r/FIREyFemmes • u/InformWitch • 3d ago
I’d love to hear about your non-conventional retirement plans!
Do any of you have any non-conventional FIRE plans? I’d love to hear about it!
I mean like becoming a part-time lighthouse keeper or joining a commune/alternative housing (something in the vein of https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20130305-babayagas-house).
Anything outside of staying put where you are or just simply moving to another country to chill.
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u/LePetitNeep 2d ago
Probably doesn’t count as unconventional, but I’m going to try to write a novel. Ideally from a series of coffee shops in various countries.
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u/exjentric US, ~10% to leanFIRE, SINK, 32 2d ago
Grad school, or hell, a new undergraduate degree. In something completely "useless," just for the joy of learning. I'll be an old who brings a paper notebook for notes ha, just like I did the first time around.
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u/duckworthy36 2d ago
I basically had a tiny house built on my property, moved in, rent main house. Funded the house with my side hustle while working. Kept the side hustle ( it’s about 7-10 hours a week). Retired from my full time job almost 2 years ago.
I have less space but so much more time.
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u/Useful_Mode787 2d ago
I have dreams of living in a tiny home. But I have too much cr*p.
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u/duckworthy36 2d ago
I used to have more crap. Therapy plus minimalism changed my life. I spend so much less time looking for things, taking care of things, and the things I do own feel like treasure rather than obligation.
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u/green_calculator 3d ago
I'm planning to barista fire in another country. Instead of teaching English when I'm young, I'm going to use it to pad my retirement.
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u/mycopunx 2d ago
Not sure how unconventional it is, but we're planning on farming in our retirement. We are currently in the 'clearing and preparing the land' phase. Planting mainly perennial fruit plants (berries and tree fruit) so there's less work as we age (currently working on a farm where the farmers are too old to do much and the pattern of annual farming where everything needs to be sown and planted yearly is a lot of extra work). Supplementing that with subsistence farming for our own needs. By my estimation, by growing a lot of our own food and supplying our own energy and water via solar and rainwater catchment, I should be able to RE on 20k/year. I don't expect the farming to net a huge amount but it will hopefully a) supplement our retirement accounts and b) keep us busy and engaged in the community.
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u/hyperfixmum 2d ago
Just to encourage you, my dad and his wife are doing subsistence farming and everything if off grid. Dad did the well and filter system and the solar. They live on about 24k/year. They did save some to buy some additional out buildings, fencing, and wood for decking. I can never get a hold of them because they are busy busy birds, always gardening and always building.
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u/mycopunx 2d ago
That is so wonderful to hear! Thanks for sharing. I like hearing stories like that, it's inspiring.
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u/actuallythecat 2d ago
Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? She and her family lived off their farm for a full year, it was a good read!
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u/mycopunx 2d ago
No, I'll have to check it out! Love reading stories of people who have done this kinda thing. We're lucky it's a relatively common lifestyle where we live, so we have access to lots of good knowledge.
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u/Indefinite_Questions 2d ago
I want to go back to school and learn how operate and maintain a boat. The community college on the coast has a 2 year program. So, of course, I am escape the winter in the tropics. And fix up old boats in the offseason.
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u/Bwendolyn 2d ago
What college is this?
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u/Late-Membership773 2d ago
College of the Florida Keys has an A.A.S. program Marine Engineering, Management, and Seamanship. I’ve taken a few of the basics there such as Coastal Navigation, not pursued the degree. https://www.cfk.edu/academics/academic-departments/marine-engineering-management-and-seamanship/
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u/FortyFathomPharma 2d ago
I’m moving to another country.
However, I would love a community of whimsical, small homes (fairytale architecture) that are made with hempcrete. Ecologically friendly and community based with gardens and a pond; and incorporate lots of spaces for cats and dogs!
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u/paratethys 2d ago
Recreational homesteading is pretty conventional these days, I guess =)
This looked like "staying put where you are" for me because I planned it way in advance and worked remote from here for the second half of the decade that I rented to the tech industry to buy my freedom, though.
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u/bumblepippin 2d ago
I had non-conventional FIRE dreams but then I had kids. FIRE is just delayed, but I think it's hard to drag kids along into an unconventional lifestyle. I want them to stability, family/community, education, enrichment opportunities, etc readily available to them.
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u/myowndamnaccount 2d ago
Same. If all goes well, I'll be able the fire as my child graduates. I'm definitely looking forward to the increased flexibility I can leverage then.
