MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: LB on May 04, 2017, 01:47:53 PM
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Whilst I am up to 25 years away from retirement (could win the lottery that might change things) I dream of the Grey Nomad lifestyle.
I have read a lot of forums and figured we need about $55k in retirement to live this way comfortably (This includes keeping our home base).
What really scares me is the number of people I have read posts on who literally sell up everything to do this, including their homes.
What do you have to fall back on if like health problems prevented you from continuing to live this way, or just plain old age makes the whole caravan and travelling thing impossible.
I would more than consider selling up and buying something smaller (our current 5 bedroom house may be a little over kill when you are in your 80's) but to have nothing to go back to seems crazy. Wouldn't you be better off renting your home out?. I would have thought with full or part pension + rent you could live this dream for as long as practical.
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Everyone is different...
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Whilst I am up to 25 years away from retirement (could win the lottery that might change things) I dream of the Grey Nomad lifestyle.
I have read a lot of forums and figured we need about $55k in retirement to live this way comfortably (This includes keeping our home base).
What really scares me is the number of people I have read posts on who literally sell up everything to do this, including their homes.
What do you have to fall back on if like health problems prevented you from continuing to live this way, or just plain old age makes the whole caravan and travelling thing impossible.
I would more than consider selling up and buying something smaller (our current 5 bedroom house may be a little over kill when you are in your 80's) but to have nothing to go back to seems crazy. Wouldn't you be better off renting your home out?. I would have thought with full or part pension + rent you could live this dream for as long as practical.
$55k a year, try $65-70k for the first few years at least, other than that you are pretty spot on. The security of your own home is paramount, particularly as you get older and you don't know where your health will take you. My sister and brother-in-law tried the" sell everything and live the grey nomad wandering life style". They didn't have the financial back-up or income to do it and ended up free camping on river banks eating tinned soup while waiting for the next pension day.
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I say don't wait till you're grey.
If you want to travel, do it now or at least do what you can to make as many extended trips as you possibly can.
I've seen too many people plan and prepare for many years to be ready to spend their retirement years on the road, only to have the reality of old age come and wreck everything.
One of our very close family friends had spent the first few years of retirement building an awesome custom bus to live out their traveling dream. After he'd finished it they sold their house and bought a cheap small bush block with a shed to fall back on. They did one test run in the bus for a couple of months when he fell ill. He is now invalid and can't move from bed to bathroom without assistance. They had no choice but to live in the shed and sell the beloved bus. :(
Our family choose to live without a lot of life's luxuries and put our money into as much travel as we can.
We are planning to give our kids a year off school between primary and secondary school and do a long slow lap. We figure we can do heaps more in our mid 40's then we possibly could do in our mid 60's or 70's.
I agree with you that selling everything to live your final years on the road is a huge risk.
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I say don't wait till you're grey.
If you want to travel, do it now or at least do what you can to make as many extended trips as you possibly can.
I've seen too many people plan and prepare for many years to be ready to spend their retirement years on the road, only to have the reality of old age come and wreck everything.
One of our very close family friends had spent the first few years of retirement building an awesome custom bus to live out their traveling dream. After he'd finished it they sold their house and bought a cheap small bush block with a shed to fall back on. They did one test run in the bus for a couple of months when he fell ill. He is now invalid and can't move from bed to bathroom without assistance. They had no choice but to live in the shed and sell the beloved bus. :(
Our family choose to live without a lot of lives luxuries and put our money into as much travel as we can.
We are planning to give our kids a year off school between primary and secondary school and do a long slow lap. We figure we can do heaps more in our mid 40's then we possible could do in our mid 60's or 70's.
I agree with you that selling everything to live your final years on the road is a huge risk.
Sad...but this is a possibility....... all situations are different
Cheers Tracker.
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I have done my appox average weekly figures (this is based on todays figures so of course that will change)
Petrol - $150
Food - $150
C/P - $200 (assuming 1 or 2 nights free camping on average)
Misc - $300 (eating out tourist stuff buffer)
$800 per week $41600 per year the other $13400 covers insurance eg health, house, cars, ultilityies and rates on the base home with a emergency buffer.
Would love to have more and we may but that that's the current projection on a super/retirement funds so I know we can do it and anything on top is some overseas trips as well.
We do travel and hope to do a lot more between now and retirement but that is just our retirement plan.
