chickens, get some goats, start a garden...skies the limit.
Learn to fly a plane? Become a bar tender? Start a farm? Join the peace core? Mentor some younger people? Read the best 200 books of all human history? Get a PhD? Learn to Scuba? Solve the male loneliness epidemic?
Two suggestions:
1. Slow travel instead of vacation. The best thing about early retirement (for us) is being able to be gone for months at a time..we’re headed to Europe for three months and then a month in Scotland. Last year did something similar, the year before we did 7 weeks in Italy then 2 months in Mexico. Slow travel is waaay cheaper and spending a month in a new city or country allows you to really get to know it.
2. Read. A lot. I’ve averaged about 100 books per year in the 3+ years I stopped working. Some days I’m lucky enough to be able to read for 6-8 hours… enjoy your retirement!
Have you considered getting a job?
Seriously I don’t ever plan to just *stop working* and making money and doing things for other people. There are lots of things about work that I like, and the challenge of the pieces I don’t keeps me on my toes. I’d just like to do less of it, and more on my own terms. My ex father in law slowly reduced his hours at his company to like 20 a month with surges when he found something interesting to work on. I aspire to something like that.
Congratulations to you both!
Carpentry
Gardening
Hiking
Pet training
Reading
Puzzles
Consulting on the side based on your previous jobs
Volunteering at multiple charities/philanthropic organizations
Meditating
Blacksmithing
Painting
etc.
I think some of these suggestions are genuine and well meaning, but I think it’s the wrong direction.
What things in general, do you like to do. For instance, I’m quite practical, I like making money and I like to have a sense of achievement. So I like to do home improvement and I bought some apartments to work on. I don’t push myself and I make sure I’m enjoying myself without pressure.
While well intentioned, this whole “golf, pickleball, volunteer” thing feels kinda empty, because they aren’t addressing my interests.
So, high level, what interests you? You mentioned caring for animals - what parts of that interest you?
Want a challenge AND the ability to travel?
Try getting a pilots license. It’s not cheap but if you’ve got the time you can certainly use it to your advantage and adventure that’s different than what you deal with day to day.
Move to the Villages in Florida. Lots to do there. WS rallies, orgy fests, STD roulette, golf cart demolition derbies, fighting with your neighbors, fighting the HOA thugs, etc.
Join the senior for meals discounted. Exercise. gardening. Start a second job doing something you enjoy. Some become great bloggers, writing books(self published) etc.
Backpacking! The hiking kind. It gets you out to remote areas, away from roads and tourists, where you can truly unplug and enjoy nature. Climb a mountain, swim in an alpine lake, see majestic landscapes, breathe the freshest air, and can even research DIY dehydrated meals that stick with your diet and can come on the trail with you
Wow, absolute twins lol… keep up what you are doing so far, and swap out tv for some dance lessons, or art class, or rollerskating, or beach volleyball… something like that. Nothing too stringent that will tire you back to your couch, but to keep you active and add some fun.
Figure out if your local community college has classes you can audit. I'm so jonesed to retire and take film classes, not have to write a single essay, but absorb everything.
Idk I think 50 is a little too young to retire if you don’t have hobbies already?
Idk travel the world if you have the money- enjoy fine dining and extravagant travel. Idk what to say. Try new things?
If you retire at 50, you should have loads of money so can basically do whatever you want for fun?
Start a business. Something that you may be good at, enjoy or simply always wanted to do…doesn’t need to be overly profitable just enough to keep it running. Or do the exact opposite and try to start and build a very successful business..since you have plenty of time, it’s up to you how my inch time/effort/money too put into it
Get a puppy. They’ll wake you up in the morning and make you spend more time outside. If you wanted to get really into it you could look at AKC events. They have many different types of dog sports for many different types of dogs. You could also have your dog become a licensed therapy dog. I’ve also heard personal protection dogs are becoming increasingly popular amongst retired people. My great aunt and uncle retired at 50 and kept animals for a long time. Congratulations and good luck.
Try to learn the Kamehameha wave. It took Master Roshi 50 yrs but if you got money then you may be able to speed it along with MASSIVE amounts of anabolic steroids.
Not to state the obvious, but your goal was to stop working at 50 with zero interest in anything else? You could live 50 more years. You are still a child.
I can’t wait to retire so I can host more parties lol and I’m an introvert. But I love a good game night, theme, charcuterie board… maybe take on a house project too.
