We SOLD our Wonderful House! Where did all the money go? 

If I sold now I could raise £300,000. I would buy a 2 bed apartment for £150,000 and rent that out at £650pm giving £500pm net (£6000pa). The £150,000 I still have I would divide that by 10 giving £15,000 per year plus the £6000 rent = £21,000pa. Budget per year £21,000 equates to £1750.00 per month. As I am in my mid 50's I will return to the UK at age 65 in which I will then collect my government pension and private pension. The apartment I rented out will then become my home and my two pensions my income. If things become too tight I could always rent the spare bedroom for a tax free income.

Lets look at the positives by not owning a house, you have saved 4,500 a year on utilities, council tax, tv licence, insurance let alone factoring in repairs. Instead your house is keeping you via investment income if needed or by allowing you to reinvest your dividends compounding your returns. Many assume that owning a house is a one way bet always, increasing in value, but it is not always the case. By travelling light you can enjoy what you are doing rather than carrying a load of baggage. I wish you well and hope you make it to the end of your 10 year trip and i am alive to keep following your journey.

"We didn't think about who we are, we thought about who we wanted to be". In my best British accent "that's brilliant". That is what I try to tell people in my videos about retirement, just more succinct. I think this will be the title of future video I make. Cheers.

I am seventy six and a few years ago we decided to sell our house and rent. Buying a house when you are young makes sense but we figure we can pay rent for the rest of our life and still be well ahead. The only caution would be pick a country with good tenant protection, or where you can move easily.

I really admire the 2 of you, taking the plunge into retirement travel. It’s something that I’d like my husband and I to do. At the moment my investment advisor has said that at our current rate of spending we’ll never run out of money, but I’m still nervous about taking the plunge. Currently we do take advantage of shoulder seasons for travel as the money goes further, and we don’t like crowds so we like to visit places when there’s less people. I’m not sure that we could sell up like you did but a 6 month travel, 6 months home for the first couple of years would let us ‘dip our toe’ into long term travel. Essentially at the end of the day all this rambling was to say thanks for the inspiration guys, I’ve been enjoying both places you’re exploring and learning about the financial side of long term travel.

You're both amazing! I just turned 62 and work entirely online (RU-vidr also!), so I can live anywhere. I'm going to my favorite spot in Mexico next week to apartment hunt. I still haven't wrapped my mind around selling almost everything I own though! It's just stuff, I know. But the thought of having to replace it all at some point feels like a lot. Do you have a video on your process of selling everything? I would love to know how that experience was for you both? Thank you!!!

Ha, I often catch my husband musing over longer-term plans in the place we are traveling! I'm always exasperated and have to remind him that we are "visiting" not leaving or taking anything with us. So good that you have your plan written out to keep you on track. We will have to do that before we launch nomadically. Also, when people ask, "where will you live when you are done traveling?" we always say we don't know - planning to check out the places in the world first before we make the decision. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Hey guys, just came across your channel and am loving what you’re doing! I’ve got some catching up to do with your older videos, but wanted to drop a note of encouragement! Keep the great content coming!!👍

Well done you two! I'm so happy you decided to take on this adventure. I think the best piece of advice you shared was Not thinking about who you were but asking who do you want to be. Thanks for your wisdom and sharing 😃

Enjoying your videos, thanks for sharing your views and putting yourselves out there. Really enjoying your combination of travel and FIRE discussion. My wife and I are similar age to you and are doing .pretty much the same as you but without the RU-vid channel and editing nightmares that come with it! We’re also Brit’s but ‘live’ in America for some of our time. We were also in Antalya but for a month in Mar and Istanbul for a few weeks. Currently we’re in DaNang, Vietnam for a month and then heading to Bali for a week. We’re planning to visit Thailand later in the year. Keep doing what your doing, you give us the confidence that we’re doing the right thing! Maybe our paths will cross one day as we seem to be singing from the same hymn book.

I've always wondered why the "ten year" time line. Thanks for clearing that up. It sounds like a great plan! We're still trying to figure out our plan but we're hoping to see it materialize over the next five years. We're a little tardy to the party so that will put us in our latter 50's, but hopefully that still leaves us plenty of time to travel the world! : )

Looking forward to following you for the next 10 years~

Discovered your channel a few days ago. You two are a breath of fresh air. Truly enjoying your content. Thank you..

I just happen to come across your videos. You guys are delightful. I just started watching them and I’m hooked. I love it. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do. I’ll have some questions later but for now Im here with my popcorn enjoying your videos. Keep it up!

