Boat stuff versus garden duties

[BaitDropper]

Since moving up to the south coast of NSW for our semi retirement sea change,  This property has thrown some huge curve balls at us...

Been dealing with them and have made a huge dent ,  main issue was during the big pour we had last year, the water volume we were having during all that, showed that some decent drainage needed to be done. So got all that sorted, about 70 meters of french drains dug, drainage pipe and gravel filled in, no way of really telling if it can handle the deluge we got a year back, but I'm confident ..

One of the fallouts of all that wet, was the water was carrying weed seeds, from other properties, which has made the, what was a great lawn, look like a disaster !, incredible how quick they literally infested the lawn..

I recon I would have spent near 40 hours pulling most of the weeds out, finger blisters an all, and am now ready to spray a preemergence type herbicide over the whole damn property, just over 3/4 of an acre, to nail this pest for once an all.  It's been a while since we have lived in a place that had this much lawn and huge gardens, I have to admit, as therapeutic as it sure is, I'm well over it all now 😁,  got my first 12 month service on the outboard next Thursday, that should motivate me to try and head out and drop some bait..

Well, Thats my rant done with.

[Blackfish]

A little similar there BD, retired and moved up the coast 2 month ago …… fishing PFFFFFTTTTT, no chance yet with lots of house stuff to do but I’m in a better place.  One day I’ll get out for a fish.

All the best

[BaitDropper]

Hi BF,  I see by your header your in Port Macquary,  I fought, manipulated and even tried to coerce my other half to make that our destination, I love the place, but I lost that battle, but am very happy with where we ended up, as you said, "I'm in a better place" compared to where we came from that's so true.

And yes, the most disappointing aspect of the last year, so far, has been the lack of hours I've spent on the water. 

 

Cheers  

[Little_Flatty]

Sorry to hear that @BaitDropper and @Blackfish.

Whilst I’m at a very different life stage to you both, I’ve had a similar experience. A couple of years ago, I had a busy full time job managing a team, was back at uni studying a masters degree, all whilst looking after a family with young children. It was driving me nuts. I took a less busy part time job so I could knock off uni and guess what? I was still running around like a madman! I soon learned that on my day ‘off’, I couldn’t muck around and it ended up that my work days became a ‘break’ from study!

As someone who has become quite good at fitting fishing into a busy life, all I’ll say is keep it simple! You don’t need 12 hour days on the boat to get your fishing fix; one hour land based close to home is enough, so long as you do it often! Fill the bucket just enough, then get back to your chores with a new energy and before you know it, you’ll be properly back on the water with a vengeance 😎

[big Neil]

I typed a lengthy reply here, re-read it, and deleted it. It sounded like I was preaching to you guys.

Suffice to say, enjoy life and try to include some fishing into the equation. It's good for you. Oh, and make sure you post your experiences here.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

bn

[BaitDropper]

2 hours ago, big Neil said:

I typed a lengthy reply here, re-read it, and deleted it. It sounded like I was preaching to you guys.

Suffice to say, enjoy life and try to include some fishing into the equation. It's good for you. Oh, and make sure you post your experiences here.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

bn

Well Big Neil,   I don't honestly think it would have been taken as " preaching "..

This is the first time in my working life, I've not been up and out the door by 7 and off to work, even the last 25 years being self employed !  This is taking a power of getting used to this "semi retirement capper in all seriousness !!!.  The wife has finally gone back casually to work, which she's thoroughly enjoying. I seriously didn't think it would be this hard to cut the strings of " gainful employment "  and kick back a tad and enjoy the moment,,,, I seriously don't know how guys make that final plunge .

The place we bought has to have some major fix up/ re models, thanks to the previous owners lack of diligience towards council regulations, but we new this when we bought. which I've decided to take on as an owner builder, which will definitely keep me busy for another 6-12 months.

I think my lack of " water " time has been a bit self induced, kind of a guilt thing about not having to get up and head off to work,, sounds strange, but it's almost like justifying my " Semi retired" status 😁.  Need to get my head around this very soon, or I might head out and buy or start another business, defeating the whole purpose..

Who else had made the move, successfully or not ???.

 

[big Neil]

8 hours ago, BaitDropper said:

Well Big Neil,   I don't honestly think it would have been taken as " preaching "..

