[Closed] Mid life crisis/man up advice...

I'm not seeing a downside to it. It's a fun plan. Assuming that's the lifestyle you want, then it's got merit.

Is £200k going to be enough for 15 years?

A good a plan as any. How much will the house rent for? Could you get enough per month to pay for van life? That'll give you a back up plan, or a least the option to try it without complete commitment.

You’ve already formulated a rough plan, therefore you want to do it.
So do it! If you don’t then you’ll regret it.
£200k is easily enough, no need to be extravagant to enjoy yourself.
In fact, in my vast experience (usually in tents and hostels), living economically around the world brings you closer and more involved with the local culture.
Enjoy!

My brother's friend sold up bought a camper van then cruised round southern Europe over winter.
Then he came home and ended up living in his van and cleaning the site toilets to cover his pitch fees.
Make sure you have plenty of money and that you really won't miss "home".

Sounds amazing, my dad did something similar, albeit on a boat not a van!
I’d be having a serious look what’s available now to rent that your mil pension could afford, plus being comfortable. Wouldn’t want to be dreading the return from what sounds like the trip of a lifetime just to live in a shithole. The other option is to look into cheaper properties abroad if that’s your thing.
As above, I’d be tempted to look into the rental option if practicable. Unless you have one of these houses that are flying of the shelves and could achieve top dollar for it.

Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

You'll be renting for the rest of your life, will your military pension cover that?

I'd be going sell house, release some equity for van stuff, buy another little house/flat for cash, rent that out while you're away to give you an income to support van life, live in little house/flat when you're an old codger.

Sell house, quit work, use the £200k equity to move to SE Asia, buy a van and travel for the next 10-15 years before starting to receive military pension at 65. Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

Go someplace where £200k is roughly the average lifetime income, you'll live like a king for 15 years. The rest of it sounds like a great plan.

What IHN said. I hope you do it!

I wouldn't sell the house but rent it out and use that for your living expenses

Another advocate of renting first.

Someone my wife went to school did a similar thing and had an absolutely incredible van conversion done (lwb sprinter type of build).

He was always posting incredible pics on Facebook of him parked up on a remote mountain side, or on a deserted beach. She always used to show me and say how amazing it looked and he portrayed the perfect lifestyle.

After 18 months he was living back in UK and had sold the van because despite of his seemingly perfect lifestyle he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

Not saying that is the case for everyone but having that backup (at least for a year or two) is worth considering.

After 18 months he was living back in UK and had sold the van because despite of his seemingly perfect lifestyle he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

Not quite the same, but MrsIHN spent six months in a campervan travelling around Europe. 17(I think) countries in all, saw some spectacular sites, had a great time. However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway...

Can you boot strap it?

How many bedrooms do you have?
Let's say 3. Work for 6 more months maybe a year, save hard. Rent two rooms. Maybe rent three bedrooms if you have a separate dining room you can live in. Save hard. Then clean the house rent on a kind term full rent and bigger off!

I have just over £200k equity in the house that is worth £350. Rental i would get maybe £1200 a month. That won't really cover mortgage and expenses. I like the idea of buying a cheaper place and renting that while I travel. Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

Always appreciate the thoughts of the ST brain!

However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway

That's where the bonus if you have enough money to rent a cheap apartment off season for week helps.

rent out the house for a few years and see if this is the lifestyle you want before jumping right in would be my advice. Other than that go for it, best of luck!

Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

These may be good to retire to but harder to rent while you go walkabout. They are cheap for a reason.

How about not buying motorhome and use money on flights and van rental for shorter periods?

I like the idea of buying a cheaper place and renting that while I travel. Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

In that case, buy an easy renter (eg terrace house in a city or big town). When you are done it'll sell easily and that place in France will probably still be cheap.

I think IHN has it.

Small cheaper place somewhere you want to retire to, use some of the cash to travel. Rent out small place sensibly and it pays for itself and a bit more.
Nothing stopping you taking on a few bits of work as you travel by doing a season here or there, rather than moving on every week. I have to say a long term travel with 'stops' appeals more to me than constant moving.

Rental i would get maybe £1200 a month. That won’t really cover mortgage and expenses.

Although I like the idea of downsizing now, so you know where you are. Find a nice holiday cottage that you can get someone to manage rentals/AirBNB for while you are away, that would also make a nice retirement home.