You two are a lovely, entertaining, and inspiring couple! Thanks for documenting and sharing your experiences-super helpful answers and tips 😊

Thanks for sharing your experience doing this. My husband and I plan to do something similar in about 10-12 years when we both retire. We had careers in our younger years and military background that took us to a 63 countries total but working is not the same as slowly enjoying each place for a lifestyle so we appreciate your candor and love your wife’s laugh- you two are such a fun couple! We are from Princeton, NJ 🇺🇸 Cheers!

Hi Guys just found your videos. My hubby and I will be starting to slow travel next year. We are so looking forward to it. We are both in our 60s. Maybe we will see you somewhere.

Informative video guys, plenty of food for thought. My wife and I love Turkey and we were in exactly the same location in Antalya two weeks ago and started from the viewing platform above the harbour to walk down to the boats, lovely little restaurants along the way as well. We're retiring soon, but I don't think we're brave enough to sell up and travel like you're both doing. I will follow you though, and look forward to each episode, especially the Turkey ones, good luck to you both.

Great video! I love the budget travel countries in SE Asia + Central America. Bc it’s cheaper to live in those countries and slow travelling cuts down travel costs in allowing more affordable accommodation + transportation, it’s such a win win! I love that slow travel is more relaxing without becoming mundane. You just pack up when you are no longer excited to wake up in the same place. Looking forward to following along with you two as my travels won’t be starting for yrs still 😂. Have a great time 👌

Remember not all the countries in the world are eligable for index linked UK pension, so you cannot just retire anywhere without that for consideration.

I’ve just fell upon your videos and I’m so glad as I want to do this in a few years time! Hopefully I can learn from you 😊

Lots of fun! Really enjoyed this video and it's location! Turkey is looking a lot more interesting now as a destination and not just Istanbul! Having done a lot of traveling, I have been to locations where I know the cost of living would allow us to enjoy a very nice lifestyle at a much lower price than anywhere in the US or Canada. I also know you may not be planning to include either country in your itinerary. But if you do and you want to drop in for a cup of tea and bite to eat, we would have a lovely conversation! I look forward to following along with your adventures! Stay safe! Gordon

My husband and I are going to do just what you did. Goal 2024. We are starting the selling of our stuff now. Thanks. This was very encouraging!

So glad I’ve found your videos, I love your accents and the way you get right to the point. Could you please advise on how to manage money once you sold the house.

Thank you for putting out there that the value of owning a house is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. In our case, when added up the unrecoverable costs of home ownership such as property tax, interest payments, maintenance, etc. I am hard pressed to see how it was a money maker even when we sold it for twice what we paid. Our property tax and insurance were almost as much as our mortgage payment. I agree that investing is a better way to make money. We now live in a maintenance free rental and are sooo much happier and less stressed than we we owned a house. Not worried about buying a new house because we won’t. On another subject, as we also do some long term travel, we try to find locations and activities that provide some semblance of contributing to your individual purpose and meaning. Is that something you two struggle with?

I love your videos and they're very helpful and appreciative that you're sharing all of your ideas and process! In addition we get to see the beautiful locations you're going to at a slow pace which I love! I look forward to your videos every week!

Love the videos, youtube sent me to you, your channel should grow, you deserve it, and like some other travel vloggers pick up a bit of reasonable youtube royalty ( does add up ). Always helps. Best and happy slow travels.

Another great video! Great to hear more about your long term plans. I’m curious how you are both enjoying/managing the social aspects your travels? I watched another RU-vidr today who has been traveling with his wife for 4 years staying in a single place at a time. They seemed to have loved it but have decided to test out a home base and travel from there for awhile. This would allow them more time to build longer term social networks. This has been one of our concerns with slow nomad life. You two clearly enjoy each other’s company, so maybe this isn’t an issue for you! 😁

I get it why you are doing a lot of video's the last couple of weeks about you organised it all to get to your early retirement. However in the intro you are always telling that is also about travelling. I miss that lately. The video's about Mexico, Greece etc also had this travel aspect. Now you are travelling the Turquoise coast but you covered hardly anything about your travels. Hope to see more of the travel bit soon.

Great video. I look forward to these every week.

Crazy! I have an English student in Antalya! I got to the salted peanuts and collapsed LOL. Interesting thing for me is that I don't intend to retire. Ever. I believe it's a social construct. With the world of digital income I'm happy to work until 85 if necessary because I'm travelling now. I sold my flat in West London in 2016, I dread to to think how much it's worth now. I don't intend to ever be on the property ladder again though. That's just me though, I'm terrible at looking after something like that! Sorry for the essay, but this is so good for people in a similar boat. Your next video's topic is exactly what I've been doing for the last 6 years. I didn't know it had a name!! CLASSIC!!

