Would love to just chat!

[Rebecca2004]

I am recently retired and still getting used to being at home all day.  I tried to get a part time job but no success. I would love to chat and get to know people from all over the country.  Maybe you can give me some advice on retirement loneliness!  Rebecca 

[OscarE1968]

@MedusaE76171 Well unfortunately for me, I had to return to work due to the company's loss of employees to covid. Mon - fri I'm usually home by 5 pm way past coffee break time lol but am off Sat & Sun. Not sure how it works out for anyone else? 

[OscarE1968]

Not familiar with Skype but I'm game. 

[HStreet1203]

Hi, Bess, I'd love to chat and this couldn't come at a better time for me. My mood goes up and down as I travel through this. The metaphor of having to fill an empty canvas every week and every day, even every hour, has come to me. You spoke about no luck in getting a part-time job. I can't even figure out to do volunteer stuff. 

How do we make this a regular thing? Could we bring people together on Zoom? 

Thanks, Tony

[hockeymom9178]

I don't know about you, but i am finding following threads on this site difficult. Once I leave, i have difficulty finding the thread again. There has to be an easier way. 

[Rhymesometimes]

@hockeymom9178 I agree.  The dates seem to go all over the place.  After a year posting and reading, I sometimes still fine it confusing.

[GramdaC864]

Rebecca,
I too would just love to chat, I am also retired, and after being housebound due to Covid for a year I ended up detaching my darn Achilles Tendon and having surgery,  so now my rear end is stuck in this chair for months.  Where are you located?  Maybe we can keep each other from going nutty

Carol

[HStreet1203]

Hi, Rebecca. I am so happy to have met you here. Today is my 2nd week anniversary for leaving my job and moving towards retirement. Before I pulled the trigger on leaving my job I thought that my major challenges would be 1) money and 2) filling the void, like waking up and seeing a big, dark tunnel of nothing. But what I didn’t anticipate was what you mentioned, “retirement loneliness.” 

Quite honestly, I’d never been very good at keeping friends or making them. But now I am reaching out and a lot of people I thought would respond are not. So I have a rejiggered the 2nd challenge to be filling the timing productively with people.  I figure that would be hard for me in normal circumstances but of course Covid is making this worse. I’d love to keep talking to you, Rebecca and anyone else who has these feelings or has any advice. Thanks, Tony

[SIMPLEGAL]

AnthonyG273710.....Find something you enjoy doing and you will find others who will share your activity.

[SIMPLEGAL]

Loneliness and retirement.....the best way to overcome them is to keep busy.

[Rhymesometimes]

@Rebecca2004 , Volunteering is a great transition from retirement.  Great way to meet new people. Also, taking classes on things that interest you, finding new hobbies, or rediscovering old ones. There are so many people that could use your help.  Congratulations on your retirement, best of luck with this new faze of life. Christine

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone:

• Any birthdays this month?
• Where are you located? Me, Virginia USA.
• Any pet owners? I have a Doggie Friend Athena 🙂
• Any grandkids? Me, not yet. I have one child, a daughter.
• Are you retired? I did July 2021.
• Any hobbies? Me, reading and gardening.
• If you are still working, what do you do?
• I am very active in several AARP community forums. Joined AARP in 2019. How about you?
• Let us share and support each other. I read several posts and look forward to us moving forward with chatting amongst ourselves 🙂 🙂 🙂

[LynneS930241]

help I would love to chat in the forums and to you but can't seem to swim thru. I am retired since I was 66. I was an L&D nurse for over 30 years and like most people miss the daily life of going to work but not actually the work. I am trying to sew and scrapbook. I love to read. I live in a rural area and love it. I have three mustangs(PETS) and 2 **bleep**zus. 

[Anonymous]

Hi @LynneS930241 lol, the AARP Community Board  is not easy to use and I had taken a year off (2020) and returned this year. You can PRIVATE MESSAGE AND FRIEND folks you connect with and who want to communicate. I am here if you need any help at all. Good hearing from you 🙂

[WendellB235731]

do you have any hobbies? what are you good at? Do you ever take walks in your neighborhood or is there a park nearby? Sometimes you can meet other walkers with similar interests. Try it or get yourself a bicycle. You'd be surprised at who your neighbors are. Have you considered a home based business? There are so many that are good for retirees and anybody, plus you meet new people, even virtually. Im working on one right now if you're interested. Are we allowed to trade emails or numbers?

