When should I retire?

Early retirement has been a topic in my mind since I was in my 40s. At that point in time, it appeared rather far away. In a blink of an eye, I am now in my 50s. Am I looking forward to my retirement? Yes and No.

Yes because I have been working for so long and I often day dream about going some country to chill for several weeks and months with no agenda. To live like a local and experience life there like one of them. I have watched numerous youtube clips about retirements. This is my kind of travels and not having a big check list to tick off in a rush.

However, one of the biggest concern I have about retiring early is the transition from a life packed with schedules to one that is totally up to you. In my work, I have objectives and interesting projects to keep me occupied. I can travel for work too when I want to or need to. It can be for overseas conferences, customer visits, management meetings etc.

When I retire, it is totally up to me as there is nothing to follow. It is not difficult to understand how those top management like the C levels (i am not one though) will feel when they retire. From a life where everyone respect you either as a person or because of your position and vying for your time, to one where no one actually bothers. This can be a tough pill to swallow or cruel reality check.

My ideal age to retire I think should be before I reached 60 years old. Preferably when I am still fit to move around with ease. This not too distant future but just another 7 years. Financially I am not too concerned as I should be comfortable by then if all goes well. In the worst case, I will simply live within my means or just sell off my other assets. The bigger worry would be what to do upon retirement. Will I feel unfulfilled or feel aimless? I have a list of things I would like to do and they are:

• Reading at home, cafe or event in the public library
• Writing – spend more time writing blogs as I have many ideas but not enough time
• Exercise – swim, gym, cycling and hiking
• Golf trips – go for short golf trips in other countries or just Malaysia
• Slow travels – twice a year with several weeks stay in a country. Too much travel will feel like my current job and I might as well not retire
• Johor perhaps once or twice a week – short drive to Johor for food, massage and groceries shopping. Will go there during the weekdays to beat the traffic jam or even stay there overnight
• Attend courses – Non academic courses such as digital art (procreate software), guitar, writing or even cooking

Will all these be fulfilling enough and occupy my days? Well, I still have 7 days to fine tune my plans and add more stuffs.