Love you two and can’t wait to watch all of your videos, learned a lot already but they won’t let me travel without the jab

Good perspective on the real eatate market. Thank you for the factual and comparative info. Waiting for our closing date, getting rid of so much. It’s really hard tho’. Sigh. It will happen! Have a wonderdul week!!

Really interesting and definitely thought provoking.

Great video guys! I would love you to do a video on investing rather than buying. That would be fab! Thank you so much for sharing and enjoy! Love from Scotland ❤️🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Having watched a lot of your videos what you are doing makes sense to me now. Not having kids gives you a great deal of flexibility and makes living abroad make much more sense for you two. I have two kids in their twenties and that makes having a base in the UK make much more sense. We have downsized and got rid of well over half our stuff. Have you ever considered house sitting in the UK (you do seem to like cats)? I am looking at doing that to see different parts of the UK.

Great to see you have such a balanced symbiotic relationship , all the best

There are so many reasons NOT to do this, it's the kind of thing everyone works for decades in dreary Britain for and then the worry of financial security in old age prevents them from the adventure. So if you're healthy and have a financial parachute for your return, then this is how we maximise our short lives, we have be able to look back at our lives when we are old and be able to say that I loved my life, Im satisfied with what I did and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Im sure you two will truly be able to claim that one day. Birmingham shout out!

Guys, I admire your courage: sell everything to go travel for 10 years! I could never do that. Home means a LOT to me: my pace of comfort, piece and stability. I travel a lot! Been almost everywhere, but always love to come back home. How do you manage? never get tired to be on a road? How do you do your medical check up and health care? Do you miss your friends? I can travel 2 months in a row, go exotic places, like last time it was Tibet, Nepal, China and base camp Everest. But I can only truly appreciate it when I get home and have time to stop, digest and share experience with friends/family. I still work, but only because I love my job and this kind of social interaction is very important to me. Thank you fro sharing your experience, but it must be tough...

Loving the videos guys, well done on the roaming retirement! We are planning a similar adventure starting in 2023, although slightly different from the path you are on. We plan to rent out our house in Canada, which will allow us to build a villa in Thailand. We will use Thailand as a base to travel around the world (low cost living) and still have a place to come back to for a few months between trips. Once we have finished with the travel bug, we will decide if we want to go back to Canada, stay in Thailand or sell it all and settle in an entirely new location. Best of luck in the travels, enjoy all the world has to offer. Cheers!

Yes please, I'd love to hear more about investing vs home ownership

Hi guys. Quick one for your Q&A on the 14th. Would be great to hear more about the off camera social life of slow travellers, i.e. do you actively go out to meet people at each destination you visit, i.e. arrange to meet for a meal, drinks etc., and do you meet fellow RU-vidrs on your travels? Thanks

We’re heading back over the pond later this Fall to resume our slow travel property search - I’m not sure I can convince my husband to go to Turkey, much less Thailand but in any case, we’re exploring. When we sold our house, plenty of people told us they thought we were crazy. I guess we’ll see when we tally up the final score card won’t we? 🤣 BTW, I’m stealing your database of places idea - we’ve so far been relying on memory but that won’t work once we’ve seen a few more places. Just subscribed so I can keep tabs on you and your future videos 😎

I left the UK, the country I love, 14 years ago. I left a well paid job and voted with my feet after Gordon Brown and the banks messed up the economy in 2008/9. I've lived in Kazakhstan, China for 6 years and Thailand for 7 years. I have travelled the length of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and have a long list of other places to visit. As a UK passport holder we're very lucky and can visit Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and The Philippines for longer periods than the standard 30 days. So let's travel. P.S. I'm not going home! Best wishes from Bangkok.

Hi Sahra and Neal you guys are an inspiration. We Love your channel, great content ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻greetings from Houston 👋

Great video! Thanks for answering those questions!

You guys are hysterically funny, entertaining, and thank you for an inspiring video. I can't wait to get there and enjoy life like you both are. Smashing find! You give me hope.🏖🎶🤩

Good for you travelling with care.

