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Old 25-01-2021, 11:03   #691
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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Yep. If you want to do it, go do it.
No one knows how much time is left in their time bank.
It's so true on every level.

For all the life-changing experiences that have come with this lifestyle, the single biggest positive for us is knowing that we have an answer to that often asked question that we are finally proud to answer.

Q: What would you do/change if you found out you only had 6months/ 6weeks/ 6days to live?

A: Nothing. Nothing at all.
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Old 05-03-2021, 05:59   #692
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

I meet all of your categories but one. Although I was very happily married, I have been a widow since 2013. I learned how to run our boat and had limited travel on it for six years before I retired at 55. I was a corporate executive and I do not miss work AT ALL. Although I would like to have a permanent traveling partner, I have had no problem getting my mostly retired and some still working friends to travel with me. I have no regrets and love this life. I heading for the Exumas in a week to spend 3 months. So excited to have the time to spend more than 2 weeks there.....oh, I went to Maine and back from south Florida in 2019, that was my first big adventure....
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Old 05-03-2021, 06:10   #693
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

Downshifting... Sorry to hear about your spouse but Good for you! Life and life sailing has to go on and sailors cruisers find ways to 'make things work'. I'm sure your spuse is watching you... Jealously!
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Old 05-03-2021, 12:29   #694
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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I meet all of your categories but one. Although I was very happily married, I have been a widow since 2013. I learned how to run our boat and had limited travel on it for six years before I retired at 55. I was a corporate executive and I do not miss work AT ALL. Although I would like to have a permanent traveling partner, I have had no problem getting my mostly retired and some still working friends to travel with me. I have no regrets and love this life. I heading for the Exumas in a week to spend 3 months. So excited to have the time to spend more than 2 weeks there.....oh, I went to Maine and back from south Florida in 2019, that was my first big adventure....
Kudos, Downshifting! It's very good to hear a positive story that offsets the doom and gloom posts that deny that there is life afloat after retirement.

With your positive attitude, there may well be a new partner lurking in your future. I wish you fair winds and all that usual stuff, but in particular I hope your cruising life is as satisfying and rewarding as ours has been.

Bon voyage!

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Old 05-03-2021, 16:36   #695
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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It's so true on every level.

For all the life-changing experiences that have come with this lifestyle, the single biggest positive for us is knowing that we have an answer to that often asked question that we are finally proud to answer.

Q: What would you do/change if you found out you only had 6months/ 6weeks/ 6days to live?

A: Nothing. Nothing at all.
I wouldn't change anything apart from buying a case or 3 of better sipping liquor, up anchoring and heading north but I would be wondering why I had been given the number of the beast
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Old 07-03-2021, 09:42   #696
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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...
Q: What would you do/change if you found out you only had 6months/ 6weeks/ 6days to live?

A: Nothing. Nothing at all.
Six months is not a lot of time. It is very little time, and depending on circumstances, might not be enough time get one's affairs in order.

Years ago, a friend of mine was found to have brain cancer. It showed up at the blue, with no warning at all. He had sudden hearing loss in one ear and thought it was a work related issue. Went to the doctor and found it was far, far worse.

The doc's said,
  1. If he did nothing, he might live six months.
  2. If he did chemo OR surgery he might live six to 12 months.
  3. If he did chemo AND surgery he might live 12 to 18 months.

He picked option three, had surgery, started chemo and planned a long train trip with his wife to see the western US and Canada.

He died six to nine months later and never set foot on the train. He died in his sleep, and apparently, not directly from the cancer.

Later,
Dan
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Old 07-03-2021, 09:47   #697
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

That's a real tough situation Dan. Sad.

My UK buddy was diagnosed and took one final trip up to Scotland before entering chemo. He wound up living about 1/3 what the doctor's originally estimated. I still remember making my last call to him. The only thing I could say was "happy travels" before hanging up for the last time.
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Old 08-03-2021, 05:33   #698
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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Six months is not a lot of time. It is very little time, and depending on circumstances, might not be enough time get one's affairs in order.

Years ago, a friend of mine was found to have brain cancer. It showed up at the blue, with no warning at all. He had sudden hearing loss in one ear and thought it was a work related issue. Went to the doctor and found it was far, far worse.

The doc's said,
  1. If he did nothing, he might live six months.
  2. If he did chemo OR surgery he might live six to 12 months.
  3. If he did chemo AND surgery he might live 12 to 18 months.

He picked option three, had surgery, started chemo and planned a long train trip with his wife to see the western US and Canada.

He died six to nine months later and never set foot on the train. He died in his sleep, and apparently, not directly from the cancer.

Later,
Dan

Sadly, these stories are all too common... and they are exactly why we decided years ago to start making all our decisions for happiness rather than money; to which the end result is clearly living your best life NOW rather than waiting/hoping for later.

