It’s so interesting to read about hobbies and interests people have taken up in retirement.
I always wanted to take dance classes and an opportunity to do so happened about a year and a half ago. I love it.
Mahjong was not on my radar but I recently learned and am in a weekly mahjong parlor.
I would have laughed if you had told me that I would be lifting weights ( I’m talking barbells- back squats, bench presses) at age 68, but I am.
What kind of dance?
DH and I take ballroom dance lessons. And I play mahjong once a week.
Whew…this thread makes it sound like I’m very busy!
It’s similar to NIA ( non impact aerobics). The instructor has a long career as a dance teacher and she incorporates movements to support balance, help with bone strength and aid in mobility. She has a great playlist including currently popular music.
I have proprioception and coordination issues ( since childhood), and I have noticed a lot of improvement in following the dance movements. I do have to concentrate on what I am doing especially when she throws in a new combination, so it keeps my brain in gear.
Best of all - it’s non judgmental and fun!
I’m taking a language class (on Zoom). My parents immigrated to the US from Croatia and I spoke Croatian as a child. On my most recent trip to Croatia, I realized that I could benefit from a formal class. I found a great teacher who teaches several different classes–one for travelers, one that focuses on history and culture, and a regular language course (she offers several levels). I recently moved up from the beginner level class!!
As I probably mentioned, I am recovering from spine surgery (almost 7 weeks out). I began doing PT (in-home) a week after surgery and am doing the exercises they left me with twice a day but have also graduated to in-clinic PT. They said that walking 40 minutes a day was part of the initial PT but that stationary cycling was the best exercise I could do. I bought a Zwift bike and Wahoo Kickr cog and I am having a blast cycling in various places on Zwift that show up on the TV screen in our gym via Apple TV. This will be my winter exercise. But, I was having trouble finding workout programs that were easy enough given my recovery as Zwift seems to be more for serious and maybe even professional cyclists (who zoom by me at 28 mph when I’m doing 14 mph, for example). Interestingly, the using person who told me about Zwift (and a competitor called Rouvy) software told me that I would need to purchase a high speed fan, towels and bring water bottles when I cycled. I chuckled but figured I would not be riding that hard. Guess what: I need and use the high speed fan and have drink a bottle of water while riding. The towels are to prevent the bike from corroding from sweat. Have not had to use them yet.
One of my goals for the year was to really learn a lot about AI. I want to see what kinds of tasks I could use AI for and also to think very broadly about how I can use AI in my work (I’m using ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude at the moment). Last night, I got ChatGPT to design a recovery program with a sequence of three workouts, put them into a Zwift format (.zwo files), and tell me how to transfer them to a workout folder on my Mac so that they would show up as Custom workouts on the Zwift I see on my TV screen. Did the first one this morning. Just about the right level of difficulty. Not a big deal but somehow I have a great sense of accomplishment.
So two new activities: serious indoor cycling and learning how to do things with AI.
I love NIA! I switched to tai chi but am thinking of finding NIA again. Tai chi makes me calm, NIA makes me happy.
I love NIA also. My class stopped during the pandemic and sadly that instructor didn’t return.
None of these Colorado towns (many of them quite small, except Commerce City) have any particular appeal to me. But the link popped up on FB, and I thought others might have interest.
My S would love to retire to one of these towns! Of course, he’s only in his early 30’s, so he’s got a long way to go … but he is getting serious about saving for the future, so I’ll pass this along to him for inspiration.
Can I just say that this has been a not so great week?
Last week we were in a small town east of Charlottesville for lunch. Two years ago I saw a house there that I knew was just perfect for us. As we drove to our lunch destination, I realized it was a good distance from my favorite spots (and healthcare, not currently one of my favorite spots). We had lunch and I also realized that I would not have a peer group based on an admittedly narrow view of the other lunch patrons. The house would have been perfect (we drove by) but nothing else would be any better. So I’d be nervous about relocating to a very small town.
Last week I went to two watercolor classes. One was incredibly fun and sadly wrapped up today. The second class was dismal. It was listed as a skills class - learn to paint for beginners. There were fourteen of us crammed into a conference room. No sink, no water. Schlep all your supplies with you. Elbow to elbow. I got there ten minutes early and the instructor was already “instructing”. She had people in the class that she fit in from the previous session and spent most of the two hours working with them. She showed a powerpoint and told us to paint our color wheels then walked around and critiqued. She told me I must have bought the wrong paints. Uh, no - I bought exactly what you told me to, and no, it wasn’t the “professional” version. It was a real bummer. I am not returning.
Church is well…meh. We were presented with membership affirmations to review last week and it is going to be a hard no for me. Too many fundamental principles that I simply cannot agree with. It is really hard when you really want things to work but…
Finally, my last complaint. I really needed a break and had wanted to go somewhere warm for a few days. I can’t do it. I am so worried about everything! I can’t imagine how I could relax. The girls will still have their vacation at the dog spa. That might just be enough of a break for me to get through the holidays.