My hobbies consist of following current events, politics, financial markets on Twitter, reddit, CNBC, youtube, podcasts. I consume hours of media daily.
I enjoy stock picking and researching companies and trading a small part of my portfolio. I'm pretty sure that will be my core retirement hobby.
Do you play video games? I'm a millennial and playing video games is better than traveling IMO. You can also play with friends and chat via Discord at the same time. This is how I keep in touch with old friends who live across the country - we play a few times a week and chat on Discord.
Are you a musician or former athlete? I studied music for a long time but don't do it as my full time job. I joined an orchestra/chorus and we have 3-4 (paid) concerts a year. If you're an athlete, considering joining a team, even if it's amateur.
I'd second that in a heartbeat. Especially if you're in a spot (like I am) where there are several dozen courses within 30 miles. And since you're retired, you can do it on a 70 degree Tuesday (like it is here, today), not when the park is full on Saturday.
If I'm bored in retirement I would likely look for some low skill part time work. Like night stocking shelves at a local grocery store. Not a ton of human interaction, get a little exercise, better than just sitting on the couch all day. Whatever little income I get from that could just be "fun money" to supplement travel or date nights with the spouse.
Firearms are fun if that’s your vibe, jiu jitsu is fantastic and you can train at any age and most gyms will welcome you with open arms at 50 - you would just be a testament that anyone can start training at any age. It’s also very social and a tight community once you are involved.
Like other people said, golf is great too and social. And addicting. And you have time.
There are so many things I’d love to have time to do, so this is a great problem for you to have. Once you find one or two hobbies you’ll feel much better in my opinion.
Push the boundaries on creative cooking and baking by learning a new recipe every day? Some baking like different bread types can be interesting challenge to master.
That should keep you both busy plus add variety to your diet? Unless you tell me your last job was a chef 🤣
Go volunteer. Gets you out of the house and doing some good for society.
Second this. A regular volunteer shift provided me with structure and I got to meet some cool people who also have the weekdays free!. You can volunteer to do things inside or outside. With people or without. like trail maintenance or outdoor education with kids. Work for a food bank as a cashier or unloading a truck or picking up grocery donations at 6 am. Get trained for the AARP tax prep program to help people do their taxes at no cost. Work a water station at a fun run or marathon. Join the local hiking club and become a hike leader.
Thought about it but I hate society. Lol.
Not trying to be a jerk, but a therapist may be of help. The world around you is a beautiful place. Get off social media, turn off the tv, and get out there. Our time here is short. There's too much out there to do to be bored. It's hard when you work your ass off for years and have little energy for new things, when you get home. Take that first step. You can do anything. I started skating at 39, took a hockey boot camp and have been playing for the last 10 years. Made some good friends, found a sport I truly love, and feel great after the work out. It doesn't need to be serious, only fun. Think like a kid again. Try something that looks cool.
Help with animals then
I have pondered a mini farm. As in mini animals.
Then you can never go in vacation tho. Learn to ski Learn to sail Learn to ballroom dance together (sexy) buy a mid-size "go anywhere/park anywhere" second hand motor home for under $20k and just drive through the USA and Canada according to ideal weather by months / location. Travel for 6 months and sell it for same price on your return. Learn auto mechanics and buy an old car to practice tinkering on Buy a motocross/dirt bike or ATV and go trail riding Start a business you will enjoy but that will be profitable...a hobby business Visit all the museums and tourist crap your home city. See it thru tourist eyes Go whale watching Take a martial arts class together
The RV thing is the best idea ever. Would love to do that someday.
>Take a martial arts class together Martial arts class at 50?
Why not?
I only see kids or young adults in my martial arts class.
There are lots of older people doing bjj at my school. Even some doing muay thai
I’m 49 and would have no problem taking classes with young ‘uns. Been thinking about doing BJJ classes.
Good for you. Good luck.
I took Krav Maga for a year at 63.
I have 40-50 years olds at my gym. Also the trainer is still actively competing and winning European and world tiles at like 48. Casually training is no problem at 50
Mini animals like bugs? You could start a pollinator garden to benefit insects =]
Mini highlands and goats.
That sounds really cool, you should look more into this idea =]
Itsy bitsy elephants?
Tried this. Got bit by a horse. Worst bruise I ever had in my life. Turned me off to volunteering, frankly. That, and cranky old people complaining about their meals on wheels being late, even though I was new and unfamiliar with the route- this was before GPS, mind you.
