Single,aged 60 and due to retire in 6 months. How did you find retirement as a single/divorced.wido wed person?

Immerse yourself in some part time voluntary work that holds intrigue, interest or gratitude. Worked well for me until I phased out completely into full time leisure.

How do I find it? Boring! Make sure you find ‘stuff’ to do so you have to go out. Almost anything will do.

I used the first six months to downsize and move house, then do up my new property. So have a project from the start. I also enjoyed not having to get up really early and wallowed in that for a while. Then I took up art as a new hobby and focused on that. I look after my grandsons two days a week. I also socialise and meet up with friends for coffee or lunch. And I've also taken up learning Spanish. So some of the week is busy, some is quieter. Don't be in a hurry to fill every moment until you get used to retirement.

Apart from being permanently broke, I love it! I hadn't realised how much a stressful job had been affecting my health and well-being.

I'm not permanently rushing everywhere and cutting corners, but I walk more and do more exercise for pleasure, so I'm fitter and healthier.

I have absolutely no idea how I managed to do a full-time job for so many years, including being a single parent.

When DH first retired, he’d spent so much time away that he hadn’t realized (or didn’t see) that the house needed a big update, for which the tax-free lump sum came in very handy.
All the work, done without haste, took about a year, but he’d retired early to immerse himself in his hobbies - something he’d spent years looking forward to. He was never bored.

i'm just jealous at somebody still able to retire at age 60.
sorry.

I live in London, retired at 60 and this was at the end of the month of September. My tax free sum paid off my mortgage, and I had some work done in the house but then had little savings.

I was invited to do some work, similar to what I had left and I worked intermittently at that until I had an accident and could not continue. I had achieved my goal and had some money in the bank.

Friends had moved, I joined GN and have found some really good friends and we meet for coffee and/or a meal frequently.

I retired in 2002 and I have enjoyed my time at home. I could not help in a charity shop because I have AMD.

I have no family and I am happy living here.

I would suggest that you start planning. Hopefully you have a handle on your finances, if not that's a great place to start. Research some voluntary work if that appeals to you, or some hobbies. Think about what you want to do in your first week, month, year. Anywhere you would like to go? Now's the moment. Some holidays combine interests, eg gardening or painting. Maybe there's a gransnet group in your area? If not you could start one. This is a golden opportunity, a little planning can help you make the best of it.

I have a friend who is quite well off, not bored, or lonely, but one day a week he uses his bus pass to go the nearest city. From there, he boards the first bus he sees that will take him on a longish journey. He says he’s been to places he’s never been before and usually find a nice café for a coffee and a bite to eat. He reads for a while, and then does the return journey.

Newbeginnings, some people do best with set routines - others don't need them. I needed them when working but I went part time before I retired and don't miss work at all.

I suppose I have a (sort of) routine or habit of getting up and dressed early, as I have to walk the dog (unless it's raining, then she won't go out). Still, I've never needed much sleep or had lie ins.

I love to follow my moods and decide what I'll do (or not) accordingly. I've tried social groups but they're really not for me and I enjoy spending time alone - just pottering in the garden. I feel no need to rush about being useful and super efficient - that's a work thing.

I'm interested in the responses. As in July I'm retiring from a busy job that I still have a great interest in, others were glad to retire and stop. But many have someone to talk to at home, even if they don't get on necessarily its still company! To wake up to silence and return to no one can feel VERY different. Bored rarely -lonely often. Found my tribe- not yet!

I totally agree that loneliness and silence being a single retired person is horrid. I am rarely bored, but I am lonely. I occupy myself with things to do.