As a society we all have been trained to believe that "stuff" is what makes us happy and the money we buy it with is our most valuable commodity... when in fact TIME (by the shear nature that we can't make more of it) is the single most valuable commodity we have.

You're spot on, 6months is not a lot of time to get things "in order" and many people don't even get a warning (of whatever length of time) to do so.
The simple fact is that none of us know or get to choose or control when our day comes, so why not live your best life now??

More money in the bank won't buy you more days, and this fear we've all been trained to have about running out of money before we run out of days is almost laughable. We can always find a way to make more money... but nobody has yet to find a way to make more time.

Im not saying that for everyone this means quitting the job immediately and running away to live on a sailboat; but I am suggesting that there is a lot to gain by actually buying into this logic and making choices to match (which for many here likely means early retirement, reducing stuff in exchange for experiences and do to the nature of this forum - cruising).

If you consciously choose to go live your best life now (whatever that may be), the result is not having to anything left to get in order and not having any regrets whenever that time should come...
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Old 08-03-2021, 05:45   #699
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

Stories of waiting too late abound.

Another encounter we had back on our first cruise was when pulled into a marina.

We got to know the lady working the marina store, who was in her fifties, same age as us, a little bit, and she told us her story. She and her husband, both lifelong sailers, had been planning to cruise around the world in their retirement for many years.

They finally had decided to pull the trigger, and had contracted to have a catamaran built in Europe. Her husband had been feeling bad on their inspection trip to Europe, so when they returned, he went to the doctor. Terminal cancer. He was dead a couple of months later. She sold the boat when it was finished without ever taking it away from the factory. This had all happened just a few months before.

She got the job at the marina, because it kept her meeting people who were actually able to do what she and her husband had dreamed of, and it made her happy to see them and talk to them.

After hearing her story, I was really glad we taken the extra time by going, instead of the extra money, by staying.
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Old 08-03-2021, 06:36   #700
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

This thread seems to have turned from trying to see if anyone regretted leaving a good career and becoming a cruiser to stories of people who planned to go cruising, dying prematurely instead. A 180 degree thread drift! These stories sound sad to those of us who are still healthy and doing things like reading this forum, but I very seriously doubt that those who died because they put off going cruising spent their last moments even slightly concerned about that, or any other favorite hobby. Instead, I suspect that a much bigger issue for them has to do with concern for loved ones they know they’ll be leaving behind or much more immediate issues such as remembering their “good old days” when simply drawing a breath didn’t cause them pain and require all of their effort, leaving them feeling exhausted. So, if the unfortunate individuals who died before they got around to going cruising didn’t think it was one of their top concerns, then let’s us not dwell on it either. We all should strive to live our best life, whether that means working until we drop, or actually going cruising, or just enjoying the fantasy of going cruising rather than actually doing it. Who’s to judge which type of person has the most happiness and is most fulfilled and satisfied in their last moments? I suspect that the answer to that question has almost nothing to do with whether or not you go cruising or go golfing in Scotland, or attend a Super Bowl, or marry a supermodel or do any other “bucket list” activities and instead has much more to do with how we feel about our inner self and our closest relationships.

For the last year my wife has been working as a hospice nurse caring for people who are within the last 6 months of their lives, usually within their last few weeks, and has gotten quite close to some of them who don’t have close friends or family regularly in their lives. None of them express regrets about not completing their bucket list, or even make any mention of past hobbies they no longer can engage in. They have much more important and immediate things to worry about.
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Old 08-03-2021, 07:56   #701
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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This thread seems to have turned from trying to see if anyone regretted leaving a good career and becoming a cruiser to stories of people who planned to go cruising, dying prematurely instead. A 180 degree thread drift!
I don't think that's thread drift... I think its a different way of answering the same question.
"No, nobody regrets leaving early... but there are some who might have regretted waiting too long/ or not going sooner".

I guess the OP would have to speak to original intent... but I don't read the conversation here about the importance of "a past hobby", I think it's about the larger decision to keep working (presumably at a job you aren't doing because you enjoy it so much you'd do it for free) vs going out to enjoy life (whether that be cruising or some other chosen lifestyle).

Those patients you describe may not be regretting any "bucket list" item; but for those who worked a job they hated right up until they found themselves under your wife's care... I would imagine some may be regretting not having taken the time away from work to have those "good ole days" to look back on, much less sharing them with those loved ones they are now leaving behind.

Maybe it's just me... but if my "good ole days" were limited to memories of my prior workplace and the precious few moments in between - you can bet I would have had tons of regrets!
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Old 08-03-2021, 10:25   #702
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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I don't think that's thread drift... I think its a different way of answering the same question.

"No, nobody regrets leaving early... but there are some who might have regretted waiting too long/ or not going sooner".