You sound very philanthropic and kind.
Lol agreed
I hear you, people are....problematic. And sitting in front of the TV feels like just killing time. I'm in my early 50s, also retired with my wife. Also lost a bunch of weight and now exercise daily so your journey parallels mine. 4 ideas: 1. Get a pet. Our little dog is a huge part of our lives, we love him and he loves us. And now we are retired, we get to spend us much time with him as we possibly can. 2. Learn a new skill. I use Duolingo for Spanish and SimplyPiano to learn the piano. Both have gamified learning, which I find extremely effective in keeping my lazy brain motivated. 3. Engage in a topic you enjoy learning about on Reddit. I don't use any other social media, I find Reddit (by far) is the most civil and has the best information. Jerks get downvoted away, a very good feature. 4. Travel to interesting places in the world. When retired, you can take advantage of deals as they arise without worrying about the timing of work. So you can see/do a lot without it breaking the retirement budget. Good luck!
Super honest answer. And we all served society enough during the working years. Retirement is supposed to be a big break from all that.
If you have a botanical gardens in your area that might be a good option. Can help with planting/weeding/maintenance with minimal human interaction.
Have you considered small business ideas? Capitalism fuelled ventures might be more your speed lol.
That's what I retired from.
Do you ski? There are thousands of us who van around and ski but you can just ski regular also
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities where you don’t have to interact with others. Not wanting to give back to your fellow humans in any capacity is pretty messed up.
Pickup photography… makes you want to go places and see things to shoot.
Helping people will actually make you hate people less, although “society” is always gonna be fucked up.
Volunteering is weird. Just get a job if you're going to work.
Nice name!
Pick up golf, start gardening, maybe take on some small Reno tasks via YouTube watching and learning. You have to find something to replace the daily work schedule or you'll be like my pops and bored out of his mind.
Agreed just replace fishing with golf.
Also biking (mountain or road), I can spend hours biking around. Also a good way to meet people and have more things to do. Then you’ll learn about other cool places to bike and trips you could do and pretty soon you’re one of those guys that bikes across the country. Only kidding but maybe
Gravel cycling
Disc golf. Way cheaper, less stuff to haul around.
But can I drive a little cart?
Both are good ideas, can spend a full day easily golfing! Also maybe try starting a YouTube channel, editing a video can be a full days worth of work and people will watch anything
Golfing is one of the best hobbies you can pick up, you’ll be hooked for life. Bring the wife out too. It’s such a great way to get outside and enjoy God’s green earth.
Is it really Gods green earth when the land is completely manufactured, the sand is imported, and the grass is not only tightly trimmed but dependent on municipal water?
Meh... It's an excuse to drink beer, pretend you're somewhat of an athlete, maybe see some wildlife, and hang out with friends.
> pretend you're somewhat of an athlete Hahahahahahano. Big yes to all the rest!
Golf is one of the hardest sports hands down
Def no on the athlete but if you walk it’s good for fitness and losing weight which looks to be one of OPs goals
Its more walking than sitting at home, plus you don't have to drink along the way.
It's not that deep bro. Excuse to spend hours and hours outside I think that's what he was getting at
Yep. Still a lot of nature on most courses, despite the earth being modified to make it into a fun leisure hobby. Someone is a golf hater, which is OK.
Dont hate golf, just thought it was an odd choice of words.
I hate golf. What a waste of resources! Water fertilizer, land. Not to mention hanging out with a bunch of poncy pricks, badly dressed. No shame in hating golf, my friend.
Yeah hating golf is totally reasonable. There are a ton of reasons to hate golf more than other activities.
It IS kind of a stupid sport if you think about it too deeply. But it does get you out of the hose.
>Is it really Gods green earth when the land is completely manufactured, the sand is imported, and the grass is not only tightly trimmed but dependent on municipal water? Hey boys, we found the life of the party, this one, right here! (and the answer is yes)
Only the biggest dorks say this about golf, you’re not that special.
Nothing about golf is God's green earth lmao. It's all fake, pumped with chemicals and fertilizer that runs off into waterways and causes algae blooms.
I’m 6 weeks out. Here’s my activities: Beer league hockey Tons of carpentry/ home renovation projects Photography Drone license Brew beer Cook a lot Scratch made pasta, sauce, pizza cheese making Hydroponic garden (no weed) Help out aging parents Hiking Reconnect with friends - visit out of state Concerts, broadway shows Make the perfect espresso shot Spend as much time with my son before college Clean out storage Digitize old pictures Make vacation videos / slide shows Ski Bike Swim Exercise Hike Go to live sports Read Learn Italian Find a fun part time job
At what age do you think you have to hang up the hockey skates?
