Is Netflix worth it?

It has been more than a year since I quit Netflix. No real reason other than the price went up slightly, and I didn’t watch it often. I honestly haven’t missed it.

However, we were channel surfing over the holidays and ended up watching Caddyshack. I’ve seen it multiple times, of course, but it had been years. We laughed so hard, and it felt good to be released from the prison of daily newsfeeds that suck me in. Caddyshack was great, even with commercials.

My favorite Ty Webb quote: “I don’t play golf for money, against people.”

While I love golf and work hard to keep improving, I’ve finally accepted I do not care for competition, so now I’m focusing more on the simple pleasures of the game. And that brings me back to the simple pleasures of watching a good show on TV.

Golf and life – how they do intersect.

Currently, I watch stuff on Amazon Prime. There’s a lot of good content that comes free with Prime, and I like the “pay by the drink” formula for new movies that never seem to make their way to Netflix. Lately I’ve been thinking of re-subscribing to Netflix. We are not on a super-strict retirement budget, so it’s not a financial issue. I just hate wasting money on services and goods I don’t need or use regularly.

But that might change. Although I am an avid reader, I also enjoy movies and binge-worthy series. After watching Caddyshack and cracking up for an hour and a half, I’m thinking I should indulge more. Not just comedies but a variety of entertainment. For example, I paid Amazon a few bucks for a season of Outlander, which is also available on Netflix.

By the way, I’m about to start episode 6 of Outlander, and if Claire and Jamie don’t have sex soon, I’m outtie.

Subscribing to a streaming service comes down to how I want to live my life. While I do think it’s important to keep learning, I’m not much into self-improvement as a retirement hobby. When I first retired, it seemed like everyone was saying we needed to reinvent ourselves to stay relevant or be worthy of retirement.

Now I realize I’m already worthy, and retirement is not a competition to see who is the most productive or the most evolved. Everyone is different, and retirement is (finally) our time to focus on what makes us happy.

As for me, I’m happy to spend a lot of time walking, swimming, playing golf, cooking and otherwise moving around. Kicking back during my downtime to watch more movies also appeals to me. A small thing if it brings pleasure.

What do you think? Is Netflix worth it?

23 thoughts on “Is Netflix worth it?”

  1. I signed up for Netflix three years ago when I decided I wanted to watch all of “Breaking Bad”. Since then, I’ve also liked watching “Grace and Frankie”, which by the way, has a new season coming soon. Anyway, I know I would watch a lot more on Netflix, but most of my TV watching is at night with Tim. While we do like a lot of the same things, there are also many interests we don’t share. As a result, we can rarely find something we both want to watch. So, we don’t use Netflix as much as we should. There’s also more on Prime I would watch, but we have the same issue. I may just have to lock myself into my studio some day and watch all the things I’ve been dying to watch!! To finally answer your question – I think it’s worth it. Small price to pay.

    1. We have the same problem. I watch most of my stuff on my Kindle Fire — in bed with the headphones on.

  2. I quit Netflix earlier this year when I realized that I hadn’t found anything I wanted to watch on it for a few months and because of the price increase. I resubscribed once Netflix added a couple movies/series I was waiting to see like “The Crown”. Once I stop finding anything I want to watch on Netflix, I’ll unsubscribe again. I think Netflix is worth it if you find movies/series you want to watch. I have Amazon Prime too and I’m thinking of trying the free week trial of Disney Plus. I agree, retirement is what we want to make it.

    1. It is hard to decide! I’m not crazy about the idea of subscribing and unsubscribing, but I do understand the point. Hmmm …

  3. This is such a good question. I totally agree about learning to chill during retirement. I guess I used to be a news junkie and now that I need to limit how much of this stuff I take in, I look to Netflix for diversion. I have found some really terrific series, some from the BBC, like The Fall, Broadchurch, Hinterland, Happy Valley, Last Train to Halifax. I checked in once to see Grace and Frankie and was totally turned off, then tried again at a different time and loved it. I look into the West Wing every now and then just to fantasize about it would be like to have a good president. Some of these shows are not currently being shown on Netflix, but every month some things go and others come on – there are listings online showing these comings and goings. You like detective stories, so I would highly recommend The Fall (it’s not currently on Netflix, but maybe you could find it on Amazon Prime.) Totally chilling and well acted. I feel as if Netflix is kind of a bargain, at less than half the price of Sirius radio in my car. If I were giving up one or the other, Sirius would have to go.

    1. I laughed out loud over watching West Wing to fantasize what it would be like to have a good president. So true. I am also limiting my news, and you’re right, it’s about diversion. I’m going to check out all your recommendations. Thank you! And as for Sirius, I was going to cancel that, too, but caved at the end. At least I’m not spending a pile on clothes and makeup.

      1. I’m glad that I could return the favor of making you laugh – your posts are often so funny. I totally forgot to tell you about Kanopy! If you are not aware of it, it is a vast trove of movies that you can watch at home for free through libraries. The trick is you have to find a library that offers it. My local library system does not have it, but I was able to join a library outside my local area that does. Just check out http://www.kanopy.com and you will be able to at least get sense of what they offer.

        2. I checked it out, and I’d have to get one more library card from a neighboring community. Easy! This looks great.

  4. I prefer the various TV series and the original content and I feel that Netflix does this far better. I also enjoy European detective and police series and again this is something Netflix does much better. I am not into movies on either channel. I don’t actually consider prime free cause I get it for the tv and everything else is incidental. We are actually about to subscribe Disney plus and Hulu around here.

    1. I’d love to know which European detective shows and police series you like. It is great to have so many choices like Disney Plus and Hulu and the rest.

      1. I’m about to add at least one of the three mentioned below. The list is long. I need to update but in top of my blog is a tab I at least attempt to keep current with the show I loved and did not. I need to update this week.

  5. Ah, I just have them all. Why not? My favorite is BritBox and Acorn. I also watch MHZ for all the Scandinavian stuff. Amazon fills in everything else.

    1. OK, a couple more options to check out. I would call this the golden age of streaming. So much good stuff out there.

  6. DO NOT GIVE UP ON OUTLANDER!!! It’s hot and yes – the scene is coming! I know you appreciate language and some of my favorite scenes are where Claire uses a word that Jaime doesn’t understand. Too many good episodes to come! I read three of the books and they are as good as the movie. The written works are also awesome if you prefer to read. The series is well done.

    PS. let me know when you get to the good stuff. 🤣

    1. I just finished the episode where Jamie and Claire are supposed to get married, and he tells her he’s a virgin. I believe I’ll see some action soon. I forget how many books there were, but I know I read at least four. I loved them, but they did get bogged down in the tiniest details of the wars. It’s rare that I prefer a movie over the book, but so far I like this series better because it’s not as clunky with obscure details. Oh, and Jamie. Right there in front of you.

        1. Wowser. I watched another episode while “prepping.” Had my laptop on a tray in the bathroom. It felt weird to be watching all that whilst doing all that. But dang.

  8. I’m more of an Acorn and Britbox fan, although I noticed Hulu has a bunch of good British shows. I do like Grace and Frankie and the Kominsky Method on Netflix, though. For some reason I find British dramas more appealing than American, but I’m not a fan of British humor (or humour).

    1. I agree about British dramas versus British humor. I’ve been checking out Acorn and Britbox, which are interesting. They are both less expensive than Netflix or Hulu.

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