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I am now contemplating what my life will be like in full-time retirement, and I don't have any "real" hobbies (unless you consider posting on C-D, reading, watching movies, and doing Sudoku puzzles to be hobbies, which I don't).
I know that there are literally hundreds of hobbies and activities out there, but in considering them, NONE of them actually appeal to me, except for possibly some kind of racquet sport and maybe joining a book club or doing some kind of volunteer work (such as maintaining nature trails). However, because of my past history, nothing else really appeals to me but perhaps I am being too prejudiced. (For example, I "hate" the idea of doing any kind of art or sewing classes or playing golf because I was harshly criticized for my efforts when I was much younger, and was also told that I had ten thumbs, was not at all graceful, etc.)
So, just to put it out there --
What, if any hobbies do you enjoy now that you never even thought you would enjoy ten years ago?
Last edited by katharsis; 09-16-2019 at 07:50 AM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have many hobbies, and have been doing them all for many years. The big change is with camping, no more tent, now we have a 25' trailer. It does seem that most of mine are artistic or just require manual dexterity. When my parents retired they did one of your ideas, helped maintaining trails for the county parks department. As they reached the 80s
they brought the food and drinks and let the younger volunteers do the trail work.
In somewhat of a reverse view, there are many activities I enjoyed more when I was younger and actively engaged in during the first several years of retirement (fishing, golf, travel). These have given way to more sedentary pursuits; not because I cannot do them, but, because I'm 'fished, golfed and cruised-out).
What, if any hobbies do you enjoy now that you never even thought you would enjoy ten years ago?
Bird watching.
I have always been active outdoors - skiing, hiking, backpacking, climbing. But bird watching never had the thrill factor to it when I was younger. But I love it now - it gets us out, tromping about in the woods. DW does it with me. You can do it all over the world and any trip we take I always bring my binocs and a camera. We meet interesting people who are birders. We are enjoying it.
One thing about birding - a lot of bird identifying requires good ears, which I don't have. But I have good eyes. DW is the opposite, with good hearing but poor eyesight. So we make a great team. She listens and I look.
I think when I was younger I was into shopping, going out at night and never really thought about too many other things, but over the past 10 years I have been into competing in various dog sports with my dogs, field trials, scent detection, tracking etc.
I like doing things that require me to learn something new. It does not matter if I am good at it, just that it be fun and it involves learning a new skill. Even better if it involves meeting new people who also enjoy trying something new.
Since retiring 6 years ago I have learned to rock climb (and lost my life long fear of heights), strength training under the supervision of a personal trainer (dramatically improving my overall health), and lots of environmental activities such as seining as part of a survey team monitoring the health of the bay by identifying and counting local fish populations. And the only reason I am now up at 2 am is if I am out on the beach in the middle of the night doing a survey counting spawning horseshoe crabs in May and June.
I am a history buff, so any time there is an opportunity to learn about local history count me in. I now live in a town that dates back to the early 1600's. So, plenty of opportunities to learn about the area and its history.
I have a profession which I do on a self-employed basis, but about 7 years ago I got into seasonal flower delivery- Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Valentine's. I have also done it full time as well. Now I have moved into doing food delivery a few hours a week for extra cash. It gets me out meeting new people and exploring new areas and restaurants to try. I just love being out and about on my own schedule delivering things!
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