I spent six years being busy, preparing a house to sell and move, de-cluttering, allotment work and then moving and making a garden and a home. Mostly all done in silence and it is very important to be able to come to terms with being able to spend 24/7 in silence, living in the moment/mindfulness helps a lot

Slowly joining groups while being careful, not wanting to be sucked into commitment when it becomes hard to leave and not ever wanting to be part of any clique. Slow is key here

I have very good hobbies, which engross me and I like to come home and shut the door as my home feels like a safe comfy nest and I made it so, my bubble

I’m widowed living alone my home is my comfy place but I find the silence hard. I was medically retired at 58 my husband 2 yrs later but sadly he became sick almost immediately and passed away within 3 yrs so our plans went out the window. Also I lost 3 good friends so family help me fill my time I have coffee with some GN friends, I garden, read or take a drive out. I’m not bored but a little lonely on the whole happy with life I just my joints would behave. 😁

DH died 2 and a half years ago and despite the constraints of covid I have been filling my time. Overfilling it even.
I am never bored.

I joined U3A and particularly enjoy the twice monthly walks, exploring new areas.
A mix of things is my advice. A good balance in retirement is just as important as when you are employed.
I hope you find this.

The OP didn’t return, but if she or he is still around - why not read the Good Morning thread and see what some of us get up to? Might give you some ideas.

Georgesgran, I love your friend's use of his bus pass!

Georgesgran

The OP didn’t return, but if she or he is still around - why not read the Good Morning thread and see what some of us get up to? Might give you some ideas.

Might it perhaps have been a “fishing” enquiry by a journalist or would-be journalist to provide material for an article or programme?

I retired from employed work at 60 but continued to do research and consultancy for colleagues at the uni for about 10 years. At the same time I started a shop on Ebay and began to sell off all the antiques I collected and inherited. Then I opened another two shops and a full ecommerce website. I now run an international antiques business specialising in vintage jewellery and women's accessories. I dont have time to be bored.

The good thing is that I can work and sleep when I like so I dont have to bother with a 9-5 routine as most of my customers are in the USA. I also take 3 complete months in the year off in order to do what I want to do. Just coming up to opening up my shops again as I have taken late April/early May off.

So glad to have left the corporate/academic world with all the woke/gender/political correctness rubbish that workers have to put up with nowadays.

Kim19

Immerse yourself in some part time voluntary work that holds intrigue, interest or gratitude. Worked well for me until I phased out completely into full time leisure.

Thats what my mum did - part time rewarding voluntary work and it worked great for her. Choose between the sociable sort people orientated or those maybe more backroom but needing computer skills. She needed to feel she was contributing so would not have been happy with just craft or walking groups tho I was.

I love the silence but we’re all different. I would suggest not to do things just because “it seems like a good idea” but to wait until something you can be passionate about presents itself. Since I retired 14 years ago, I created a history website (sadly offline currently due to hosting site closing down) and have come to grips with art history. It is important to incorporate some exercise into your day, if I don’t get a daily walk or work in the garden for a while I feel very out of sorts and grumpy.

At 60 get a job maybe 3 days a week it gets you up in the morning and out of the house, there are plenty of supermarket jobs. You meet people and make friends and socialize, the pay is rubbish but the perks are good. It’s probably even more important if you have a partner when a change of scenery is often welcome.

I am retired but still have DH so that's slightly different. But my neighbour who is a widow has made a fantastic group of friends from joining the gym . They all go on holidays together . It's really been wonderful for her .

Charleygirl5

I live in London, retired at 60 and this was at the end of the month of September. My tax free sum paid off my mortgage, and I had some work done in the house but then had little savings.

I was invited to do some work, similar to what I had left and I worked intermittently at that until I had an accident and could not continue. I had achieved my goal and had some money in the bank.

Friends had moved, I joined GN and have found some really good friends and we meet for coffee and/or a meal frequently.

I retired in 2002 and I have enjoyed my time at home. I could not help in a charity shop because I have AMD.

I have no family and I am happy living here.

If I may ask, how much money do you need on a monthly basis? I want to retire at 60 next year, but my government pension which isn't large, doesn't kick in for 7 years. I have £10k in savings, and the normal bills going out.
How much do you think I'll need to see me through each month if I don't work again??
Thank you in advance