I guess the OP would have to speak to original intent... but I don't read the conversation here about the importance of "a past hobby", I think it's about the larger decision to keep working (presumably at a job you aren't doing because you enjoy it so much you'd do it for free) vs going out to enjoy life (whether that be cruising or some other chosen lifestyle).



Those patients you describe may not be regretting any "bucket list" item; but for those who worked a job they hated right up until they found themselves under your wife's care... I would imagine some may be regretting not having taken the time away from work to have those "good ole days" to look back on, much less sharing them with those loved ones they are now leaving behind.



Maybe it's just me... but if my "good ole days" were limited to memories of my prior workplace and the precious few moments in between - you can bet I would have had tons of regrets!


This thread is about those who were very successful and liked their jobs but left early to go cruising anyway and not about working a job they hated up until the very end, so that’s a bit of a straw man, but even if someone did that I think by far their biggest regret would have more to do with missed time with loved ones rather than not going cruising or taking part in any other lifestyle choice when they had the chance. My point is that sailing is a hobby, and for some a chosen lifestyle, and it’s one I happen to enjoy very much, but if I came down with a deadly disease with only a short time left to live, I think I’d suddenly be way past worrying about going cruising and instead be focused on my closest relationships and doing my best to come to terms with whatever was in the process of killing me. So, while those of us who still assume we have a long life ahead of us (who really knows?) may wring our hands and get emotional about someone else’s missed chance to go cruising, the person we are pitying probably had it very far down on their list of concerns in their final days and would find it quite amusing that we’d waste time being concerned about what is such a trivial issue to the person who’s directly involved.


The successful career versus going cruising while still able bodied is a great question and there have been many interesting perspectives shared in this thread, but once we get down to our final days it’s not a question that we’ll feel is very important. It might be important for loved ones who planned to go cruising but lost their chance when the person they shared cruising plans with died prematurely, but the dead person obviously doesn’t care, and based on my wife’s work with terminally ill people I don’t think they’d care much about it either.

Those for whom cruising is very important will do whatever it takes to go, but there are many more who prefer to just play with that idea in their head but when it comes right down to it have other priorities in their lives that take precedence. But not to worry because in your final days, whichever side of that fence you’re on, it’s not going to seem very important.
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Old 08-03-2021, 12:20   #703
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

In the end, I'm not sure any of this matters.

Nothing is going to stop the people who really want to go do it, from doing it.

And, nothing is going to make the ones who don't really want to go do it, to go do it.
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Old 09-03-2021, 03:41   #704
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

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In the end, I'm not sure any of this matters.

Nothing is going to stop the people who really want to go do it, from doing it.

And, nothing is going to make the ones who don't really want to go do it, to go do it.
True on both fronts... but Im guessing there's also still a large majority in the middle somewhere. Those who want to go but haven't figured out how yet, those who are in the planning stages but still working to figure out the "when" or "how much is enough" questions, etc... and I assume that's majority paying the closest attention to threads like this one.

I remember not so long ago not fitting into either of those categories... and I recall very much being in the "really want to go" category but also not seeing any way to get there from where I stood.
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Old 09-03-2021, 14:42   #705
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Re: Any early retirees turned cruisers with big careers have regrets?

One thing people don't think about is to look up how much Social Security they will get at 62-65-67-70, factoring in that number will be based on your 20 or 30 highest paid years so maybe not good to quit too early. The average is $1500. Social security will never "go broke" as it will always be funded by current workers and is tied to inflation. I walked away from a prestigious, very high paying career at age 52 to fix up an old boat and live on it. Everyone thought I was nuts. No regrets even though there were a lot of challenges- for example most women do not understand this type of Thoreau minimalist thinking. My apologies to the rare unicorn female that likes to live this way, one of my girlfriends said I was "living like a barbarian" even though I was in a nice marina with a pool, hut tub, laundry, tv room etc. Learning to live on a lot less money is an acquirable skill and one that no financial advisor will ever mention. But after essentially being a boat bum for 12 years and hardly doing any meaningful work (sanding is therapy for me) I still have too much stuff. My social security alone would provide an easy life living on a boat. If the boat thing doesn't work out, many expats live pretty well on $1500 a month in places like Thailand, Mexico, or the Philippines. Heck, my pinay girlfriend lives happily on $600 a month.

If you are delaying gratification until age 65, check out the statistics on disability after age 50. It skyrockets. If you are going to quit working at a young age you had better pay attention to your health and especially your weight. Healthy food, good sleep, exercise, and avoiding toxic stress is the best medicine. In the same way rotten cores are boat killers, obesity and bad knees are retirement buzz killers. Learn to do almost everything for yourself and be willing to give up luxuries. You will be just as happy, or moreso. As Thoreau said "superfluous wealth can only buy superfluous luxuries."
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