This blog will reflect the efforts of one Canadian to share his experiences with retired life in all of its wonderful manifestations and machinations. It will address matters that affect, or are of interest to the author, in the hope that they will also be of interest to the recently retired, the soon to be retired, and the very large group of individuals thinking, “geez, I wish I could retire right now”.
A variety of topics will be explored. To begin with, these will include important issues such as finances, continued personal growth, community involvement, health and fitness, and a variety of lifestyle aspects often associated with being retired. The blog will most certainly evolve over time, eventually becoming more specific and focused, or broader and more general in nature. We look forward to the process, even though we have no idea where it will all end up.
The Retiree
The “Retiree” is Greg McCaughey, a retired Canadian, who had the great good fortune to have fulfilling and enriching careers in both the private and public sectors. He is passionate about embracing retirement, and sharing his experiences and insights about the journey with others in the hope that it will have a positive impact on their retirement as well. It is his third great career!
Greg’s main inspiration for the “Yikes!” blog came from discovering that when he went searching for information about retirement before his own began there was a noticeable lack of websites that examined the full range of issues potentially impacting one’s retirement. Most he found simply addressed the financial piece.
On a completely personal level, he imagined creating and maintaining an active website was a great way to develop some new skills. He also presumed that writing about retirement would be a great way for him to process it all. Gotta keep those synapses firing!
I am not sure how I stumbled on your blog, Mr. McCaughey, but you were my favourite teacher ever. I am not sure you remember me, but my name was Boston Bauldry, and you were my grade 5 teacher in about 2002! Anyways, you inspired me to be a teacher too!
Enjoy your retirement! You deserve it!
Thanks for reaching out Boston. I am thrilled to hear that you became a teacher.
Thinking about Malaga . Your thoughts ?
An interesting question. We have discussed Malaga as a potential spot to spend the winter, but have not done so so far. Friends of ours were there for a couple of months this winter and enjoyed the experience. The benefit of being there is that it is the transportation hub on the Costa so if you felt like visiting any other city in Andalusia you could simply hop on a train or bus get there quickly. And, if you really enjoy city life and all that it has to offer it would probably be a good choice. The waterfront is primarily a working port so a lot less focussed on “beach” activities The only real negative thing I have heard about staying there is that there is a movement afoot to reduce the number of properties being used for short term rentals rather than long-term rentals for families in the city. Not sure that that is really helpful for you, but if you are seriously considering it I could probably put you in touch with my friends who were there to chat about it if they are willing. Please feel free to use the email address “retiree@retirednowwhat.ca” to contact me if you would like additional information.
Loved the section on “Tiny Tasks”. Maybe it will inspire me to procrastinate less!
HA! Yes, we all need some inspiration when it comes to procrastination.
We met at the photography session last night at Apple and you shared your card with us!
Hi Carol! That was a very useful session, I will have to admit. I’m hoping that it translates into much more professional looking photos on this site. I reposted an old article of mine from 2013 about the approaching Chinese new year this morning. I was frowning as I looked as at the photos which were taken with a handheld 2MP camera those many years ago. Pretty dark and dreary. 🙂 Hope you guys have a good time in Mexico.