Give up Wood working?
#31
(04-11-2018, 01:00 PM)wrb Wrote: Like others, I strongly suggest figuring out a way to make it work.  Giving up a hobby you love when you retire seems so incompatible.  I am 45 and think I would be doung a lot more woodworking when I retire.  Now, it is very limited due to job and family priorities. I can’t imagine not being very actively engaged with at least couple hobbies / activities in retirement.

Thanks, Arlin
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#32
I'm from Phoenix, but I left in 1980 and have lived in lots of places since (OR, TX, CT, OK, and, now, NM).  I loved Phoenix area when I was there, but it's just gotten just too darned big and congested for me.  Tucson is slightly better, but not much, and has a better climate.  For retirement, we wanted to return to the SW, and after considering Phoenix and Tucson, decided on Las Cruces, NM.  It's just the right size (around 100M population) and has all of the services we need, and very little traffic!

As for your shop dilemma, we retirees do manage to continue our hobby down here.  You're not likely to find a basement workshop, but 3-car garages are common, and there are plenty of places with acreage for a free standing shop.  Don't know where you're coming from, but for what I sold my house in Connecticut for, I was able to build a custom 3800 sf home with a 1200 sf garage (which houses an adequate woodshop, LOML's hobby area, and two cars) on two acres in a very nice development. 

So, come on down...just don't let her talk you in to a condo, and you'll be fine.
Bob
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#33
(04-11-2018, 11:59 AM)bandsaw Wrote: I'm old but I want to live as young as I can.

Bingo. What he said.

Cant imagine not doing woodworking, especially if it’s as important as you claim it to be. Stay active and pursue your passions whenever you can, otherwise you’re just waiting to die.
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#34
(04-11-2018, 05:43 AM)Tony Z Wrote: More than just woodworking, a man needs a place to call his own!  Ours is a very large home, lived here for over 22 years, but it is my wife's! Everything is her choosing.  My refuse is my basement shop.   Maybe there are times I don't do anything, but go down there, but it is mine.

very true
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
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#35
(04-11-2018, 09:14 AM)bandsaw Wrote: Today is my 71st. Just built a new house with 1250 sq ft shop and 600 sq ft quilt studio for her.

And decided not to retire - I like my work too.

Love my job also, but certain health issues are getting  the way
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
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#36
(04-11-2018, 09:05 AM)Rob Young Wrote: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&...k8gcCKzeUs

Thanks, next time Im in the area I will check these places out.
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
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#37
(04-11-2018, 09:36 AM)marshall45 Wrote: Hey, I am 72, still fly my souped up Swift airplane (180)MPH cruise) and do wood butchering. It all depends on your health. If you give up what you love what do you have left?  Do what you want within the limits of your health, ability and desires.  A wise man, my father, once told me to "be sure and have a project, or you will become a project for someone"  I still live by that mantra.  I have watched many of my friends just sit down and do nothing until they die, before their time. Carpe diem! Good Luck.     
Slap

Truer words were never spoken.
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
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#38
(04-11-2018, 06:37 AM)Admiral Wrote: Ahem, perhaps refuge??  Although your bride may consider it otherwise.....
Laugh

Ya haven't seen my shop!

But............you're right!
Waiting to grow up beyond being just a member
www.metaltech-pm.com
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#39
I'm in Tucson, and love it. Lush desert instead of miles of concrete. 2800 sq. ft. of house (more than we need), 1100 sq. ft of shop, and 600 sq. ft of art studio for my wife. That's all nice, but I was working wood in my 30's in a one car garage. I'm 73 and still wood mongering. Someone said it better than me: chairs are the enemy.

Don Peters
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#40
Life changes can be challenging. I grew up using my dad's workshop and have had a few of my own. Sometimes I worked on a porch or in a closet. Heck, I repaired and refinished a piece of furniture while I was living in a DORM. Even now, my workshop is changing as I get older. Instead of just giving up, perhaps now is the time to resize your shop so it better fits your current needs. One of the nicest shops I ever had was in a downstairs 10x12 dining room. I rolled back the carpet, tacked some paneling over the large doorway opening and just set up shop. When I moved out of that house, I spent less than a day returning the room to its former purpose and the carpet guys had the carpet tacked back into place in less than an hour.

Some people turn a bedroom into a home office. And that same bedroom would make a dandy workshop instead. HVAC is in place and there should be a bathroom really close.

I think anyone who is clever enough to solve woodworking challenges is also clever enough to solve a workspace challenge. Ingenuity, compromise and planning will bring you to a solution. Good luck making future shavings.
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