This is the first time in my working life, I've not been up and out the door by 7 and off to work, even the last 25 years being self employed !  This is taking a power of getting used to this "semi retirement capper in all seriousness !!!.  The wife has finally gone back casually to work, which she's thoroughly enjoying. I seriously didn't think it would be this hard to cut the strings of " gainful employment "  and kick back a tad and enjoy the moment,,,, I seriously don't know how guys make that final plunge .

The place we bought has to have some major fix up/ re models, thanks to the previous owners lack of diligience towards council regulations, but we new this when we bought. which I've decided to take on as an owner builder, which will definitely keep me busy for another 6-12 months.

I think my lack of " water " time has been a bit self induced, kind of a guilt thing about not having to get up and head off to work,, sounds strange, but it's almost like justifying my " Semi retired" status 😁.  Need to get my head around this very soon, or I might head out and buy or start another business, defeating the whole purpose..

Who else had made the move, successfully or not ???.

 

I was so ready to retire from full-time work after more than 50 years of it. Truth was that I even had a couple of jobs as a youngster, working on farms and in a butcher's shop. The transition for me was only made difficult by the fact that my wife, who was the major breadwinner, had to keep working to reach retirement age. Unfortunately, she never made it and passed away 5 years short of her retirement. That traumatic event completely changed my outlook on life.

So what advice would I give to people who are close to retiring from full-time work? Communicate your needs. Don't feel guilty that you have reached this stage of your life...you have earned it. Don't wait till tomorrow to do things that matter...there's no guarantee of tomorrow coming. Lastly...keep busy. In your case BaitDropper, that won't be a problem. 

Good luck mate, bn

[noelm]

I have said this here before, retirement is not an age or a money thing, it's a mental decision, you have to be ready to retire, some are, some certainly are not, I fall into the "not" category and I am looking for some part time work. It's not for the money, but of course that will be nice, it's just a "want to" thing.

[Blackfish]

Great relies on this. @BaitDropper where did you move to down the coast. I love the South Coast but not the winter weather and up till moving we holidayed down at Tathra or Pambula and could not believe how few people there were down there in January….. well compared to what I was used to in Sydney.

Port Macquarie is a very busy coastal town with lots of older people (like me 😀) but super friendly. The big thing is I’ve gone down to the boat ramp just to have a bit of a look and generally there’s only a couple of boats out, at Easter there was only a few more but the weather was crook. Maybe at Chrissy it could be crowded.
In Sydney even during the week the boat ramps were busy.

Would I go back to Sydney, never.  I had my first 64years there and started work at 15, worked stupid hours all my life and working hard was my only option as I’ve never considered my self smart so I had to put in hours to make a living.

Anyhoooooo, I’m sitting in the sunroom with sun on my back drinking a nice cup of Tea, loose leaf of course contemplating on wether I’ll go and pump some nippers today on the low tide and throw one out to see if there is any fish up here.

Decisions decisions……. 
I’m sounding like a old codger …….. maybe I am. Bahhhaaaa

[big Neil]

Just thought of something else. No debate about getting the garden in order for me. I always wanted to have green concrete, but my wife said "no". So for years, it was a case of tending the ever-growing grass. These days I have somebody do that for me. I haven't totally given up on gardening though, I just keep it in perspective. I pick the oranges when they're ready and tend my new gardens...4 of these. bn

Succulents in hanging baskets.

 

[Blackfish]

Neil the house we bought up here, the fellow was a avid gardener but over 20 plus years it got away on them. They left so many pot plants in the jungle and after speaking to a couple of neighbours I find they are looking after quite a few till they move into their retirement village so when your up this way I can given you a heap of succulents….. better make it quick though before my wife tosses them 😄

[bessell1955]

Great advice BN!

[BaitDropper]

47 minutes ago, noelm said:

I have said this here before, retirement is not an age or a money thing, it's a mental decision, you have to be ready to retire, some are, some certainly are not, I fall into the "not" category and I am looking for some part time work. It's not for the money, but of course that will be nice, it's just a "want to" thing.

That's a pretty good analysis there Noel, " a mental decision "  very true indeed.

I've had the opportunity to take on work here, some full time and some part time, even considered buying a business from a guy moving in another direction, but that would have been stupid and bought back all the reasons for the sea change. There's certainly plenty on offer, but up until now it's been full on with the property.

