5 Years of Retirement
So I arbitrarily chose a date for my retirement, and made it so. Announced the date at work, got a small retirement party from the employer I worked with for ten years or so, and ended working for pay in the summer of 2017. I had noticed that my vision was getting weaker, and also started encountering middle aged people with vision problems who continued working in IT. People diagnosed as legally blind who worked with enhanced monitors to even be able to see the screen. So I was glad to be out for the most part.
Though, since my life revolved around computers for the twenty years prior, they would continue to play a big role in my life after retirement. Like an auto mechanic who moves over to racing cars for a hobby, or a boxer who moves to managing a gym or training other fighters, I would not leave my chosen field completely.
My personal financial needs were pretty small, with no children or debts. Some minor substance habits, and minor medical expenses, overall ok. The stock market continued to grow, and any financial worries subsided along with it.
Soon after retirement, a good friend was diagnosed with cancer. I spent the first six months after work playing turn-based rpg computer games with him. This became an almost daily activity, playing Divinity: Original Sin I and II, among other games. Play games during the day, and hang out with spouse at night. I enjoyed the freedom from worry about work.
Initially upon retirement I dabbled with side work, and continued skill training, but gave all of that up after a few months.
Eight months after retirement my wife was diagnosed with cancer. I was able to care for her and our life in small town America. I learned to cook food that she liked, and we survived the following years of her cancer treatments playing computer games and eating meals that I learned to cook from meal kit services. (Shout out to you, Sunbasket!
We played the same type of rpg games, but also expanded after the first year to play an mmorpg together as well. She would come home from work, and we would get lost in the game world tasks of our chosen virtual home Eorzea. It helped us get through the year of chemotherapy.
2020
Pandemic begins, no huge change of life for an mmorpg player. I spend more and more time in organizing online gaming activities, participating in the mmo community. Exercise, mmorpg, hang out with spouse. We learn to order groceries online for pick-up, and avoid going out.
2021 / 22
Sell house, move overseas for a year for wife’s work. Continue gaming with North American community - thank you internet!
Finances
Some numbers:
Actual WR
2018 4.51%
2019 3.17%
2020 2.41%
2021 1.47%
I tally things at end-of-month, but really no longer spend time worrying about money so much. The worries in that are are more how to convert financial things to more long-term and less variable investments, something I need to work on the next few years.
Future
We will be traveling more over the next year, visiting family in Europe and looking for fun low cost places for retirement. Then back to the midwest for a few years while spouse finishes work. Focus on being healthy, and living simple life.
Looking Back
Things I had no idea about during earlier years:
- The progression of vision decline for aging appears that it can be: bifocals, progressive lens, then middle-range vision glasses for computer work. And worse.
Conclusion
Present day I am lucky to say that spouse and friend are doing ok, with their diseases in remission.
Age, coping with illness in the family, and in truth being pre-occupied with mmorpg life have changed me in ways I do not fully understand.
I am pretty satisfied with the past few years, grateful for my early retirement.