Great. Thanks everyone. Think I'm going to start looking at a cheap overseas place and save a bit more with the idea of heading off in 12 months.
The handy thing is I can come back to the work I do pretty easily if I did get sick of travelling.
Think it will be hard to adjust as I ha e worked since 16 and never been out of work.
Think I deserve a rest!

Cheers Rob

Rob,

Have a serious look at learning to sail, especially if you're solo. £20k will get you a perfectly seaworthy boat (search for Rival 34/Moody 33 type or similar). These will likely be more comfortable to live on than a van, have a ready made cruising community in the Med / Caribbean plus likely have lower running costs each month.

If you're looking at a 12 month runway then that would be ample time to get a boat and learn the rudimentary skills - learn as you go.

he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway…

We traveled for months after getting married, it was a great life experience but after a while a certain level of fatigue sets in, it starts to become work; where are we going, where are we sleeping, where are we eating - the planning was taking a significant amount of our time. The exotic becomes normal and we started to miss home life Perhaps it would have been better to stay in one place for a few weeks, we met people who did that but it seemed to us they are just existing as cheaply as possible and not seeing things, which wasn't what we wanted. We also spent about 2 weeks solid airborne! I've not been able to take a long haul flight since (this was 20 years ago).

Our retirement plan is to travel more but downsize and retain a modest place in the country so if it gets too much we have somewhere to put our feet up for a while.

The idea of sailing is not a bad one. I have seen a lot of good, solid boats for sale over summer that would be perfect for seeing the world on. You just need to know how to sail it. You can even subsidise things by advertising for people to join you over to the US or Spain or whatever.

Disclaimer: Entire sailing experience in small boats, so IANASC

Good to hear the downsides. Not keen on boats but have always thought that could be an option. I'm quite handy, so can mend stuff!

A lot to think about.

It's a nice idea and if you genuinely don't mind being away from family for long periods then it suits many people. If you like the idea of constantly moving, have a read about Gunther. I'm sure it's been linked before.

You need to do some research on visas (if travelling or staying in one place) and the ability to buy property where you are not a resident and then residency criteria etc. Even if you are just travelling, many places have tightened up on visitors visas. Like the UK they don't want foreigners taking the p*ss. Examples include in South Africa, you used to be able to get a 90 day visa-exempt entry (UK citizen), leave to an adjacent country for a week and then re-enter visa-exempt again. Now you must 'return to your region of origin', i.e. fly back to Europe. I suspect similar in S-E Asia. Remember even in Europe we don't know what your right of entry will be in the coming decade, and I suspect the limits on duration of stay will cover the whole of Schengen. Similarly if you look to buy somewhere do very intensive research on what you actually own and what your rights are as a non-resident or what hoops you have to jump through to get residency. Also consider if you plan to be outside of the UK for prolonged periods, the tax implications and residency implications. For example if you are not resident in the UK and fall ill and return to use the NHS, it isn't free. And you would need to look if/what you can get as travel insurance, home insurance etc.

I agree with IHN, I would look at downsizing to buy a place you would be happy retiring to and seeing what money is left over; then rent out the place at whatever covers the additional costs of renting (to cover maintenance, likely taxes etc) so you at least have some income. You'll also want to read up on investments to make the most of your 100,000+ cash without too much risk. It's a fine line and has similar argument to whether to buy an annuity as a pension or to make your own investments.

@scruff genuine question, how much do moorings cost when you need to restock etc? How much does a year travelling actually cost, including maintenance of the boat each year and your accommodation for that duration?

We once met a couple who worked in finance (so had lots of cash) who were doing 3x 6-month trips from the UK as their honeymoon. Made sure they were resident in the UK for more than 186 days a year, then 'did' a continent for 6-months travelling light, only using public transport. Think they were spending about £30,000 for 6 months, in a mixture of hostels and then splashing on the 'to do', National Parks that kind of thing.

Kimbers was trying to give a boat away a few days ago I can’t do links etc but have a search^^
Looked like a bit of a project but could be ideal for your plans

Apart from Gunther above....from what I have read, the vast majority of world travellers end up bored with travelling. What would you do at say age 56 having sold up, spent lots of the cash and are now in a 150k mile 6 yr old campervan ?
If you're happy go lucky and would just get a job and crack on, great. If it would make you sit back and think about it....you need to sit back and really think about long term implications

What would you do at say age 56 having sold up, spent lots of the cash and are now in a 150k mile 6 yr old campervan ?

