Monday, December 16, 2019

Getting Used to This Idea of Retirement

As my retirement in the summer of 2020 creeps closer, I keep hearing some recurring themes from people who have already/recently retired:
  • You will get a lot of rest once you hang it up. Expect that your body will need the rest and then start to recover. You don't realize how fatigued you are.
  • You will be surprised at how quickly you begin to forget all the multitudes of things you have to remember in your current job.
  • Once all that information you no longer need to remember is gone from your head, you will feel like your brain has expanded. You will be able to use that space to remember other things.
  • Take time immediately after retirement to do nothing or indulge in some recreation that, for you, will be relaxing. Once you have gotten that out of your system, you will be ready to move on to the next phase.
  • The next phase will be getting some type of a job, volunteer opportunities, putting more time in your hobbies -- basically, some kind of anchor to everyday living. The important thing will be that you will control things here and be able to do as much or as little as you want.
  • You will enjoy life so much more.
I have been working in my current job for almost 26 years and in my profession for almost 38. While I have enjoyed my career, it is time for the grind to end and for me to move on to other things before I croak ... or at least I hope so. I have know several men (including my father-in-law) who have either had debilitating illnesses or have passed away right when they should have been receiving the fruits of their labor. I hope this is not me. I have some medical issues and definitely need to lose a bunch of weight as I have ballooned out the older I get.

The plan for 2020, which might or might not work out on a  timeline my wife and I would like, would be for me to retire in July (this will definitely happen as I have already signed off on the paperwork for it), sell our house in central Illinois, and move to Scottsdale, AZ, where I have family and where my wife's best friend lives. My thought is that we would rent a place for a year and see how we like it. I was just reminded last night as snow came down how I have finally had enough of the cold weather the Midwest gets in the winter. I know that adjusting to the blazing heat of the Arizona summers will be a challenge, but having an abrupt change in my life will be good for me. I have never lived outside Illinois, spending basically the first third of my life in suburban Chicago and the last two thirds in central Illinois.

Of course (u see), being a poker addict, I would like to give Las Vegas a try. However, my wife has never been a fan of Sin City since she is not a gambler and has only been there a limited amount of times, mostly on or near the Strip. I've tried to tell her that t is much different when you get away from that area, but ...

So ... if everything goes well, before 2020 is over, I hope to be one of the regs at Talking Stick Resort and Casino, playing poker in my spare time and living a moderately paced life. Now if I can only make it through the next seven months ...

Thanks for reading!

12 Comments:

Blogger pokerluckbox said...

Don't forget to make sure the house you buy has a room for me.

6:16 PM  
Blogger skippob said...

I got bad news for you , after you retire you will find you are so busy that you wouldn't believe it. Lightning isn't working he can do this or fetch this for us working people. LOL

7:53 PM  
Blogger unabletodeleteblogprofile said...

Looking forward to reading about the transition. We are a few years away, however we are thinking about it frequently.

8:23 PM  
Blogger Memphis MOJO said...

You'll love it!

8:39 PM  
Blogger Ace said...

I think I side with your wife on this one. Family and friends in Arizona (and some poker) vs Sin City. 38 years is a lot! As for the weight loss, you can just start with tracking your calorie intake for a few weeks and go from there.

6:33 AM  
Blogger Zooks64 said...

We have nearly the same plans! Closing in house in Queen Creek next month. Partial move in January, complete move when or house sells. The other half officially retires July 1. I assume we'll run into each other ar the area casinos.

7:08 AM  
Blogger AyeCarambaPoker said...

Here’s hoping you have a long and happy retirement - if you get bored you’re only a very short hop to Vegas!

10:05 AM  
Blogger lightning36 said...

@pokerluckbox - You are welcome to visit, sir. V I S I T

@skippob - They will heave to find me first!

@unabletodeleteblogprofile - As Tom Petty sang, the waiting is the hardest part.

@Memphis MOJO - Thank you, sir! The atmosphere at my place of work has tremendously worsened over the past 2 1/2 years, so almost anything would have to feel more satisfying.

@Ace - There are benefits to each place. Having lived in Illinois all my life, I will definitely need some time for adjustment.

@Zooks64 - Congrats to you and you husband! It looks like Talking Stick will be about halfway between our homes. No doubt we will be schooling some regs there!

@AyeCarambaPoker - Yes - I hope I don't croak before I get to enjoy it. With the Stick not too far away (and one or two other options), I don't know that I will feel much need to visit Las Vegas on more than a sporadic basis.

12:33 PM  
Blogger seattleirish said...

Congrats, Lightning! Well earned, and a good role model for those of us still working towards that goal...

s.i.

12:55 PM  
Blogger pokerwayne said...

Don’t know how much you’ll get out of your house back East but Scottsdale area is one of the most expensive in the valley. Truth be told almost everywhere else is within 30 minutes by freeway of Casino Arizona and a lot cheaper.
I loved living in Vegas for a few months when I retired. Wife loved it too when she saw Summerlin and areas away from the strip. Daughter is having our first Grandchild so she couldn’t make the move.
Good luck. I couldn’t sit still so got a gig doing Doordash. Love it. Good money and I work when I want to.
Good luck

4:43 PM  
Blogger lightning36 said...

@seattleirish - Thank you. It is a long time coming but the right thing to do at this stage in my life.

@pokerwayne - I would like to give Las Vegas a try, but went with Scottsdale for my wife so that she could be near her best friend. I realize I am looking at a more expensive area, but this way we will be closer. We plan on renting for at least a year to see how we like it, whether we would move elsewhere in the area or somewhere else (like Las Vegas). I have lots of ideas about getting a job or volunteering -- Make A Wish Foundation, maybe a job with a professional sports team, anything else I might be interested in. I am excited about having some choices.

11:54 AM  
Blogger Paul said...

The heat isn't that bad. Lack of humidity and air conditioning, make it very enjoyable.

7:58 PM  

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