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$55k I'll need that monthly to fund my retirement
Swannie
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I have done my appox average weekly figures (this is based on todays figures so of course that will change)
Petrol - $150
Food - $150
C/P - $200 (assuming 1 or 2 nights free camping on average)
Misc - $300 (eating out tourist stuff buffer)
$800 per week $41600 per year the other $13400 covers insurance eg health, house, cars, ultilityies and rates on the base home with a emergency buffer.
Would love to have more and we may but that that's the current projection on a super/retirement funds so I know we can do it and anything on top is some overseas trips as well.
We do travel and hope to do a lot more between now and retirement but that is just our retirement plan.
I have a really detailed spreadsheet that my sister (the economics major) put together to budget her year on the road. From what I remember it's extremely detailed... ;)
Let me know if you want it and I'll try and dig it out and send via PM.
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I also say think about what industry your in.. Hitting the road for 3-4 yrs maybe appealing, but coming back to no home, no money, no job and no industry that you work in would take it in the choco star for sure.
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I also say think about what industry your in.. Hitting the road for 3-4 yrs maybe appealing, but coming back to no home, no money, no job and no industry that you work in would take it in the choco star for sure.
I agree, that's why we plan short trips now and the long ones on retirement so as not to have those issues.
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I guess I am one of those people who could become a nomad.
Retired, single, income from superannuation to allow me to travel (particularly if I rented my house while I was on the road).
But there are lots of buts.
You hear lots of stories about how great the lifestyle is. But does anybody who has made a decision they regret ever admit it?
I would never not have a home to go back to. I hear stories, some of them anecdotal I know, of people who have sold everything for life on the road and find themselves basically homeless when circumstances change, money and health being two major ones.
Living in a caravan park or bush camp somewhere in the outback waiting for the next pension cheque to buy some fuel to move on or have the car repaired may sound extreme but it's a possibility.
I heard a story years ago from a guy who happened upon an older couple in a bush camp on the WA coast. The guy was very ill and his wife was unable to drive the car and caravan. They had no family and no one they could call for help.
The stortyteller's wife was a nurse and realised the man needed urgent medical attention and fortunately she could also drive. They hooked up the van and delivered the couple to the nearest hospital. All they could do. Extreme example maybe, but I guess you have to plan for the worst.
So I'll be keeping my house and travelling when I can until age catches up with me.
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short answer - IN A SECOND...
longer answer - well let's see now. I'm 52. The missus is 40. No kids. 1 puppy.
Before the GFC... we were planning to buy a house in the Blue Mountains. Post GFC... yeh... not so much. Both our full time day jobs and wages took a hammering. It probably set us back a good solid 10 to 15 years.
As things stand now, we'll be luck to afford a shack in an outback/remote town.
Becoming a Grey (working) Nomad is probably the only choice we have. A home base may (eventually) be an option with our combined Super... or maybe not. But I'm not going to wait until I retire to escape the daily grind. We both want to see the country together and we're happy to work to do it...
We're hoping to do a McGirr in the next few years. Before that can happen though, we've got some bills and loans to clean up. Then we will be out of here.
I've lived and worked on the road before, I did a 2.5 year "big lap" back in 92-94 on the bicycle. Working and travelling.
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yes i could give most of it up
buuuut
i would be buying an apartment and renting it out before i hit the road so i have a fall back position
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yes i could give most of it up
buuuut
i would be buying an apartment and renting it out before i hit the road so i have a fall back position
My thoughts exactly. I figure that maybe I would consider downsizing sooner and using the excess money to start retirement early (closer to 60 then the current 67). Worst case scenario you can as a couple live quite well on a modest super and part pension if you own your own home. Little different if you are renting.
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Having just retired this is a real question for us. But being "us" I can't see it happening. My view is I have a window of opportunity untill there are grandchildren, then who knows.
I agree that having a house you own is essential for an easy retirement, but it doesn't have to be in a major capital city. If you sell in a Capital city then it will be hard to buy back in (unless the property crash people are talking about happens)
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We are on the road and a few things spring to mind. We didn't want to leave it too late (I am 41 and the missus is 37 along with a nine year old) and just took the plunge. I have up on a really really well paying job with lots of benefits but it wasn't what I wanted to do or be. I could easily have continued down that route until I retired and then? Anyway once we decided to make the plan a reality, the hard work began. We tried to sell the house but eventually rented it out (we wanted to sell as we were sure we wanted to live somewhere else). Both have the pros and cons - in a way it's a good thing as we have somewhere to go back to in a year or so.