It's really hard to break that cycle that we have with working for so long, I think a lot of it is the social aspect of working we miss, not necessarily the money aspect, all though that would certainly help.  I think it's about finding that balance, which I appear to have not found yet..

[BaitDropper]

40 minutes ago, Blackfish said:

Great relies on this. @BaitDropper where did you move to down the coast. I love the South Coast but not the winter weather and up till moving we holidayed down at Tathra or Pambula and could not believe how few people there were down there in January….. well compared to what I was used to in Sydney.

Port Macquarie is a very busy coastal town with lots of older people (like me 😀) but super friendly. The big thing is I’ve gone down to the boat ramp just to have a bit of a look and generally there’s only a couple of boats out, at Easter there was only a few more but the weather was crook. Maybe at Chrissy it could be crowded.
In Sydney even during the week the boat ramps were busy.

Would I go back to Sydney, never.  I had my first 64years there and started work at 15, worked stupid hours all my life and working hard was my only option as I’ve never considered my self smart so I had to put in hours to make a living.

Anyhoooooo, I’m sitting in the sunroom with sun on my back drinking a nice cup of Tea, loose leaf of course contemplating on wether I’ll go and pump some nippers today on the low tide and throw one out to see if there is any fish up here.

Decisions decisions……. 
I’m sounding like a old codger …….. maybe I am. Bahhhaaaa

BF, we moved up from Melbourne to the south coast, just outside of Nowra, it's a brilliant location, we are not " beach people" as such, so didn't want to be right by the ocean. 

It's only a very short trip out to Greenwell point or Jervis bay or a number of other launching points to head out wide, or a 5 minute drive and onto the Shoalhaven river, so ideal for what we were looking for.

Sounds like you've found that balance BF, well done...

 We too just had enough of a large city, the traffic, the general lack of privacy etc, while we are not rural where we are, everyone is on 1/2 acre plus blocks and it has that rural feel, tucked away off the main areas. As mentioned, Port Macquarie was definitely my no1 choice, but over all we are pretty happy with our choice now, there's plebty of industry down this way and opportunities for work etc which gives us the best of both worlds.

[Rebel]

We moved from the Northern Beaches 17 years ago. Sold the house for top dollar & bought on the Central Coast for a 1/4 of the price.

We have a corner block across the road from a creek that runs into Tuggerah Lakes. No lawns. Just a nice garden to keep under control.

What I like about the Coast is the wide roads to drive on & the shopping centres are close by.

Still go down to the Northern Beaches fishing.

[big Neil]

4 hours ago, Blackfish said:

Neil the house we bought up here, the fellow was a avid gardener but over 20 plus years it got away on them. They left so many pot plants in the jungle and after speaking to a couple of neighbours I find they are looking after quite a few till they move into their retirement village so when your up this way I can given you a heap of succulents….. better make it quick though before my wife tosses them 😄

Toss 'em, I have access to heaps here. Actually, I'm looking at making some Bonsai pots and having a go at succulent Bonsais. Love making Bonsai pots...creativity plus. bn

[Blackfish]

Ok so you have motivated me BD, I’ve pumped some nippers and I’m off the the wharf at the boat ramp tonight to have a fish when it gets dark for maybe a hour of so.

[Hill373737]

18 hours ago, BaitDropper said:

 

Who else had made the move, successfully or not ???.

 

Yep, I've done it and don't miss work one bit. I retired January 2022, we bought a house on just over an acre in Tamworth and I love my life. I'm sitting in my shed, havoing a beer, listening to some music and updating my fishing diary after today's session as I write this.

My wife occassionally jokes that I should get a job and my standard reply is that " I'd be happy to get a job, I just don't want any work!!"

After many years in business, I have some personal disciplines and tools that I still use to plan and make sure I maximise my time, regardless if I'm fishing, doing work around the house or making sure there is plenty of time for hanging out with my grandkids.

It must be working as I'm fishing 3 or 4 times a week and everything else falls into place and gets done.

I've directed a lot of my old energy and drive from work into the business of catching Murray Cod and the total experience, from mucking around with gear to landing a fish gives me a massive mental buzz!! It works for me, I do hope you can find a way to get the buzz back!

... and finally, I live by this, heard it in a song once....