Great vlog again. Interesting concept and probably on the money. We too don't own a house, but own 4 rental properties all to be sold next year. Darren work pays for a rental house as part of his wage package that we have been in for 5 years. We have Superannuation here in Australia that we hope will make enough each year so we don't eat into the capital. Travelling for the next 5 yrs plus in our new motorhome in 14 mths will be our adventure. PS. show us more of the places you visit. Turkey looks really good. Add 5 mis to the end of each vlog of the area you are in.

Just subscribed. Well done to you both!

One of your Best vídeos guys,really enjoyed that one.We loved Turkey.

I am a little bit behind… Just discovered you both. You are so funny! Loved this: “we did not think about who we are we thought about who we wanted to be!”

Really like to hear more of Sara‘s thoughts

We are from the US we did vanlife here before the pandemic, haven't seen all of the lower48 yet but that is the plan..we still own our van and its itching to get back on the road.

When I think of Birmingham I think of music! ELO! My plan has elements of yours. But We bought a home 20% down in safe and affordable El Paso that we are renting out. We are slightly cash positive with management and mortgage and it serves as a placeholder and backup plan in our home country. We were and will be otherwise invested (the likelihood of the bottom dropping out of the equity markets has us in temporarily in cash and a tiny crypto position). We plan to intently research possible super-affordable retirement places and then spend a year visiting our top 10. We will then lease an apartment in our favorite place with plans to continue travel. I don't think I'd like being totally nomadic for 10 years.

Love your videos, and your energy, make sure you look after your health

Great video again guys, and am loving the comedy! Like the fact you are using the 10 years of slow travel to find the places you may want to spend the next 10+ years. Looking forward to next weeks video on geo-arbitrage too, and am intrigued on whether you are going off to South East Asia sometime soon, e.g. Thailand/Malaysia/Indonesia/Philippines etc.. Unless it’s too probing, would love to know more about your fire number, how you got there, and where you have it invested to meet your long term spending needs 😀. Also the technical aspects of financing your spending, e.g. which pots do you draw down first, ie ISA, SIPP, or cash 💰

I love you guys and your videos so much! I was really thrilled with your response to the ten year question. My husband and I plan to do slow travel after he retires in two years. One of our goals in slow travel will also be to determine where we’d like to settle down once we’re done traveling. Retirement here in the USA seems more and more unattainable every year. ☹️. Right now we are very interested in settling down in Ecuador or Portugal. However, we will be doing what y’all are doing and checking out places all over the world to make sure every option has been considered, to the best of our ability. I’m so very grateful that we have pioneers, such as yourselves, to guide us! 😁 Absolutely breathtaking scenery there, too! 😮😍😍😍 Btw…..I also suffer from the same thing as Sarah…..always right! LOL! 🤣😂

live for ever moment that makes you happy as time is ? you got it well done guys enjoyed watching your intelligent vision

What about CGT on the sale of your shares have you thought that through and utilising ISA’s with the house sale? Good luck both 👏🏼

Do you miss having friends? I think about moving and while we’re not super social I realized we do like a lot of people we know

Great video and looking forward to the geo arbitrage one! Hope your both doing well at your new location. Can't wait to get out of the UK and back on our travels on Tuesday!Yay.

Hi guys, enjoying your stuff and plan to do something similar in a couple of years. But, as a videographer, can I make a suggestion? Your audio is great, but shooting in bright sunlight is blowing the highlights on your videos. I'm not sure what you're filming on, but see if it has an option to shoot in 'log'. If not, see if you can turn down the contrast as much as possible while recording as this may keep more detail in your faces. Anyway, best of luck and enjoy the travels.

you should have a place where to fall back to..... like buying a small condo in your favorite place in UK and rent it out while in your 10 years of world travel...... if you fall in love with a place where $1,500 is plenty to live like thailand, philippines, vietnam, or any place in eastern europe you can settle here but you still have a place you can call your own in UK.

Great video guys, been following your vlog with interest (and not a little bit of envy!) from the very start. Still a few years to go for me but what an inspiration you are!

Access to high quality medical care will be something to track during your search for a final retirement destination. If you wish to continue reliance on GB for medical care, a location that offers quick and inexpensive flights back to the homeland can be a bonus.

Love your videos, such great information.

Spot on videos,! Birmingham isn’t bad, but your current life style blows away the west mids rock stars

Nice Channel and new Sub. Expat abroad for many years, now in SE Asia. Going to sell my golden egg back in the UK and quit work. Time to start really living...

Great videos. Did you consider just renting your house out while you travelled instead of selling it? Pros and cons of that?

