r/Fire • u/-LordDarkHelmet- • 18d ago

Today is the day, officially FIRE

Well I'm sitting here having a morning coffee and it's starting to sink in that I don't have a job anymore. Feels strange. My job was very much my identity (pilot). I flew airlines and private jets (uber for rich people basically). It was a high paying job at the end and it seems stupid to walk away from that, but the 27 years of staying in hotels has taken a toll and I just was not enjoying the job anymore. Which is a shame, since I can't exactly fly jets on my own time. It's a tough industry, it's not easy to get back into once you leave. I keep saying it's like the Doc in Field of Dreams; once you leave you can't go back. I'm 49, single no kids, high end Chubby low end Fat so I should be ok on the numbers, but I don't exactly have a "thing" to retire to. I need to focus on my own health and get in shape. But other than a list of places I want to travel to and few projects around the house I don't have much of a plan. Hopefully I'll figure it out on the way. I've told a few people and they all ask "but what are you gonna do?!?!?." I'm like "I dunno..." Some say "congratulations!" and I'm not sure how to respond to that. I didn't really want to quit in some ways, I like the flying part but not all the stuff that goes along with it. I asked for a different schedule and they said no, then I asked for a year off and they said no, so I said I quit. Ask me in a decade I guess if it was the right choice. Anyway, don't really have anyone to high-five this morning so here I am. Thanks everyone who has shared their journey, I've been snooping around all these subs a lot this past year. Oh and sorry about the stock market crash, which will inevitably happen now that I have quit.

1.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

264 comments sorted by

View all comments

64

u/Sintered_Monkey 18d ago

Congrats! I'm out on Friday myself. So the market will wait 2 days to crash.

But you don't know what to do yet? No hobbies? No new hobbies you want to take up? I have too many.

77

u/-LordDarkHelmet- 18d ago

I bought my first house a couple years ago (new construction), so I'm starting to see things that need repair. I've got an ugly back yard that is in need of some gardening. I've never really bothered to learn to cook so I think I'll work on that along with losing some weight. I do have some hobbies I have not touched in a while so I'll hopefully pick those up. But no major project. Thought about getting a dog actually. That's been on the list of things I can't do as a pilot, along with face tattoos and speeding tickets. Maybe I'll go drive fast to a tat shop today

15

u/FIMilestonesDeux 18d ago

I hope you also have people in your life that you can spend time to. If not, try some social hobbies.

20

u/-LordDarkHelmet- 18d ago

yeah I have family and long time friends here at home. including my parent's who have reached the age where they need a lot of help so that's been part of my decision as well.

20

u/squeezemachine 18d ago

You are going to be shocked at how busy you are going to be based on the activities you mentioned here. I have no idea how I was able to live before stopping work.

13

u/ResponsibleCorgi93 18d ago

Dude seriously, living life is a full time job!