We are now three months into our adventure and in Broome after leaving Perth. The house rent covers the mortgage and a little bit of extra money. We have just secured a house sit for a few weeks which saves us some $ in caravan parks. I had budgeted on about $65k a year.
The biggest expenses are accomodation and fuel by far. Where possible we do the cheaper bush camping (the WikiCamps app is invaluable for the latest prices and reviews) but sometimes caravan parks are really the only options. With fuel we do try and use fuel map to find the cheapest diesel anda when is expensive between stops we have a couple of Jerry cans.
It is surprising how the costs add up quickly especially for the big one offs. Still have to pay for insurances, private health cover, mobile phones etc monthly.
The big expenses have been the car servicing and a few repairs along the way in the car and caravan (inevitable really) plus some of the tourist trips (or traps) and additional stuff. As a guide I budgeted for 50,000km at an average consumption of 23l per 100km at 1.50 average - so far not too far off the mark. Camping was split into free (30% of the time), DPAW (30%), Caravan parks (30%) and 10% in cheap motel / hotel it required because we get sick or stranded.
We don't eat out much and cook mostly ourselves. This saves $. Ooh and alcohol is also a big expense, but that's is entirely voluntarily.
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Back in 2006 I got to chatting my to an older lady whilst we were relaxing in the swimming pool of the Weipa Caravan Park whilst on a Cape York trip. This lady was telling me how she funded her travels by renting out the downstairs half of her Sydney home, and had the upstairs seperate and locked as her own place of residence...so gets to keep the house but still gets a rental income from it. I reckoned this is a great idea, something I will consider doing in the future myself, as there's no way I'll sell up everything to travel. We did a lot of trips when our kids were young and we had no issues taking them out of school for 5 weeks to do so, but now our eldest is well into high school it's time to think about her future and big trips are off the cards for a while now, but that's just the stage off life we are currently at...looking forward to when the kids move out or are atleast old enough to stay at home for several weeks on their own...lol
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Quite frankly, If it all turns to Shite, I could comfortably be like this guy .http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-20/on-the-trail-of-michael-tarzan-fomenko/7858784 (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-20/on-the-trail-of-michael-tarzan-fomenko/7858784) .
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.looking forward to when the kids move out or are atleast old enough to stay at home for several weeks on their own...lol
Party time! ;D
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....looking forward to when the kids move out or are at least old enough to stay at home for several weeks on their own...lol
Hey, that's us.... ;D ;D
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The thing that I would be worried about with the "After Retirement" plan is having the physical capabilities to get to significant areas that require walking/climbing/coordination. I have come across a lot of Nomads during my travels who can claim they have been to A, B or C but, in reality, they have only been to the van parks there & haven't seen the surrounding sites.
Go while you can do things.
Steve
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The thing that I would be worried about with the "After Retirement" plan is having the physical capabilities to get to significant areas that require walking/climbing/coordination. I have come across a lot of Nomads during my travels who can claim they have been to A, B or C but, in reality, they have only been to the van parks there & haven't seen the surrounding sites.
Go while you can do things.
Steve
This is my take on it. After losing my father - who worked a hard live on a dairy farm - and watching him grow older by the day in retirement... well, I decided life is too short. He never made it to the Kimberley, so I'll go for him while I'm still young enough to enjoy it because he never got the chance.
The older generation believed in working hard to save for later... but what is that worth when you can't enjoy it? A friend's father had similar plans to my Dad - wait until retirement, then travel and relax. Reality for him was that he ended up with rapidly progressive dementia and also never had the chance.
Don't be stupid about it - don't risk everything just for the sake of having a good time. But that said, we only get one shot at life. You can't take your money to the grave and your boss won't care that you sacrifice your whole life at work. Live a good live, one that you enjoy and can be proud of. Work hard, and enjoy the fruits of your labour when you can and you're still fit enough to appreciate it. Don't wait around forever for the "what ifs" and "maybes" because perhaps those days won't come...
