Gap Year ...?!

rustie

elljay wrote: »

If I was in your position I would sell up completely and get rid of the worries. Then you are free to full time travel for a year or several years. When you decide to settle down again you could either buy somewhere smaller if you have the money left or just rent. I would be worrying about my property, my tenants, potential lack of cash flow so much that I wouldn't enjoy the travelling. As someone else has said, buy yourself that freedom and fun!

Hi elljay - that thought has been in the back of our minds...have to say it sounds tempting - we have been incredibly lucky with tenants so far - so much so that one family are now friends! There are some real horror stories about tenants and paying a management company to babysit our property doesn't appeal much...
Think we need a financial advisor?
Thanks again!

jennifernil

I don't think I would sell up completely, it's good to have a base to return to every so often, plus not having an address in UK will make life complicated in areas such as vehicle insurance, doctor and dentist etc.

We are caravanners, and since retiring we have been spending about 5 months per year travelling in Europe and UK. We have met quite a few people who spend most of their time travelling, but all of them have retained a base in UK, and pop home every so often.

If you buy a MH here, you will need to source insurance that will cover you for extended periods abroad, and you will need to consider Road Tax and MOTs. Same if you use car + caravan.

Other things to consider are home insurance, banking, other financial arrangements, and health cover.

If travelling in Europe, it is quite cheap on the cross channel ferries these days, you can buy a return from around £60, so not expensive to come and go.

For long trips, you will need a decent size of vehicle, and big MHs are expensive. This is why we have stuck with a caravan. It means we still have the car to use at home, plus much easier for sightseeing abroad. The alternative is MH plus bikes or towing a small car on a trailer.

rustie

jennifernil wrote: »

I don't think I would sell up completely, it's good to have a base to return to every so often, plus not having an address in UK will make life complicated in areas such as vehicle insurance, doctor and dentist etc.

We are caravanners, and since retiring we have been spending about 5 months per year travelling in Europe and UK. We have met quite a few people who spend most of their time travelling, but all of them have retained a base in UK, and pop home every so often.

If you buy a MH here, you will need to source insurance that will cover you for extended periods abroad, and you will need to consider Road Tax and MOTs. Same if you use car + caravan.

Other things to consider are home insurance, banking, other financial arrangements, and health cover.

If travelling in Europe, it is quite cheap on the cross channel ferries these days, you can buy a return from around £60, so not expensive to come and go.

For long trips, you will need a decent size of vehicle, and big MHs are expensive. This is why we have stuck with a caravan. It means we still have the car to use at home, plus much easier for sightseeing abroad. The alternative is MH plus bikes or towing a small car on a trailer.

Hi Jennifernil
Thanks for this - I think we will keep a base here in the UK...I can't imagine cutting all ties in that way...

Interesting point about the caravan though - yet another angle to think about - we do have 2 good vehicles which could easily tow a van so that may be an alternative...

Do you rent out your property when away? Or just a lock up and leave?
Thanks again!

jennifernil

Hi rustie, no, I would never rent out my house. I would worry far too much about all my good furniture etc!

We usually only go away for max 3 months at a time, most years we have 2 trips, and we have our daughter who still "sort of" stays here too. As in, she has loads of stuff here, even though she does have her own small flat a few miles away.

She comes at least once a week to sort and open the mail, water the plants, and ring us on OUR phone bill. Every so often she stays over to keep the insurance people happy.

If considering a caravan, there are a few things to be aware of. You need to know the kerbweight of your car you will tow with (look in your handbook), and this determines the weight of caravan you can tow (simply put).

The loaded weight of the caravan should be less than the kerbweight of the car, ideally only 85% of it if you are inexperienced towers. The car max loaded weight plus the caravan max loaded weight gives you the "train weight". This has to be below the train weight set for your car . This will be given on your car VIN (?) plate.

For a long trip you will probably want a few home comforts, this means a bigger, heavier, caravan. Our vehicle kerb weight is around 2100 kg, and the loaded caravan weighs 1900 kg.

This is us in Switzerland in May



We have a fixed double bed, full shower room, large fridge/freezer, hob, oven, microwave, central heating, air conditioning, and a living/dining area too of course, so it is very comfortable!

Usually we try to be home for a month or two in the summer to do stuff like painting the woodwork on the house and trying to control the weeds. This year we went away 27th March, returning 21st June, and we are taking another 3-4 weeks away soon.

Last year we had a 4 month trip to Scandinavia (May - September), in 2009 we were away late April-late June in England, and late August-late November in France.

We are always home for Christmas as we like to spend it with our family, but there are plenty people who spend several winter months in Spain. Travelling low season is much cheaper.