First timer here

dazren · Guru

First timer here

gypsy rover · Senior Member

Hi Shiralee

Welcome to the Forum

I paint, some people make jewelry, another lady makes fabric handbags (I am assuming you are female as these past times may not appeal to a "bloke".) There are lots of hobbies you can do on the road, ie. photography, writing a blog, etc. etc. As Dazren says, you may be able to get part time work somewhere. Have a look at workaboutaustralia.com.au website. There is another one called "outback helpers" or something to that effect and they help out on stations when the owners are sick or have to be away.(this is voluntary work). If you are looking for something that is easy but a little more permanent have a look at the governessaustralia website, they are always looking for people and you could perhaps just do it for one school year. (not a good idea to leave in the middle of the year.)

Hope this helps

Cheers!

Chris

-- Edited by gypsy rover on Saturday 26th of May 2012 03:24:23 PM

-- Edited by gypsy rover on Saturday 26th of May 2012 03:24:46 PM

billeeeeeee · Guru

Howdyeeeeeeeee..........

-- Edited by billeeeeeee on Saturday 26th of May 2012 05:12:10 PM

Shiralee · Newbie

Retired from fulltime employment to hit the road late 2010 but still have not become used to having so much leisure time. Have tried reading, cross stitch, card games and cruising the net when not sight seeing, but am still feeling I should be doing something useful some of the time. Are there any others out there in the same boat? Anyone have any suggestions? confuse

tezza · Senior Member

Have you looked at outback links or blazeaid?

Pejay · Guru

Hi Shiralee,
Welcome from us too, to the Forum. Pete retired in Dec 2010, and as he says, he gets guilty at times, but it doesn't last very long!! Guess it's that saying - won't happen overnight, but it will happen.

At present on another adventure down to Canberra via Lightning Ridge. We seem to do our travelling around the wrong way - south in Winter and north in Summber and the Wet Season - but that's us.

Hopefully, sometime, somewhere we will meet up and share a cuppa, in the meantime, safe travels.

Pete & June

dazren · Guru

confuse Dougwe wrote.

But that's just a cover for my real pass time being,

Attachments

tn-1131094?AWSAccessKeyId=1XXJBWHKN0QBQS6TGPG2&Expires=1339027200&Signature=iQzh7L0wgxnqAqRJTEIF7e96c6c%3D

Doug you seem to be having a severe case of

MissingWombatSyndrome, I would get check-up asap before you end up with a permanant womble affliction lol dazren

-- Edited by dazren on Saturday 26th of May 2012 11:33:36 PM

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Welcome to the site Shiralee - presuming you are female - lots of people have hobbies that they do on the road - some make stuff and sell it at markets along the way - some just sit, smoke, drink coffee - and talk - hope you find something that interests you and keeps your mind active. Enjoy the forum, enjoy the lifestyle.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome Shiralee from me too. enjoy here and out there.

I love shooting things, that's not what you think though, photography is my pass time.

(can't let Billeeeeee have all the fun)

But that's just a cover for my real pass time being,

neilnruth · Guru

Hi Shiralee. We also took a while to settle into retirement. Particularly hard if you have been a very busy person. I found that after reading this forum for a while I was soon ready to get 'on the road' - even if only for a short time. It has been a great time so far meeting lovely new people along the way. I'm sure you'll soon find your 'niche' in retired life.

Cruising Granny · Guru

Well hi there Shiralee. You appear to have been here for a while since last year, but only popped out from the bushes recently.
Nice to see you here.
I think most travellers and retirees have past times and hobbies. Some even have income generation activities by selling their wares van-side in the parks or at the markets they frequent.
I've decided to retrain myself to do the job illustrated in my Avatar to earn some bucks to top up my diesel fund.
I also write but so far it hasn't earned me much, but I have lots of material to sell or put into books to be published.
Because of the compact nature of this lifestyle your hobby has to be compact, although there are some out there who haven't felt the need to down-size their hobby and the space it takes.
You'll be right once you've mastered the art of kicking back. Practice by sitting in a park for varying lengths of time, or by the beach, just to get your head around NOT working or having to hurry to the next thing, whatever the "next thing" is.
Good luck

glassies · Guru

welcome shiralee,

cant realy say anything other than what others have said have you thought about house sitting as well
some people need there dogs cats fish fed etc and will offer you free accom in return for doing such.

that will make you able to meet new people as well as give you something to do

just a thought

good luck

Pint · Member

Hey there Shiralee, and a big welcome to the site,

I'm new to this site myself, and enjoying it immensley. My wife is a retired IT Consultant, and since retiring has been donating some of her time to a Salvos Drug and Alcohol unit training the clients in basic computing. It's a great way to give something back to the community, and hopefully help someone develop skills that will help them during and after their recovery.
As dazren says, volunteering in National Parks can be very rewarding too. We live on the edge of a National Park and frequently follow the trails taking photos and removing weeds and rubbish. Every little bit helps, especially if we can prevent the rubbish from finding it's way down the creeks to Sydney Harbour.
I'm sure you will find lots of suggestions here, Shiralee.

Pint and Judith.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Hi Shiralee and welcome. I read this thread with interest as I too find myself getting restless since retirement and even when travelling. I do volunteer work in an old peoples home once a week when at home and love it.

When travelling I still find myself feeling a bit useless occasionally... have tried crafty things, photography etc, and internet when available. I still havent learnt to fish, this seems to keep a lot of people fully occupied. Truth is, I dont really want to have to clean/scale them.

pricey43 · Guru

Welcome Shiralee,

I have found that I have become a jack of all trades.

Think about all those activities that you have looked at and though, 'Mmmmm that looks interesting' and then try it out.

You don't have to go full bore into it and lay out lots of money, just scratch the surface and see where it leads. You might be surprised.

Since we started travelling, I have become more interested in photography, but only after a few years of persevering with our automatic camera, I now have a dsl and have done a short course on using it. Now I am doing an 8 hour course on Photoshop so I can fix up my mistakes.

I am trying to learn a bit of fishing technique but will never be expert.

I have gone back to sewing making shopping bags, etc from recycled materials.

I still have a few other things waiting including using a metal detector.

How did we ever have time to work!!! smile smile smile smile

Shiralee · Newbie

Hi Everyone who replied to my query. I am a bit overwhelmed that so many of you have sent me a welcome and tried to give me some suggestions. Thanks so much.
Shirlee (yes I am female and travelling with my husband)

Shiralee · Newbie

Hi Gerty, You have me pegged exactly smile . I am travelling with my husband who has settled in to this lifestyle very well...loves fishing. I am the administration manager, photographer and log keeper for our trip but am finding a permanent ongoing holiday leaves me restless at times. Tried the craft etc too. hmm

My job was in a 'helping' profession, fulltime for most of 34 years (necessity) and somehow I still hanker to be helping someone. A disability prevents physical helping and we only tend to stay about a week or less in each location. I keep scrolling the net in the hope of finding some project or other that I can contribute to online in some small way. confuse

Shiralee · Newbie

Dazren you have also nailed my problem. I do have some sense of purpose but there is a little chunk missing. I feel pretty sure if I keep reading on this site I will end up having a brain wave of some kind before too long. Everyone seems to be very good at sharing here.

smile