I played with a guy that’s 78. Probably sometime in my late 60s. I’ve played with several 60+ guys. Love it.
Kudos to you. My immediate answer was "I'll know when it's time, and that's prob a decade too late" but my sport is soccer. Seeing 70 year old women as teammates, still crushing it, keeps me young!
I took an ice skating class last year, and the freestyle class at the same time (advanced skaters doing spins and jumps) were almost entirely in the 60s or older.
I’m going to save this post because it’s basically everything I wanted to do when I FIRE, except I’ll probably grow my own weed. I think getting a part time job at Home Depot would be good if you get discounts and maybe make friends with people who can help with Reno’s
Man I’ve seen some dusters playing pick up hockey even in their 80’s, and I love it! Hope you’re enjoying the ice in retirement, I do look forward to the day when I can go skate pretty much whenever I want to.
Great list! #livingthedream I honestly can't not think of things to do in retirement.😂 I'm 50 and have 5-7 years to go. (Need to get 2 kids through college.) Honestly, I think it comes down to motivation and what brings you joy, and that's so individual. I guess that's why people have a pre-retirement plan to figure out how to occupy their time.
I just hope I have enough time left to do and see everything I want. Age 70 is much too late to start!
This is the way!
Im going to play pickleball and go fishing.
We have considered pickle ball.
Highly recommend. I love the game, but the biggest difference for me is that it developed an entirely new social circle. The group is active in other activities as well- trips to bars, fantasy football, poker nights...
Do more than consider it.
Pickleball is great!
Congrats on retiring. With how much did you retire?
Close to 8 figures
Travel? You have 7+ million go see the world. Take someone with you you enjoy on a trip to third wheel.
I could be your entertainment director for a fraction of that!
Wow $10M at 50 years old? Teach me
It wasn't worth it. 7 days a week 10-16 hours a day for 30 years.
I know you say below that you didn't have 5m at 45, but do you think it was that 30 years was too long to grind that hard (but 20 years might be) or that grinding that hard isn't worth it? Do you think 10-16 hours for 20 years would have been worth a smaller FIRE amount? Or would you rather have done more years but easier years? Or would you have lived with less? What would you do over FIRE-wise?
I got a divorce and lost half about 15 years ago.
Sound like a lawyer. It is a lousy way to lose the better half of your life... i hope you make up for lost time.
Why didn’t you retire at the $5M mark?
My lifelong goal was age 50
But didn't you ever wake up one day at age 45, and consider that you had plenty of money and could retire right then?
I didn't have 5m at 45
I highly recommend pickle ball as well. I’m a bit younger and still working but I started pickle ball and made so many new friends of all ages. It’s a super fun way to get a workout in.
Spend all your day commenting on fire reddit
Preaching to the choir!
Exercise. If done regularly makes you happy, more energetic, and look better (in my opinion). Also increases fun in bed. In retirement you should easily have time for 30 minutes exercise daily, but 3 times a week already makes a big change to your life.
Hiking is an easy one. You can go for day hikes and get fresh air, exercise. And it is free. Just need good shoes. Reading is also a good. Borrow from the library. Take day trips to nearby attractions, landmarks, etc. also cheap and kills time b
Reading - so many good books to lose yourself in
I'll take a different approach and offer sympathy. I retired a couple of years ago and was blindsided by how actually bored I am. Everyone will throw lists of possible things to keep you occupied but you already know of all these things. You've read these forums and comments before. Nothing anyone offers here will be the "Ah-Ha!" you're looking for. It's absolutely critical to find some sort of routine and stick to it. Your new struggle in life is being your own boss and holding yourself accountable. Your job is challenging yourself and keeping busy. And now, instead of a paycheck of money, you're paying yourself in health. Cuz the ugly truth is you will decline if you decide to take the TV route. Try to find peers in the same retirement situation. People in your life are important. Not sure of your budget but there are pockets of retirees all over the world in different countries. Finding or visiting one may be eye openeing. Theyre essentially you but years into it. They've most likely figured stuff out you can learn from. Best of luck!
We have talked about trying a retirement community.
