Welcome to “Conversations About Retirement”.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I write this welcome to “Conversations About Retirement”.  The aim simply is to share conversations with retirees, for other retirees to reflect on. The conversations will be about retirees thoughts and experiences of being retired. And, the hope is to publish a series of “Conversations About Retirement”.

I have been retired now for one year. Wow! That is amazing. So much has happened in this first year of my retirement.

The blog website www.whatsonwatsons.com was launched at the beginning of this year. This was after several months of preparation work.

The primary focus of the What’s on Watson’s blog to date has been on retirees enjoying travel. Yet, right from the beginning I have wanted to also have a focus on retirement.

Before I retired, for a couple of years, I had this idea about interviewing other retirees. For me, retirement has been a really big deal, with so many big decisions. It has been such a change and big transition to go through. And, I thought, I am not alone in this transition into retirement. What are other retirees thinking and doing?

I have always wanted to have conversations with other retirees about their retirement lifestyle experiences. What are retirees doing with their time? What have they found in retirement? Have they changed since their retirement? My hope has been to share, with consent, people’s thoughts and everyday experiences of their retirement.

The title was chosen because the conversations will be with retirees chatting about their thoughts and experiences of retirement, and about their lifestyle in retirement. 

I believe in the benefits of conversation and storytelling. Through stories rich descriptions about simple or taken for granted day to day experiences are shared. Stories may resonate and influence us to reflect on our lives, what is of value and important to us, and to gain a sense of community and belonging. How great would it be to develop a community of retirees simply talking, sharing and supporting one another.

(Please note – Complex difficulties can also be storied. I wish to emphasise this blog is not a space for stories about trauma and high levels of distress).

If you do a retirement google search, what comes up? A lot about retirement financial planning, superannuation and retirement villages. If you google retirement lifestyle, then it’s not a whole lot better.  Yet, there is so much more that could be said about retirement and retirees experience of retirement. The conversations and stories can be so much broader, far more diverse, far richer, and perhaps even humorous.

And, I just love how we never quite know where conversations will go. What will be discussed we never really know. Conversations evolve as they unfold. They are a journey of discovery.

Oh, and the intention is not to have a competitive tone to any conversations and stories shared. No one is interested in people boasting they think they are doing better than others.

What are your thoughts about sharing thoughts and experiences about retirement? What benefit do you think there may be from having a supportive community of retirees sharing stories about their retirement experiences?

Please contact me if you are interested in sharing a short story of your your thoughts or experiences of retirement.

I would love to hear from you.

Best wishes from Estelle – Retiree