I would never sell everything to go travel. No way. Especially not in retirement. Our plans are to travel some of the more remote and "risky" places now and on the cheap, when we can between working. Retirement will be about taking it easier, not putting our health and finances on the line to chase dreams we should have pursued now. I think when I retire I'll deserve a bit of luxury... Might even get a passport and see Europe. I imagine it'll still be there. ;)
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When we lived in Darwin, we met a nice elderly couple and started chatting.
They lived down south and every year for 4 months, there was a group of them that met some where, and they all traveled north for the winter, then went home a different way.
All happy home owners with their vegie patch and rose bushes, but they had the security of a home base.
I couldn't live in a van for 12 months or so, I reckon 4-6 months traveling, then at home doing the daily crossword, work on the hot rod in the shed and have an arvo snooze every day.
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Interesting read. We're planning to travel in the next 6-8 months. We've put the money saved for our house deposit into a van (some left to start with) and will be travelling this great country, we will work as we go. I'm 42 and my wife is 45 and we've 2 kids (10 + 12) coming with us. Short reason why. I've come to the conclusion that life is really way too short. I have a minor heart condition (that will be operated on shortly) and my body is starting to fail from a couple of accidents i have had. I also watched my father work his arse off, only to fully retire and find he had terminal cancer. He was all set to do all the things he had planned for years. It didn't happen, not fair.
We wont own a house, don't really want one anymore. Home is where we are, not what we own. For us to own a home I would need to bump up my hours and my wife would need to work full time. Not going to happen. My kids need us (I want to experience them go up), not a baby sitter. This not for everyone, I know that. But, for us, it is.
Will this choice cause me problems later in life? Maybe, who knows. I will cross that bridge as i need.
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We are also planning to do it while young (37 & 35 with 3 kids under 12). I have worked hard though to get us to a point where we can and still keep our house and occupation to come back to. I think we might find it surprising how many "Silver Streak Nomads" we end up bumping into along the way with more and more of our generation seeing the hard work our parents went through to reach retirement and not fulfil their dreams.
We did consider selling up but I think you need the security of something to come back to if something goes wrong. The cost of getting in and out of houses these days is too much.
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You mention Silver Streak Nomads...back in 2006 up at Cape York we didn't really bump into many people at all our age (mid 30's with kids), they were mostly older grey nomads. Becoming more common for families to travel now and take their kids out of school, our 3 year old daughter was a real hit with the grey nomads that were missing their grandkids...lol
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Hi LB, I would pack my mob up tomorrow 4 kids and wife in the 4wd with off road pop top van in tow and tinny on top of 4wd and head off touring but wife will not go with me unless we stay in units or cabins, as i have dragged her up to many dry gulleies up northern Aus Before Kids and with little kids she is over it, but if she did, I would only go for 6 or 7 months at a time I would not sell our house I would rent it out four 6 months, that 10 grand would cover the fuel and tucker as we would mix it up between caravan parks and free camps and beach camping, And we would have somewhere to live at the end, and plan the next trip, Craig
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No. Don't do it! We spent 12 months on the road last year and could not wait to get home. Never again. What a sh** life it was. Just stay home and work hard.
Way too many people on the road now days. We need to get them off the road and get home.
Yep, that way there will be more room for us! >:D Hard to find quite spots with so many travellers. Dam people enjoying themselves.
Then the ones who want to be friendly and chat and sit around a fire. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Day after day, doing what you want, going anywhere you want. Finding a track and driving in to find a brilliant camp spot. Yep stay home, you would not like it......
And please, would everyone stay away from Cape York Peninsula. Again, and you must trust me, you will hate it up there. Nothing to see here...... Kevin ;D
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Its funny how we say "before Im we are to old? it means so many different things. We are in a different phase seeming to most in there early 40's. Our kids are 24,23 and my baby turns 17 next week (shes the only one living at home), so we are now at the life after kids stage. All my kids have been to Europe we camp several times a year all together and even had a 2 week family holiday in Tassie last year (figured that was probably the last real family holiday with just the 5 of us) so they have done ok on the travel seen. So now it is time we thought of ourselves and what we want.
I don't mind taking some risk (trust me went to the Penrith show 5 years ago intending to spend 30k and in the end spent 60k on our KK) but I personally would need to know my bases are covered or I would just worry or the time. Spent to many years when the kids were young wondering how we were going to pay the bills, not going back there.