If you're single and own a UK house, it's easy to get in lodgers and then travel away for 2 weeks at a time, seeing areas of the world in bites. For me, it's always good to come back to my own kitchen, bed and neighbourhood. So much cheaper and healthier to cook your own food. It also means continuity and stability. EU (and further) flights can be very reasonable, live in hostels if seriously budgeting and the rest is walking around, local food and experiencing. I normally go for the artwork, so all destinations need decent galleries. But after getting to know the major EU cities and galleries, maybe more time in nature would be good.

11:00 besides beautiful landscape, coastal or lake-side lifestyle and warm climate, i think health care and social services are the most important thing in factoring where do i want to live especially near elderly stage of adulthood. Europe is probably best. Switzerland seems best in checking all of that.

Great video. Definitely concerned about jumping out of the housing market especially with a down investment period. But it is still cheaper if you are in LCOL areas when you travel.

cost of owning a house, that is a great topic!

Really enjoying your journey. Looking forward to the next video on Geo arbitrage.

Appreciate the video. To own or not to own… It’s a personal choice and facts and circumstances play a large roll. One approach would have been to downsize your home in the UK and rent it out while you travel. Being a landlord isn’t for everyone (especially while you are off traveling the world) but you can hire a property manager to take care of everything. Depending on the circumstances (own outright, mortgage etc) you can use that income stream for traveling. But even if you carry a mortgage and break even (or not) it basically gives you an “option” and participation in your home base property market and serves to diversify your capital. To each there own and I am sure you have considered all your options. No doubt everyone has an opinion and lively conversation or debate could ensue. As long as you are comfortable with your approach is all that matters. Rates are trending hire now but if you put some money down on a small flat, got cheap rate etc you likely could rent it out the next ten years and do very well.

I love this idea!

Great content.

Yep Stone is a popular haven for escaping Brummies. My Dad headed to Lichfield from our native Solihull where I still live before he passed. Even being Jewish he met a lady for company and became a valued member of their church community! He loved showing his granddaughters there he was so proud. Anyway back to the slow tourism. One night late 2000s. I’m on a beach at Holetown Barbados at night.. Been swimming with giant turtles, saw Cliff Richards’ house which my Mum would have loved! A beautiful star sky, gentle steel drum music playing as I sipped another dark rum.. Watching a cruise ship sailing away from Bridgetown having visited for the day.. My thought process.. They’ve paid hundreds into thousands.. Yet they’ve no idea of this wonderful calm atmosphere after their busy excursion trip. They’ve no connection to these wonderfully warm kind people. I’m short they saw a few great things but never gained any concept of the island life! I equate it to Brits who go to Tenerife for a week or two. Eat and Get drunk in tourist haunts on the night and sunbathe/sleep it off all day by the pool. They come back to the UK with the conceit they know Tenerife! In reality just like my aforementioned Barbados account.. They know nothing of the incredibly beautiful island, the real sights, scenery or the real people! Loved your “ rockstar” lifestyle aspect! Another great YT video! I think I”ll be playing it safe and keeping my apartment in Solihull as opposed to selling and investing elsewhere. That said I will always welcome your advice Neil.. I’m an outside Brummie being Solihull born and bred Neil. But Lordy.. Everyone in the Uk says the best part of a visit to Brum is the journey back! My own daughter lives in London and she isn’t a Brum fan. If it wasn’t for Aston Villa and my hopes I’d have gone already. Not meaning to sound like a traitor but having stayed on many locations in the North, Lancashire Preston and others Yorkshire, Cleveland/Durham … Some years ago I was in a back street pub in Rochdale. Lisa Stansfiekd had made an impromptu visit to her hometown from her Irish tax haven with her husband, sister and daughters. She downed g and t’s and spoke to all the women talking about their kids. Astonishingly she actually knew some of their kids names! She went outside to smoke then returned and under some encouragement blasted out two songs whilst playing the pub piano. I was mesmerised as although a fan from many years before, I had no idea if what close live talent looks like! Lisa was so warm and engaging, several photos on about two previous iPhones! But to me it summed up the Northern community feelings..She was so normal, so warm, not a hint of celeb about her in a biker jacket, big collar white shirt and jeans. Just assimilated as a normal regular Mum with no edges.I’d have to say that my own city and surrounding regions.. are crap! Like Sarah with the Stoke thing and East End Londoners moving out to Essex and Kent. Brum can’t match these regions for character, culture, warmer people, sense of belonging/community etc.. I apologise in advance Sarah and Neil but if Brum is your fave place in the nation??! Each to his or/and her own!! Can’t agree with you at all there! As much as it pains me to say..My Dad was a real brummie. He used to call my accent posh despite my Brum twang Partly attributable to the Solihull upbringing he afforded us through years of hard work in the engineering business. Which was tough going in those years..

you guys are fantastic!!

