When we decided to retire, we had planned on selling our house and storing our stuff and taking off in the RV. We have a saying in our family...God laughs when you tell Him your plans! Needless to say, the house didn't sell. We decided to still try to travel in the RV and work part time along the way. Hiring house sitters and lawn services is not the most cost efficient way to do it, but it will work. The best option is to become a work camper...also known as a workkamper! You sign up for a service that matches employers with employees who want to work in retirement!
With or without an RV, you can find part time jobs by going to http://www.workamper.com/ and signing up for their job lists for a small fee. Here's the way it works...employers post part time or seasonal jobs of all kinds, you send a resume, and then you get hired. If you have an RV which is most often the situation, the employer provides you a spot for your RV, you work a certain number of hours without pay to "pay" for the spot, and then you get paid for all other hours worked. Some jobs are as few as 10-20 hours a week up to full time. Jobs are usually in resort or vacation areas. We spent almost 6 months in West Yellowstone, Montana, the gateway to Yellowstone National Park! We worked 28 hours a week in a gallery and gift store and spent the rest of our time exploring the Park and surrounding areas including Jackson Hole and Cheyenne, Wyoming! It has been the most fabulous "vacation/part time job" we've ever had. We also took this job because we thought we wanted a gallery...decided really quickly that we didn't like retail. We also tried working in a campground for 6 weeks checking campers in and out...not fond of that but we have friends that are staying free in a resort area all winter in return for some outside maintenance and cleaning the restrooms a few days a week. Restrooms sound gross, but most campers use the RV bathrooms and if they do use the resort baths, they are usually neat! One retired CEO said it was the best job to have because it takes only a few hours a week and if you factor in campground fees it's the highest paying job he had ever had! Jobs may also be in a theme park and Disney Resorts hire tons of people for part time, seasonal jobs.
There are also other options if you don't have an RV or are traveling alone. Both the National Park Service and a company called Xanterra hire seasonally and provide "dormitory" accomodations http://www.xanterra.com/ at parks across the country. We met one single woman who had worked for about 20 years at Yellowstone from summer employment while a school teacher to part time work in the summer in retirement. If you want to travel internationally, options are available through both volunteer and paid positions. If your health is great and you are adventuresome, there is always the Peace Corps who encourage healthy, active adults to apply! The Peace Corps provides health coverage so that's also an inducement if you are too young for Medicare. Just search online and you'll find tons of opportunities.
If you aren't quite this adventurous, there are lots of local part time jobs you can explore...remember, you are supplementing your retirement income until the market comes back! You can work in day care and after school care settings if you want to work with children, the YMCA (I got offered a job teaching swimming which was also, by the way, the first job I ever had), a gym, or Chicos (my favorite store!). In addition to a salary, there may be perks such as discounts, free memberships or even access to health insurance! Think about all the things that you wished you had been able to do before you had to take a "real" job. Because of my healthcare background, degrees and love of writing, I work as a contract medical editor for a firm based in Taiwan and China. This allows me to work when I want and from anywhere in the world! All I need is a computer and internet service! I also found a consulting company that lets me work select jobs without commiting to full time work. I've even worked for my old company a few times. Keep an open mind...my neighbor wanted a fancy closet retrofit and while getting a quote, found out they were looking for help on Wednesday and Saturday making appointments and were even somewhat flexible on her desire to still travel occasionally! She even got a hefty discount on her new closet.
So...bottom line...you can always travel virtually free and spend long enough in an area to really see it. You can stay at home and make extra money to enjoy your retirement until the market comes back. You can take part time jobs that allow you to explore things you've always thought you wanted to do. But most importantly, you'll feel better if you are out and about and exploring the world rather than being a couch potato! So combine a little work with a lot of play and embrace retirement! And so...with a memory of Yellowstone and the Lower Falls...happy retirement from Woody and Pat!
No comments:
Post a Comment