Your social life in retirement matters! Here’s how you can enjoy it to the fullest:
Your fifties and sixties are a period of transformation. If you are a parent, your children may have moved out a while ago, giving you more independence. It also coincides with the time when you could be considering retiring from your job and seeking out additional hobbies.
During this stage, social isolation is common for many people. About a quarter of those 65 and older experience social isolation, while one-third of those in their 45s and older experience loneliness. But why not try to change that, embrace social life, and reconnect with old friends and such?
You may not think like this but believe it or not, a busy social life is essential to your well-being, regardless of what’s going on in your life at the moment.
1. Use social media to get in touch or reconnect with old pals
One of the best ways to have a nice social life in retirement is to apply to one of the easiest ways to communicate and see people: social media, of course. You can SMS them using a cell phone, so you’re not limited to doing it within your house.
Even just saying hello to your loved ones on social media is a wonderful way to remain in touch and communicate with them in real time. If you already do that, it’s awesome, but if you avoid creating accounts on social media for various reasons, always make sure you are aware of the privacy settings and policies in place.
2. Consider volunteering
Contributing to a cause you believe in may help you meet people who share your views and may give you a sense of direction in life. It benefits both parties. Keeping up your social routine can also be achieved by volunteering outside your house once a week at a specific time.
3. Find walking buddies
Another awesome way to have a social life in retirement is by finding friends or people from your neighborhood who are happy about daily strolls in a park or mall. Whenever you’re comfortable with it!
In my case, I found that the community of the church I go to was made up of awesome people who eventually became some of my closest friends.
Beyond making walking companions, you may take part in planned events such as field excursions, outdoor parties and picnics, volunteer work in the community, and entertaining theme parties. What about you? Do you have a nice community at your local church?
For example, did you know that 30 minutes a day can lift your spirits and maybe aid in preventing chronic illnesses? Anybody may exercise easily by walking, regardless of their physical condition.
4. Take a class
If we’d had this talk two years ago, I’d have told you that this is definitely out of the question because taking up a class wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for my retirement years. But now, looking back on this, I was completely wrong.
Retirement is probably the best period to pick up a new hobby or learn new things. In my case, I started taking a class to learn Spanish because I read that learning a foreign language has helped many seniors maintain their cognitive capacities to normal standards.
Besides this, I also started to meet new people there, and my social life in retirement soon flourished. And I couldn’t be more grateful for this!
5. Are you binge-watching movies alone? Swap that by inviting some people over
For me, being a social butterfly wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I entered my retirement years. However, I was surprised to discover that this changed from zero to hero, and that makes me happy, so I will share my experience with you.
After my kids left, I felt super alone, and that made me subscribe to various streaming services and watch as many movies as possible. While this was fun, something was missing because I watched them on my own or with my husband.
Since we wanted to make some changes, he came up with the idea to invite some friends over for movie nights one day a week, every week. This was a great idea to improve our social life in retirement. One week we organize this at our place, the next week we are invited to a friend’s home.
Besides movie nights, you can also do game nights! It’s super fun, and you can ask others to come with their board games too. That’s why I have a suggestion for you.
I bought the game called Letterpool a couple of months ago from Amazon to play it with my friends. It’s playable for up to six people and it costs just $14.99.
6. Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with strangers
This may not be for everybody but is a great way to boost social life in retirement. As you go about your efforts to make acquaintances, establish yourself as a cheerful face in many settings. Visit the same restaurants, pubs, stores, and gyms.
Make an effort to get to know the employees and establish yourself as the familiar face they all like. Use this as a chance to talk to someone if it appears that they are also regulars at these places.
Even simply running into “familiar strangers” might make you feel more like a part of the group. You’ll also note that people are habitual beings. Making friends with familiar faces is made much easier by the likelihood that you’ll run into them at the same times and locations. Friendly folks are loved by the public!
7. Get yourself a helping paw
By that, I totally mean to look for adopting a pet. Taking your dog on a daily stroll might lead to friendships. Considering how often you’ll run into other animal enthusiasts, owning a pet can even encourage you to build stronger human ties. Even though it might not seem like much at first, you’ll quickly notice an increase in your social network.
If this won’t help you make new acquaintances, you will still benefit from sharing your life with an adorable furry friend, and you know what they say: dogs are humans’s best friends!
8. Group traveling is a great idea
As I previously mentioned, I formed a little group of friends with the local church community. At least four times a year, we organize group travel and visit local destinations. For a lot of people (including myself), money isn’t exactly as it used to be, so while I try to save as much as I can, I also try to enjoy the little things in life.
This helped me a lot to embrace social life in retirement and be more open to being a tourist in my country. Age shouldn’t be a barrier to living life to the fullest and traveling as much as possible.
For many, like me, joining a travel group is a simple and cost-effective way to meet new people, reconnect with old acquaintances, and discover places and cultures you would not have otherwise thought about.
Bottom line:
If you reached this far with reading, then you probably realized how much I was ranting about embracing social life in retirement, and I hope you won’t find this boring since I wanted to share my personal experience with you. Regular social interaction provides several health advantages and is essential for individuals of all ages.
This is a perfect time to start creating new habits and growing your social network if you’re going through a transition, like retirement or your adult children moving out of the house.
I hope after reading this article you will embrace social life in retirement more than before and never forget to do everything with a smile on your face!
What do you do for your social life in retirement? Tell me in the comments section. Let us meet there and form a nice community here at Golden Years Bliss.
Speaking of being more outgoing and embracing social life in retirement? Check out how beneficial it can be to go for a walk for at least 15 minutes a day.
