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What are you going to do when you retire by 40 and all your friends (and s/o) are still working? I don’t really understand the appeal.

by yunwal 1y ago

SoftTalker 1y ago
Whatever you find interesting. Imagine being able to just do something without the mental calculation of "is it worth spending a PTO day on this?"
- yunwal 1y ago
  I pretty much optimize for PTO when choosing jobs, so I really never have this dilemma. My current job offers 8 weeks PTO (but I make much less than I would at a FAANG). To me, that’s better than retirement.
monktastic1 1y ago
Perhaps "retire" is the wrong word. One can still work (whether for pay or not) and improve the lives of the people around them without staying on the consumption treadmill. Very few actually do. Again, this isn't meant as a judgement — it's just highlighting that we each have a role to play in slowing down this insane freight train.
- gchamonlive 1y ago
  This is completely the wrong approach. You can't dedicate your entire life to one specific task and expect when you retire to suddenly be able to "improve the lives of the people around (you) without staying in the consumption treadmill" because all you know is the consumption treadmill. Thinking otherwise is just wishful thinking. If you see yourself improving the lives of people around you later in life, which is commendable and the right thing to do, you have to start now, while you are still in your prime years. If you leave it when you are older chances are you'll be just another John waiting in line for the next Black Friday.
djeastm 1y ago
You can't think of anything you'd want to do with your daytime hours other than work?
- gchamonlive 1y ago
  Have you tried doing anything other than work that isn't consuming something? I have, from drawing to music, from writing novels to doing programming projects on my free time. It's not very fun, you aren't good at most of it and it's very frustrating. It's also very rewarding being able to overcome limitations and building up skills. But it's first and foremost very demanding. You can't expect someone that just got retired to suddenly spark in creative energy, even if they intimately wanted to do everything.
  - HPsquared 1y ago
    That's still work, it's just self-directed and not for selling to the general market. Same as how exercising is work.
    - gchamonlive 1y ago
      What isn't work then?
      - HPsquared 1y ago
        Watching Netflix I suppose. Sleeping (although I'm sure some get paid for that in the right circumstance) ... Even watching Netflix could be a slog if you're doing it for some purpose (e.g. to clue up on cultural references) and it's an exertion of effort.
        gchamonlive 1y ago
        Don't you agree that this limits a lot the perspective of what you do when you retire, if retiring means not working anymore? Maybe we agree that it's all work, but there are types of work that even though they're frustrating, they are also rewarding in specific ways that is interesting for those that retire.

What are you going to do when you retire by 40 and all your friends (and s/o) are still working? I don’t really understand the appeal.

by yunwal 1y ago

What are you going to do when you retire by 40 and all your friends (and s/o) are still working? I don’t really understand the appeal.

SoftTalker 1y ago

Whatever you find interesting. Imagine being able to just do something without the mental calculation of "is it worth spending a PTO day on this?"

yunwal 1y ago
I pretty much optimize for PTO when choosing jobs, so I really never have this dilemma. My current job offers 8 weeks PTO (but I make much less than I would at a FAANG). To me, that’s better than retirement.

monktastic1 1y ago

Perhaps "retire" is the wrong word. One can still work (whether for pay or not) and improve the lives of the people around them without staying on the consumption treadmill. Very few actually do. Again, this isn't meant as a judgement — it's just highlighting that we each have a role to play in slowing down this insane freight train.

gchamonlive 1y ago
This is completely the wrong approach. You can't dedicate your entire life to one specific task and expect when you retire to suddenly be able to "improve the lives of the people around (you) without staying in the consumption treadmill" because all you know is the consumption treadmill. Thinking otherwise is just wishful thinking. If you see yourself improving the lives of people around you later in life, which is commendable and the right thing to do, you have to start now, while you are still in your prime years. If you leave it when you are older chances are you'll be just another John waiting in line for the next Black Friday.

djeastm 1y ago

You can't think of anything you'd want to do with your daytime hours other than work?

gchamonlive 1y ago
Have you tried doing anything other than work that isn't consuming something? I have, from drawing to music, from writing novels to doing programming projects on my free time. It's not very fun, you aren't good at most of it and it's very frustrating. It's also very rewarding being able to overcome limitations and building up skills. But it's first and foremost very demanding. You can't expect someone that just got retired to suddenly spark in creative energy, even if they intimately wanted to do everything.
- HPsquared 1y ago
  That's still work, it's just self-directed and not for selling to the general market. Same as how exercising is work.
  - gchamonlive 1y ago
    What isn't work then?
    - HPsquared 1y ago
      Watching Netflix I suppose. Sleeping (although I'm sure some get paid for that in the right circumstance) ... Even watching Netflix could be a slog if you're doing it for some purpose (e.g. to clue up on cultural references) and it's an exertion of effort.
      - gchamonlive 1y ago
        Don't you agree that this limits a lot the perspective of what you do when you retire, if retiring means not working anymore? Maybe we agree that it's all work, but there are types of work that even though they're frustrating, they are also rewarding in specific ways that is interesting for those that retire.