No time to write much, as off to the job I love as an instructor. I qualified when the wrong side of 50 - don't admit that often on here, but maybe people NEED to know that getting older doesn't necessarily mean you aren't adaptable, or that your wants and needs in life change, or that you can't live off pot noodles or sleep rough or work long hours or any of those things, OK?!!!!!!! It totally depends on the individual. Now, I'm not earning a lot, and I managed to keep the house, but not an awful lot else. But I can afford to feed me and the cats. My only luxury before I did all this was flying, and now I get paid for doing that, so I don't need that much to live on.
I could explain this better if I had more time, but what I'm saying is, decide what YOU want out of life, have something to fall back on if you can....eg smaller house or flat which you let and which will provide roof later on, maybe??? But ultimately, it's YOUR decision, not someone else's because they can't possibly know how you feel about flying or life or anything else. As for the ageist crap some people write..........(comments censored)