So I think my plan is throw a little extra in super over the next 17 years, then downsize the house using the extra funds and savings to fund us between 60 and 67 then live off our super after that. It won't mean heaps of overseas holidays but its this great country I want to see all of.
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So I think my plan is throw a little extra in super over the next 17 years, then downsize the house using the extra funds and savings to fund us between 60 and 67 then live off our super after that. It won't mean heaps of overseas holidays but its this great country I want to see all of.
If you are going to fund a period of time via the house value - have a good look into a Reverse Mortgage and consider that rather than selling up.
A Reverse Mortgage is a means of borrowing money based on your home value/equity and repaying it later. That would save the stamp duty fees, many different costs like removalists and solicitors etc. It also may mean the more valuable current home will appreciate in value more than a cheaper one, which may offset some of the reverse mortgage amount.
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If you are going to fund a period of time via the house value - have a good look into a Reverse Mortgage and consider that rather than selling up.
A Reverse Mortgage is a means of borrowing money based on your home value/equity and repaying it later. That would save the stamp duty fees, many different costs like removalists and solicitors etc. It also may mean the more valuable current home will appreciate in value more than a cheaper one, which may offset some of the reverse mortgage amount.
To be honest I just cant see the point of holding on to the large house once you have retired. Higher maintenance cost, the probability of having to move later when you can no longer look after it on your own. I think it would be more particle to settle into a comfortable 1 level 3brm with a small manageable yard that will suit from 60 - 90 years of age, then our 5brm oversize family home. The utility and maintenance costs would reduce hugely which along with money saved in the sale would go a long way to achieving the kind of retirement I want.
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If I won Tattslotto, I'd be packing up the house tomorrow and heading off in a heartbeat!
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To be honest I just cant see the point of holding on to the large house once you have retired. Higher maintenance cost, the probability of having to move later when you can no longer look after it on your own. I think it would be more particle to settle into a comfortable 1 level 3brm with a small manageable yard that will suit from 60 - 90 years of age, then our 5brm oversize family home. The utility and maintenance costs would reduce hugely which along with money saved in the sale would go a long way to achieving the kind of retirement I want.
5 bedroom houses will become like rocking horse Shit the way houses are going these days... apparently they are referred to as McMansions by latte' people.
Their value will be awesome in 10-20yrs time, there wont be any left.. all dozed to make way for Shitty little townhouses and shipping container houses. Modern sardine cans don't even have enough room for a washing line.
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I like the idea of selling the family home and buying a smaller home suitable for retirement. Then renting that whilst we are on the road. This solves the issue of renting something you have an emotional attachment to.
I could get 2 small properties (units, townhouses) for what the home is worth. Keeps you in the market and is good rental return.
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5 bedroom houses will become like rocking horse Shit the way houses are going these days... apparently they are referred to as McMansions by latte' people.
Their value will be awesome in 10-20yrs time, there wont be any left.. all dozed to make way for Shitty little townhouses and shipping container houses. Modern sardine cans don't even have enough room for a washing line.
I live in Baulkham Hills, and just down the road is McMansion central. Check out Rouse Hill and Kellyville areas.
New homes consist of:
Smallish block
Large 4-5 bedroom homes
No eaves
Built right to edges of property
Small yard, often little more than a courtyard
No trees
Friends who are tradies work on these development areas and they WALK from roof to roof - they don't even have to jump to the next door house, just step from roof to roof.
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My partner and I (both 29) don't own a house and don't plan to. We have a one year old and probably another soon to come, are saving and planning to upgrade vehicle and to a hard floor camper, and then follow in another forum member here's footsteps and work and travel Australia (and potentially other countries after). Plan is to be as self sufficient as possible, our only expenses hopefully being fuel, food, gas for the stove, and misc entertainment etc. Obviously there are more expenses, but the lower we can get these, the longer we can travel.
We've got family who have gotten sick young (MS and other things), and don't want to wait for a retirement we may never see.
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I live in Baulkham Hills, and just down the road is McMansion central. Check out Rouse Hill and Kellyville areas.
New homes consist of:
Smallish block
Large 4-5 bedroom homes
No eaves
Built right to edges of property
Small yard, often little more than a courtyard
No trees
Friends who are tradies work on these development areas and they WALK from roof to roof - they don't even have to jump to the next door house, just step from roof to roof.
Been 25yrs since I've been out that way thankfully!
