5 Hobbies You Should Take Up in Retirement

Retirement can be an odd feeling. On the one hand, it’s a huge sense of relief that you can finally relax without ever having to work another day in your life. But on the other hand, it can actually be quite daunting. After all, you’ve been working for the majority of your life. Knowing what to do next without having to worry about a job or a career can be surprisingly unsettling.

But of course, being retired doesn’t have to mean sitting around watching TV. It can be an opportunity to learn new skills, make new friends and explore things that you simply haven’t had the chance to explore yet. Retirement is just the latest chapter in your continuously evolving life.

So now that you have all this free time on your hands, what kind of hobbies can you get into?

Hiking

Many people are put off hiking for fear of not being fit or athletic enough. But we’ll let you in on a little secret… hiking is just walking.

You don’t have to be superfit to hike. You don’t have to be on a trail or in the wilderness. You don’t have to cover endless kilometers. You don’t even have to be fast. You simply need to be willing to put one foot in front of the other and enjoy the scenery around you.

Hiking is free, it can be done at any time of day and is something that you can enjoy alone or as a group. There are plenty of walking clubs around Sydney but if you can’t find one in your area, why not start one? Just meet up with likeminded people and go for a walk. Even if it’s just for ten minutes once a week, it’s a great way to get some fresh air and enjoy the local scenery.

Lawn Bowls

Lawn bowls is a fantastic way to socialise and get a bit of fresh air gentle exercise in at the same time. Whether you want to join a competitive league or just enjoy a few social games, lawn bowls is a great way to meet new people.

Snooker

Just like lawn bowls, snooker and billiards are fantastic ways to enjoy a bit of light exercise whilst meeting new people. And the great thing about snooker is that it can be enjoyed in any weather. So whether you’re looking for a rainy day activity or something to get you out of the midday heat, snooker can be a great option.

Snooker halls can be found all across Sydney and you’re therefore bound to find one that is local to you. So if you live in Western Sydney, look for a snooker club in Western Sydney so that you can meet other locals and make new friends who are retired too.

Swimming

Whether it’s open water swimming or a few laps of the pool, swimming is a fantastic low impact sport. Gentle on the joints and muscles, it’s a great way to stay fit and healthy without putting stress on your body. And you don’t have to swim hundreds of lengths and laps to get the benefits of swimming. Just a few gentle lengths once or twice a week will do wonders for your overall health.

Language Learning

It’s not too late to tick off that life-long item on your bucket list to learn another language. And now that you’re retired, you finally have that time on your hands! Learning a new language can help keep the brain active and actually improve your memory. Conquering a new language can also give you a huge sense of achievement which is absolutely invaluable.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to embarrass yourself in front of strangers or pay for expensive classes to learn a new language these days. You can do it all on your phone. With countless free language learning apps available these days, there’s really no excuse for putting off your language learning anymore.

Conclusion

So there you go. Five new hobbies that can help keep you active, improve your health, develop new skills and meet new people during your retirement years. All you have to do now is get up and go!