(09-28-2023, 01:51 AM)dbcowboy Wrote: AT the very least, I'd be out of Portland.
I'm not wild about the place you're in, but what I think doesn't matter - it's what YOU and the missus thinks that counts. I do think that even a retirement anywhere else would be better, but your mileage may vary.
I "got" retired at 58. Like you, a contract ended for me, and that was just the end of that. I had moved back here to BE here, and didn't want to move back out into the world to maintain an employment, so here I sat. Like Kdog, I rode out unemployment, took my bonuses and cashed in all the vacation ansd sick time I hadn't taken - which was ALL of it, over 4 years, except for one week, and sat.
And sat.
And sat.
I ain't gonna lie, I got pretty convinced that retirement was not for the faint-hearted. Without work, I had nothing to DO. I had to find stuff to do, just to fill time up. That was when i took up black powder, and this site, and feeble attempts at gardening.
But all that sitting ain't good for you. You've got to find something active to do, too. For example, about a week ago I went into the woods to get some ginseng berries to replant in a more secure area. On the way back, I jumped a fence, which in the days of my youth was no big deal, and got the surprise of my life. When my feet hit the ground on the other side, I just kept going down. And kept going down. My legs, which had never failed me before, just gave up and collapsed, dumping me face-first and forcefully to the ground.
It's like I entered the twilight zone now. In more ways than one.
So do what makes you happiest, expect a few bumps in the road and plan for them, and stay physically active to keep your muscle tone reasonable. Get a hobby. Get a FEW hobbies. Not working any more leaves you feeling a bit lost for a while, as all you've known all your life is mostly gone, and there is a vaccuum that needs to be filled with something, or else you just stay lost.
If you do move, let us know. The boy works in Pikeville. We might take a ride to work with him one day, and keep on going to Lexington. We can do a lunch.
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