Living The Dream ?

[32143]

Sorry to burst your bubble but you will struggle to live on an army pension if your husband/partner is also in their 40s. You can realistically expect to live another 40 years and the real value of your pension will slowly erode over that time. At the very least you need to keep up your NI payments so you will qualify for a UK state pension, if you can while living overseas.

I retired from the army at 55 after serving 30 years and will get my state pension next year and I can tell you I need it.

I like Tenerife, honeymooned there but too small to live there permanently for me. Might be OK for you if you want to start a business, but it is a crowded marketplace, lots of others have gone there to run a bar or club and they hassle tourists in some places. I called them the English beggars the last time I was there.

Gloomy I know but you can't be too realistic. But it really depends on what you want and the choice of course is entirely yours. Buy an olive grove, put your feet up and enjoy the sun if that appeals. Better than a grim flat on the umpteenth floor!

Fortunately, a large % of Niges pension is index linked, so he gets more that just the regular pension, part of his pension is medical, possibly not so fortunate if we consider the reason he has a medical pension, but he's alive so we tend to lean towards fortunate and hope to live the rest of our lives to the full though he will probably expect me to return to work eventually . I am going to look into paying my NI contributions as I did work full time also for Mod until 39, so probably worth paying mine. I have a preserved pension I can collect on at 55, not much but every little helps.

 

[Cobweb]

There is a book anyone contemplating a permanent move to Spain might find useful on Amazon Kindle .
It is called " Place in the currant bun " about one persons experience of moving to Spain ...it might burst a few balloons but has some very useful information .

 

[BONZO]

We are going part time at work. So we want to do the same go away as often as possible. Travel is wonderful but if you are not well .
home is the best place to be

 

[maxine and jo]

dreams are nothing more than wishes and a wish is just a dream you won't to come true . 11 years on and it good to be alive

 

[laird of Dunstan]

Guys ive worked all my life since I was 16 , I am not tired of working ,but I am becoming very aware of the number of people in my age group who are experiencing life changing illnesses . So the plan is , to sell my big house and pay off the ex wife , pay off a mortgadge that I have on another house , buy a motorhome , tuck a few bob away in investments , and go touring ,I intend to work part time doing the odd contract here and there so as not to dip in too much to the investment pot , im hoping to do a long tour , a sabbatical of about a year and then evaluate the situation . I want to have an adventure , I want to do it before my body is incapable of doing it , im going to quit my job , a well paid job , salary ,car etc .
It is not a dream , I am going to do it , there is a small hurdle of finalising a divorce and selling the former marital home , im just hoping that when all my ducks are lined up ill still have my health , when I finally pop my clogs I want my last thoughts to be "what a great life" not to be lying there thinking "i wish I had".
we get fed this diet of consumerisim all our lifes , I want to live before its too late

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[LilacMoss]

Guys ive worked all my life,

It is not a dream , I am going to do it,

im just hoping that when all my ducks are lined up ill still have my health,

when I finally pop my clogs I want my last thoughts to be "what a great life",

I want to live before its too late

Here's hoping that you do....and heres willing you on to doing it all too!

 

[laird of Dunstan]

Guys ive worked all my life since I was 16 , I am not tired of working ,but I am becoming very aware of the number of people in my age group who are experiencing life changing illnesses . So the plan is , to sell my big house and pay off the ex wife , pay off a mortgadge that I have on another house , buy a motorhome , tuck a few bob away in investments , and go touring ,I intend to work part time doing the odd contract here and there so as not to dip in too much to the investment pot , im hoping to do a long tour , a sabbatical of about a year and then evaluate the situation . I want to have an adventure , I want to do it before my body is incapable of doing it , im going to quit my job , a well paid job , salary ,car etc .
It is not a dream , I am going to do it , there is a small hurdle of finalising a divorce and selling the former marital home , im just hoping that when all my ducks are lined up ill still have my health , when I finally pop my clogs I want my last thoughts to be "what a great life" not to be lying there thinking "i wish I had".
we get fed this diet of consumerisim all our lifes , I want to live before its too late

oh dear got my self in the poo for this post I showed it to my new missus and she said "what about me? " I thought I was going with you " , just to put the record straight , my lovely missus will be coming along on the adventure with me now to creep and extract ones foot from the muck

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

oh dear got my self in the poo for this post I showed it to my new missus and she said "what about me? " I thought I was going with you " , just to put the record straight , my lovely missus will be coming along on the adventure with me now to creep and extract ones foot from the muck

Just write it out again and instead of all the I I I's put we we we's !