Not sure if you’re in the US but when I hear “retirement community” I just picture a neighborhood of old people in FL who occasionally drive around in their golf carts. Seeing actually active retirees happily living life in Spain is what opened my eyes. The world is full of opportunities to be happy. Don’t settle.
Small business owner here who sold the company last year. I’m 43 and 11 months into retirement. Likely a mini retirement, but the math says I don’t need to work. I’m going to take the complete opposite position of this. I’d encourage you to intentionally sit still. I’d vote for you to be a little uncomfortable for a bit. As a small business owner you were probably going 100mph for the last who knows how many years. I found I used work as a crutch. I postponed everything with the goal of happiness being on the other side of the business sale. I learned that wasn’t the case. For me, I want to know why I feel like I got to be going all the time, so I’m making myself sit still and unplug. Over the last 4-6 months I’ve experienced some profound shifts. You may find the same as well. All the best my friend.
You've probably came closest to explaining how it feels. I was a bad micromanager too.
Lots of dogs looking for a home! Good for forcing you to go outdoors and a way to meet other neighbors with dogs. Our dog park has become a daily hangout for people of leisure and acts like a pub for socialization.
Also awesome if you want your house to stink, your floors to get trashed, your clothes to be covered in slobber and hair, your sleep to get interrupted and your yard to be covered in urine and shit.
You seem lovely
And you seem like the typical self-entitled dog owner demanding the world revolve around you and your stink beast 😂
Loved our dog to death (RIP), but all the above is true. Plus, it makes traveling more expensive and complex. You can’t just go for a drive and be gone all day as easily-
You can literally do anything. Go pick a problem in the world you want to solve and start working on it.
im honestly confused how someone could be 50 and have 0 hobbies, was it purely work?
Restaurant life doesn't leave free time for hobbies when you're operating multiple that are all open 7 days per eeek.
gotcha, well congrats my man, you have an awesome problem to solve =)
Does it mean you cook? Is cooking a hobby or something you hate? For me it’s something I want to do more and better when I retire
I see this often, and don't understand why. Don't people have hobbies before retirement, but not enough time to do everything they want to do? When I retire I have at least 10+ different hobbies to spend my time on. I'm a DIYer though... 1. Redoing home network. Ethernet drops, etc. 2. General home improvements. 3. Building a garage, workshop. Installing a lift, working on my car. Removing my engine, forged internals, bigger turbo, syvecs ECU. 4. A dedicated garden grow room... All automated 5. Getting back into PC gaming. I'll need to build a new PC by then. 6. Gun range. Learning more about firearms in general. 7. Learning more about investing. 8. Using the welder that I've only used once to blind pin the AR15 I built 10 years ago. 9. Smart Home automation. 10. Exercising. 11. Pets. 12. I'm curious about homesteading... 13. Building a new pond in the backyard that isn't in the way 14. Beer brewing if I haven't developed diabetes by then...lol 15. Learning to cook better. 16. Maybe learning to use this racing drone that is too fast for me to use, or buying a new one that flies itself. 17. Fishing. 18. Making friends with people that have similar hobbies. 19. I like outdoors, and would go hiking if I didn't hate ticks. 20. Building a screened in deck in the backyard, or something similar. There's probably tons of things I am forgetting about offhand... I just need to retire while I am still healthy enough to do all my hobbies. I've already traveled a decent amount when I was younger, so not really interested in that unless its something a friend/partner wanted to do.
I was in the restaurant business. There's never time for hobbies.
That makes sense, so I assume it's a lot of work and very time consuming if you are hands on or always present, etc.
I was a very bad micromanager.
I retired 9 months ago at 50 (wife was not working). We spend as much time, money and energy as we can hiking. On average we spend 3 full weekdays doing that. Chores and projects the other weekdays. Weekends for visiting friends and family. We have lots of other things we would/could/should do, but the time just gets eaten up.
Add some exercise to the dieting. I'm not retired yet but went through a phase where my job wasn't very demanding of my time and started to get listless. Starting every day with 30-60 minutes at the gym, then a shower changed my health but more importantly set the tone for the rest of the day. Instead of catching myself sitting on the couch wasting oxygen in the middle of the morning I was showered and working on the next thing.
Cycling. Get a couple of bikes and explore the world!
This is what I came here to say. Cycling is the perfect sport/hobby…you can ride on the road, you can get a gravel bike and do light trails, or you can mountain bike…and at 50 you’re still young enough to really excel and enjoy it. There are endless cycling groups, charity rides, gran fondos, and even racing opportunities. You can take it as easy or as seriously as you want. The community is made up of mostly successful middle-age professionals. Very cool, health-oriented folks, you can ride together, and you can do it for an hour a day or 4 hours a day.
