I'm in upstate S Caroline and it's been quite chilly for a few weeks now. We always keep the heat off at night until January ish. And when I wake up its low 50's in the house. Ice cold

congrats on retirement . I'm sure you did a fine job all those years

That awful drive and your poor feet! I hope you can make it without too much stress. Do you have some sick leave or vacation you can use up to avoid a few days of work before retiring. Congratulations on retiring. You will love it, I promise.

Congratulations! I hope you will spoil yourself and treat yourself to some fun.

We had snow yesterday and more expected on Thursday. I'm on the Cdn west coast and we haven't had snow in almost 3 years. We don't do snow.

I understand completely. As we get older, things that we didn't give a thought to, have now become difficult.

I find it very difficult to drive at night. Street lights have a halo effect and my perception is very poor. Luckily my DH is fine with night driving.

Don't do anything that you are uncomfortable with.

Glad I don't have to drive in those conditions. I live in Southern CA; mid 70s and shorts weather today.

I retired effective 31 Dec 2013. I had turned 64 in August of that year. I absolutely loved the duties of my job, but we had new management and the place was in chaos. It's just not worth the stress to keep working so I don't blame you a bit for not wanting the stress of commuting at this time of year when the weather is horrible.

Enjoy your retirement. You've earned it!!

Congratulations on your retirement! Hope you enjoy retirement as much as I do. I enjoyed my job but found it unbearable under new management as well. These days I enjoy gardening, reading and socializing with about a dozen good friends when I am not accompanying my husband to chemo sessions.

The cold front that you have is headed in our direction and will drop our temperatures into the teens Friday morning. I'd really rather have summer.

Well retire as soon as possible and move to a better climate! That extreme cold is so hard on our old bodies. It just hurts me when I am in cold climates. We lived in Denver and I was so glad to move south.

I retired a few years ago and had mixed feelings at the time. But I don't regret a minute of it now! I'm north of you, Bengardening and today, where our snowstorm is so intense that all we can see is white, it was a pleasure to stay in.

I am so lucky to have "other income", and quit working last year at the end of the school year.

No regrets!

I live in the middle of Oklahoma. Supposed to get really cold here tonight, well, really cold Oklahoma Style! ;)

Tonight, the low is 30, and Thursday the high is 33. For us, that is VERY cold.

Otto, I would not be able to handle the 50's indoors! I have a heater, and I let it heat up. ;) But in the summer, I do let my house get a lot warmer than most... as my arthritic bones love warmth.

Moni

I live on the Texas Gulf coast....about 15 miles from the Gulf, as the crow flies, but about 45 minutes by road because I live across the bayou, and you can only cross it in three places....all fairly well spaced apart. We have had a lot of rain the past few days. A nearby town got 10 inches. Not sure how much we got...a lot but I don't think it was that much. Today was pretty and sunny but it is supposed to turn cold Thursday night. Well, cold to me. Probably high 30's here. I can't stand cold weather. I don't like all the rain either....so much mud. I have horses, etc., that I have to go out and attend to. I wouldn't mind if I could just stay in the house, but having to get up and take care of something ensures that I won't lay around in bed. (Which I would love to do....one of these days).

I hope you enjoy your well earned retirement!

It's 70 deg. in here, and I just turned on the heater. ;)

Rhizo

yes thank you for the advice. I moved here ..well we moved here 2 yrs ago from jersey. My wife, if you can believe it, keeps the heat off at night. Every night. i try and tell her it's probably best if the inside temps never go below 62 but she says its to hot. Haha

I picked the upstate to relocate and I had no idea how cold it gets here. I wear my long jones to bed from now till late April and I'm in the Carolinas... Try and figure that one out.

Who knew South Carolina is so cold dec Jan February . My buddy was here a few weeks ago for thanksgiving week and it was freezing. I was so embarrassed lol lol I have my turtle neck on right now haha

oklamoni

i hate the cold too. As soon as I wake up I run out of bed freezing and turn the heat up asap every morning. My wife makes me block the bedroom heat vent so it does not go into our I mean her room. Lol

then I run as fast as I can and heat up the coffee and watch tv and within minutes the temp rises into the mid 60's which feels like 70's

this is is very funny now as I type this but not so fun actually getting out from under my winter quilt in the am

Doesn't sound like there's much compromising going on, Otto. Was the nighttime bedroom temperature the same in your former home or just here?