 

[scotjimland]

we we we's !

I can't find my way home..

 

[SMB]

Well I think I will throw my tuppence worth in, although if this thread started five years ago I was still working then! I think circumstances has a lot to do with the desire and ability to full-time, I took early retirement 30 months ago, sold the flat though I could have afforded to rent it out, and bought a motorhome. I was single, no dependents and in receipt of a pension which will be index-linked in a couple of years. I have a budget that allows me to travel using campsites exclusively but I also use aires, because there are some excellent one not for financial reasons, but I know I can if I overspend. I have a small amount of money in the bank which is to cover repairs to the van and other eventualities, should this happen then I will re-evaluate the budget and try to recoup the money. I know I will never buy another property but, should I need to stop full-timing for whatever reason then I would look to rent. So my circumstances made it an easy choice to make because the only person it affected was me! It has been the best decision I have ever made, I have been to so many new places and met so many lovely people that would never have met otherwise, and finally...I am happy and feel healthier than I have for years (apart from the last couple of weeks of over-indulgence in Benicarlo)

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[MoKa]

Ok, this is clearly destined to be a 'Lazarus'' thread.

We just joined the Fun this week as we finally made the decision to move to a van instead of a small flat. We do have permanent ties to our pottery studio with just over 4 years to run on our lease , so won't be wandering off to distant shores just yet, but it IS in our longer-term plan (once the whole EU thing settles down; we are in Scotland so still a glimmer of free-movement hope for us and our business).

I don't see this as a 'dream' as such, it's just the next logical step for us in downsizing our lives. We already live very frugally, but mortgage and council tax mean we still need part time employment to supplement our business income.

Our house is on the market and with the proceeds (even at our worst-case-scenario sale price) we'll be able to clear the mortgage and all credit card debt, buy a decent van and a few other essential (long overdue) purchases (new kiln, laptops, etc) and we will still have a decent chunk to save/invest towards a more financially independent life in the future.

We will be staying in the area around our pottery studio, and wild camping a lot of the time (fairly easy in Scotland and not illegal), but because it's a reasonably attractive area for tourists, there is no shortage of campsites if we want a bit of relative luxury and there's enough of them that we won't have to worry about falling foul of any 28-day council tax rules staying in one place too long. Our two cats will be living in the van with us, which makes it easier to go to markets further afield to sell pots too.

To address the original subject though, as others have said, I think that full-timing is more like 'living the reality'. You have to go in to it with your eyes wide open, and read everything you can find to inform your move.

We have been pulling out blog links here, there and everywhere on MF, following blogged journeys right up to date, and watching some great youtube blogs (look for Nomadic Fanatic on YouTube; he's American but still lots of great info and he travels with his cat) to glean every little bit of info we can about the day to day stuff.

By the time we actually have our house sold, we'll be more prepared than a troop of boy scouts

 

[stephsol]

Well that was an interesting read for someone just starting out soloing for a year, so, yes, Ive burnt some bridges to do it? and in my life I have burnt many others. So far, Im ok
There was some intersting thoughts expressed, a lot philosophising caution, and yes, thats good, unfortunetly fear stops us achieving so much. Ive had a long interesting life, and I intend to keep it interesting being a kind of inquisitive creature.
I always feel a bit nervous before a trip, wether backpacking, cycling, abroad etc, but find a positive mind set something to be worked on to keep it intact, its so easy to dwell on the negative that stops us doing the things we really want.
Im hoping that next time I look here I might see some more positive experiences to "feed on" because Im "sure" there are many wonderful stories out there.
PS-Thanks for the utube Moka, ill be taking a look at that.

 

[harblights]

Where are you now dafydd/David? Saw Bridgit with Tom and Gwen on whitesands the other day, she said you are away for some time, how is it going?

 

[MotorhomersRus]

Wow really enjoyed reading all the post in this thread..........I would luv hubby to retire this year but he's holding out for another one and a possibly pay out............which would buy a new van
We won't full time we will just disappear for as long as we want and defo over the winter months. Then decide on what we want to do with the rest of our life's.
Would luv to be able to read updates as to where you all are now and if it worked or not and what you would do differently.
It change what we plan to do..........but just help to tweak a few things possible.

 

[BONZO]

We are on a count down end of April we retire . I'm 60 and Lindas 47 we are so looking forward to living the dream. We are not full timing we are just going off for as long as we wish . We have got a lodger in the house to help pay for the bills and the house no been left empty we will be living on a shoestring as we will not have no income but we will be happy we do have a little in bank for things bracking down in house and MH . We are going to try manage on 5k a year plus a bit from lodger yes it's tight. But. Life is not about working till we drop. We are having a scooter rack fitted next month and ordering our new scooter this is so we can get the cheaper sites a bit out of the towns and sea front . We have got solar fitted and brand new batteries so the big adventure will soon be her .

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[Speve]

Wow really enjoyed reading all the post in this thread..........I would luv hubby to retire this year but he's holding out for another one and a possibly pay out............which would buy a new van
We won't full time we will just disappear for as long as we want and defo over the winter months. Then decide on what we want to do with the rest of our life's.
Would luv to be able to read updates as to where you all are now and if it worked or not and what you would do differently.
It change what we plan to do..........but just help to tweak a few things possible.

Well we first posted on this thread Jan 2015 and here we are two years on and still thoroughly enjoying life in retirement we are currently in Cabo De Gata and will be moving along the coast Westwards towards El Rocio we are due home end of March there for two weeks then off to Scandinavia and Arctic Circle till July then home for a bit of recuperation then off back to Spain for winter again.
It's a hard life being retired lovin it

 

[Greenway]

View attachment 143715 We are on a count down end of April we retire . I'm 60 and Lindas 47 we are so looking forward to living the dream. We are not full timing we are just going off for as long as we wish . We have got a lodger in the house to help pay for the bills and the house no been left empty we will be living on a shoestring as we will not have no income but we will be happy we do have a little in bank for things bracking down in house and MH . We are going to try manage on 5k a year plus a bit from lodger yes it's tight. But. Life is not about working till we drop. We are having a scooter rack fitted next month and ordering our new scooter this is so we can get the cheaper sites a bit out of the towns and sea front . We have got solar fitted and brand new batteries so the big adventure will soon be her .

I am thinking of doing the same and taking a lodger. I am interested to know if you have informed your house insurance provider and if so what have they said.

 

[chaser]

Looking through this thread from page one, what hits me is the number of posters who no longer post or not even members anymore, 2010 , when it started, it would be nice to know what became of them. 7 years is a long , long time.

 

[Jim]

Looking through this thread from page one, what hits me is the number of posters who no longer post or not even members anymore, 2010 , when it started, it would be nice to know what became of them. 7 years is a long , long time.

I know a few who are no longer with us. Some leave when a partner dies. Quite a few buy caravans, loads sell up and don't drive anymore, some get bored. Actually, when i read those old threads I'm struck by how many people are still here posting everyday.

 

[stuurman]

Seven years later and I for one am still on the road, but I tend to stay on sites longer. Wintering in Spain keeps me in one place for months. Still, not considering buying a caravan, love the motorhome too much, although swapping her for a narrowboat in England would be an option. Greetings from Vall de Laguar, Alacante, Spain, Hans.

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[BONZO]

I am thinking of doing the same and taking a lodger. I am interested to know if you have informed your house insurance provider and if so what have they said.

No we have not as he is a lodger living with us we are just on holiday. We are not renting the house out . Would you tell your insurance if a friend came to stay with you .

 

[The Littlest Hobo]

We are about to embark as full timers. We are in our early 30's with three young children. We are not your typical full time motorhomers, and we don't have a typical moho either! We've taken the decision to go fulltime because we simply can not afford to live in/rent a house any longer. We are more than happy with the way our lives are going, even if it's not exactly how we pictured bringing up our kids when we first had them. We don't want to end up living on benefits, and so we are taking the bull by the horns and creating our own solution. We're under no illusion that life is going to be very different, and not all of that will be for the good. We will go with the flow, and have fun while we do it.

 

[BONZO]

We are into our 4th month now and enjoying full timing we still have our lodgers in our house and we call from time to time to see if the roof is still on lol . We tend to wild a lot as it saves our money as we have no pension for 6years yet . We are getting by on £140 a week and we do not go with out . We are going to France end of September but before that we have to get LPG FITTED . from vanbiz

 

[ianthebuilder]

Well working and travelling all over the place, earning a bit, and staying mostly on sites ( I love my luxuries) works for me ,,,

Over a year now, and never been happier!

Or less stressed!!! Lol xx