"Do your living while your living, as there ain't no coming back!!"

 

 

 

[noelm]

I guess a lot depends on your previous employment too, some people hate going to work, others love it, I was in the love it side, which made/makes retiring somewhat more difficult. I worked for years as a TV repairman, so, I was driving around, meeting people every day, not every day was a joy, but, in the main, going to work was interesting. Then I moved to IT at a local University until I retired, working at the Uni was great, enjoyed almost every day, working with people from every walk of life, young people, old people, some young "kids" so smart it scared me, Professors so smart they seemed almost silly (strange thing to say), research facilities doing fascinating stuff, travelling all over the place doing "work" so varied it was great fun. So to me, retirement was such a dramatic change! I have grandkids, go fishing and take care of "stuff" around the house, have interests, but........it's not the same, if you get what I mean. I have a nice house, in a great location, two boats, two cars, but, material things like that really mean nothing. I have reasonable health, don't need glasses, have good knees and back, so, all in all, nothing to "whinge" about, but, since retirement I have noticed lots of my clothes have shrunk around the middle...........after all that useless rant, it's time for coffee and think about a part time job!

[Ganguddy Goodoo]

I know what you are talking about @BaitDropper. I have x3 oak trees and a liquidamber in my yard so have a lot of leaves to rake and mulch this arvo. I'm a big fan of @Little_Flatty ability to sneak in a short session whenever he can. Most of my free time is spent driving kids to after school activities. I'm not complaining because i enjoy that. I remember being a new parent 14 years ago and news feeds were full of parenting articles about not making your child's life too busy and free time for imaginative play was the way to go. Now I over program my kids to keep them off a screen.

More and more I'm starting to understand @big Neil advice of living your best life while you can. I remember in my pre-fishing, pre-kids life driving up to the blue mountains every weekend to go climbing and walking. Summers were spent in Tasmania doing the same. I dream about going back to some of those places with a fishing rod. Easy to take things for granted. I used to roll my eyes at old farts talking about what they did in their youth. Now i can see how much they valued the experiences and friendships.

[big Neil]

4 hours ago, noelm said:

I guess a lot depends on your previous employment too, some people hate going to work, others love it, I was in the love it side, which made/makes retiring somewhat more difficult. I worked for years as a TV repairman, so, I was driving around, meeting people every day, not every day was a joy, but, in the main, going to work was interesting. Then I moved to IT at a local University until I retired, working at the Uni was great, enjoyed almost every day, working with people from every walk of life, young people, old people, some young "kids" so smart it scared me, Professors so smart they seemed almost silly (strange thing to say), research facilities doing fascinating stuff, travelling all over the place doing "work" so varied it was great fun. So to me, retirement was such a dramatic change! I have grandkids, go fishing and take care of "stuff" around the house, have interests, but........it's not the same, if you get what I mean. I have a nice house, in a great location, two boats, two cars, but, material things like that really mean nothing. I have reasonable health, don't need glasses, have good knees and back, so, all in all, nothing to "whinge" about, but, since retirement I have noticed lots of my clothes have shrunk around the middle...........after all that useless rant, it's time for coffee and think about a part time job!

Thanks for the insightful post noelm, loved the part about liking work and meeting many different people. My formative years moulded my life. In 12 years of schooling the word "ambition" was deleted from the curriculum. So I never had any expectation of striving for success. Menial jobs, with menial pay filled my 50+ years of working. Definitely not enjoyable, more along the lines of "don't think about it, just do it". So my retirement was always something that was going to be life-changing and exciting.

I have lots of friends who are "retired" but many of them still work part-time because they want to. They don't need the money but obviously, it fills a part of their life that needs filling. That's the dilemma that BaitDropper talks about. I think we all understand that you can't retire and stop doing everything. So many choices!

What my mediocre working life did for me though was to develop a deep passion for my hobbies...fishing, making pottery, and socialising. As Meatloaf sings "Two out of Three ain't bad".  Through this forum, I have communicated with lots of very interesting people and I have fished with quite a few of them.

bn

[big Neil]

"Do your living while your living, as there ain't no coming back!!"

 

Exactly.

bn

[BaitDropper]

Your right there Neil, " My dilemma ".

I'm sure it's just a mind set for me, one that I have to get my head around.