Why not suggest she sleep nude, or wearing only a thin negligee, and sleep uncovered on top of the sheets and blankets. I promise she won't make it through the night at the temperatures you're describing.

(PS, how is it that your home can warm up 15 degrees in "minutes"? There's more to know about your situation. A 15 degree setback should easily take an hour or two to recover from, it doesn't sound right.)

You will enjoy retirement. I pity the people who have a horrible commute every day. Husband has been retired for years and both kids don't have a bad commute. Today we drove to Hershey which isn't far at all but it was pouring rain and the traffic was a total nightmare. I don't know how people can do it day after day.

Bengardening, I'm happy for you as you prepare to retire. It sounds like you are more than a little bit ready to leave the working world.

Otto, I sympathize with you....my husband can't tolerate warm temperatures, either. I sympathize as it's easier for me to find ways to warm up in a cool house than it is for him to be comfortable in a warm house.

Luckily, he's not as extreme as your wife! I can tolerate the low 60s but that's about my limit inside my own home.

bengardening, happy retirement!! do not envy your weather at all!!

we are outside of Philly and its in the 40's here and getting colder by the weekend, i think in the thirties! Yikes!! snow in the Poconos! so its right around the corner for us, UGH!

i didn't know its gets so cold in S. Carolina, always thought it was warmer than here. we are toying with the idea of moving there when DH retires, but our dream is to move to SoCal., we love it there, going back in May!!!

Congratulations! I retired 6 years ago and am still looking for what's not to like...haven't found it yet.

ben....I'm in Colorado. I used to commute 90 miles one way to work....long story. Yes, retiring is wonderful! I HAD to find something to do and ended up with hobby jobs. lol I also hate buying our medical insurance(employers get huge discounts, if only the Obama plan could get a billion people the same discount....?). I hope you enjoy your retirement!!!!!!!!

It's lightly snowing here and 15 degrees.

Congratulations on your retirement! I'm in Northern WI and we have the cold but not the blizzards that N/S Dakota are getting, thankfully. I know you will enjoy your extra time and lack of commute!

Well again, congrats to Ben

As with any transition, it can be liberating and challenging . Retirement is a big deal. You're only days away. You made it Ben .

I was was complaining with a smile on my face last night. I love upstate SC

its a great place to be. It warms up here very quick. Winter flys by so fast here, compared to NJ, where I'm from.

Looks like everyone needs some warm soup this week

I don't understand why I am so surprised to discover that my body is wearing out. I know that the human body wears out. I just never made the connection to MINE! I've had a pretty easy life, but all my cells have still put in 75 years.

The Chicago area had a record first snowfall this weekend -- six inches of wet snow at O'Hare. (Just think if it had been *dry* snow!) That's largely melted and evaporated, but now comes the genuine article: *WINTER*! The immediate forecast is for only ten degrees change between highs and lows, and even down to single digits at night. On the plus side...gorgeous clear sky with half-moon last night, and bright sunlight today!

We love our lifelong home area, kids and grandkids most of the year, then escape to Maui for a winter break.

Welcome to the KT, Otto! Sounds like you and Mrs. Otto need separate bedrooms. You won't be the first couple! (If Mrs. O. hasn't always 'run hot', this may be a temporary difficulty.) One of my cousins, a lifelong Easterner, is delighted with his move from NJ to northern CA.

Sorry, I left out my best wishes for your retirement.

You get a lot of weather extremes there in South Dakota. Will your retirement allow a move to somewhere where the weather is more gentle?

Congratulations on your retirement. I live in Easter PA and it's cold here also. I just turned 65 but plan on waiting til I'm 66 for my full retirement benefits. I don't plan on retiring from my job, but now that I hear they are remodeling our area and shrinking our cubilcles from 4 to 6, I may have to think about that. I find it a little scary retiring because we still owe on our home and will have to sell and move to an apartment. There's no way we can stay where we are on both our retirement check. I'll be losing almost half of my pay.

Congratulations! Wish I could retire. I'm only 54 but my body is giving out. Aches and pains of arthritis now in my hands and knees. Went hiking about a month ago, stupidly came down a steep trail and sprained an ankle. Still in a brace, painful if I'm on it more than 2 hours a day. Took myself off light duty last week because working in a hospital as charge nurse is just as physical as having patients. Just applied for a desk job. Will probably have to work another 8 years. I'm tired. Been working since I was 11, minus a few years when my kids were small.