I was day dreaming last night. My job is now very much home based and that is not going to change. As a result I can work anywhere where there is a decent 4G signal. I could rent out my house to fund the finance on a really nice camper. I would then start off by working overlooking the beach at Bamburgh to walk my dog before work, during lunch and after work. I can then work my way south and eventually end up in Greek Islands. I could take bike and surf board and follow the weather. It would be a perfect, stress free lifestyle, living the dream whilst still earning a decent wage.

Then I remembered that I have a wife (who doesn't like camper vans) and three needy school age kids. I also cannot surf.

Oh gosh I wouldn't sell up and eat through the equity.

I would take a bit of a combo of ideas.

1. Work for 12 more months, rent out all your spare bedrooms to lodgers (super tax efficient as up to 7400 ish tax free) and save save save.

2. Get permission to let on your curent mortgage, and rent your house out for a year which covers your costs.

3. use the savings from 1 to spend a year traveling.

4. Reassess - am I loving it? If so can I switch to a BTL mortgage and keep renting the house out? Can I sell and buy something cheaper to rent out, thus gaining some equity release but keeping an asset in the UK?

A year away might be enough for you to feel like you've had a good break.

Or, can you structure you life so that you have periods every year where you can travel? Can you structure your work so that you take on short term contracts or seasonal work, spending a few months a year traveling / living somewhere cheap?

Excellent plan!

Alternative perspective: I was an accidental landlord for 3-4 years (after my mum died) and I found it a constant source of stress. It's the last thing I'd want to have on the back of my mind in retirement, especially if (for example) I was in another country when the tenants **** off and leave unpaid rent and a damaged property.

A boat will just be a money drain. Trust me.

I do wonder if the whole #vanlife thing might have just been over-romanticised a bit now...

I'm sure I'll be shouted down for this but it does seem to work better as a concept for millennial 20somethings for whom it is really just a temporary thing, a formative experience that they can opt out of if push comes to shove. They can park the van on Mum's driveway for a bit over winter or if the insta/YouTube/patreon isn't quite covering the fuel to tour Switzerland... Cynical I know.

Unlike the (admittedly stereotypical) van-lifer you would be without a safety net, especially if you sold up fully to fund it. So a homebase of some sort makes sense IMO.

And, without being rude, at 50 can you count on your health/fitness/staying injury free in the same way as a resilient 25 year old can for the next decade?

Also are you sure the novelty would last for 10-15 years? I'd be inclined to build 'break points' into the plan. Maybe downsize, buy a van see if you can do a year traveling in it and how you feel abouts the whole thing then, if it's all good see if you can carry on for another 5 years? See if you're on track or if the finances are going to burn out early, and are you still feeling up to another 5 years in a van?

I think the idea of downsizing (and renting?) to free some of that equity and fund a decade of travel and experiences makes perfect sense, it hopefully leaves you with a base should you need it and an annual "adventure budget". Buying a van or boat might be an option, but they're potentially more of a financial drag in the longer term (IMO) than just setting aside a lump sum for travel each year until 2030...

Nice plan.
Hope to do something similar one day but have ex wife and kids to consider for the next couple of years.

Although I love the sound of the plan, it does very much sound like sticking your head in the sand tbh. I've not been working much for the past 12 months or so, and am still being paid. I find the whole thing terribly dull and have no idea what to do with myself. I find I really need to be 'working'.

I think lots of people are feeling very very out of sorts at the moment. The world is a very strange place at the moment.

l" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The lotus eater. Good short story.

I did that, kinda, for 10 years. I don't define myself by work, but not having a defined purpose leads to a strange aimlessness even if you're doing things you enjoy. Reading 'The Lotus Eater' was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Make sure your backup plan is better than mine!

