If you sold up and didn't have to work, where would you go?

Jonbvn

mwpt wrote: »

My partner and I have travelled Europe in a motorhome. Before the trip we both had this vision of finding a nice scenic rural town, with cheap property and setting that as our future early retirement spot, a place with a nice view, nice garden. What we came back realising is that the very quiet lifestyle probably isn't for us. We were in the motorhome for 5 months and even in that time, when we were out in the middle of nowhere, after a while we both started itching for the company of our friends, and I think I'd get depressed with the lack of anything much exciting going on.

So my very strong advice to anyone considering making a drastic move is to rent somewhere for a year first.

At the moment, our very vague ideal retirement plan would be to have a nice house in either Surrey or in the West Country (near Bath/Bristol) if Surrey is unaffordable. We both love London for everything it offers (food, entertainment, culture) and it would be nice to be able to train in. We'd own a motorhome and spend much of the year touring in Europe. An outside possibility is also owning a lock-up-and-go flat in Cape Town to spend three months of UK winter out there. My uncle (previously from New York) lives out there now and loves it. I couldn't settle there though due to political risk and crime.

Before we make that decision (way in the future) we would like to do a similar motorhome trip in Australia to see if it could be something that suits us.

It is an excellent point. Careful what you wish for - it may come true!

BTW, I have lived and worked in numerous countries, Nigeria (scary), Switzerland (yawn), Vietnam (great people & country but dodgy gov't), Italy (bureaucracy gone mad), Japan (I don't want to live in a cupboard) and I have to say overall it is difficult to beat Blighty. I think the key is to hedge your bets. At retirement, we see us spending winters somewhere warm with spring and summer in the UK - can't miss out on our beer gardens!

DigForVictory

Me, I'd have a cottage near a beach, quite possibly in Wales (so long as the hordes of white caravans were not visible) in the UK & then have an extended family space in Canada. That way I could choose which bits of the family I wanted to spend time with & scamper off to Wales when Canada got too chilly.

westernpromise

The trouble with the UK, apart from the weather, is the high and capricious taxes, the very high cost of housing transactions, and the fact that you can't convert inflation into spending money unless you sell up and buy elsewhere.

It is actually quite hard to think of anywhere that meets my criteria. In the past people, used to retire to places like Beirut, north Cyprus, Barbados, and South Africa, but these are now too dangerous in every sense: they have high levels of violent crime and / or a history of state expropriation of private property.

It may be that all such pleasant little bolt holes are short-lived but there seems no good reason why. Having spent a lifetime amassing capital I am very reluctant to risk it by living anywhere dodgy past the point where I need to live anywhere in particular.

I would think Monaco ticks most of my boxes, except of course that it's very expensive. Probably this is because it ticks of lot of other people's boxes as well.

westernpromise

DigForVictory wrote: »

Me, I'd have a cottage near a beach, quite possibly in Wales (so long as the hordes of white caravans were not visible) in the UK & then have an extended family space in Canada. That way I could choose which bits of the family I wanted to spend time with & scamper off to Wales when Canada got too chilly.

Canada and Australia, perhaps? Opposite hemisphered, so opposite weather; although ISTR Canadian property is expensive (perhaps less so in the scenic spots).

caronoel

chucknorris wrote: »

Your upper figure of 5% is quite an aggressive drawdown (especially from your mid 50's), I am working on your lower figure of 4%, which is also possibly bordering on the high side, but like you, we also have the property (we will be retaining some to maintain portfolio diversity, rather than totally selling up).

5% is a bit ambitious, I know, but I would expect interest rates to be a couple of percent higher in a decade compared to now. Still, a lot of people have been saying interest rates are bound to rise for almost a decade now, and have thankfully been proved wrong.

We have two kids, so would want to hold on to at least a couple of properties so we have something in addition to the main house in Surrey to pass on to them.

mwpt

Jonbvn wrote: »

It is an excellent point. Careful what you wish for - it may come true!

BTW, I have lived and worked in numerous countries, Nigeria (scary), Switzerland (yawn), Vietnam (great people & country but dodgy gov't), Italy (bureaucracy gone mad), Japan (I don't want to live in a cupboard) and I have to say overall it is difficult to beat Blighty. I think the key is to hedge your bets. At retirement, we see us spending winters somewhere warm with spring and summer in the UK - can't miss out on our beer gardens!

I too have worked in several countries and travelled in a lot more. I'm not originally from the UK and my opinion is like yours, it has a lot to offer. I like the Brit humour, the social life, the consideration (drivers in other countries are often horrendous), the safety, the lack of corruption, the welfare safety net. The countryside is beautiful and perhaps because of the miserable grey winters, when the sun does shine, everything comes to life and the vibe is fantastic.

My small trouble is that I've lived in places where the houses were a lot nicer. So my ideal is a decent sized place with garden, views and character (preferably self build or at least remodelling to our tastes). And that comes with a price in the UK. I'm getting more interested in the areas near Bath/Bristol as a longer term cheaper alternative to places near London. Like others, I also like Cornwall.

mystic_trev

caronoel wrote: »

42 now, but aim is to retire in mid-50s.

Funily enough I retired at 42, nearly 20 years ago! Combination of hard work and a little luck.

The OP's question is easy to answer. Although I've spent a great deal of the last 20 years traveling, there's no place like home. Although I live in the Country, it's a 10 min walk to the Station, then 40 mins into central London, so I get the best of both Worlds.

michaels

caronoel wrote: »

Am also giving this a bit of thought

42 now, but aim is to retire in mid-50s.

Likely to max out my £1m pension pot very soon, which should give a draw down of £40-50k a year, with a similar amount from BTL income.

Ideal would be six months in the West of Ireland with six months in a nice little place near Cape Town.

Somewhere like Hout Bay would be good, very easy to get to downtown but definitely out of the city. However my problem is the segregaton and extreme inequality that I find too uncomfotable.

Do visa issues make the US insurmountable? Are Bermuda/Barbados to dangerous to contemplate? I might fancy Switzerland but fear that prices there would make the UK look cheap.

mwpt

I'm surprised that Germany isn't mentioned more often when this subject comes up. I love Konstanz (on Bodensee) and the areas around the lakes south of Munich (although, my anecdotal opinion is that people were less friendly here than in other parts of Germany). The housing is bigger and more affordable, though still pricey in popular spots. The country runs very well, is safe and I enjoyed the people very much when I lived there.

An alternative to having a holiday flat in Cape Town is one near Dubrovnik in Croatia. Absolutely one of the best places I've been to. I am not sure I could live there year round but spending several months a year out there would be nice, though I can do that in a motorhome.

Conrad

SailorSam wrote: »

I'd like one those little farms in France, what do you call them ?
You know where they a cow and a goat, and a couple of sheep & chickens. Then in the garden you've got orange; peach, and olive trees and a little stream with fish in it.

Yes me to.
We've really taken to Alsace. One minute you can be up high in pine forest and snow capped mountains, the next in a very warm valley surrounded by vineyards. I love the nature of the place - Lynx, boar, massive Green Lizards and yet only about 6 hours from Calais.
Dotted with fairy-tale towns;





I lived in Singapore many moons ago, it's ok, but for me just a heaving city on a small non magical island, not for me.


Love the thought of Australia but far to far from family and friends, and in the final analysis they're what really matters more than any sunset.


I'm part Maltese but never fancied the place, to dull and dry, fairly un-magical.