SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

Andyclockwise

I'm 59 still working, my partner is 49 and is currently off work with stress, which will probably result in her leaving her employment soon. We have around 15 years left on the mortgage, but around £200k equity. I have a £14k pa occupational pension in drawdown and a small company pension pot £15k in my current employment. Kids are grown and more or less independent of us now

We are thinking about taking a big step and having a life adventure while we still can. Options are to sell up and invest equity to provide enough income with my pension so that we can travel widely in our campervan. We were thinking maybe part invest in a modest buy to let, which keeps a foot on the property ladder and a roof for us if we decide to come back and pick up where we left off. There may be other options, looking for suggestions from this group.

Have no idea of the ramifications around stuff like - what to use for a permanent address - do we need one of those, and what else to consider? Has anybody done something similar and can give any advice?

JuneBow

Andyclockwise wrote: »

I'm 59 still working, my partner is 49 and is currently off work with stress, which will probably result in her leaving her employment soon. We have around 15 years left on the mortgage, but around £200k equity. I have a £14k pa occupational pension in drawdown and a small company pension pot £15k in my current employment. Kids are grown and more or less independent of us now

We are thinking about taking a big step and having a life adventure while we still can. Options are to sell up and invest equity to provide enough income with my pension so that we can travel widely in our campervan. We were thinking maybe part invest in a modest buy to let, which keeps a foot on the property ladder and a roof for us if we decide to come back and pick up where we left off. There may be other options, looking for suggestions from this group.

Have no idea of the ramifications around stuff like - what to use for a permanent address - do we need one of those, and what else to consider? Has anybody done something similar and can give any advice?

I am thinking about exactly the same thing in a couple of years. I intend to rent out my house which would bring in about £5k pcm to finance it, and because I have a few rental properties, keep one of the smaller ones for when I return to the UK. Alternatively, there are retirement properties near me for just £150k which I may buy to use. The advantage being of course that there would be someone in the building at all times. I could then sell or rent out the property when I was finished with it.
I have not decided whether it would be best to get a round the world ticket and just return back to see family (or them fly out to see me) or whether to just pay for flights to where I want to go.
I am volunteering teaching ESOL at the moment and in September will take the CELTA course so that I can teach English abroad if I want. I think I would like to work rather than just holiday so that I can immerse myself somewhere. I want to spend time in India, China and USA as the biggies.
I am probably going to redirect my mail to one of my kids who can open it for me and scan anything that seems urgent. I will also change my address with banks etc.
You are right to have concerns about post etc because my son changed jobs recently and deliberately left 3 months between jobs so that he could travel. Just before he went away he was caught by a speed camera, and the police wrote to him. As it happened, the court was in a bit of a mess at the time and the letters went to various addresses he had lived in. Obviously he did not respond because he got none of these letters but the final letter he got about a week before he came back said that if he did not attend court on a particular date then it would turn into a criminal matter etc etc and was very serious. This letter came to his correct address and I had been collecting and opening his post. He sorted it out when he came back, but if the court had written to his correct address and I had not been collecting his mail, it could have turned out serious.
I have just returned from Israel and the West Bank after one month, and I got one of the neighbours to send my post to my daughter every couple of days as it worried me that something like this could happen.
I would be interested to hear your plans for your "grown up gap year".
I want to do it before my children have their own children as I would like to help them out with childcare etc as I had no help when mine were growing up and it was so difficult.

Savvy_Sue

One of my sons is currently itinerant, has been for four years or so. All his post comes to me and I open and scan.

The only possible drawback to this that I can see is that if you are sending it to someone who is claiming single occupancy discount on council tax, or other means tested benefits, it can be argued (and apparently in some cases HAS been argued), that the person whose post is going there should be counted as resident, therefore affecting the claim.

So it's fine as long as there are two of us here! And we're not claiming anything means-tested.

An alternative, if you have an accountant or similar professional, would be to ask what they would charge for correspondence handling.

Andyclockwise

Possibly something like this https://www.ukpostbox.com/pricing

seven-day-weekend

Just returned from a wonderful holiday in Co. Kerry, western Ireland. Never been to Ireland before. Will certainly go again.

We flew from Birmingham International to Shannon with Aer Lingus Regional, which is operated by Stobart Air Now I am not keen on flying, but quite enjoyed the flight in the little aircraft with propellers, it didn't fly as high as the other type and we were able to pick out landmarks along the route, like the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire coast.

We stayed in Killarney in a rented house with another couple. Killarney and the county of Kerry were beautiful, friendly and welcoming and full of churches, pubs and live music (all things I enjoy ), but quite expensive. Scenery absolutely stunning and the area is full of history too.

SKI-d away a decent amount of money, but loved it, so did the other couple with us, my cousin and her husband, who had come all the way from Colorado, USA.

Will re-visit.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ATR+72-600+stobart+air&tbm=isch&imgil=lSCiVo1yf17EWM%253A%253BzDT88BWKNH0QMM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.jethros.org.uk%25252Ffleets%25252Ffleet_listings%25252Fstobart_air.htm&source=iu&pf=m&fir=lSCiVo1yf17EWM%253A%252CzDT88BWKNH0QMM%252C_&usg=__ym3-_azS_-xdzFMO5Kfx71n3riM%3D&biw=2133&bih=1055&ved=0ahUKEwjHgfCm65zWAhWqI8AKHajHAFAQyjcIVg&ei=31m2WYeWJKrHgAaoj4OABQ#imgrc=lSCiVo1yf17EWM:

iris

Sounds lovely