They started that sardine tin look in the estate at Cranbourne, where they used common walls for the garages - that's how close.
Maybe I was spoilt, our block I grew up on was 400ft long, nobody had side or back fences after the first 100ft so it was like fields of dreams. I couldn't survive in one of those estates.
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I live in Baulkham Hills, and just down the road is McMansion central. Check out Rouse Hill and Kellyville areas.
New homes consist of:
Smallish block
Large 4-5 bedroom homes
No eaves
Built right to edges of property
Small yard, often little more than a courtyard
No trees
Friends who are tradies work on these development areas and they WALK from roof to roof - they don't even have to jump to the next door house, just step from roof to roof.
So true about the house to house that's what our mate of ours said Glenwood was like when he was working there. Im rather a fan of retiring to the lower blue mountains. You get much better value for the money and better views then the areas you mentioned.
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So true about the house to house that's what our mate of ours said Glenwood was like when he was working there. Im rather a fan of retiring to the lower blue mountains. You get much better value for the money and better views then the areas you mentioned.
... by the time I retire all those nice places will be the same as the CBD for prices... Central Coast and south coast used to be retirement zones.. now they are worth diamonds :(
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No really grey nomads although I have some grey hair but we left Cairns Jan 2015 and have been working around Australia.
We were renting so no place for us to go back to. We call home where ever we have accomodation. We take each day as it comes and have no concerns where we end up next. Its all part of the adventure and great memories. Some people like to have the back stop of a home when they finish traveling.
We will have a fair amount of super when we retire so will consider where we live permanently in the future. The places we work are normally off the tourist route so no crowds as we can always do the tourist routes later. The company we work for want us to stay with them for a long time and are happy to give us pay rises each year.
Regarding health issues we get flown out if needed and as Penny is heading to Darwin for a major operation end of this month, full hysterectomy, due to cancer in her womb and no waiting list.
Packing up everything and traveling is not for everyone. But in saying that I would not leave it until your too old and not in the best of health. We met so many people traveling that regretted not traveling when they were younger.
Everyone's predicament is different and getting out of your comfort zone is not easy.
Its the best thing we have done and should have done it sooner.
Mark
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Id agree McGirr .... althou i would like to keep my house ..... its not worth waiting for the kids to be older or not for them to be in school etc ..... you never know when you time is up and if you wait till older it may be too late ..... if you really want to travel then just do it .... school/work be buggered ....
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These guys took to the road and havent looked back, although the family has grown since they here .. And they are still travelling and the kids are great, home schooled and well versed in life skills http://www.parkeschampionpost.com.au/story/1425465/family-of-12s-continuous-aussie-adventure/ (http://www.parkeschampionpost.com.au/story/1425465/family-of-12s-continuous-aussie-adventure/)
https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/watch/27358779/holiday-road-11-kids-and-life-in-a-bus/#page1 (https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/watch/27358779/holiday-road-11-kids-and-life-in-a-bus/#page1)
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The idea sounds appealing. Selling up to do it NO WAY. If you do not own a base property I guess it would be different.
We have met many (nomads) over the last few years and what SOME do is not appealing. Wandering aimlessly from free-camp to camp (and having silly schemes to beat rules and regulations) does not appeal. Many of them have a very self-centered sense of entitlement and also have little regard for rules. They do not hesitate to whack out the 2KW generator to put the aircon on to watch afternoon soapies or some other selfish activity. There was even one prick at Balgal Beach that hooked HIS water hose to the tap and thought nothing of leaving it permanently connected. I think somebody (not me) cut the connector off. He had the generator already on in his Bushtracker despite it being a clear sunny day with temps in the mid 20's. Why he was in a free camp with a $150000 caravan and $100,000 Landcruiser in the first place did not make sense to me. Many of the ('Nomads') we met were selfish bastards.
Giving up permanent work and travelling this wonderful land is a different proposition and absolutely commendable. Working to enhance the lifestyle, if required or desired, would only enhance the concept and make it a lot more enjoyable. 'Nomads' we met that had the best attitude to life and were good company, almost invariably had a base and were not on the road permanently. There were exceptions (like a gifted musical instrument maker) and others with very specific talents and agendas.
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......They do not hesitate to whack out the 2KW generator to put the aircon on to watch afternoon soapies or some other selfish activity........
Don't have to be a Grey Nomad to be selfish....