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@sabaray - I’m sorry. Finding a community can be a big challenge.
In my case, I never did find a running group here, even after trying a few.
Long story, but I was getting a bit weary of my former church and didn’t feel like looking for a new one here.
I looked into a Meetup group that looked promising but after going to lunch with them, I just did not feel any connection. At all.
The state of the world/our country right now does not help.
It took over two years, but I finally found my people. And truthfully, it took even longer to really feel the connection. No advice except to keep going. You are doing the right things by getting out there and trying new activities. I hope the right people come along for you because I know that they are out there waiting to meet you. Good luck.
After we moved and downsized, I found my group through my local library. Honestly, I have always found my group at the library (even in the town where I lived for 35 years and raised my daughter). My husband claims, and correctly so, that I am out more and busier now in our new location then I ever was in the past.
Sometimes you need to have a bunch of different activities to make connections. I have connections now with people I met at the library, neighbors in my apartment building, and to a lesser extent - people in my yoga class.
I am also very comfortable venturing and exploring on my own. Don’t have a problem attending things by myself (classes, presentations, etc.) Yes, it can be more fun with a friend, but if I can’t find anybody else interested, I just go to things by myself.
@sabaray, my observation is consistent with @kiddie‘s experience. When we moved from the city to an exurb (when ShawSon started kindergarten), she was miserable. She had a community in the city and no friends or groups here. It took her two years and a number of false starts (there were some cliquish women in our neighborhood who would exclude her from things). By the end of two years, she’d found local friends (none as close as the friends back in the city) but some remain close 30 years later and some were situational and dropped off the map as soon as we ceased the shared activity (kids in same school or same dance group, etc.).
Six to ten years ago, when we wanted to downsize, we compared moving back to the city or staying where we are. At this point, although one of her closest friends is in the city and rarely comes out here, she decided she preferred it here.
Interestingly, she just got off a regular call she has with a few friends that started probably more than a decade ago over shared pursuit of weight watchers, she said, “I’ve got to find younger friends.” She said the whole call was an organ recital from one of the callers (partly about the caller’s friend who had gotten giardiasis). Her group of kayakers has either dropped out (shoulder doesn’t work anymore, back problems …) or moved for retirement). She needs younger folks there as well. And, a couple of her friends have tried to get her to become a partner in their print studio. She is the youngest of all of the partners/potential partners. They really need new and younger blood. So, she is going to be on the lookout for young’uns in all aspects of her life.
In my case, my friends are spread out (Cambridge, Colorado, Boston suburbs, Sausalito, Tel Aviv, etc.). So, I am OK anywhere.
@shawbridge -I totally get ShawWife on the younger friends. I live on a street full of people my age who seem much older! The group of women I am friends with have a few my age ( or a bit older) but most are mid 50’s to early 60’s ( I’m 68) and I have much more in common with them.
I back up the younger friends idea also. I have recently become friends with people who are my daughter’s age or younger. I feel closer to them, then to many of my new neighbors in my 55+ building. We just have more in common. I also hate the endless discussion of aches, conditions, and medications that many over 65 seem to talk about.
I recently went to a library social event. I am 65, I sat with a women in her 70s, another in her 50’s and a couple who are late 30’s. We had a lovely night.
I am not yet retired, but like many of you I am trying to expand my group of friends for the day when I do retire. I have a few very close friends that I get together with. My closest friend is someone I met when our D1 and her daughter started kindergarten 28 years ago. Her and her husband are the couple H and I do things with the most. I also have a group of 6 friends who I met when we all worked at the same company. We get together for lunches and walks every month and I really enjoy the time we spend with each other.
I’m an accountant at a small civil engineering firm and for some reason I have become the surrogate mom to all of the young engineers in the office. We have a company softball team and when they needed additional people my H (he’s 68) started playing on the team since he had played softball for many years. I watch the games each week and bring cookies or brownies for after the game. H and I are always invited to parties and other functions by the younger people in my office. We have a wedding this weekend for one of my female engineering colleagues. I am the only older person from our office that she invited to her wedding. She told me on Tuesday that they were all going out downtown after the wedding (wedding is in a downtown venue in San Diego) and she hoped H and I would join them.
I’m having the opposite experience in retirement, although likely because I retired at 60. I just turned 63. The group I’m in for the activity I started after retirement are mostly in their 70s, a few late 60s, some upper 70s. But they are all active and we connect on many levels. The main disconnect is that my kids are in their 20s because I had them in my late 30s. They aren’t married and I have no grandkids. Some of the women had their kids in their early 20s and have several grandkids, including teenagers. I’ve also become the go-to person for phone or technology questions for the group. Which amuses me since my sons think I’m inept in that area. In my exercise classes also most of the women are late 60s or early 70s. But several are much more fit than I am. The women in both groups inspire me.
My D tells me that the “old ladies” in her Pilates classes are incredibly fit … she’s in awe.