Who do early retirees socialize with during normal business hours?

[amicableskeptic]

I remember the excitement with which I found MMM back in 2011.  I read every article he'd published over my Christmas vacation bought in completely and started a spreadsheet to track my own path to early retirement.  I cut my spending, sold unneeded junk and put an end date of May 2014 on that sucker.  That date passed months ago though and even though I should be solid enough financially to retire I've kept working (I say "should" because a significant portion of my assets are tied to a single company's stock which exposes me to more risk that probably shouldn't be undone for a couple years at least).  Part of this is because I lucked into a job at a company that actually makes the world a better place, but another part is that I'm afraid of retirement isolating me.

So early retiree's after you retired did you become isolated?  What were some things you did to avoid this?  I find that if I'm near other people I'm super motivated, but when I'm alone it just drops off.  I feel like if I retire so young my whole peer group will still be working all day every weekday and I'll just be bored alone most days.  So I want to hear from people who've done it already, how did you find people to socialize with during your many free days?  I'd appreciate it if you included the city you live in with your answers as I think the size and nature of a city may make a difference in the answers and am intrigued to see if that is supported by the answers.

Thanks!

[Joggernot]

When I retired I just invited other older retirees over to chat, do wood carving, have a drink, whatever, and they reciprocated.  Lots of groups to join if I wanted.  Wife became a Master Gardener with all their social functions.  Now I invite the neighbors over because they work in the oil patch and have two weeks on and two weeks off.  Works out great for both of us.

[dragoncar]

Looking forward to alone time

[Cpa Cat]

Volunteering is a big one. It's easy to pick up other daytime people that way.

If you're not sure how to get involved, a lot of local United Way chapters maintain lists on their websites of organizations that have specific volunteering needs.

[viper155]

I'm 24. A long way away from ER.  However, the way I envision it is using the day time to get things done that I want to do - projects, learning something new, relaxing, etc.  Nights and weekends I will always be free to go to functions with my friends/family, which I don't always get to do now.  Unless you have a very small circle of friends (and thus are dependent on their schedule), I don't see it being an issue.

Thats easy if you remain 24 forever. You won't. There are wives/husbands, kids. It's an issue. Trust me.

[libertarian4321]

I was "early retired" from 2006-2010, before going back to work just for the heck of it.

I was probably more "social" than when I was working.  Charity was a big one, of course.  I also did a lot of visiting of relatives and old friends that I never had a chance to visit while stuck at work.  Also hobbies and politics (had a lot of fun working for the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential campaign as an "old" guy of 45 working with mostly young people in their 20s).

[brewer12345]

Homeless people, oldsters, meter maids, the list is endless...

Actually, I am happy socializing on an occasional basis on evenings and weekends (aside from family).  It was a relief to escape the office and all the people.

[Tectressa]

I'm not technically completely FI, but I have the lifestyle of a retired person at age 35.

Daytime is for spending online, on my hobbies, or running errands. I mostly like spending time alone, but if I feel like it I'll also see friends who work from home and want to go out for lunch, my (retired) parents, or SAHM friends. I also got to spend a few days over the last month with a friend on maternity leave.

Friends who still work nine to five I see on the weekends.

[SondraRose]

Semi-retired here at 51.  My friends tend to be other self-employed folk and younger retirees.

[MillenialMustache]

My mother does not work, so I am hoping to spend more time with her, my possible future children, and my nephew in the summers when he is not in school. My SIL is also a SAHM but lives a few hours away. It will be easier to visit her. Also have many retired family members and plan to spend time with them. Since I am female, hope to be in my early 30's, and hope to have a child, I am hoping to easily fall into the SAHM role. People will not realize I am retired per se, but just that I am not working. They will not need to know my DH is not working - plus, he will have a few rental houses he is taking care of.

[dude]

My experience (as an older guy who associates with a fair number of people much younger than me) is that certain active recreational hobbies like surfing, climbing, hiking, and skiing foster communities of people with wide variances in age and background.  Thus, if you're into one of these, you can cast a wider net, that includes college students, teachers with regular vacation periods and summers off, and other retirees. Locating willing partners for these activities is generally dead simple -- internet forums like this one, where lke-minded people gather to discuss various aspects of the hobby and are also looking for partners.

[EarlyQuit]

I am more of an introvert, so I need a lot of alone time to recharge. One of my problems today is that I often get tapped out on human interaction at work and end up not spending enough time with people I care about. So I am looking forward to reversing that post-FIRE, and to more alone time as well.

[KS]

I also did a lot of visiting of relatives and old friends that I never had a chance to visit while stuck at work.

+1 to this. I took some time off from working recently and while I mostly enjoyed laying around the apartment by myself being a hermit, I also saw my family/friends a lot more than I do when I'm working. Random lunches with my mom or former coworkers during the week, getting to drop in on my 100 year old grandmother in the middle of a weekday instead of only being able to go on weekends, plus as others said just having extra energy to accept more of the evening/weekend invitations to go hang out. All of that was really great and I definitely miss it now that I'm back at work. If I had been truly FIRE and not just taking a mini-break for sanity, I also would've probably traveled a bit more to visit my further-flung friends who I rarely get to see, and taken up some volunteer work to get me out of the house a little more.

[Rollin]

I often think about how the day-to-day routines of working regularly will be hard to replace, but when I really get into the subject I realize that it will be more seasonal or cyclical for me than worrying about setting up a daily routine.  For example, now I work and take small vacations.  After FIRE I expect to take longer vacations, more vacations, spending more time travelling to and from, as well as at my destination.  Along with that goes extra trip planning.  I travel cheap BTW (often spend less while out than when I am at home).

