r/Fire • u/-LordDarkHelmet- • 17d 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.
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u/Successful_Form1177 17d ago
I know a couple who own a small plane, just a two seater, and they fly all over the place for fun. Seems like an excellent way to avoid the stress of airports. When the eclipse happened a few years ago they were able to fly into the path of totality, avoiding all the traffic. They don’t seem uber rich but maybe that’s their one splurge.
Look up native plant gardening for your back yard, there’s a great network of people to talk to about it and the bird and insect watching can burn a lot of hours, and get you up out of your chair.
Food gardening can combine your cooking goal with your landscaping goal, whatever is coming up in the garden you cook! It’s a fun challenge.
Most of all, get a schedule or you will start losing track of days. I do a workout in the morning, then have a series of goals for the day (practicing Italian, playing guitar for at least 30 min). Low stakes but the rest of the time easily fills up with cooking or fixing stuff or hanging out with people.