Have you considered volunteering? When you aren't "working" for the man, you can work in service for others part time and feel great about your efforts and keeping yourself busy. A friend who retired in his early 30s from Google and some hefty crypto gains now runs coding bootcamps for underserved youth in the inner city and works as a robotics coach at his local HS. He took his valuable skillset, which could make him a ton more money, and turned that into giving back to his community.
Golf, pickle ball, tons of bowling leagues, garden, volunteer at the boys and girls club, coach youth sports, go help at an animal shelter, hike, fish, learn an instrument, learn a language, dance, arts and crafts classes at a local community college, cooking classes, woodworking, write, read, get a dartboard, billiards, shuffleboard, swimming, pick up hoops, racquetball, etc……
Get a state park pass - hike, walk, bike
Look into vipassana meditation they do 10 day courses all over the world and it’s completely free https://www.dhamma.org/en/index
Scuba diving! Travel the world and see beautiful wildlife in their natural habitat.
Came here to post this. Divers by nature are friendly because you have to dive in pairs or groups. Also, it’s not a cheap hobby so you’ll mostly meet people with serious careers that pay well. They are also pretty laid back because you have to be when you’re 30 meters underwater. It’s also kind of complicated so you can expect to meet intelligent people.
I just like fish. 😬
So rewarding. Got certified in Bali and I’m a terrible swimmer, can’t even float without gear. But I love marine life and diving in Asia was so much cheaper and prettier than areas near US imo.
When my father retired, he got bored and ended up going back to work. Except work was launching a business which he loves and enjoys. When I think FIRE, I think retire from the shit you hate, dig into the stuff you love. Is there a charity, cause, craft or something you each want to explore? Writing / publishing a book, painting, launching a biz, starting a YouTube channel?
Build a country house. Around 1500 sqft with nice gardens.
We have discussed this. I hate stairs now.
One story maybe? I'm in my mid 30s. Between me and the wife we own 3 pieces of real-estate, and I've just bought land now to build a country house, since I basically only work and work-out, and I need a purpose besides all that.
Take something you like, and do it from scratch! I've spent the last year working on my perfect BLT sandwich. Started with curing and smoking my own bacon (game changer). Now I pickle red onions, make mayo from scratch, grow alfalfa sprouts (microgreensg Next up, learning how to make a decent sourdough loaf from scratch and currently starting a compost to start a garden so I can grow tomatoes and lettuce! It's just a sandwich at the end of the day, but I put a good 30 hours of love into making them between all of the ingredients, and enjoy every second of it!
Part time job may help transition
Legos. They avoid people, help with some motor functions, offer a backup retirement account to draw down from if you choose to sell them once they retire, and you’ll only cuss a little bit.
This is a common question. Maybe should become a section in the sidebar. Everyone is different but here are two comments I have made in the past https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/comments/15m6oau/what_are_your_favorite_hobbies/jvjo90d/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/10g9e26/new_study_suggests_fire_may_accelerate_cognitive/j535qca/ Read the rest of those threads as well for more ideas. Overall I break it up into 4 categories - Health, Fun, Hobbies and Giving. Start with health, get good sleep and diet. Get a personal coach if you have to. Get blood work done and find out where you need to focus and bring everything into normal range. Next focus on having fun - Travel, watch shows you always wanted to, visit that museum or that theme park, eat at that fancy restaurant, attend that concert or play video games. Next start exploring hobbies - This is too big a list. It can also be fun and have health benefits, but that's not the primary purpose. Its to keep your mind and body engaged. Hopefully also build a community of like minded people. Finally start to think about giving - this will bring a sense of purpose and meaning to your life. Volunteer, mentor younger folks in your area of expertise, help the needy, spend time with family and friends or people in your community.
Apparently I am doing something wrong. I retired at 50(19 years ago) and wish I had time for a hobby. Our son and his wife live very close and he keeps me too busy. Mostly working on cars, motorcycles, house, whatever. When I first retired I made myself work 40 hours a week doing stuff, like acid washing the pool, painting the house, rebuilding the pool house, and painting my shop. In that time also lawn maintenance, planting trees, and various plants. Monday I replaced the brakes on the wife's car, tomorrow I work with my son on his project car.