[snop1010]

I am a bridge player. Do you play bridge. The game is challenging and you meet so many friends in bridge clubs. 

[SydneyH908811]

Dear Rebecca

I just retired about 3 weeks ago after losing my husband this fall so I know how you feel-not sure what to do with this time. If you want to to chat or write please contact me-I do have friends but they are from work so hey are busy during the day. If you are a reader wecan talk about books. I hope to hear from you.

Sydney

[dk137]

Hi Rebecca,

I'm semi "retired" and have had to deal with the realities of having less day-to-day contact with others.  One positive step I have taken was to start a "men's group" comprised of five guys that I knew throughout my career.  There are five of us and we talk every other week for about 1 1/2 hrs.  The guidelines are simply that we don't discuss religion or politics.  Other than that we give ourselves homework assignments which basically entail answering questions about our lives, concerns, challenges and ideas for thriving in this stage of our lives.  We all live in different parts of the country.  Perhaps starting a group of virtual friends can be helpful for you...

[dr5749]

Hi Bess and everyone!

My name is Dana, still working in the family business. I support my special needs nephew/son with some help from my parents. He has been living with me since 2010 and it is rough. 

Let's see, I am a locksmith by trade and have worked in many areas of the industry. I currently am the business manager and the front desk tech for the business, yes, I wear many hats around here!!! I also work from home as a customer service rep for Carnival!! LOL

Never married and have never had children. I love to travel. LOVE being in the mountains. Dog lover. My life is pretty boring at the moment but it's all good.

This is a start for me, just looking for a support group. Since I am a caregiver in my home as well as being there for my parents. I figured this might be a great place for me to start??!!

[WendellB235731]

Bess, have you considered a home based business? A lot of projects are totally virtual, taking advantage of the technology. I'm working on a project with great benefits and great compensation.

[WendellB235731]

Bess tell me, can you see this post? Im trying to make sure it can be seen and how do you know when people respond? is there some red number 3 or four telling me i have four replies, up at the top?

[ev29554696]

It doesn't appear that the original poster has been back here since June 2020. I can see your post so it is there. She just hasn't seen it. That's a big problem with systems like this is that people join, stay gung-ho for a month or so and then quit coming back. I have been looking over threads and other than the people who want to argue about politics, a large number of the threads have had no activity in months.

[Rebecca2004]

Hey there, I'm the original poster. When I joined this site I didn't know how posts and responses worked. I left the site because it's not user friendly. However, I'm back! I see how it works now.

[MedusaE76171]

It's very late here and I'm tired so will reply at more length tomorrow, but I had to say I freaking love your avatar.  

[MedusaE76171]

Okay, it's morning here now and I'm not sure what I meant by, "more later," but I will at least add that I have no interest, like none, in arguing about politics.  At this point unless you're a political analyst the situation is pretty much impossible to tease the truth from.  (I know that's a prep. ending, but that rule is fluff based on the false ideal of one guy.)  

I'm open to anything but politics.  🙂

[jt56285305]

It says here that you are regular contributor..... and I'm interested in having folks to chat to, as well. Can you give me some tips for that? 

[Rhymesometimes]

@jt56285305  Welcome to the AARP on-line community! It looks like this particular post has sporadic contributors. Have yet to find a post that has regular contributors who would just like to chat. I've tried in the past, but it didn't seem to have staying power.  

You can always thrown your hat it the ring, and try to start a post of your own. 

[snop1010]

Yes, I would just like to chat. What are your interests?

[Rhymesometimes]

@snop1010  I love to read, travel, play games ( Rummikube, quiddler, Mexican train, boggle ) Zumba, write limericks, dance, crochet, Sudoku.  The latest thing is the online trivia games they have through AARP on Thursday nights.

[LynneS930241]

I would love to have chat friends but I don't trust most sites but I do this one problem is I can't seem to function on it . I respond then nothing now I am getting it on my email but dont know what to do except resond . like this is there anyway to have a two way chat?

[WendellB235731]

Hi, im looking forward to retiring soon also;oh how i wish it were today! im so restless these days;it just takes a lot of prayer to get through some days on the job; its not a hard job, im an elementary school janitor, but after over 25 years, Im burnt out, and at nearly 60, its too late to start over somewhere else, or is it, and still have the same salary or better? I dont know, what do you think?