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Retirement Destinations?

The grass is greener on the other side of the fence is not true once you have taken the plunge.

I was posted to Darmstadt Germany for four years when I worked at ESOC. My youngest was born there. Its a lovely place with friendly people and a community spirit. But!

Its the culture at home that we missed. Not at first but it slowly gets into you.

Before lock down we holidayed abroad, toured and cruised enjoying different countries, ways of life and cultures but it was always nice to come back home.

If I ever need to go into a care home I'm off to Thailand as the cost is lower and you get fantastic service as the Thai have a much better attitude/culture of care than the Brits towards old folk. You also get your own detached dwelling maybe on a lake, facing the sea or mountain views. It'll only be for a few years anyway.

DV
 
I do like the idea of a month's holiday somewhere warmer from mid January to mid February - I think it would really take the edge off winter. However I think I'll stay put in whatever place I've been living for the 10 years prior to retirement - assuming I have friends and/or family nearby.
 
I am a French resident and so far Menton looks like the place to retire for me. If I did not have a residential permit, I'd stay put in UK in terms of paperwork and then do 3 months in UK, 3 months somewhere else in airbnb apartments. Repeat to coffin.
I’d choose Villefranche sur Mer.
 
Margate is full of Henry's and Josephine's thinking it would so much fun to get down and dirty with the ragamuffins. The reality is, they've priced the ragamuffins outa town.......Try Ramsgate

Things haven't changed much. An old uni friend of mine moved to Ramsgate in '88 to 'vanish'.
 
I do like the idea of a month's holiday somewhere warmer from mid January to mid February - I think it would really take the edge off winter. However I think I'll stay put in whatever place I've been living for the 10 years prior to retirement - assuming I have friends and/or family nearby.

That's what we do, only three weeks at the moment due to OH's work but i keep pushing. Once you're there the marginal cost of another week isn't much.

Usually root around for apartments or basic hotels with a kitchen of some sort. We both cook and enjoy doing a bit of overtime shopping for food and drink.

Booked up for Grenada next year, last two cheap flights which saved £1k! Let's hope it's not cancelled.

Parents used to go down to Spain for NYE and come back in April; staying with friends initially.
 
My parents used to run a guesthouse in Blackpool. One winter they closed for the season and went to Cyprus for a few weeks. Bored out of their minds, never repeated it. Certainly didn’t even think about it in their retirement.
Perhaps a small island wasn’t the best place for them to be.
 
I see a lot of retirees drink themselves to death. Wherever you go you must be able to keep yourself occupied

indeed. When I was working in Dubai, I have never seen am expat community drink so much. My mates at the men's college, had cupboards full of hoarded vodka which they got through pretty swiftly.

I witnessed similar in Subang and in Penang, but not quite as extreme.
 
I am a French resident and so far Menton looks like the place to retire for me. If I did not have a residential permit, I'd stay put in UK in terms of paperwork and then do 3 months in UK, 3 months somewhere else in airbnb apartments. Repeat to coffin.
This is the solution that makes sense. Especially post Brexit with healthcare concerns. If I had the funds and time (I'm working on the former, the latter will arrive) then I'd stay in Europe and globe-trot around according to the climate. Going where the climate suits my clothes. So November - December - January would be southern Spain or maybe Greece. Not all Greek islands are the same, I've spent time on Kalymnos (near Kos) and apart from a wet month in November it's OK in the depths of winter.
Mar - May is France. UK in summer. Eastern France, Bavaria, Austria in autumn. I know in Spain out of season in places like Calpe (Alicante area) you can rent a nice flat for a week for £200 or so. Less still in Benidorm, or in the hills. Retain a small place in the UK as a base.
 
Mrs T was always keen to have bolt hole somewhere warm where she could spend part of the winter months. I was never too hot on the idea as 2 weeks away from home was my limit. After that I had run out of things to do and wanted back to my familiar surroundings.

