radical retirement plans?

[sol]

Does anyone have plans to do something radical after they achieve financial independence?

I've been contemplating my reasons for wanting to retire early, and staying at home to watch tv is not high on my list.  I'm seriously considering working an extra year or two in order to buy a sailboat, yank the kids out of school, and spend a year sailing and homeschooling in tropical lands.

I could quit the rat race earlier if my retirement dream were to look like my working life but I think I'd rather do something memorable instead, even it means working longer in order to make it happen.

Does anyone else have plans to do something extraordinary once they're no longer tied to a desk?

[shedinator]

It will depend a lot on my son and any other future children, but we do have some ideas- I'd like to hit all 30 MLBallparks, including the AS game, in a single season. But that would require him/them loving baseball as much as I do, and there are no guarantees that will be the case.

There are some other "slow travel" possibilities we've talked about, but my wife is still very much inclined to sleeping between 4 walls which are rooted permanently to the ground, so it would take place in 1-3 month groupings, separated by a number of years.

[kaeldra]

I've always been interested in through-hiking the PCT, so that or another long-term backpacking trip could make for a good summer...

[arebelspy]

Hiking the Appalacian trail would be sweet, but my wife hates hiking, and we'll have young(ish) kids by that point.

Based on the experiences of the types of people on this forum, almost nothing is really "radical," but defining it outside a sitting around watching TV retirement, then we're thinking of doing something semi-radical: moving to Belize.  Have a garden and some fruit trees, and do some reading and writing and homeschooling, and be expats.

[kaeldra]

Doing the expat thing could be fun for a while...but hard to pick what country to live in! I studied abroad in New Zealand and wouldn't mind living there :) I'd love to live half the year up here in WA, and the other half down in CA near my folks... maybe I could house swap? Hmm, dream on.

[IWannaBeFree]

Not as radical as your thoughts, but I'd like to plan several 2-3 month long adventures during summer while our boy is in high school.  I don't have them planned exactly but some idea's are:  Remote backpacking into an isolated area to challenge some of our survival skills.  Motorcycle ride across entire U.S.  Spend a summer in Europe backpacking. Building a small off-grid home home by hand.

Good luck

[carolinakaren]

Sol,
We also hope to retire to full-time sailboat living.  I've been following sailing blogs for awhile now and a nice "mid-range" sailing lifestyle is very Mustachian.  You might enjoy reading frugal-retirement-living.com (if you haven't already found it). Look at the lifestyle section for sailing.  This couple has done RV, sailboat, and retirement community living.  They are closer to traditional retirement age than MMM or Jacob, but seem to have a similar mindset.  I found this blog to be very detailed and a nice compromise between extremely cheap and lavish ways to live the sailing lifestyle.  I think it could easily be done.....even with children or pets.  Some of my family members recently spent a week aboard with a couple who live on their sailboat for six months each year.  They described it as their dream vacation and can't wait to visit again!  According to some of the sites I have visited a lifestyle like the one at frugal retirement would probably cost around 20k in expenses per year in today's dollars for two people. If I remember correctly, the estimates provided on the website are several years old.  I think you're on to something good! Best of luck to your family!!

Karen

[pka222]

Sol- I already live on a tropical island so my radical retirement involves high mountain living, marathon running, and building hands on skill sets (carpentry masonry and growing lots of stuff). Global travel will stay part of the mix, but much slower, by bike in most places with longer stays- i.e. a month or more.
When you set sail - Dont miss Tonga for the whales and Kiribati for the total remoteness and Samoa for the culture- you can hit PNG for the sheer adventure but be careful
Cheers

[travelbug]

We are planning something similar sol.
At the end of next year we will have sold our business, house, contents and cars and are heading to Asia, Europe and then maybe USA for a minimum of 3 years, if not indefinately. (well at least until we find somewhere we want to call home).
We are slow travelling with our children who will be 4 and 6.
I am looking soooo forward to it, we did a version prior to being married and withoutout a mortgage, but this will be a more long term thing.
In Australia you need 6k+ to go anywhere abroad so this way we can save heaps of money!!
C

[HeidiO]

Move into an RV in 2-5 years (after my son moves out.)  Retire in 12 years.  Spend 3-4 months at a time in different countries, then back to the US to visit family, travel, potentially work a little part-time (possible in my career.)  Do that for a few years, then change if I want to.   Potentially do some medical mission type volunteer work.  Or join the Peace Corp.  Or something.
Heidi

[zoltani]

Long distance bicycle touring for extended periods.  Already do some of that now, but with only 2 weeks vacation a year I don't get out as much as I'd like.

[slugsworth]

The PCT or another long distance trail is also on our list. . .but I think that long distance trails and other adventures like that don't need to wait until we are FI, they can be intergrated into an extended leave of work or change of job.

We're considering being semi-nomadic, possibly manning a hut or some other sort of seasonal work for part of the year. International travel is also an option, and I've considered the peacecorps or another volunteer option like that.  I've also considered starting my own non-profit. . . but that might get a little too much like work.

