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What do you want to be doing at 50?
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sidjameson



Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 629
Location: osaka

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:35 pm    Post subject: What do you want to be doing at 50? Reply with quote

Simple request. How old are you now and what do you hope to be doing at 50.

I know it's far off for some, but like a man crossing the desert, it's best to have even a basic idea of the direction that you're going in.

Me: 39. By 50 I definitely want to be out of teaching. Freed from the "need" to work. Probably living in a cheap country and hopefully doing all the things that up until now I've been to lazy to do. Running a business, learning a musical instrument, reading more come to mind.

Oh if you are over 50 then I guess 60 for you. Much over that and I guess you don't have t worry about it. Smile
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zorro (3)



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I want to have found the answer to what I want to do before I'm fifty, and then have acted on it.
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John Hall



Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Posts: 452
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm 42. In Canada, my 80-year-old dad is retired, and plays golf in the summer, curls in the winter (that refers to the sport of curling, for those of you who aren't Canadian!), and plays cards with friends all year round. He seems to like it; but I wouldn't be able to stand that. Having no purpose in life would drive me crazy. I will teach for as long as I can. I might get into some other line of work too.

I have always believed that your interests should be in your work, not outside of your work. That way, you will neither want nor need to retire.

Furthermore, studies show that those who remain active and useful in life live much longer than those who don't have much to do in their later years. I intend to be around for a long time. Wink
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ls650



Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I might be teaching, I might not - who knows? If someone had told me five years ago that I'd be teaching in Mexico I'd have said no way. I don't think you can really plan your life out in detail like that - or at least if you do, it's likely a very boring life.
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tedkarma



Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster

PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Uh . . . let's see if I can remember that far back Sad

I think I wanted to have my home on a tropical island - to be enjoying my life and to semi-retire (I never want to REALLY retire) by the age of 55.

Home on tropical island: check

Semi-retire when age 55: due in about three months - and will do it.

So . . . TEFL CAN get you there!
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jpvanderwerf2001



Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York

PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Semi-retire (maybe 10-12 hours/week). Tropical beach(or at least: short winters). Hundreds of books to read. Have the grandkids over for a few weeks a year.
That sounds really nice to me.
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jammish



Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 1704

PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Running a bar on the beach in Thailand, with income supplemented by the rent from my 9 houses in China. Cool
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QatarChic



Joined: 06 May 2005
Posts: 445
Location: Qatar

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm 31 now- have no idea what I'll be doing at 50 Shocked I prefer to take each day at a time.......
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karinb



Joined: 05 Feb 2006
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm 21 and cannot even imagine more than doubling my years of life Shocked I hear it all goes by fast, but yeah. No idea!
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denise



Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Hall wrote:


I have always believed that your interests should be in your work, not outside of your work. That way, you will neither want nor need to retire.



That's a really nice thought! You hear stories about people who hate their jobs so much that they absolutely live for the weekends. I wonder why they don't just try to find jobs that they enjoy so that they can enjoy the work week as well.

Anyway... I'm 31 now. I do try to have an idea (sometimes hazy, sometimes firm) about what I want to do in the future, but usually only for the next few years. I really can't imagine what I will be doing when I'm 50! EFL is a career for me, though, so I will likely still be in some sort of classroom somewhere.

My main goal now is to get myself out of debt. I will be able to build up a fair bit of savings here in Oman--enough, at least, to allow me to work in the US and still make my loan payments. When I go back to the US in a couple of years I will look for work either in universities or in TEFL training centers. I haven't thought much beyond that.

d
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