:cheers:
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Don't have to be a Grey Nomad to be selfish....
:cheers:
I am very well aware of that. Don't get me started. The original post relates to Nomads though.
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This whole thing is a balancing act. I look at my dad and step mum, who retire at 65 and were smart with there money. Whilst they are not rich they live a very comfortable retirement. Dad is now 75 and they are currently on a 6 week trip around Europe. Then I look at my in laws who had a much bigger retirement fund (7 figures) weren't smart losing a huge amount in the GFC because they left their money in stocks, which resulted and in my father in law also 75 only just retiring from paid work.
I don't want to have to depend on the age pension even though we are homeowners (couldn't even imagine how hard that would be if renting). The thought of depending on free campsites and living week to week (been there done that don't want to go back) scares the hell out of me. But I do also do not want to leave it till its too late.
Our goal is retire at 60 which these days is not old by any means old. That may adjust depending on circumstances but at the moment that's what we are on track for.
I want to see all of this great country but I want to do it knowing I will not have to rely on the government and my family to look after me in my old age.
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Hi LB, I am 53 my wife and I own everything house and 1,8 block 4wd and cars,We have money invested. I can not see myself retiring till I am around 70 as I love working. I only work 150 days a year, skippering a 10m charter boat. I get plenty of down time to travel. We love free camps you do not have to be on a pension to use them we find them great,There are some great free camps set up by Councils and the big rigs you see at them are fantastic, We stay at caravan parks to they are top spots as well, Craig
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Hi LB, I am 53 my wife and I own everything house and 1,8 block 4wd and cars,We have money invested. I can not see myself retiring till I am around 70 as I love working. I only work 150 days a year, skippering a 10m charter boat. I get plenty of down time to travel. We love free camps you do not have to be on a pension to use them we find them great,There are some great free camps set up by Councils and the big rigs you see at them are fantastic, We stay at caravan parks to they are top spots as well, Craig
Don't get me wrong when comes to the time we will be will chose to free camp some of the time, but I want that to be a choice not a must.
Sound's like you have it all sorted which is great and have your bases covered. You also a lucky to have job that gives you that flexibility. I do payroll/accounts and my better half is in IT not professions that have that kind of flexibility.
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Hi Lb, Life is what you make of it, I hope everything turns out right for you, Craig
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You also a lucky to have job that gives you that flexibility. I do payroll/accounts and my better half is in IT not professions that have that kind of flexibility.
I was a stockbroker, wife in the govt and kids aged 8 and and 10.
I was fat, angry and stressed; Bec was pretty much a single mum, so we threw it in for a year and traveled.
We rented the house, which pretty much covered it's costs and away we went.
Fast forward 3 years and I now maintain gardens and lawns, my office the great outdoors, and biggest stress is if it's going to rain. Yeah and I've lost 30 kg.
We have a very different lifestyle to the one we left and am far happier and healthier than ever before. Sure we don't have the bucks we used to, but you can't buy time.
A few weeks ago an ex colleague of mine dropped dead on a cycling charity ride. Physically pretty healthy but this bloke had a LOT of stress in his work life. I'm sure his family would give all the things he's accumulated from this job that's killed him to be able to spend a few more years with him.
So yes you can chuck your job in and travel, it worked for me. And once the kids are a couple of years out of school we plan to head off again.
Trev
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I'm retiring in just over a year ( 408 days but who's counting ;D ) I'll be 62 and my wife will be 54. We presently live in WA and we are selling our house here and are retiring to Potato Point on the far south coast of NSW ( google it ) where we bought a house 8 years ago and plan to take at least 12 months to get over there. Don't think I could sell everything to go on the road. Maybe if we were a lot younger and had time to re-establish ourselves but not at this stage of life. But then we wouldn't have been grey nomads although the hair did lighten considerably fairly early in life!! :cheers:
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I only work 150 days a year, skippering a 10m charter boat.
