I retired at 57 and have regretted it every single day. I was a workaholic then and am now. My work has changed from computer industry to the yard and garden. I like doing that but each day I still hope that an old customer will call and ask for help with his or her computer systems.
I know what you mean, I was a senior engineer and I miss fixing problems. Almost went back to work in 2021 until Covid halted things.
However, I have a house on the water, regularly fish, and have learned to make pickles, sausage and kielbasa.
My husband and I are mid-50s and not near retiring. He would hate it - loves his job and people. His retiring wouldn’t change much for me because I plan to farm and garden as long as I physically can.
That said, we take many mini vacations - our favorite is local trips with the camper and bass boat. Every weekend he’s out kayak fishing too. We take 1-2 beach or lake vacations a year. We used to be extremely frugal and worked hard at getting out of debt, repairing everything that needs repaired on our property, and saving a decent nest egg. Now, we feel comfortable spending more on leisure. My dad died at 55, my mom at 65 - neither were healthy in their last several years, so all that retirement was for naught. I don’t want to waste a minute enjoying life (within reason)
” ask for help with his or her computer systems.”
Even I knew better than to smack that tar baby. I retired as a software developer and now I am teaching myself Java. I found no one wants a part-time programmer, not even COBOL/CICS/DB2/VSAM shops.