About 20 years ago we were running a successful small business but became tired of the same environment and constant marketing to buy stuff that would make us happy and smiley.
So we sold our business,house ,furniture,the lot,bought a caravan and set off.
As it was winter Southern Spain was the destination and that was about the extent of our plan.
Over the next 2 years we picked up work in Spain and France( campsites) but I started to tire of living on campsites and constantly looking for the next "place ".
During this time though we met many people who had done a similar thing and all had managed to pick up casual work.
Eventually the caravan was sold and a house bought in Spain. We lived and worked there for about 9 years.
All of the people we met " travelling " during this time did feel the need for a permanent base after a time. It might have been after 1 year or 5.Those bases tended to be abroad rather than in the UK.
It is more expensive to do it now,poor exchange rate,and Brexit is likely to cause paperwork problems.
Am I glad we did it ? Definitely yes. We met and became friends with some great people,British and Spanish. It took us away from the consumerist society as there is only so much you can fit in a caravan.
What backed us up was rental income.And if it does go wrong or doesn't suit you then at least you have a property back in the UK to fall back on and most importantly it is an address.Getting insurance for vehicles and health without an address is complicated and expensive.As other people have posted a cheaper house would be a good idea.
Also,if you are going on your own it can become lonely.In Spain we became involved with organising bbq's,guided walks,etc,as contact with other people was very important.
We still have our house in the mountains in Spain,and restrictions allowing,should be out there in 4 weeks time.

Good plan but my penny’s worth. I pretty much travelled the world living outa bag for about 13 years, loved it, went everywhere, countless mad adventures I did work in a huge variety of jobs along the way though so had bases for a while and steady social life which is not to be underestimated. Came back to no house or job and had a very tough couple of years. Sorted myself out with a house etc then went again for 9 months on a round the world climbing and biking trip. After 9 months I’d had enough though and was quite happy to be back, very glad I had a house to come back to. I would definitely leave property behind as a fall back plan and a future place to live, your pension may not cover rent and life expenses in the future. If you find a place you want to stay at forever flog the house and use the cash to buy one.
Living expenses plummet once you hit the road in my experience. They’re also lower when you return as you realise all the cars and watches and look at what I’ve got is really a sad crock of pointlessness.
Don’t overplan it, you can’t predict all that will happen, action gets you rolling not endless planning.
Technology makes staying in touch much easier now. Planning on going again in a couple of years with a van and heading south but definitely have a back up idea. As others have stated eventually you want to stay still somewhere. Bit of a ramble no idea if it’s of any help.
Best of luck have a great time whatever you end up doing.

I think one of the reasons as well is seeing an elderly relative who has always worked, has equity and own home have to pay for care, where as if you spunk all your money having a great time, you get taken care of in the same way but don't pay!
Kind of selfish, but regardless of political views i doubt this will change much.

I'm thinking a small place to call home and travel on equity once I hit a sweet spot of age/time left.

Does a motorbike feature anywhere? Surely a mid-life crisis involves one of those? 🙂

I’ve not been working much for the past 12 months or so, and am still being paid. I find the whole thing terribly dull and have no idea what to do with myself.

That's pretty sad.😩

I think one of the reasons as well is seeing an elderly relative who has always worked, has equity and own home have to pay for care, where as if you spunk all your money having a great time, you get taken care of in the same way but don’t pay!
Kind of selfish, but regardless of political views i doubt this will change much

I get exactly the point you are making, but I wouldn't be certain you will get (today or in the future) exactly the same level of support/care. Nor do you know when the point you might need the care would apply. If you live to 95*, and are self sufficient and happy until 90**, thats 25 yrs of rent you'd be flushing away, if thats most of your pension it will really affect what you can do in those 25 yrs. If buying a flat now - think like you are 75 - ground floor, close to facilities (hospital, bus stops etc), nobody wants to move house in their 70s or 80s.

*assuming van life invigorates you and enhances life rather than drives you to drink!
**or at least until you qualify for what any future government might fund!

Have a serious look at learning to sail, especially if you’re solo. £20k will get you a perfectly seaworthy boat (search for Rival 34/Moody 33 type or similar). These will likely be more comfortable to live on than a van, have a ready made cruising community in the Med / Caribbean plus likely have lower running costs each month.

Cheap boats are cheap for a reason - they can be money pits. I doubt the running costs are better - especially for a newbie sailor buying a boat with no experience: marina's and rented moorings become the default option (you need some confidence to trust an anchor every night), equipment needs serviced/repaired, heating it will still cost as much (maybe more) than a van. There are people buying cheap boats and doing boat life - but there are probably more who buy cheap boats, plough a load of cash on storage, insurance, repairs and then sell a cheap boat!

Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. .

my folks "retired" to one of these ..... 6 bedrooms , seperate annex flat in the roof space and land/barn etc.

they run it as a Bnb and spent ages looking for the right one in the right location.

They seem to have lucked out as busier than they could ever have imagined and thats during covid restrictions. Mostly pass throughs as they are on the route to spain for many travelers but busy none the less.

Certainly wouldnt say all are cheap for a reason , Land in general is cheaper out of the cities due to there being more of it .....

AS for going on tour in a van for 15 years . cant say that sounds like fun. Id rather go on a 15 year bike tour - sounds like a perfect amount of time to actually see teh world your passing through. 15 years in a van sounds like many roberies and many sleepless nights in less than ideal locations.

That’s pretty sad.

Some interesting and useful ideas and advice in this thread which is in a similar vein.. Retirement... what's it really like?

Essentially, if you can make the finances/economics work for you, then the true question is what you intend to do with your time, and would you enjoy yourself (long term)?

It helps to start with the following question:

"If I could retire/give up work/do whatever the heck I wanted to TODAY, how would I spend my time?"

Write your answers down.

If you like your answers, if you are drawn to them, if they excite/motivate you (and the finances work) - then GO FOR IT!

However, if you either can't list out how you'd spend your time, or maybe you can but aren't excited by what you've written, you may need to do some more thinking before committing.

Is £200k going to be enough for 15 years?

Easily if you volunteer. See the world, meet people, make friends, do fun projects, have a break, do your own thing for a few months, then volunteer again somewhere else for a few weeks, months, etc. Move on, repeat? Just a mix n match option I’d consider. I’ve spent a lot of time alone doing my own thing and it gets old after a while even for me. I’d never trade all the fun, friends, new skills and life experiences I’ve made while volunteering. I’d do it tomorrow if I wasn’t required elsewhere.

Bed/pitch/room/castle/earthship/sheephut/cabin and meal/s are usually covered

workaway or helpx are a couple of introducers. Build a profile and have look around for hosts that match your skills and abilities. I’ve met lots of younger friends (20-40) who do this but you do meet older who people also do it 👋🏼

Bookmarked

Sounds a plan, but what to do if 3,4,5 years down the line you decide to revert back 😕 how easy would that be.
Maybe plan and keep this back up into the equation.

Chap I used to sail with Kevin did similar. He left the kids the house, and bugered off to Grenada in the Caribbean for a share of a big schooner.
I actually reckon his plan is similar to yours in that he was a submariner.So there was always that pension to hold as a reserve.

I heard the boat ended up on the reef on dark night, and far as I know returned to his home town of Loughborough.
Raindancer 2.
https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/the-loss-of-the-schooner-raindancer/

As a PP has said have a plan for if you have a serious health problem.

I'm early 50s and a couple of younger people I know have just had stuff happen out of the blue, one had a stroke, lost a bit of sight and had their driving license removed, another had to have a major organ transplant all of a sudden, both healthy clean living folks.

I know at least three people my age living with lymphoma.

And that's not even *counting* the friend my age who liked the booze and fags that cancer took in a few months because TBH *that* is not so much a problem - you're dead whatever.

The general plan of finding a way to live on not a lot and have fun is 👍👍👍 tho just be aware shit happens & don't assume "not to me!"

but they’re potentially more of a financial drag

Yeah I’m more the rucksack trains and planes type. Another plus for workaways etc

I've been travelling for the last 6 months in Europe living in a motorhome off rental income from back home and plan to do another 6 months. First few months absolute bliss, no weird feelings of aimlessness or homesickness then a bit of that started to kick in and now there is a certain amount of fatigue with the constant moving, constant new things, do I stay here or is there something better at the next place, missing proper connections with people other than my partner as you are never anywhere long enough to make proper friends. Now we are almost as far South as we can go the next step is to find somewhere nice and make a base for awhile so settle into an area and hopefully make some social connections. We've met heaps of lovely people on our travels but it's for a few days max.

I think for me to be happy long term I need a stable base and to feel like I'm not a vister/tourist all the time. There's something really important for me about feeling like I belong somewhere, that I know the lie of the land, the best pub to visit, familiar faces you might bump into down the shop that sort of thing.

