Best Place (world) To Live +50 / Not Working - Opinion, Advice And Discussion

There you go again, you can't help it can you, I ride a Ducati yes, it cost £2,000 !! so what.

 

Wowa bargain

 

Yes - but even those who have a hard life here in UK - have a perfect life compared to some around the world.

I travel a lot for a living and see how good we ALL have it compared to probably 50% of the world...

I also left home at 18 with nothing... our family had no money all through my childhood (father did not work - he was a lazy #)

But I started work at 16 as an apprentice - worked hard - bought a terraced house - continued to work hard so my kids could have a better life than me..

I continued working hard - 60 to 80 hours a week - just like always - at a relatively average UK Eng salary of about 20K (2000) - did my MBA then changed jobs... then i fell lucky.... I was changing jobs again and leaving my company when one of the USA Eng Directors met me for a week... he was shocked I was leaving and offered me a job working for him - travelling...

I managed to double my salary as it meant being away from home a lot... I continued working hard - between 60 and 120 hours a week - all over the world for the company.. now I have a very good salary.. USA Eng Manager level - not UK... still travel a lot ... work same hours.. but get paid more than double what I would get in a normal UK Eng Directors job... so I think to do well for your self you need luck, hard work and being in the right place at the right time.

BUT.. the 100 hour weeks ... different time zones.. lack of sleep... high stress takes a toll... so that's why I am looking to leave at 55 to 57 and putting as much money away as I can to retire... have a reasonable life...with either a number of small businesses or working a 9 to 5 job to keep busy and keep a little income coming in... to top up the income until I get state pension at 67.

My kids live at home - one has a basic jobs (care) with minimum wage as there is not much else.

The second is in Uni - but again when she comes out not much chance of a good job..

That's why I am thinking of the 2 or 3 small businesses so they can take them over later if they are doing well.

Everything me and the family have is from hard work... but I would have half what I have if it was not for the good luck 15 years ago that has mean I got paid USA rates instead of UK rates..

It kills me how much tax I pay as I am PAYE and have no way not to pay... especially when I see what I will get as a state pension... but thats the system and rules and laws we have.... but I would much prefer it than living in China / Mexico / India / Africa...

We all should think how lucky we are... because it was luck you were born in the UK not India or Africa...

 

There are different ways of looking at things and I think I have made my own "luck". I started my own electrical contracting business in 2001 after quitting my job as a director in a large shopfitting company.

I had stopped enjoying the job after 8 years of very long hours and travelling 1000 miles a week.
I had one 8k contract lined up when I started the new business so it was a massive risk.

I worked hard for the next few years and the business grew.

I 2012 I split up with my wife and walked out with 50k for a deposit on a house. I had to think of something to make more money as I had no real pension as such and I could only afford a mortgage of around 100k as my 2 girls were still in fulltime education and I was paying a huge chunk in maintenance.

I borrowed some money and set up a business with a couple of people I knew and we built a few houses. We did that for a couple of years but didn't make a lot out of it but I learned a lot.

I have since stretched myself and bought houses to renovate on my own and I'm on my 3rd one in 3 years. I am living on a building site for the first 6 months of each project so it's not all roses but my mortgage is now nearly paid off and the house I am in at the moment will be worth around 450k when finished.

I put as much as I could afford into a high risk private pension and it is doing well, but it could still go either way.

I am not wealthy but I have a comfortable life now and I put that down to the risks I took which caused me a lot of stress at times.

There is a lot more to this story but I would be writing forever and I'm beginning to bore myself.

 

I recognized (like many) that the government is there to fuck you and if you think for one second that they are going to look after you in your dotage then you're sadly mistaken. I suspect many belonging to the post war/new welfare state generation fell foul of this.
Only exceptions I can think of these days are plod/firemen and the like, who are still very well catered for by central government.
I have always paid the max into any personal/company pension scheme. Yes - I've been 'lucky' enough to be able to afford to.

 

I have read all of this thread this morning and it is relevant to me as I have been retired for about 18 months now. I started out in life with sweet FA and that is what I will take out with me. I have grafted long hours and stayed away from home like many others on here but actually enjoyed it until I got older. Then I sold up and started working for big companies and basically getting paid for turning up and letting those higher up the food chain do the worrying. If you are careful with your money you can live well on very little when the mortgage is paid and the kids have buggered off to start the cycle over again. Nobody ever lay on their deathbed wishing they had worked more overtime!
I am lucky enough to still have life long friends around me that I ride out with, and others that I drink with. If you are just as lucky why move away? In my mind loneliness is the killer. Spain or Portugal or Eastern Europe may be sunnier or cheaper or both but without friends they will soon get tedious. Consider the positives of staying in the Uk before chasing the greener grass abroad. ☀️☔️⛄️

 

Because what suits one person does not suit another. I have lived all over the world as an army brat and the same when I was in the RAF. I see no positives of living in the crowded cold UK and many bikers who visit the continent every year seem to have a similar opinion.
Without friends? I have no problem making friends wherever I am. I have a huge list of them from all over the world.
I would not impose my way of life on anyone else who wants to stay in the UK, but it suits me and many others.

 

So never had a real job then Bob

 

Anyone planning a year around the world type thing? You know, DR350 which goes forever and just do the globe type thing?

 

It's a good thread, it's relevant. The demographics of Ducati riders mean lots of us are thinking about retirement.

In fact I'd say I'm actively working on retiring, I just can't seem to get there. It always seems 2 years away, the finishing line keeps moving. Brexit has certainly messed up my plans. Don't complain, adapt.

As for the good life hard life, luck thing;
If you've got a Ducati, you've got yourself into a good position in life, there's no disputing you're fortunate.

What's wrong with being fortunate after decades of serious study, hard work, forward planning and calculated risk taking? And here we all are doing more research and forward planning.

People say 'You're lucky'. We are lucky but you don't just get lucky. You make your luck.

I'm now going be lucky enough to watch the MotoGP qualifying, because I recorded it yesterday.

 

I had a meeting with the company owner a couple of weeks ago to informally give him very advance notice that I planned to leave the company and retire next year (mid 2019?). I am now looking for my replacement with a view to a handover/mentoring 3-6 months transition. I have said I'll be very flexible and could even be a 3 day week transition. I hope this doesn't back-fire on me but the company has always treated me very well and they reward loyalty so it should be OK. I even had a call from the chairman which was nice.

So I should be a man of leisure posting rideouts and looking to get away for short bike trips next Summer and also out for a riding adventure (off-road) in Peru next year. I can see good times ahead

PS Can we have hot dry Summers 2019-2030 please?