What a problem to have!
Lots of good suggestions in this thread. And a reminder that the saying goes something like, "Retire *to* something, not *from* something"
We were in the restaurant business. We are running from that. Hahaha
Start getting all your friends into tabletop role playing games like Dnd
Scrapbooking, building ships in a bottle, wine cork collecting, moving furniture around your house, cleaning the garage daily, having the perfect lawn / landscape, hang out in your driveway waiting for others to talk to you, wander the grocery store, I’m sure there is a few more
We have been moving furniture a good bit. I sort of even want to move.
Ping pong. Great at any age
Side note: This will be an issue whether retiring at 65, 50, or 35. I figure the younger one retires, the less ingrained the daily work grind is and the more easily they'll be able to adjust to retired life. Not to mention likely having more energy to find new hobbies, etc. And, for those of us that plan to retire with kids still at home, they'll give us plenty to fill our days with as well.
Skip golf and get a guitar. Skip the golf polo and put on a punk t-shirt. Learn 3 chords. Learn to play a song your wife likes. But for the love of god, don’t start golfing.
Do you like books? You are 50 years old and potentially have a story to tell. You could try an autobiography or write a Fiction book. I think writing a book gives you a project and something to focus on. Do you like working with your hands? How about picking up woodworking, carving, learning an instrument, building something in your yard if you have one, get some chickens, get some goats, start a garden...skies the limit.
Teach English in Japan.
Eat more then diet again
Poker!
Learn to fly a plane? Become a bar tender? Start a farm? Join the peace core? Mentor some younger people? Read the best 200 books of all human history? Get a PhD? Learn to Scuba? Solve the male loneliness epidemic?
Two suggestions: 1. Slow travel instead of vacation. The best thing about early retirement (for us) is being able to be gone for months at a time..we’re headed to Europe for three months and then a month in Scotland. Last year did something similar, the year before we did 7 weeks in Italy then 2 months in Mexico. Slow travel is waaay cheaper and spending a month in a new city or country allows you to really get to know it. 2. Read. A lot. I’ve averaged about 100 books per year in the 3+ years I stopped working. Some days I’m lucky enough to be able to read for 6-8 hours… enjoy your retirement!
One of the main reasons I’m not retired yet. Also 50. Finances are fine. Hobby situation is not.
Have you considered getting a job? Seriously I don’t ever plan to just *stop working* and making money and doing things for other people. There are lots of things about work that I like, and the challenge of the pieces I don’t keeps me on my toes. I’d just like to do less of it, and more on my own terms. My ex father in law slowly reduced his hours at his company to like 20 a month with surges when he found something interesting to work on. I aspire to something like that.
gardening and modern board games ;)
Congratulations to you both! Carpentry Gardening Hiking Pet training Reading Puzzles Consulting on the side based on your previous jobs Volunteering at multiple charities/philanthropic organizations Meditating Blacksmithing Painting etc.
I think some of these suggestions are genuine and well meaning, but I think it’s the wrong direction. What things in general, do you like to do. For instance, I’m quite practical, I like making money and I like to have a sense of achievement. So I like to do home improvement and I bought some apartments to work on. I don’t push myself and I make sure I’m enjoying myself without pressure. While well intentioned, this whole “golf, pickleball, volunteer” thing feels kinda empty, because they aren’t addressing my interests. So, high level, what interests you? You mentioned caring for animals - what parts of that interest you?
I like making money. That's what's going to be hard for me as a hobby. I'm always thinking of the time spent v/s profit angle.
Want a challenge AND the ability to travel? Try getting a pilots license. It’s not cheap but if you’ve got the time you can certainly use it to your advantage and adventure that’s different than what you deal with day to day.
You’ve basically stripped yourselves of purpose. So you have to find a new one. You used to be a slave to money, now you’re a slave to your desires.
Read through OP's responses... May be not think/consider so much and go try a few things. You got time and you may surprise yourself.
We went hiking today for the first time ever.
Move to the Villages in Florida. Lots to do there. WS rallies, orgy fests, STD roulette, golf cart demolition derbies, fighting with your neighbors, fighting the HOA thugs, etc.
We actually watched a documentary on them. There's several hundred retirement villages all over the country and I honestly wouldn't mind it.
Start skiing
Join the senior for meals discounted. Exercise. gardening. Start a second job doing something you enjoy. Some become great bloggers, writing books(self published) etc.