[Nancy]

I am going to live, volunteer, and work in as many countries as possible.

[jdchmiel]

I am going to pursue my hobbies full time, with the only goal of breaking even financially with them.  That will include wine making, pottery making, metal casting / machining, welding, house flipping, car restoration, and other work like sounding things... I suspect I will continue to generate a decent amount of income, but will have no problem enjoying it because I will never be REQUIRED by finances or a boss to do any specific task at a specific time when I would rather do something else that it currently more interesting.

[sowantere]

Id like to do some travel nursing and travel all over the US and probably some in new zealand and australia as a US nursing degree is good there.  The assignments are for as little as 8 weeks sometimes and they pay your rent and give ya some food money so it would be half work and half vacation paid for someone else.  I wouldn't even mind selling my house and doing this full time and going from city to city until I truly find somewhere I would want to retire.  I plan on doing some of this when my 16 year old has moved out regardless, if the work is still there.  I have always wanted to learn to play the violin and I would love to learn to dance with my wife by an actual instructor.   I remember when we got married the one couple that could really dance at our wedding was the one who had his own business for decades and had more money and time now for that sort of thing.  Most of all I would like to have another couple of kids and actually not have to work so much but instead be able to spend more time with them like I believe people were made too.  Its kinda sad that kids go to daycare because they have to, not because their parents are taking them just to have some playtime with other kids.  Those same kids grow up and go to work because they have to and not because they want to create or do something they are passioned about.  Its not that I don't like my job, its just to me the definition of retirement for me is having a choice of going to work or not.  Currently I don't have a choice because trading my time is my only asset.

[gooki]

Does anyone have plans to do something radical after they achieve financial independence?

I've been contemplating my reasons for wanting to retire early, and staying at home to watch tv is not high on my list.  I'm seriously considering working an extra year or two in order to buy a sailboat, yank the kids out of school, and spend a year sailing and homeschooling in tropical lands.

I'm pretty sure this was my fathers plan until he realized that:
1. Building a boat took two more years than he expected, eating into ones investments,
2. Your kids aren't always as keen about sailing as you are. (I love sailing in small boats, but I dislike large yachts - absolutely hate the thought of capsizing in one).

I assume you're an experienced sailor if you have such plans? If not i'd be chartering a boat to test the waters before committing to such a lifestyle.

As for my plans, I keep dropping hints to my wife I want to retire in Rarotonga. I doubt I'l ever get her to agree, but it's always fun to see her reaction.

[MEJG]

Depending on when FIRE happens I have quite a few floating through my head

1) pull the kids outta school and homeschool - with a good co-op where they have multi-aged groups learning with different parents/community members teaching subjects they know.  My Aunt and Uncle did this with my cousins and they are some of the most amazingly well rounded, well educated, eloquent people we know.  I'd plan to pull them up to high school and then they'd have the option for finishing at a regular high school if they wanted.

2) 2-4 month trips to foreign countries for cultural and language immersion for the while family.  This works neatly with option #1.  Countries of interest right now are: Japan, Spain, Italy, maybe Thailand? subject to expansion and revision.

3) Once the kids (we don't know how many we'll have at this point) are sort of self sufficient (18ish?) Mr. MEJG and I would LOVE to do a through hike of the Appalachian Trail.  We did a month on it a few years back.

4) Build a net zero rammed earth home (perhaps to living building standards) - this might happen before FI....  and plant an extensive forest garden :-)

5) work in my field part time, enough to keep my toes wet and keep up to date so if I want to return I can.  Work in my field with volunteering for good causes etc.

[JanMN]

Not sure if it's "extraordinary", but post FI I want to go do seasonal work with the nat. park service - work 6 months, then 6 months off etc.  My husband and I have also thought about doing an epic canoe trip - (like the book "Water and Sky"), and to echo others here, I like the idea of doing the Pacific Crest trail or Continental Divide trail.  Apparently we like the outdoors.  We are not in tip-top shape or anything, but feel none of this is out of reach - just have to prepare and have the right attitude!
I think the sailing gig sounds neat, Sol -

[spacecoyote]

Move to Costa Rica and open a bed & breakfast. I'd like to make it largely self-sufficient as far as food production goes too, so a large garden/orchard area with space for some livestock would be tops on the list.

[James]

I'd love to find someplace to live for a year or so overseas, someplace I could do a little medical work on the side to keep it from affecting my retirement funds, but not full time.  Maybe education for a local anesthesia school or whatever I could arrange.

My thought is to sell our house in the States and go away with nothing to our name.  After being gone for a while, we could come back and really be free about where to settle down.  Even doing the expat thing if desired.  I just like the idea of a clean slate and no anchor pulling us in any direction.  I'm sure the kids and any friends we had would be a draw, but otherwise we would be forced to cut out everything before we left, narrow our possessions down to the bare minimum, and come back ready to live simply.

[Rich M]

I plane to live in the desert for a few months, do the Colorado trail, and the continental divide trail...all self supported.