A Paupers Pension Tale (Not many nuts to dig up)

Albermarle

Although if you have travelled a lot for work, the less times you go to the airport, or drive a long distance on a motorway the better. 
In fact it was the thought of returning to all that after the hiatus of Covid, that partly at least made me decide to retire ( and same for my boss) 
I have a friend who regularly visited US and Canada on business for two week long visits, hopping on and off planes etc
Then a couple of years travelling in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Retired at 50 with a big payoff, and since then has been on a plane once, and not now for about 8 years.
Another older friend retired over two years ago after a life of travelling the UK and Europe + an hour drive to the office.
Now never goes anywhere and no desire to.
Personally I still do go away for holidays and weekends, but  the hanging around airports, in security queues, long drives, long flights, delays etc is no joy at all after a lifetime of doing it.

gambleruk

My first trip to the States was for 32 days back in the mid 90's, went with two friends who had been before and we used the greyhound to travel coast to coast, New York to San Francisco then Seattle back to Boston, was a great way to see the real America but I am sure I would not do it now, before covid struck I was planning doing the East coast on the Amtrak and had most of it planned out before lockdown hit. Spending the Winter months in Spain as much more appeal to me now.

On the running front I find it much easier to get out of the house now than I did when I was working, always made excuses not to go but now I have no excuses to make so off I go whether I feel like it or not, certainly keeps me on my toes. The only downside for me is that I still play 5 a side on Sunday mornings and pick up injuries now and again so can get frustrating when I can't get out running.

One last thought I have had for a while is that when people say they are going to struggle to spend when they retire and really don't know what they are going to do with all their money I think well retire a few years earlier and enjoy your life when you are young, do you really need to spend money when you retire when you have been careful with it for the past 40 years, I know some people wil say you need to be comfortable and not have to worry about it, I find it a great challenge to balance the books every month and love doing it. Yep eventually age will catch up with me but hoping by then I will be on the state pension and will have to worry less. I also think if you have grown up in a poor household as a child then you take nothing for granted, our son as never known what it is like to go without and does worry me how he will cope in the future. Trying to explain to him what is was like when we often ran out of 50p's for the meter in the night and had no electric/gas until my Mum could find a way to borrow some until payday he has never experienced anything like that and hopefully he never will and thankfully seems to value money a lot more than his friends.

I have learnt over the past 3 years that no matter how hard you plan and try to make sure you have covered all the bases life will always throw that curve ball at you when you least expect it so enjoy life whilst you can, especially when all is going well  

SouthCoastBoy

Well said gambleruk, a lot of that last post resonates with me.

I stopped plating football due to injuries and focus more on running, cycling and golf. Golf is the big thing for me when I retire as I want to get down to a single figures handicap before I get too old. 

Pat38493

gambleruk said:

Spending the Winter months in Spain as much more appeal to me now.

We have talked about spending the winter travelling as my wife is already retired at 56 and I will probably stop work in the next few years.  

Like others here I did a lot of travelling earlier in my career so taking lots of short breaks or holidays doesn't appeal much - I think we will be taking longer trips once I am not working.

I have no idea where to start though as neither of us ever did any long term travelling in the past.  I recently exchanged a few emails with a blogger who is FI and who travels with his wife for the winter - they basically negotiate short term rentals through the winter, often in countries like Vietnam where the cost of living is much lower - even reasonable hotels and short term apartments there are very cheap if you don't go to a tourist hotspot.  He told me that for the moment, they have even sold up in the UK and they just take short term rentals in the UK as well - they try to negotiate discounts for stays of a month or more.

Just the fixed running costs of a decent sized property in the UK would go a long way towards paying for a long round the world trip so one thing that I have in mind is the option to sell up, do some travelling and then buy a UK place again at the end.

There is also of course the dreaded "round the world cruise".  We really like cruises so this could be an option but I am a bit unsure whether doing that for over 100 days in a row might become a bit samey - more likely we would plan a kind of bespoke hop on/hop off trip with some parts cruising interspersed with some stays in various countries.

Currently we are slowly preparing our house for sale (downsize) - probably going to get it valued in May/June time but most likely won't actually sell until 2026/7

hugheskevi

ForestBluebells said:

I don’t think it’s fair to say you can’t travel when older. My mum is 70 and goes away many times a year on adventurous holidays including walking long distances and camping in yurts for example 

I don't think anyone is suggesting one cannot travel when older (although when very old travel insurance becomes an issue).