Living the dream! All I ever think about is fishing and boating haha
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Hi Throbbinhood. Its a fantastic job love every day I work, its not hard work but mentally draining some days, I have met some fantastic people and a few backsides but you get that in any Job, The boat is 10m long, 3,4m wide Cougar Cat with twin new 300hp 4/ Yamaha's on the back I work out of Noosa, I have Done the same all my life too just dream of fishing, And on my holidays I go fishing for a month or 6 weeks up Cape York or up to Inskip piont in winter, Craig
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So your the bastard that get to drive that beautiful thing over the bar everyday. I'll give you the V next time I see you go past the sandbags at dog beach with the kids...give em a toot they'll love it. :cheers: :cheers:
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In 2015 was pensioned off "Medically Retired" after 33yrs at just over 50 yrs old. Thankfully on a good scheme when I started. The plan was to go hit the road touring, but of course nothing ever goes that easy. Still as home still trying to get my body and health sorted. Still plenty of time to go, hopefully.
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Hi Nomad, I am one of the bastards, I skipper Trekka 2, My mate Paul skippers Wild thing 2, and Theo skippers Cougar 1, three in the fleet, Craig
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I'm retiring in just over a year ( 408 days but who's counting ;D ) I'll be 62 and my wife will be 54. We presently live in WA and we are selling our house here and are retiring to Potato Point on the far south coast of NSW ( google it ) where we bought a house 8 years ago and plan to take at least 12 months to get over there. Don't think I could sell everything to go on the road. Maybe if we were a lot younger and had time to re-establish ourselves but not at this stage of life. But then we wouldn't have been grey nomads although the hair did lighten considerably fairly early in life!! :cheers:
Love your plan...sort of similar to our plan we may just be down sizing ,but we would love to buy a fixer upper in the lower blue mountains about 5 years before retirement but that will depend on how things roll. If we could then we would sell our current house and use the money to live and travel for 60-67 year mark or till our super becomes available.
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use the money to live and travel for 60-67 year mark
Hey LB
Great plan, but aren't you being just a little bit ambitious ???
I mean, planning on travelling for 60 - 67 years after you've retired is pushing it a bit, isn't it? >:D
Good on you for planning it though! ;D :cup:
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Hey LB
Great plan, but aren't you being just a little bit ambitious ???
I mean, planning on travelling for 60 - 67 years after you've retired is pushing it a bit, isn't it? >:D
Good on you for planning it though! ;D :cup:
With Medical advancements just maybe ;D
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We packed up and p1$$3d off in 2013. 41 and 40 with mortgage. House rented out covered costs so we left with our 14ft boat and a Queen size swag. Approx 12mths of circling the bottom half of Qld and doing a few short term jobs we took a 1yr commitment to work and live in Nth Qld. Moved on with some new financial security due to working hard and selling house. We've set a financial plan in place where the funds from the house are invested to provide an income for future fulltime retirement. For the next 15 yrs we only need to work probably 15 weeks a year to pay our bills, travel this country self funded (no centrelink thanks), add some cash to investments/super and continue to upgrade van and tow vehicle.
Once you let go of the shackles and pull off the blinkers, it's easier than many think. But....each to their own.
My parents travelled for 5 or 6 yrs in their early 50's after selling their small business. Best time of their lives. They came home new people. After 5 yrs home they wanted to escape the retirement rut again but dad got sick. They pressed on with plans but dad never got to go very far. Dead at 63. I'm not planning to follow those footsteps.
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
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With Medical advancements just maybe ;D
"We have the technology......................we can rebuild it" ;D
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Well a lot has happened for us in the last couple of months after resigning from work (age 53) and then selling our Sydney home and moving into the investment property on the Mid North coast. We are now in Europe for 4 months after buying a campervan in Germany. I certainly don't feel retired yet as it's been pretty full on with the move etc so hopefully this will change. My wife retired a couple of years ago and has been pushing me to do the same ever since so I finally gave in. Looking forward to seeing Europe after spending 1 month in France last year travelling around the French countryside, we were blown away by the history and beauty of the place. The campervan we bought is similar to the Aussie trakka vans but much cheaper over here, especially in Germany.
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Well a lot has happened for us in the last couple of months after resigning from work (age 53) and then selling our Sydney home and moving into the investment property on the Mid North coast. We are now in Europe for 4 months after buying a campervan in Germany. I certainly don't feel retired yet as it's been pretty full on with the move etc so hopefully this will change. My wife retired a couple of years ago and has been pushing me to do the same ever since so I finally gave in. Looking forward to seeing Europe after spending 1 month in France last year travelling around the French countryside, we were blown away by the history and beauty of the place. The campervan we bought is similar to the Aussie trakka vans but much cheaper over here, especially in Germany.
:cheers: