Early-retirement wannabe

atush

Very hot humid buggy and hard to get business done.

BTW, why is Malta too remote, but you are considering the far east?

I just went there for the first time, and it took less than 3 hours by plane, and the weather in Feb was mild.

In the St Julians area I was in, there weren't too many brits and the restaurants were good and there was lots to see and do.

jungle_jane

Marine_life wrote: »

I raised this a few posts ago and I think I may have mentioned a couple of times but as retirement gets closer the prospect of where to live really needs to be considered.

Did you discount Australia?

I'm retiring back to my country of birth after 30 years living away from it but not sure I see it as a failure...for me it feels like a success because it means that the place I grew up in is a place I want to grow old in. It makes me feel proud of my roots I guess.

atush

Well if Malta is too remote from the UK, Aus is on the Moon

Marine_life

atush wrote: »

Very hot humid buggy and hard to get business done.

BTW, why is Malta too remote, but you are considering the far east?

I just went there for the first time, and it took less than 3 hours by plane, and the weather in Feb was mild.

In the St Julians area I was in, there weren't too many brits and the restaurants were good and there was lots to see and do.

Sorry, I think remote was the wrong word. I meant more like cut-off i.e. once you live on a island there is more a tendency to feel a little bit stuck there.

Marine_life

jungle_jane wrote: »

Did you discount Australia?

I'm retiring back to my country of birth after 30 years living away from it but not sure I see it as a failure...for me it feels like a success because it means that the place I grew up in is a place I want to grow old in. It makes me feel proud of my roots I guess.

Australia is a tricky one.

We went there on holiday in 2004 and loved it so much it became a bit of an obsession to go back. We nearly went in 2005 and had everything planned - job, house move etc - and then my wife's father became very sick so we cancelled at the last minute (literally - i had already had my leaving do at work).

But you know how it is with obsessions, so I nagged and nagged and finally I got my way and we moved to Australia at the beginning of 2008 - to Sydney.

Of course, being on holiday somewhere and living somewhere are two completely different things and whilst there were many great things about Australia, there were also so many little things that we just did not like (happy to go into them if others are interested). We initially put it down to just being homesick and rose tinted spectacles etc. So as I was due to come back to the UK on business in the middle of 2008 I decided to stop off in Frankfurt to see if I really did miss it. The funny thing was when the wheels hit the tarmac it was just like coming home and i knew right then that I
we had to come back.

Maybe it was one adventure too far ....who knows.

What I do know is that we will always have some affection for Oz and plan to go back for a holiday. I am really glad we went even though it was an incredibly expensive experience for us. If we had not gone we would still be sitting here today wondering "what if" and one thing I am sure about is that when I retire I want to do so with no regrets.

AlwaysLearnin

Marine_life wrote: »

Of course, being on holiday somewhere and living somewhere are two completely different things and whilst there were many great things about Australia, there were also so many little things that we just did not like (happy to go into them if others are interested).

I would be interested if you didn't mind.

We've been there a couple of times and loved it, and emigrating is perhaps a vague romantic notion that we've spoken about a couple of times, albeit in no real depth. I have a brother who's lived over there for years and has made it his home (always fun during the Ashes...) but the main issue that comes up, particularily for my wife, is that it's so far away from family members.

It would be good to hear some of the realities. Thanks.

ozzage

Marine_Life I really appreciate that you post so much about your life in such detail in this thread. I hope its helpful for you - it's certainly interesting for me, and with my background (Australian, German partner, living in UK) I find your tales of all three countries especially relevant.

I understand your hesitation about retiring back in the UK. We are having vaguely similar issues now, deciding where to raise our children. To be honest Germany looks appealing to me in comparison, but although I'm quite familiar with the country through my family links, I've never lived there... I have however lived in NL, which in many ways is culturally not too dissimilar (not that the Dutch would admit it!), and I ended up disliking it, which worries me. I found them very regimented, and actually quite intolerant of difference, and I suspect Germany would be similar. The opposite of London!

I doubt there are any perfect answers. I would worry that the sort of things you appreciated in Germany are lacking in modern-day UK, and perhaps the advantages of living here aren't things that are important to you. I wouldn't move solely because of family, but maybe that's just me. In my view, being close to them won't compensate for being unhappy every day with the other aspects of the place, in which you've chosen to live.

jungle_jane

I get where you are coming from with Australia. I lived there (Sydney) for 15 years but didn't like it much. I stayed there that long because my career was going really well but I used to long to leave and would never go back again. That said, I did have some good friends...it wasn't all misery, I just never liked it there much and have never regretted leaving.

I think Sydney is a really hard place in particular however generally I didn't get on with it culturally. It was too hot for me too and I found it just about impossible to get onto the property ladder despite being well paid and well qualified. I also found it quite remote - one of the brilliant things about Europe is that you can get a change of scenery very quickly compared to Australia - once you are there you do get a bit stuck as it's just so jolly remote.

I had several friends in the same boat - for various niggling reasons they never got on with the place and most have now come back to the UK...it's definitely not everyone's paradise.

atush

Marine_life wrote: »

Sorry, I think remote was the wrong word. I meant more like cut-off i.e. once you live on a island there is more a tendency to feel a little bit stuck there.

I've done nothing but live on islands since I moved to the UK from the USA.

You don't have to go native, you can be like me and drive all round, live in the farthest place from work and go on holiday lol.

Only Natives say Ooohhh, that's a long way etc.

gallygirl

ozzage wrote: »

I wouldn't move solely because of family, but maybe that's just me. In my view, being close to them won't compensate for being unhappy every day with the other aspects of the place, in which you've chosen to live.

I agree. The Law of Sod would dictate I'd move near them and they would then emigrate :rotfl:. Seriously though, that could easily happen - I already have one child talking about moving abroad (Canada! Who on earth wants to go to Canada! Why can't they move to somewhere in Europe so I can easily visit when I live in Spain. That is just SO selfish ).