My experience is that the enjoyment of travel wains with age. The best was when young - now in my 40s I am much less tolerant of rubbish organization of activities, long delays for little reason and dilapidated accommodation and that sort of thing.

Now I am usually a lot older then others when doing things like sand boarding, volcano boarding or going swimming into cave systems, those sort of more physical activities. I also find myself much more aware of risks than when young, and hold back a lot more as I don't want broken limbs or to crash a motorbike, etc. Prudent certainly, but some of the fun has been lost compared to when young. And long gone are the days of all night partying and boozing and meeting lots of new people and maybe traveling with them for a time. Yet those used to be the things I enjoyed massively.

I'll still travel when older, but I know that I will enjoy it less and I will do less of it. But in general, I think the younger the better and even a difference of 5-10 years would affect enjoyment, so much better to go off at 50 on a long trip than 60 for example, if possible.

SouthCoastBoy

I would love to have travelled when younger but never had the money and focused on building a career. I feel I have missed out and agree I would not want to travel longer than 6 to 8 weeks now, also the dynamics would be totally different. What freedom it is to be a young free spirit!! My youngest daughter is planning to travel after uni and I'm encouraging it 100%.

trevjl

I'm a bit different as the travelling is the only bit I miss of work. I've travelled all over but mainly all parts west with the odd few east. It was mostly shipping so went and saw many places in short spells. Currently signed off (5 months) with another 6 weeks to go. Have already told the boss if the company say my travelling days are over due to insurance then I'm retiring forthwith.
Bizarrely, having said all that, I have no wish to go on holiday or travel when I'm finished. I have to endure a week in the sun to keep 'er indoors happy, but I would rather stay home.
My time is better spent going racing, to local football and watching Hampshire cricket, much more fun in my book. 

Albermarle

I'm a bit different as the travelling is the only bit I miss of work.

I always thought I might miss it, partly because it nicely broke up the usual home office/domestic routine. However with Covid I realised I would not miss it that much ( remember the first lockdown - beautiful blue skies to enjoy in the garden !) 

My time is better spent going racing

I can second that, although this Winter the weather has been a bit of a problem ( very wet at Newbury on Friday ) 

Aristotle67

Albermarle said:

My time is better spent going racing

I can second that, although this Winter the weather has been a bit of a problem ( very wet at Newbury on Friday ) 

You should have told me you were there!! Someone I know suggested the 50/1 winner.

Saturday was better weather, of course.

I am spending my retirement travelling around the country visiting every racetrack in GB. Enjoying it immensely and visiting some lovely towns that I might otherwise have bypassed. 

george_jetson

hugheskevi said:

ForestBluebells said:

I don’t think it’s fair to say you can’t travel when older. My mum is 70 and goes away many times a year on adventurous holidays including walking long distances and camping in yurts for example 

I don't think anyone is suggesting one cannot travel when older (although when very old travel insurance becomes an issue).

My experience is that the enjoyment of travel wains with age. The best was when young - now in my 40s I am much less tolerant of rubbish organization of activities, long delays for little reason and dilapidated accommodation and that sort of thing.

Now I am usually a lot older then others when doing things like sand boarding, volcano boarding or going swimming into cave systems, those sort of more physical activities. I also find myself much more aware of risks than when young, and hold back a lot more as I don't want broken limbs or to crash a motorbike, etc. Prudent certainly, but some of the fun has been lost compared to when young. And long gone are the days of all night partying and boozing and meeting lots of new people and maybe traveling with them for a time. Yet those used to be the things I enjoyed massively.

I'll still travel when older, but I know that I will enjoy it less and I will do less of it. But in general, I think the younger the better and even a difference of 5-10 years would affect enjoyment, so much better to go off at 50 on a long trip than 60 for example, if possible.

100% agree with this. First visited New York City in my early 20s doing BUNAC and had a fantastic time even though I had very little money. Subsequent visits when I was older just weren’t as much… fun as that time back in the 1980s. 

Travel is definitely something best experienced when one is young. A friend of mine is off round Europe on a senior’s rail pass. I’m sure she’ll have a wonderful time and it’s something I’d like to do when I retire . But I bet it won’t be as memorable as the trips I did backpacking round in my youth.