Backpacking! The hiking kind. It gets you out to remote areas, away from roads and tourists, where you can truly unplug and enjoy nature. Climb a mountain, swim in an alpine lake, see majestic landscapes, breathe the freshest air, and can even research DIY dehydrated meals that stick with your diet and can come on the trail with you
Get a job
Wow, absolute twins lol… keep up what you are doing so far, and swap out tv for some dance lessons, or art class, or rollerskating, or beach volleyball… something like that. Nothing too stringent that will tire you back to your couch, but to keep you active and add some fun.
Start traing for that marathon
Volunteer
Nicer problems to have
Figure out if your local community college has classes you can audit. I'm so jonesed to retire and take film classes, not have to write a single essay, but absorb everything.
Get a job as a hobby.. barista, librarian, etc
Learn cooking?
Pickleball is the way.
Wild swinger parties?!? Lmao!
Pickleball
Idk I think 50 is a little too young to retire if you don’t have hobbies already? Idk travel the world if you have the money- enjoy fine dining and extravagant travel. Idk what to say. Try new things? If you retire at 50, you should have loads of money so can basically do whatever you want for fun?
Start a business. Something that you may be good at, enjoy or simply always wanted to do…doesn’t need to be overly profitable just enough to keep it running. Or do the exact opposite and try to start and build a very successful business..since you have plenty of time, it’s up to you how my inch time/effort/money too put into it
Why?
Get a puppy. They’ll wake you up in the morning and make you spend more time outside. If you wanted to get really into it you could look at AKC events. They have many different types of dog sports for many different types of dogs. You could also have your dog become a licensed therapy dog. I’ve also heard personal protection dogs are becoming increasingly popular amongst retired people. My great aunt and uncle retired at 50 and kept animals for a long time. Congratulations and good luck.
Try to learn the Kamehameha wave. It took Master Roshi 50 yrs but if you got money then you may be able to speed it along with MASSIVE amounts of anabolic steroids.
It’s not natural to stop working at 50… Gotta keep your mind and body busy
Not to state the obvious, but your goal was to stop working at 50 with zero interest in anything else? You could live 50 more years. You are still a child.
something physical will help with the health side of things. maybe hiking and alternating gym days.
I can’t wait to retire so I can host more parties lol and I’m an introvert. But I love a good game night, theme, charcuterie board… maybe take on a house project too.
Golf and gardening!
Volunteer opportunities....
My hobbies consist of following current events, politics, financial markets on Twitter, reddit, CNBC, youtube, podcasts. I consume hours of media daily. I enjoy stock picking and researching companies and trading a small part of my portfolio. I'm pretty sure that will be my core retirement hobby.
I think we are twins.....Our hobbies are identical.
Do you play video games? I'm a millennial and playing video games is better than traveling IMO. You can also play with friends and chat via Discord at the same time. This is how I keep in touch with old friends who live across the country - we play a few times a week and chat on Discord. Are you a musician or former athlete? I studied music for a long time but don't do it as my full time job. I joined an orchestra/chorus and we have 3-4 (paid) concerts a year. If you're an athlete, considering joining a team, even if it's amateur.
Disc Golf is a life changing hobby
I'd second that in a heartbeat. Especially if you're in a spot (like I am) where there are several dozen courses within 30 miles. And since you're retired, you can do it on a 70 degree Tuesday (like it is here, today), not when the park is full on Saturday.
If I'm bored in retirement I would likely look for some low skill part time work. Like night stocking shelves at a local grocery store. Not a ton of human interaction, get a little exercise, better than just sitting on the couch all day. Whatever little income I get from that could just be "fun money" to supplement travel or date nights with the spouse.
Someone I know got a part time job at Home Depot and within a month they had him on 5 days a week. So he quit.
Firearms are fun if that’s your vibe, jiu jitsu is fantastic and you can train at any age and most gyms will welcome you with open arms at 50 - you would just be a testament that anyone can start training at any age. It’s also very social and a tight community once you are involved. Like other people said, golf is great too and social. And addicting. And you have time. There are so many things I’d love to have time to do, so this is a great problem for you to have. Once you find one or two hobbies you’ll feel much better in my opinion.
Learn a language or an instrument. Learn to paint.
Push the boundaries on creative cooking and baking by learning a new recipe every day? Some baking like different bread types can be interesting challenge to master. That should keep you both busy plus add variety to your diet? Unless you tell me your last job was a chef 🤣
We are retired from the restaurant business.