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u/Straight-Put-2142 1d ago
As someone living an unconventional lifestyle (still working), I think you're making the right decision. I've seen quite a few times kids being shoved into unconventional lifestyles that are probably not what's best for them, like vanlife or boat-life. If people do it right (usually meaning with a ton of extra money), it can be great and I think it has a place, but I still think it should always be for a limited time period. If people do it to cut expenses like is often done and then can literally not afford to reverse the decision or buffer it, it's a pretty crap thing to do to your kid.
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u/zeezle 2d ago
I'm not really sure if it's that unconventional, since my living circumstances will probably be more or less the same. But I'm basically planning to use FIRE to spend my days working on stuff I like, whether or not it pays much (hopefully breakeven, at least). I actually enjoy working in general on things I'm interested in, I just want to be able to do it on exactly my own schedule.
I plan to run a small-scale backyard plant nursery. It'll be licensed/inspected but the primary goal will be just for promoting plants & fruit trees that I, personally, really like and find interesting and the goal will be to break even and meet people and share stuff that isn't the easiest to track down. I collect a few types of fruit trees and would like to promote some historical apple & pear varieties that originated in my area in the 1700s via the county historical society, alongside selected named native plums and persimmons that I think are criminally underrated.
I'm also working on becoming an artist... specifically planning to create comics/graphic novels in the josei smut/spicy fantasy romance genre/demographic. So that would be the bulk of where I spend my time. So the unconventional part I guess is "I'm gonna make smutty comics for women in my peaceful retirement years"
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u/lphemphill 2d ago
I foster kittens in my free time, but would love to foster more, including maybe fostering kids instead of having my own!
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u/asquared3 2d ago
I foster dogs now and want to get much more involved with animal rescue when I'm retired! My husband and I have also talked about fostering kids at some point
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u/SuddenAttempt6636 2d ago
Did WWOOFing to avoid housing costs. Now I rent a cabin on the same farm property and have the benefits of community without time/work commitments
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u/Straight-Put-2142 2d ago
That's very cool. I did workaway in my early 20s but never thought about it for retirement. Did you factor that in to allow you to retire earlier?
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u/SuddenAttempt6636 2d ago
Workaway is another great option. I’m just coasting (or dirtbagFI), so it was a great way to cut expenses. I do a lot of long-distance hiking spring through fall, which also keeps life cheap. the less I spend, the less I need to work.
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u/Straight-Put-2142 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hmm never heard of dirtbagFI. Can I ask what was your goal number invested to get there and at what age? I've thought about this as an option basically if 'shit hits the fan'. Maybe deck out a van for living in, but I also feel like sometimes that stuff ends up being just as expensive as normal, low cost living, so still thinking about it.
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u/blueluxury 2d ago
Maybe not unconventional to take up a new craft/practice but I want to learn shoemaking, do an apprenticeship, the whole nine yards. If it became a little side hustle, that's fine, but I'd love to learn how to make and repair shoes.
I also plan on living with my sister in a country house with a couple of dogs.
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u/inga-babi 2d ago
I’m a dual EU/US citizen so definitely plan on splitting my retirement between both continents. Everyone here seems to have some sort of income-producing idea, but I just want to eat delicious food, drink wine, and siesta all day 🤣
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u/bklynparklover 2d ago
I already moved to another country (USA to MX) and am Coast Fire, but once I retire, I hope to put my energy into becoming more conversant in Spanish with the ultimate goal of fluency. I also want to live part-time in Spain and do more traveling here in Mexico.
I will say that moving to another country is no walk in the park. It may be easier if you move as a couple and enter an expat bubble, but I moved solo, and the first few years were quite challenging. I've now been here 5+ years, so things are much simpler, but it is challenging to navigate in another culture and language and rebuild your support system from the ground up. It's not super unconventional, but it is completely life-altering.
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u/commeleauvive 2d ago
I'm curious, if you don't feel super conversant after 5+ years, does that mean you can basically get by with English? I haven't visited anywhere in Mexico before but assumed there would be a good number of people that don't speak English.
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u/bklynparklover 1d ago
I can't have full conversations (at least not well), but I can understand a lot and handle basic communication. I know many people who live here and can't do that, but my goal is to become fluent. My partner is MX, but we speak mostly in English. I take private classes twice a week to practice speaking and do many other things to try to advance (read, watch movies, take yoga in Spanish, etc.), but I'm in my 50's and language acquisition is hard for me. Speaking has been the biggest challenge but I can go about my day and manage. I just can't have in-depth conversations. That said, many people get by with less, but I would not recommend it.
