Considering Hanging it up...but...what to do after scuba??

[Pressurehead]

Don't give it up, just do other things as well , service and store your gear for awhile.
I also have a fishing kayak, a boat for fishing [and diving if need be], go the gym , take up a social sport [I play lawn bowls], what do the kids like doing?.
Just take a break, if you have good gear you will regret selling it if 'the bug bites' again.

I am older by 4 years "Similar to lexvil, I am 68", plenty of old buggers diving.

 

[mcohen1021]

I quit teaching because it wasn't fun anymore

That's how I felt after working classes for 9 yrs, totally get it...

 

[Graeme Fraser]

I drive at least 90 minutes to dive sites. Current favorite one is four hours each way. Requires at least one night in a hotel.

Ahh yes, but then there's committed... and there's @maire13!

 

[hedonist222]

If the gear you have isn't expensive to buy again, then sell.
If you do return to diving, you can pick up used gear and start again.

If your gear is top grade, then store and maintain annually for a year or two.

Then reconsider whether its time to really sell off or not.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I can understand diving losing some of its lustre.

I got certified in 2003 and when I began was really geeked about diving - went diving locally alot. After awhile I felt like I had seen what the local shore diving had to offer. That and life (got married, bought a house with work needed on it, difficulty with my career, money tight) and I just wasnt into diving as much. Between 2008-2010 only 6 dives total - I wasnt quite ready to give up diving, so I went diving once annually to keep up practice.

It took an attitude adjustment for me. Every local dive would not be spectacular, and I might see the same old fish again (Oh look, an olive rockfish, well aint I Jacques Costeau). Still, I enjoyed diving. That and some vacation diving (as money situation improved) really got me back into diving again.

Like I said, I can understand diving losing some of its lustre, esp when life gets in the way. Would you consider being a vacation only diver? (Have the wife take the kids for one morning per vacation) And maybe an annual local dive to keep in practice?

I am now at a place where I can expect a warm water vacation every year, and it keeps me motivated to keep my diving up, so I dive locally, maybe once a month or so.

 

[boulderjohn]

In a recent thread, someone asked what was wrong with the current state of scuba that people who are avid divers give it up. I responded with a list of non-scuba activities in which I had participated avidly for years and then given up completely for a variety of reasons. As I made up the list, I was frankly surprised at the number of activities I had given up over my lifetime. In each case, I have never looked back, and in each case, I found something else to fill that time. In fact, finding something else often helped me move on in the first place.

As for scuba, I will someday give that up, too. Given my age, that time might not be too far off. What will I do instead? I have no idea, but there will be something.

Raising children may be what stops most younger divers. Once they are grown, you may well renew your interest. Or you may take up another activity.

 

[USFpsychDiver]

I'm a Pacific Northwesterner living in exile in Florida, so I'll be diving for a while. If I was living out there I'd still be hiking and biking and camping and sea kayaking and snow skiing and fly fishing (actually still do most of those things, they just require a flight now instead of a drive, except the kayaking).

 

[Doc]

Market research (from scuba industry and sports in general) tells us that the major ‘crossover’ sports continue to be sailing and downhill skiing/snowboarding.

I feel your burnout, diving the PNW & all the ‘heavy metal’ tec stuff, cold water, can’t pee in dry suit, i paralleled that in the Great Lakes. Ugh, enough already.

maybe Warm water pretty fish?
Fewer opportunities to go, more expensive travel, but new rewards.

i went HSA and have really enjoyed splashing in a pool with handicapped divers.

Things that I have enjoyed equally: formula (open wheel) racing, free climbing, solo sky diving, SWAT, mono-skiing, ultralight/sailplane, and sex. At age 70, at least I can still SCUBA dive.

 

[Superlyte27]

It took me 27 years go get tired of diving. And really it wasn't the diving. It was the people in diving. You guys are a bunch of A-holes. LOL. Jk, Not really.

Anyway, I'm big into flying, paramotoring, shooting, traveling. But I do miss diving. I didn't sell all my gear, in fact I just bought two new rebreathers and ordered 3 new scooters. So, I guess I should just keep going. I'm more selective on who I dive with.

If you're getting bored, take up cave diving. There's 25+ years worth of cave diving where you'll see something new every single day.

 

[tursiops]

As for scuba, I will someday give that up, too. Given my age, that time might not be too far off. What will I do instead? I have no idea, but there will be something.

I was getting bored about ten years ago, but took up u/w photography to combine two passions. It worked.

If you're getting bored, take up cave diving. There's 25+ years worth of cave diving where you'll see something new every single day.

I decided this year to give up cave diving; at my age and decreasing physical condition, it is not a good idea. It was a wonderful passion for almost twenty years -- especially trips to Abaco -- but now I treat myself more kindly.
Moral of this story: follow your passions, but remember you can't do everything you want to do.