Retiring is a life-changing event, and while you probably look forward to it or you’re already retired, you might also ask yourself; how can I stay connected in retirement? A logical question, because when you retire, you lose a lot of opportunities to engage and connect with other people.
Luckily there are many ways to stay connected. I created this list of the best ways for you to stay connected in retirement in this article. So, continue reading.
1) Take A Class
A great way to connect with other people is to keep learning new things. When you’re learning new things or skills, you often meet other people during a course whom you can share your experiences with.
Did you know that many colleges and universities in the United States offer free or discounted courses for seniors? It’s an excellent opportunity to go back to school and meet new people you can connect with in retirement.
Instead of physically going to a university to follow a course and learning new things, another unique opportunity is to start with e-learning or an online course. Many online courses offer online communities where you can connect with fellow students.
Often these communities organize several meetups during a year, where you physically meet up with those people for a coffee and talk about the course or other things. Or you can chat with them online or call if you live faraway.
One of the best online platforms for courses is Masterclass. On this unique online platform, you can follow video lessons from the most famous and successful people around the world. From learning about conservation from dr. Jane Goodall, Texas BBQ Grilling from Aaron Franklin, and to Filmmaking from Martin Scorsese.
You can find over 80 different courses with more than 1000 video lessons. Find out more and get yourself an Annual Membership to Masterclass today Check the latest prices;
2) Reconnect With Family & Friends
As a retiree, you have much more spare time on your hands than when you were still working. During your career, like many others, you probably didn’t have enough time to spend with the people you care about most.
Retirement is the perfect time to reconnect with those people. And even when you didn’t saw someone for several years, it is never too late to reconnect. There’s a good chance that you have more clarity in your head because you have less (work-related) stress. Thus you can give more attention to relationships with friends and family.
So, make those social calls and plan meetings with the people you care about most!
3) Start Volunteering
Staying connected in retirement is all about meeting other people whom you can interact with. And what better way to do that, when you can also help out others.
You can do this with a volunteering job. Volunteering is a great way to help out others, connect with new people, and to stay active in retirement.
Many people start volunteering because it makes them feel good about themselves. Getting fulfillment out of volunteering is a great benefit is this activity. However, it shouldn’t be your main goal.
Volunteering is about helping others and often comes with some sort of commitment. So if you want to start volunteering, you first need to ask yourself what you want to get out of it. Are you ready to commit to a volunteering job?
When you think you’re ready to start with a volunteering job, it can be a great way to connect with other people in retirement. With a unique side effect, you probably will get more fulfillment from the things you’re doing. Read more about volunteering in my article; Why Do Retirees Volunteer?
4) Make Plans For Your Retirement
Retirement is something you see coming for years. So to get the most out of your retirement, it is important to prepare for this event. I’m not only talking about preparing financially or preparing mentally for retirement. Thinking about the things you want to do in retirement is essential for having a great time. It can help with staying connected in retirement.
So, if you don’t have a plan about the things you want to do in retirement, it is time to start making one. You probably get some new ideas while reading this article, but I recommend some of my other articles for more inspiration;
- How Do You Spend Your Retired Life?
- 101+ Retirement Bucket List Ideas
- 71 Cheap Things To Do In Retirement
5) Join A Club
Staying connected in retirement is easy when you often meet a lot of different people. One of the easiest ways of doing that is when you part of a club.
A great thing about clubs is that you only meet like-minded people. You’re all interested in the same subjects, the things that one club is about. When you aren’t already a member of a club, I recommend looking around for clubs that interest you.
It can be everything you like. You can look for a sports club if you like doing sports (it’s important to stay physically active as well, but I’ll tell you later more about that). Maybe you more into chess and want to play chess at a chess club. Or when you’re a book fanatic, you might want to join a book club.
See, these are just three examples of what is possible. If you don’t know where to start, you can begin with writing down the things you like to do. And find out if there’s a club nearby you can become a part of.
6) Don’t Move For Away
Many retirees think about living somewhere else in their retirement. Maybe even move abroad to spend their retirement in a different country. Moving somewhere else can be a great experience. Still, if you’re worried about staying connected in retirement, I recommend reconsidering your moving plans.
If you move to a different city, state, or country, you probably need to build up a new social life as well. Which means building new connections. Something that can be challenging.
It might be easier to stay connected in retirement when you don’t move too far away from your current place. Of course, it’s different when you start living in a different place for work, and now that you’re retired, you want to move back to reconnect with friends and family.
However, if this is not the case, I recommend to think twice, and maybe considering traveling instead.
7) Start Traveling
Traveling is not only a great way to explore, relax, and learn more about countries and cultures. Traveling is also a perfect way to connect with other people. And when you’re retired you often can stay longer in different places, so you have a better chance to connect with other people.
When people think about traveling, they often think about long journeys to other countries, and places that are not always easy to reach. But that’s just one form of traveling. Traveling can be done in a lot of ways, and you don’t have to go to a different country to travel.
For example, when you live in the United States, a unique travel adventure can be to visit all the different states of the country.
There are so many different opportunities when you start traveling. I can genuinely recommend it to everyone! Make sure to read some of my articles about traveling;
8) Find A New Hobby
Finding new things to do can be a great way to connect with other people in retirement. Doing something you love will last longer, and will make you happy.
Like I mentioned before, you can start by joining a club or start volunteering. But you can also begin with finding a new hobby. Many retirees pick up hobbies they used to love doing before they got too busy with their careers. And if you don’t know what to do yet, retirement is the perfect time to try out new things.
Popular hobbies among retirees are gardening, cooking, knitting, writing, and painting. Find out more ideas in my articles 30 Best Retirement Hobbies.
When you want to start with gardening, but you don’t know how I recommend following the Masterclass of Ron Finley first. He teaches gardening in a unique way, which makes it fun for everyone!
If you love to cook, make sure to become the best Texas Style BBQ specialist! Follow the unique Masterclass of Aaron Franklin, and impress your friends at your next Texas Style BBQ party!
9) Get Involved In Your Community
Helping out others is one of the best ways to stay connected in retirement. If you get involved in your local community by helping others, you probably get to know a lot more people. You can start by helping in the local community center during community events. Maybe it can even become a volunteering job if you like to.
By helping others in your community, you can stay active, prevent loneliness, and stay much easier connected. Also, if you genuinely help others, they probably will help you when you need some help. So it works both ways, which is great, especially when you get a bit older and might need some help in the future.
10) Get Active: Start With Sports
We all need to stay active in life, but it is important to know that physical activity is related to prevent many health issues that come with age.
According to the CDC, physical activity is essential to healthy aging. Their slogan is to move more and sit less. They created many programs that advise people to do several sport-related activities a week.
Physical activity is not only beneficial to stay fit and keep a more healthy and strong body. Many sports activities are taking place in groups where you meet other people. So it is also a great way to stay connected in retirement.
You can easily plan several sports activities during the week. During these moments you can meet with friends to go swimming, exercising, playing golf, or something else you love doing.
So sports and activities help to stay connected while you’re retired. And you also benefit from the social interactions that come with it, which is an important factor, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
The key to stay connected in retirement is to stay active, get out there, and keep in touch with your social contacts.
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After reading this article, you probably looking for more inspiration. I wrote many articles that can be helpful for you to get the most out of your retirement.