If you’ve spent the majority of your adult life hard at work, then retirement can be a big transition. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your life is over. Retiring doesn’t have to mean slowing down. Instead, you should view retirement as the beginning of your new life. You should use all of your free time to have new experiences or to do more of what you love. Either way, you should live life to the fullest and make the most of the new time that you have.
Getting Your Affairs in Order
Okay, so you should celebrate your retirement in some big way, but before you turn your attention to fun, you should start thinking about what your life as a retiree will look like. Maybe try to create a plan for the next couple of decades–or at least the next ten years. It might seem early to start thinking about it, but you should start shopping around for nursing homes. The thing is, realistically, you can’t predict the future. You have no way of knowing how with it you’ll be when it’s time for you to move into an assisted living facility. With the amount of neglect and abuse in Chicago nursing homes, it’s not a bad idea for you to do your research early when you’re able to give an informed opinion. Getting this out of the way will make the whole process easier on your children or younger loved ones when the time comes and will ensure that you end up in a decent facility. There are even some assisted living facilities and senior communities that you can move into when you’re still very capable, and the level of care will gradually increase for you as needed. These are great options since they make the transition much more manageable.
In addition to thinking about assisted living, you should also think about your health. Once you’re retired, it’s easy to fall into a more sedentary lifestyle, but doing this can be harmful to your health and cause you to age faster. This is why it’s important to remain active after retirement. If you don’t already have a hobby, then you should look into different types of recreation and find one that stands out to you. It’s recommended that you get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day to promote cardio health. You can achieve this through jogging, biking, swimming, dancing, or any number of other fun activities. If you’re looking to gain a new sense of community and expand your social circle, you should join a Jazzercise class. Jazzercise is a fantastic way to stay active while making new friends. In addition to cardio, you must stretch and strengthen your muscles to maintain flexibility and functionality. Doing this is necessary to ensure that you maintain full mobility and coordination as you age. You can achieve this by lifting weights and stretching at the gym or by taking up a practice like yoga or pilates, both of which use your weight to improve the strength of your muscles. There are plenty of different styles of yoga, however, so you should do your research on local studios to find the class that’s right for you.
Taking a Trip
Once you’ve set yourself up for future success and prosperity, you should celebrate your retirement by taking a trip. Maybe there’s somewhere you’ve always wanted to go? Or maybe there’s somewhere you’ve been before that you’d love to go back to? If neither of these is the case, then a safe way to ensure that you’ll have a fun trip is to book an all-inclusive cruise. Cruises are great because they take you to multiple different islands and ports, but in-between destinations, there are still plenty of activities to do on the ship and plenty of entertainment to keep you amused.
Doing More of What You Love
If you aren’t interested in taking a trip after your retirement, then there’s plenty to do in Chicago. Something you might not have considered doing was using your newfound free time to act like a tourist. It might sound ridiculous, especially if you’re a Chicago native, but oftentimes we don’t fully appreciate our hometown until we’ve seen it from a different perspective. You might have taken for granted the things that people travel across the country to see–like how many native New Yorkers have never been to the Statue of Liberty–and you might even find that you haven’t experienced things that are considered Chicago staples, like the Field Museum or the Skydeck. Who knows, taking a tour of the city might even introduce you to your new favorite spot.