I too, had a sort of Love/hate thing about work, was always complaining about finding time to do my hobby stuff outside of work.

The most enjoyable aspect for me I got out of work, was the relationships that I had built over the years, including staff, then, when I sold up and went on as a one man band operation, the stress was removed, but the new relationships I gained then, were a great part of my life.  So for me, it was kinda like a double whammy !!  Into a semi retirement and a move inter state, a complete turn around. For so long juggling that balance between work and play, now to have only " play " to look forward to, I've done everything I possibly can to turn the new property, into my work, so as the things I should now be doing more, in my head, I'm avoiding,  if you can follow that explanation 😁..

I guess I figured it would take time to adjust, we are sort of fortunate that working is not a mandatory thing for us to survive, we are both a fair way away from pension and super age, but certainly casual/ part time work would certainly help stop the draining of our bank accounts. 😁.

I do like your saying, " Do your living while your living.............   

 Never a truer word said Sir..

 

 

[noelm]

The great thing about doing work around the yard when retired, is the lack of urgency to get something done in one day. When we were renovating, at times I would work from near daylight to dark, other days I might just do a couple of hours work, when the outside work started, it was coming into spring, so at times it was nice, just "pottering" while other days I dug, laid turf, made gardens and level out crap left when the pool was installed, then concreting and stuff like that, it all took months longer than it would have getting people in, but the end result is very satisfying, looking around saying "we built that" I am lucky because my wife can do lots of things, using tools and stuff like that, so most projects we did together, the added advantage is she has a "good eye" for seeing things straight or level, where I am hopeless, unless I have string lines and tools, things just look good, but are not to my eye! Every day I ask her, "does this look straight"? It's some kind of dyslexia I have, but seeing as I never knew any different, it's never held me back as such, until it comes to drawing......I can't draw anything!

[BaitDropper]

47 minutes ago, noelm said:

The great thing about doing work around the yard when retired, is the lack of urgency to get something done in one day. When we were renovating, at times I would work from near daylight to dark, other days I might just do a couple of hours work, when the outside work started, it was coming into spring, so at times it was nice, just "pottering" while other days I dug, laid turf, made gardens and level out crap left when the pool was installed, then concreting and stuff like that, it all took months longer than it would have getting people in, but the end result is very satisfying, looking around saying "we built that" I am lucky because my wife can do lots of things, using tools and stuff like that, so most projects we did together, the added advantage is she has a "good eye" for seeing things straight or level, where I am hopeless, unless I have string lines and tools, things just look good, but are not to my eye! Every day I ask her, "does this look straight"? It's some kind of dyslexia I have, but seeing as I never knew any different, it's never held me back as such, until it comes to drawing......I can't draw anything!

Yep, that's so true, there's a heap more satisfaction sitting back and admiring ones handy work.

We were quite lucky moving into this place, which  has a 4-5 year old Reno, but outside, wow, the garden structure was quite good in what they did and planted, but I don't think a weed had been pulled in 4-5 years. I ended up taking near 2 tonne of pruning's and weeds to the tip, they were that bad that they grew over small shrubs and newly planted trees, completely covered them, but looked brilliant once everything was cleaned up, that's how I met most of the Neighbour's, that wandered over as I was clearing everything, thanking me for making an eyesore a lot better.  My wife is not what you would call a keen " gardener " but took a keen interest on the new Vege gardens I put in this year, we had a brilliant crop, I think she is more comfortable telling me what she want's to happen in the garden, and also changing her mind half way thru the project !!  we get there tho.

Being on the tools is not something I'll credit her with either 😁   ,, but she's helping me bleed the hydraulic steering in the boat tomorrow morning, so no doubt I'll be receiving some good advice thru that process I'm picking 😍 We both have our own completely different hobbies, and they don't intertwine, but it works and that's the main thing.

Have you had a decent hunt for part time work ??

Seems to be a fair few options down here, but it's more that the employers want full time, which Defeats the purpose.  I was talking with a company down here that wanted a part time truck driver, couple of days a week max, so I had a chat with him, and it ended with him wanting me fulltime, which for me again defeats the purpose, they wanted to tap into to my trade experience, so I ended up declining and they never offered me for the part time vacancy.

It can be difficult finding that right part timer that you can enjoy That fit's your life style without the pressure of it all.