Maybe it was the booze I was imbibing...maybe it was my mood...but I laughed out loud at the banter here...rock star chic/ Birmingham/the interaction...you had me at...oyyyroyytt!!!

Perfect video link anything more than 15 minutes and I start interest.

We love travelling however it’s rare these days that we stay anywhere that’s better than the quality/comfort of our home back in the UK. It’s ok in the short term say 1-3 mths to be hopping between Airbnb and hotels/cruises. Yes I choose carefully, but beds/sofas are often uncomfortable, and the fittings/art not that aesthetic. But we put up with this for the culture/travel experiences.

Did you consider downsizing to brum, renting it out for passive income while you travel? It sort of mean diversification across investments

I can't believe you two are a few years younger than me but look old enough to be my parents. More so Dad than Mom.

This is awesome!!! Karen and I are traveling lots! We have found a way to build residual income while we travel!

We are on the exact same path as you....checking out Alicante/Denia (but NOT Benidorm!) as we speak

Yes please would you do a vid about your investing thoughts. Thank you! Sláinte from 'sunny' Ireland ;)

That water is beautiful

I would be worried to live abroad as a couple in old age. What if one of you dies? What if you need a care home? Get dementia? I can’t imagine being old and alone in somewhere like Turkey. Not a place I would want to be as a vulnerable old person.

We retired and sold everything in the US and moved to Panama. It was the best decision we had ever made.

I live in Brum ,and don’t want to live anywhere else ,South Africa or Dubai in the winter ,European cities in summer .Then back to Walking the dog in Sutton Park .Perfect

You are right in so many ways. I also sold my house last year, and it promptly went up 25% over the subsequent 12 months. :-( I was so smart to put the profits into a diversified global portfolio. Which is now down 18%. :-( I've lost more than a nice home or two, and have not even begun to do my foreign slow travel. 2022 is an awful year from financial perspectives. Thanks, Vladimir Putin. I need to present your videos to my wife, so she will fear less about the financial future.

I bet the housing market in the UK has gone up a lot more than the stock market for the last year or two. If it's anything like North America where prices are up 25% to 35% over just the last year (depending on the area) and than that would equal several years of average stock gains.

Interesting vlog as always. Lovely areas you have been in recently but quick questions- how long have you stayed per resort ? - this links to you not being able to visit the falls you mentioned in your stay in Anatalya. Or was the car still playing up? And how do you manage with basic things like laundry if you are moving along place too place quickly? Launderettes? Hotel laundry service? Handwashing? Just wondering. Intrigued to know where you are now after seeing your reply to Kieran below.

I love your videos!

I think there is a difference between real estate investing and viewing the home you live in as an investment. I feel that a home is not really an investment, it's a lifestyle choice. In the U.S., the cost of home ownership includes mortgage interest, mortgage insurance, transfer taxes and fees, home owners insurance, property taxes, maintenance, upgrades and remodels, in some cases association fees... did I miss anything? Oh yeah... then there is the amortization of your mortgage payments, where the majority of your payment goes toward the interest and not the principal for many years.... Which starts over every time you buy a new home or refinance. I think you see what I'm getting at here. If most home owners did the real math, they would realize that owning a home is not the investment they think it is. To be clear, I'm not saying home ownership is a poor choice. But, it is more of a lifestyle choice than it is an investment. Ummm... Rant over? 😂. We don't miss home ownership one bit. Carry on you two rockstars 😎

The answer is “NO” you won’t come back to the UK it will be too expensive for you, you will retire in a beautiful place where cost of living is low, life is slow and medical is cheap. That’s right that’s your answer. Enjoy life to the fullest with no regrets my friends before you leave this earth for ever.

For your future place to live you have to think about the climate, I would be wary about going really hot, being hot all the time sounds good, but you do get sick of never being able to be cool. The ease of returning to the UK - direct flights and cost. Other expats in the area, you might want to mix with the locals, but maybe not 100% of the time. I also surmise that in 10 years you will be able to collect your pensions, state or otherwise for income, so it is important that you know the consequences of collecting your state pension in the country where you reside (Australia is not good, you are only paid at the rate you get on the first day, it never increases). And finally, luckily you have no children or grandchildren to consider, as that would be added to the list.

I still don't understand how someone can do this without any income coming in? Definitely sounds like quite an adventure!