Congratulations! I semi-retired last year at just under 60 years old. I now work about 8-10 hours a week. It's wonderful. Most of my days are very very full, but as we head into winter I may be looking for more to do. I am very much an 'outside' person.

Here in north Missouri we are experiencing our first real cold snap. It was 28 degrees and slightly breezy when I went out for my 3-mile walk this afternoon. I hate to walk inside and will continue to walk outside no matter how cold (unless there's a strong wind). We have had one snow already but it quickly melted away. It's supposed to get back to above freezing this weekend; I sure hope so!

Happy Retirement! I hope you really enjoy yourself and make the transition easily.

DH is still deciding. He's loved what he does, and hates to give it up. But, it may be time he stops the hiking in all kinds of weather, off trail and at his age - and he's going to need to make decision soon. He and our tech have taken the last two months off, our liability policy expires March 8 and I'm not renewing it for $3000 if he's only thinking about working ;0) He's never been hurt (bone bruise once) but he did turn down a contract after seeing how steep and rocky navigating it would be this year - that was a first for him. He told the engineer - find a younger consultant to do it.

It's cold here. Just 32F at shortly after 5 PM, and its windy making it feel colder. We are supposed to have snow or freezing rain tomorrow, turning to rain tomorrow night and moderating temps then. I hope so, my sis wants us to meet her half way for lunch for her birthday Friday. I don't want to get on a slippery highway and don't want her to either.

We have just a very few days this chilly. My geraniums, still blooming, are moved into the garage and I turned on a little heat for them out there. DH has been setting an alarm this week and putting hummingbird feeders out just before daylight so nobodys waiting on breakfast after a cold night that might freeze their food.

morz8, what kind of work does he do? The puzzle pieces you offer don't make it immediately apparent to me. Thanks, best wishes to you and to him.

Elmer, a forestry engineer, logging supervisor, road specialist doing private consulting the last 15 years after working for major corporations decades. Has loved every day that he has worked, so he's very lucky to have enjoyed himself so much all these years. Loves the work, the people, the wildlife he gets to enjoy. The last several years he has done primarily unit layouts which means hiking off trail, he will walk every foot of the sections to see the grade, species trees, creeks, fish and wildlife present for himself, then write up prescriptions to put in temp roads, most efficient logging method at the best profit for the timber owner while making the least amount of impact on the forest/streams possible. He's good, and in demand still. He began as a forester right out of college, and moved to the production/marketing side about 10 years later. He's been happily cheerfully working 48 years ;0)

I retired in June of 2015 and I have to say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My job had gone from one I couldn't wait to start each day to one that I dreaded getting out of bed in the mornings.

Some of the things I love are not having to report to anyone, being in charge of me, not having to be anywhere at any certain time, no longer worrying about deadlines and no more office politics.

Other favorite things are no longer living by the clock and the calendar. Can't remember the last time I set the alarm clock. My time is my own and the activities I choose to do are ones I enjoy and look forward to.

It's funny because I'm busier than I've ever been and sometimes joke that I don't know how I had time to have a job.

One of the side benefits of retiring is that the house is always clean and orderly. When I was working, I used to do a marathon cleaning/laundry day on the weekends only to see the house slowly slide into untidyness during the week because I was too wiped out to keep up with it. Now, I spend an hour or two each morning with household chores and take pride in a clean and tidy home. Once that is done, I do what I wish whether that is spending time in my studio, puttering around outside, visiting with friends or attending events in my area. Travel has also been a huge part of being retired.

And, I saved the best for last. I no longer have to drive in the snow. Gone are the days I would check into a hotel room because I was snowed out at home or couldn't risk not being able to get out in the morning and miss work due to snow.

Speaking of snow, it's snowing right now. I am enjoying a cozy wood fire, having an adult beverage and have a pot of lamb stew simmering on the stove. No stressing about having to get to work tomorrow either!

Hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I do - the 23rd will be here before you know it!

I'm right there with you, Dawn! Word for word!! Being retired is awesome!

Thanks, morz8, that's most impressive. He may go stir crazy not going out into the words so regularly. Maybe he can find flat land jobs, or maybe those don't require his expertise? Again, best wishes.

Congratulations, bengardening! I think you're retiring at a good time of year. Spring will be here before you start getting bored.

