Retired and loving it: A look inside the lives of three over-60s
Three Over60 community members share what their retirement looks like – and while they couldn’t be more different, all three are loving it.
1. Elizabeth Gray, 68, shares how retirement for her and her husband meant finally being able to put words into action by making the big move from Brisbane to Tasmania, and to explore the world.
“As we got older, every summer we had in Brisbane we invariably said to one another, ‘Tasmania is looking good!’ After two visits to Tassie over the years we resolved to move there as soon as my husband retired. The fact is, we were in love with the cooler climate, the autumnal colour change, peak minutes as opposed to peak hours on the roads and the promise of a slower pace of life generally.
In our wildest dreams we could never have imagined how happy we would be as a result of putting words into actions. When my husband retired in November 2004 we did the deed. We spent six years in Richmond, a delightful historic village near Hobart. While there I instigated a book group, a mah jong group (a Chinese game), joined the local garden club, a weekly discussion group, the local business group and participated in annual clean-up day, Meals on Wheels and Red Cross volunteering as well. My 30 year nursing career had given way to a part-time marriage celebrant a few years before and while in Richmond my celebrant assignments blossomed enormously.
The urge to see more of the world came swift and fast and so we soon set off to explore as much of the world as we could. How long would we be away? How would we travel? The answer to the first question was... we didn't know. But we had decided to purchase a motorhome in England and travel throughout the UK and the Continent. Over two years we saw all of Europe and after that we sold the vehicle and went to the US, where we travelled to 46 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Belize. I think the final count was almost 50 countries that we travelled in four and a half years.”
2. Retired for a little under two years, Marilyn Sanderson, 66, is finding she’s busier than ever with the activities and hobbies she’s always wanted to pursue while working.
“The best part of retirement is the freedom to follow a whim. Having worked as a teacher for 44 years I was determined not to be controlled by other people’s timetables. However that said I had to get use to not having my day totally planned. It was hard not to feel guilty when I sat down after breakfast with a coffee and read a book! But it is a glorious experience. I can do what I want like watch movies late into the night if I wish (and if I can stay awake).
But I’ve also been keeping busy in retirement. I have started creative and memoir writing, photography, scrapbooking and researching my family history. I also took up pilates, line dancing and am also developing my ukulele skills. I knew that when I retired I would also want to contribute to the community and am currently volunteering with the Country Women’s Association (CWA) and Volunteers for Isolated Students Education. As International Office for our local CWA branch, I have been busy putting together an education pack for Papua New Guinea, a mother and baby pack, and we have collected all manner of textiles and sewing equipment to send to the Pacific Islands. In February I went to Canberra for a conference on our country of study this year, Italy. It was one of the best conferences I have been to as the speakers, all Italian, were charming and engaging. At present I am creating a book on Italy (with the help of a friend) which will be entered in a competition run the CWA. It has been a huge job but I have so enjoyed researching Italy in depth and I can hardly wait to get back there.
This year my husband and I agreed to host two Lions International Exchange students who stayed with us for three weeks in July before they spent a week at a camp run by the Lions Club. We hosted a boy from Turkey and a girl from Italy – both of them 17 years old. In many ways this was better than taking a tour in a country overseas because we had the opportunity to develop a wonderful relationship with these two amazing young people and it gave us much insight into their respective cultures. It was a ‘full on’ commitment but I would recommend the experience.
All in all, retirement has been hectic but joyful so far. I am associating with people like me who are active, enthusiastic and living life.”
3. A self-described 72 year old with silver hair and a grey beard, Bruce Mahony left behind his demanding job for a sea change, which led to finding his true passion, fly fishing.
“In the years prior to my retirement I was working 70-plus hour weeks and was on call 24/7 working as a systems development and security manager in Sydney. Twelve months prior to my retirement date I purchased a property in the northern New South Wales and when the time came, I put my property in Sydney on the market and I moved out just after Christmas.
It took a while to get oriented with the new surroundings. I decided to join one of the local fishing clubs and got myself a casual job in the local tackle store doing a couple of days a month which helped expand my network. I hooked up with a few of the blokes in this network and went away on fishing trips with them. In a lot of cases I did all of the organising for the trips so I built up a network with all of the guide operators so that they would let me know if there were any good deals going. It worked out well because in the past 12 or so years, I have done on average three week long fishing trips a year.
Then I decided to change to fly fishing only. In 2009 one of my guide mates suggested I should go and do the ‘bones’ so I made the decision to go to Kiritimati (Christmas Island, one of five in the world) and fly for bonefish. Now six years later I have caught a few bonefish (actually 345 but who’s counting?) as well as 30-plus other saltwater species and a few freshwater species. For me it has been a great, and sometimes frustrating journey, and it is one I will continue along for many more years. Seventeen years later the bucket is still full and I’m still cruising.”
THIS IS A SPONSORED FEATURE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AUSTRALIANSUPER
By clicking any of the links within this article you will be taken to the AustralianSuper website.
Related links:
We left suburbia to move to a farm… the best decision we ever made
I left my job to teach English in China