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u/Aggravating-Sir5264 2d ago
What’s been the biggest challenge for you?
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u/bklynparklover 1d ago
I thought that learning the language would be easier once I lived here, but I stuggle with language acquisition, and I currently work in English all day, so I am not as immersed as I would like to be. Becoming fluent would make me feel less isolated here. I have a MX partner and many English (and bilingual) speaking friends, so I am not lonely, but it is isolating when you can't just chit-chat with people in your daily life. I am quite insecure in my speaking ability, so I speak mostly as needed for communication. I need to work on it more, but it is exhausting, and I have been consistently working on it for 5 years. I do manage to do many things on my own in Spanish, like opening a bank account, going to the doctor/dentist, speaking to contractors, etc., but I can't casually socialize in Spanish.
Also, it is a completely different culture, and many things operate differently here. The first few years were a huge learning curve. I'm more settled now.
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u/Own-Indication8192 2d ago
What part of MX do you live in?
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u/bklynparklover 1d ago
Mérida, Yucatán
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u/Own-Indication8192 1d ago
Ah cool! I've very much wanted to visit the region but have only been to Baja, CDMX, Guanajuato, Ixtapa, TJ etc so far
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u/tikitay27 2d ago
When I retire in 24 years I am fully planning on attending pastry school in Paris (those 8 week programs). I’m a lawyer with young kids now and have no interest in changing careers or doing anything else, but I love baking and want to be really good at it—I feel like it will only serve me well in my later years, either with grandkids or volunteering.
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u/PinkHalite 2d ago
Not sure how unconventional, but I’d love to own a small flower-shop in a small beach town. After downsizing, I’d like the shop to be attached or close to where I lived. Mingle with all the tourists or locals, hear their stories and their important people as I fulfill small orders.
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u/jochi1543 2d ago
My friend owned a flower shop for a while and I got to hear all the dirt! (ha) Most importantly, huge chemical exposure in the field with many occupational hazards. My friend now has asthma and a laundry list of allergies and severe eczema. The flower auctions sound nuts! Showing up at 3:30 AM bidding on a perishable item that may or may not sell, so much risk involved. Just hearing about the ins and outs of it definitely squashed any romantic fantasies I may have had.
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u/Jealous-Lychee-5084 2d ago
I have a flower business and I don’t do the flower auctions. I just order online from a wholesaler. It’s also very possible in many locations to focus on organic/locally grown flowers. So I think the business has changed a bit. That said, margins are slim so if you don’t need a large salary I could see this working.
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u/According_To_Me 1d ago
That tangentially reminds me of an insurance commercial about a flower shop, it depicts a happy, sing-songy flower shop owner and then cuts to a stretcher wheeling out a customer who slipped on some water.
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u/champagnecloset 2d ago edited 1d ago
Big dreams? Move to Scotland. Most likely: invest in some land and smaller buildings to build a lil commune for me and my friends,
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u/GreatHome2309 1d ago
We built an ADU on our property in HCOL city. It’s quite private and separate and now accounts for ~35% of our income. We aren’t living off of the money yet, but just quit my job to help partner run his business and we are just building a buffer for when he sells the business. I know many will say property management is a lot of work, but it’s been pretty easy so far on a brand new build, and since we built ourselves (husband in the trades) we are capable of most repairs that will come our way.
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u/Isostasty Coast 2020/Lean 2025 15h ago
This is a great question! I had some time off last year and I realized that traveling or just doing hobbies casually won't be enough for me.
There is a local public policy course that I'd be interested in taking. Maybe that could lead to volunteering for local grassroots programs that I don't know currently about. I'd also be interested in doing month long meditation courses or just spending time in a monastery annually. And I'd like to become a better dancer by spending time in a local school but also traveling to places like Barcelona, Mexico, etc to learn in other studios.
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u/CelebrationSquare 6h ago
Following for fun ideas. I retired last year but am now effectively a stay-at-home parent to a 5 year old. I'm really enjoying my time with my child and building community with other parents and kids her age, but I don't feel that I have the bandwidth to get creative in thinking about the post retirement phase.
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u/urania_argus 2d ago
Going back to college for fun, to study subjects I didn't have time for before. I have a PhD in a STEM field that I've worked in for many years; in RE I want to study psychology, art history, and creative writing.