Unlike some others, I do kind of regret retiring. Yes, its lovely to sleep in and have no one in a work environment to answer to, but the winters are sooo long. I have never acclimated to cold weather so it just seems to drag on and on. My spring to-do list is a mile long already and im itching to go! Oh darn, its not even officially winter yet!

I'm dreading the snow this year. Some people are saying it's going to be a bad one. being a nurse, you can't just not show up because of the snow. So I get up about 4:00 or 4:30 am and drive slowly. Which reminds me, need to buy some more rock salt for the driveway. It's 35 degrees right now. My room is cold, even thought the thermostat is at 74. The ends of the house stay chilly when the temperature drops outside. Miss having radiant heated ceilings in my old rental house. I have three free standing heaters when it really gets cold, just haven't taken them out again. I also have a wonderful heated mattress pad. Once my feet warm up I have to turn it off, though, cause then I start having hot flashes-lol. Love getting old, the heat feels so wonderful on my aching back and feet but then it makes me sweat.

I am the odd person who loves winter and am finally getting some. I hated the weather this year so much and couldn't wait for summer to end. Well, it just ended a week ago. I have impatiens since blooming and it was after Thanksgiving I brought my plants to my basement greenhouse. The cold never stops me and my dog. We've walked in 5-degree temps. I dread the spring and summer because every year it gets hotter and the droughts are longer. Yesterday was the first rain we had since May. We've had showers where we got a 10th of an inch but all the storms missed us. Love rain. love cold. I have my bedroom window open all year.

Congratulations, bengardening! You deserve it. Do you have any plans?

I'm taking early retirement, my last day will be Feb 1st. I'm on my feet, too and the stress of the job is too much for me now. I'll have the month of Jan off, using pto days. I'll hibernate til spring, then work on a few projects here. Maybe get a part-time job but waiting to see how I manage.

I'm in the mountains of NC, it was 12 degrees this morning. Last Sunday we had maybe an inch of snow. Didn't last long though. Jan and Feb are usually our worst months. Driving in snow on a mountain road is stressful for me these days, too. We have about the same driving distance. Mine is 20 miles and takes 25-30 minutes on a good day.

Happy Retirement, Bengardening! (A little early.) Chicken is better than hurt! I hope you're driving-in-all-weather days a very few now.

still waiting for dh to retire from his current job (consultant for elevators) but I think if he did, i'd go nuts...and the way of the new regime in Washington, I don't know if we can make on ss alone...and he LIKES what he's doing...he goes into the office after breakfast and if it weren't for a mirror in the lr i'd never hear him, lol...he does have a outside appt once in a while, but like next week he has a mechanic driving him so i'm not carless..(we're down to 1) we'll see how it goes..health wise we're doing ok...

To everyone who is retired or close to it, congratulations. I retired from teaching June 2013. I am enjoying it. I found that retirement, at least for me, is a work in progress. I substitute teach when I want at my old school. I love coasting into Christmas with no work. I am so much calmer. Funny that some of you mentioned weather. Today I almost accepted a sub job for Wednesday, but turned it down because snow is in the forecast for Wednesday morning.

Healthwise- After retirement I felt every ache and pain that I was too busy to pay attention to while working. I am okay now but initially I was very concerned and met with the doc.

Congratulations on your retirement!!

My Mother In Law just turned 80 and retired this year after working the same job for almost 60 years. She was a micro biologist and molecular biologist at a hospital and had only worked that one job. Like other hospital employees she had to work whether it snowed, was a holiday or they needed extra staff on her days off. She loved her job but sadly they restructured at her hospital and the new management worked daily to try and push her out because of her age and the fact that she was one of the highest paid people in her position because of all of her years. She finally decided enough was enough and retired though she probably could have worked another few more years she is in excellent health and you would never know her age if she didn't tell you.

I understand about needing the house cold. I have a neurological issue that makes it difficult to regulate my temperature. I keep my house at 68 during the day and 65 at night. If it isn't low enough I over heat and I can not cool down. I sleep in a tank top and shorts and my poor housemates wear sweatshirts and socks. I feel bad but it is so hard for me to cool down. I live in Florida now but when I lived in Mass I would leave the windows cracked at night in the winter time even when the nights were in the 20s and 30s it was perfect for me.

Right now here in Florida our nights have been in the upper 60s and days are still in the 80s. I wish we would get some rain. My grass misses those summer storms we get and is looking a little dry even with running the sprinklers 2xs a week.