I would always suggest that people have an extended trial to see if the reality matched the dream. You also need to consider how you might cope with the loss of a partner or infirmity late in life

I can't quite understand the 60 year olds escaping to the country. Even a short distance from town creates problems if you are unable to drive for any reason. Social care support is more difficult to arrange in rural areas. We moved into town before we had any issues and it was a blessing during Heather's illness.
 
Going where the climate suits my clothes.
In our countries, we have grown up with the rhythm of the seasons. I guess this is a thing I would miss after a while in, say, the south of France. Winters ? Anytime, but they must be cold.
 
This is the solution that makes sense. Especially post Brexit with healthcare concerns. If I had the funds and time (I'm working on the former, the latter will arrive) then I'd stay in Europe and globe-trot around according to the climate. Going where the climate suits my clothes. So November - December - January would be southern Spain or maybe Greece. Not all Greek islands are the same, I've spent time on Kalymnos (near Kos) and apart from a wet month in November it's OK in the depths of winter.
Mar - May is France. UK in summer. Eastern France, Bavaria, Austria in autumn. I know in Spain out of season in places like Calpe (Alicante area) you can rent a nice flat for a week for £200 or so. Less still in Benidorm, or in the hills. Retain a small place in the UK as a base.
If you did Nov, Dec, Jan in the EU you would not be allowed back in before July.
 
It depends where our kids end up but I can’t see us moving too far, been in Medway for 20 years now. I’d like to live by the sea again, my current favourites are Rye and Hythe. I’ve got a few years to go yet, I’m currently 54. No plans to retire and I’d like to work as long as I can in some capacity.

Cheers BB
 
Just for comparison my US health insurance (me + wife + daughter) is over $2000 per month, and we must still pay $1500 each out of pocket each year of any major health expense (Dr office visits are $40 per visit out of pocket). Heaven forbid we need an ambulance ride because most ambulance companies do not contract with health insurance companies so a ride to the hospital can be an extra $2k+. But, freeeedum !!!
I guess I should have mentioned that we take the maximum possible franchise (deductible, I guess you'd call it) of CHF2500, which brings down the monthly payments to the level quoted. That is, we must pay the first CHF2500 of any annual medical bills before the insurance kicks in. It pays, IIRC, 90% of the costs. However, the maximum you can pay per person per year is around CHF3500, and everything above that is covered. So, Mrs. Tones's two operations (one to remove one-third of her large intestine because of a tumour, the second to join everything back together again some weeks later), plus hospital after-care, cost around CHF3500. From what I've heard, I shudder to think what that would have cost in the USA, even with insurance.
 
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In our countries. we have grown up with the rhythm of the seasons. I guess this is a thing I would miss after a while in, say, the south of France. Winters ? Anytime, but they must be cold.
Funnily enough, the seasons were the thing I missed most in my 7 years in Saudi’s Eastern Province. Humidity like you wouldn’t believe for a few weeks in autumn, some rain in January to March, and that was about it. It could be 20°c on Christmas Day, 50°c in July, but it all looked the same.
Oh, nearly forgot: harvesting the dates, which took a few days.

Following the seasons in Suffolk, through our living room window, is comforting. I’d miss it.
 
In our countries, we have grown up with the rhythm of the seasons. I guess this is a thing I would miss after a while in, say, the south of France. Winters ? Anytime, but they must be cold.

Winter is always accessible in the South of France by a short drive into the Alps.

There's quite a lot of skiing in the mountains in Ardeche and you can extend the season by crossing the river to the Alps.

My 7 year old granddaughter is already a competent skier.

Summer is setting in now, high 20s but it will soon be serious summer.

Wish i'd bought a farm there 40 years ago.
 
I see a lot of retirees drink themselves to death. Wherever you go you must be able to keep yourself occupied
one of our family got dementia caused by alcohol , elderly chap on 14 bottles a week . Local hospital had to dry him out but the damage was done.
 
The problem with bolt holes or holiday homes is they need maintenance and can be a worry . Also the insurance often demands inspection every 30 days which can be a real pain in lockdowns !!!
 


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