Hello Retirement, Here I Come

I´ve just retired. Well, six weeks ago, actually. February the 18^th to be precise. On that day I published the final edition of the twice-monthly business newsletter – Australian Steel News – that I had owned over the past eight years. I also had a website of the same name during that time. Now, both are gone and I already miss them. I lack the routine, the connection, the satisfaction of achievement. However, I´m also feeling a sense of great optimism about what my retirement years might bring. So, let´s just roll back the clock a bit to see how this came about and where it might lead.

About a year ago, I had the first stirrings of a desire to change. I wasn´t quite sure what needed changing, but it slowly became apparent that I wanted to stop publishing my newsletter. A touch of boredom had crept in and, as a business, it wasn´t growing and was unlikely to ever grow under my stewardship. The problem with the economic model was plain to see: I live in Spain, whereas the advertisers, the readers and all the content of the newsletter and website are in Australia. (At this point, if you go to the About Me page in this website, you will get the full picture of my work history and personal life).

I rather suspect that everyone contemplating retirement faces the same questions I began to ask myself. Will I have enough money to sustain the lifestyle I wish to lead? And for how many years might that be? How will I pay for the ups and downs that I can´t possibly anticipate? Emotionally, will I be comfortable with the notion of being retired? The word “pensioner” carries a range of negative connotations, such as: declining health, burden on society, even a bit of “past your use-by date” social irrelevance. Then of course there is the time management factor. Or, in layman´s terms: What will I do with myself?

I managed to come up with acceptable answers (predictions?) for the main concerns and, by the end of last December, was fully excited about the looming change scheduled for February. In the first month of 2026, I informed the advertisers of my decision and began the business-closure preparations. I published the February 6^th edition whilst still in Spain, then travelled to Sydney a week before the final edition. This is when exhilaration truly set in. Heaven’s above, I´m really doing this. I am one edition away from starting the final phase of my life – retirement. Fortunately, in the weeks since that February 18^th final issue, I´ve been consumed by joy, relief, energy and optimism. My return to Spain on March 24^th not only represented the physical resumption of my regular daily life, but it also symbolised the true beginning of my retirement years. A new reality was now in play, absent of any editorial deadlines or business administration; just a pathway of life stretching out in front of me, tantalisingly, into the unknown.

Well, that freedom lasted three days. At which point in time, Living – Not Lounging (LNL) came into my head. If I am to fulfil my ambition to be a writer, I reasoned, then I must get about writing. Straight away. As part of that process, from now on LNL will be a chronicle of the noteworthy events and thoughts that occur in my life. The title Living – Not Lounging is clearly aspirational, but the content will not be delusional. As the months roll on, you will see an ordinary man (not a high-flyer, not a person of influence….just an ordinary bloke) doing his best to lead a life of purpose, characterised by fun times, curiosity and decency. My needs and desires will be on full display; as will my vulnerabilities. I hope that you (the reader) will identify with the many topics I raise and that through your reader feedback we can “live” through them together. Yes, there will be travel stories. But LNL will not be of the genre that “he who travels the most, wins”. Many of the posts will celebrate life, others will reveal the mishaps in my life, and some will address the sad realities of getting older. I won´t be boastful, but I do hope my stories spark a bit of envy within some readers, and thus excite you into action.

Since the beginning of this year, my mood has been relentlessly upbeat. I´m loving this business of being retired. But the ultimate folly would be to presume it will ever be thus. I can´t predict what will happen next year, nor even next month. All the more reason, therefore, to embrace our daily life. I´m joyfully excited by how this new adventure is developing, and I sincerely hope you come along for the ride.