So don't burn all your bridges till you've tried it is my advice.

My 2p worth.
Buy a portfolio of buy to let property in the uk. 1 or 2 bed flats, farly new purpose built placed. Utilise the cheap money around now and fix for 5 years.
Pay s management co or find a person to look after them. 4 or 5 should be easy sith part of your equity
Check out the tax situation carefully as you might be better of incorporating as a business
Then witj the gearing effect you dhould net a few thousand a month profit

Then rent something in the south of France. Jura maybe so Spain and Italy sre quickn to access Ditto Germany amd Switzerland. Get a small van so you csn go away for a few weeks to the Picos or Pyrenees or tuscany but have something dry and warm to return to.
Return back to uk 1 day driving so if necessary you can do that easily enough.

Then very low wealth depreciation, you might accumulate cash if your thrifty.
Ifvit works you vould stay indefinitely, and sell a property at jome every 3 or 4 years after the initial 5 year ficed rate mtg period has ended releasing 25% of the asset value

@dyna-ti - what a shame, such a beautiful vessel.

OP - Also consider health care/insurance (particularly post-brexshit). In addition to that, you need to check if you affect your NHS entitlement. I am not sure what the rules are but my wife (a nurse) has to report people who are not resident in this country (including ex-pat's I believe).

Buy a portfolio of buy to let property in the uk. 1 or 2 bed flats, farly new purpose built placed. Utilise the cheap money around now and fix for 5 years.
Pay s management co or find a person to look after them. 4 or 5 should be easy sith part of your equity
Check out the tax situation carefully as you might be better of incorporating as a business
Then witj the gearing effect you dhould net a few thousand a month profit

That sounds like harder work/more stress than my full-time job.

Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

...to help pay for schools, hospitals, old age pensions, other bits of the safety net you might need? (Also they take assets when you're dead, and not really using them any more.)

While I often think the "my next car will be electric" crowd are jumping the gun a bit, in your original plan you are going to end up in the year 2035 with a 15+ year old diesel van. Where in europe (ie cities, centres of towns) will that be welcome?

I have a revised plan now, so thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

The plan is to save a bit more, then sell up and buy one here and one somewhere else in Europe. Gives a chance for things to calm down after Brexit etc.

Aiming for end of next year.

You never know, I might inherit my mums bungalow eventually! (Bless her)

(Also they take assets when you’re dead, and not really using them any more.)

Apart from when the local authority asks you to sell your house in order to pay for your care. It's ok, I think you can keep just over 20k savings...

DO NOT MAKE ANY HASTY DECISIONS AT A TIME OF STRESS!

Why not? Have a look at my other posts on here about my present mental state after retiring, selling our house and sinking all my savings into a dream house in Scotland. It is causing me massive stress, basically a breakdown. I regret bitterly that we didn't at least do a tryout and come and stay in a rental for a week in winter, ask questions and find out about the village and its inhabitants and think more carefully about the size and design of the house. It's too late now as we're well into the incident pit.

Hire a van and go for a drive around Europe in winter. Think carefully about your physical health and above all your mental fitness for the escapade. At over 50 you are heading down the other side of the hill. And do you want to do this during Covid? The media are now saying the peak is going to be worse and last right into next Spring.

PM me if you want more advice.

Thanks Globalti!

Apart from when the local authority asks you to sell your house in order to pay for your care. It’s ok, I think you can keep just over 20k savings

£14k as it goes. Fwiw it's government not LAs responsible for this policy, and it's the care homes (which 20% end up in for an average 2.5 years) who need paying by someone. I'm reasonably acquainted having sold my dad's house to pay for his care. It's a rubbish system but choosing to not have assets so the state/taxpayers pick up the tab is not a great strategy.

I take your point John but I will have been a tax payer for over 50 years.

👍 fair point. You can't take it with you...

I think lots of people are feeling very very out of sorts at the moment. The world is a very strange place at the moment.

very true

for me the " selling up and doing something else" must be because you are going to something not running away from something

A change of scene will not solve your issues if you take them with you

^ salient point. You'll still be you when you get there 😄

You’ll still be you when you get there

Depressing but true. I ****ing hate me.