On a related note, one of the reasons I want to retire is that I want to relax more on my vacations, rather than try to see and do so much.  If I'm on the shore of Lake Michigan (while riding my motorcycle or bicycle) I might want to go across and continue to California, or take a right and head towards Maine.  When I'm working I do not have that option, I need to head south for home.  I also have dreamed of riding my bicycle across the country since I was 12.  However, I didn't want to try and squeeze that in as I would not like having to make a certain number of miles each day.

As far as day-to-day though (between trips) I am not sure what Ill be doing.  Still a little concerned about that too.  I am active in many sports, but not sure I want to get back into club riding (e.g., bicycles or motorcycles).  I do plan on working a bit in fields that teach me new skills.  I have a few friends that run businesses that I could help/assist them and get paid a little (e.g., HVAC and construction).

[TheQwan]

If you have or are planning to have a family, that question is easily answered.  I have been homeschooling my two boys for several years.  There are mountains of people in the homeschooling community who are self-employed or early retired.  Too many social opportunities! We  always laugh when people ask us if we're worried about socializing our kids.  No!  I'm worried about getting my school work done in between field trips and social events! :-)

Even more so, there is definitely room for those who are interested in sharing their knowledge and expertise.  Even if you don't homeschool, if you're interested in sharing your knowledge/skills on a subject you could volunteer to teach a one time class about, (for instance): riding or repairing bikes, computer programming, cooking, camping, blogging. You name it!   

[MsSindy]

My experience (as an older guy who associates with a fair number of people much younger than me) is that certain active recreational hobbies like surfing, climbing, hiking, and skiing foster communities of people with wide variances in age and background.  Thus, if you're into one of these, you can cast a wider net, that includes college students, teachers with regular vacation periods and summers off, and other retirees. Locating willing partners for these activities is generally dead simple -- internet forums like this one, where lke-minded people gather to discuss various aspects of the hobby and are also looking for partners.

This ^  Also, think about industries that are not 9 - 5, like healthcare, beauticians, bartenders, retail, 2nd shift workers, entrepreneurs, house-flippers - there are a lot of people that don't work everyday or during the mid-day.  It may mean expanding your social circle to include people from a more diverse career background than the typical 9 - 5.  When I have a day off during the week and I'm 'out and about', I always try and chat up people to find out if/where they work....I meet a lot of interesting people that I otherwise wouldn't.

[Dicey]

I fired my job almost two years ago. At least five years before that, I started volunteering in my community. I have made so many new friends that there is always something to do and someone to play with (when I want to).

Last week, we hosted a Celebration of Life for a dear friend. We had way too much food left over, because everyone brought a lot and took nothing home. That night (Sunday), I sent out emails inviting about 20 people to dinner. On Monday night, twelve people gathered around our 11-foot table and shared a meal. We had a blast and my friends made new friends. The common link was that everyone I invited was a volunteer in some way in their community. I sat at the table, amazed by the whole thing. It was an electrifying experience. And all this because I like to read and didn't want to spend money on new books. Wow.

[Spartana]

I retired at age 42 and play a lot of sports or do recreational activities to socialize. I meet people of all ages and genders who are either off work, on a second or third shift, or work seasonally or on weekends, students and teachers on break, SAHP's, or those who work from home or have flex-hours. I know a large group of different people like that that I can "play" with during the workday if I want. The number of people and opportunities are endless everyday or night of the week. I am also an introvert (unlike the OP who seems very extroverted and desires people around him/her more than us introverts) and really relish my alone time too.  Also I spend several months a year travelling (budget) and often meet people and do activities where ever I'm at thru Meetup groups or other groups or clubs. Do pick up games (volleyball), join a local club for a bike ride or hike. Lots to do and lots of people to do things with if you want. Although sometimes I just want to be alone. I was also way less social with my workmates when I was working (at least as a civilian, being in the military on a ship is a way different social world) and couldn't wait to get off work at the end of the day to meet my friends so we could "play".

Edited to add: I live in a beach community in SoCal. Am single (divorced), kid less, and other than a younger sister (also divorced and kid less) don't have any other family near by. Never feel lonely, date, have friends (all working for the most part) and lots of non-working acquaintances to hang with and enjoy my beach bum lifestyle.

[yddeyma]

Do internet friends count?

[Nords]

So early retiree's after you retired did you become isolated?  What were some things you did to avoid this?  I find that if I'm near other people I'm super motivated, but when I'm alone it just drops off.  I feel like if I retire so young my whole peer group will still be working all day every weekday and I'll just be bored alone most days.  So I want to hear from people who've done it already, how did you find people to socialize with during your many free days?  I'd appreciate it if you included the city you live in with your answers as I think the size and nature of a city may make a difference in the answers and am intrigued to see if that is supported by the answers.

You have to be responsible for your own entertainment.  If you can only thrive in the company of other people then you'd better stay in the office or else spend lots of time volunteering at places with crowds.

Personally I have days when so much socializing is going on that I need 2-3 days of solitude to regain my equilibrium.  Days when I've talked enough to be hoarse. 

Perhaps you're confusing "socializing" with "face-to-face contact".  I get plenty of socializing just from the surfing lineup and talk story on the beach.  I get plenty of it from a lunch or two a month.  I get lots more of it from e-mail, Facebook, and forums.