Go on vacation, fall in love, peek into the windows of real estate agents. Then go home and forget everything. So goes the familiar pattern, unless you’re one of the brave few who make a permanent move.
Most of those looking for a new adventure are retirees. There were around 207,300 Britons over 65 living in the Eurozone (excluding Ireland) in 2018, according to the ONS, with many more swapping suburbs for the UK coast or further afield. So, do realities always coincide with dreams?
“When you go on vacation and have an amazing time, you get that lasting honeymoon feeling because it’s an escape from your everyday life,” says Robert Hallums, founder of Experts for Expats. “I think if you fall in love with a place, you should go back and see it at its worst.”
If even the depths of an off-season winter don’t keep you busy, Hallums warns there are other practices to consider. Finance is a good starting point, especially for those moving abroad. “Even if you think you have enough money for a good life, you have to work in case the currency crashes… It’s not just about meeting financial visa requirements, it’s about knowing your quality of life and what that is. “Quality of life is expensive,” he says.
Health is another consideration. “Not all countries will have government healthcare providers, and not all will support pre-existing conditions. “The standard of healthcare can be better or worse, so research is absolutely crucial,” he adds.
Even if everything falls into place, homesickness can be paralyzing. “It can take 18 months to make a place feel like home,” says Amy Morton of expat coaching company Aim Coaching. The important thing is to do as much management as possible beforehand, as well as learn the language and get involved in local community groups, she says. “People think they have FaceTime and can talk to family and friends, but that can make the problem worse,” he notes.
For an inside look, we spoke to retirees from the Isle of Wight, Spain and Mauritius about the good, bad and ugly of turning your favorite holiday destination into a forever home.
“Our normal Sunday routine is walking on the beach and then having brunch at the hotel,” says Steve Argyle. He and his partner Lin moved to Mauritius six months ago after starting retirement in South Africa. The couple is renting a house while building their own property at Heritage Villas Valriche.
“We came on holiday to Mauritius every year for nine or 10 years and absolutely loved it,” explains Steve. “In the UK people think Africa is always warm, but where we live in the Western Cape it was a cold and wet winter. We kept coming to Mauritius because it was hot and sunny and we were like, ‘Should we jump in? ‘Shall we move again and go on another adventure?’”
The couple had spent many happy holidays at the Heritage Le Telfair resort and had inquired about villas at the corresponding residential development next door. Now, while they wait for their own house to be built on the land, they are renting one.
“After traveling all over the island with our relocation guy, we ended up right where we started,” says Steve. “Heritage Le Telfair is my favorite hotel in the world. “Although it is very beautiful, I wouldn’t say it is the most luxurious, but it is incredibly quiet, beautifully kept and right on the Indian Ocean beach.” As residents, they can also benefit from the facility’s restaurants, bars and golf course.
They had not planned to build a house on the island, but since Heritage Villas Valriche did not allow long-term rentals at that time, they decided to purchase a plot of land. “Building a house is quite a challenge,” admits Steve. “My wife was less keen on starting over than I was, but now everywhere we go we’re told, ‘oh, look at those lights’ or ‘look at those curtains.’ “It really gives you something to think about.”
At the end of the project, the couple will own a three-bedroom villa with a 14m pool overlooking one of the fairways on the golf course. But this type of retirement doesn’t come cheap. “Living here at Villas Valriche is probably as close to heaven as it gets, but the entry level is $1.3 million (£1,025,600). You have to have a certain amount of money,” says Steve.
There have been concerns about the manager and money, but no second thoughts. “Even after a pretty difficult time filling out forms and trying to get money out of South Africa (trying to get money out of South Africa, it’s a nightmare!), we haven’t regretted it for a second. ,” he adds.
Ian Dickens and his wife Anne retired to the Isle of Wight in 2018 after previously living in Bedfordshire. “We had a beautiful 400-year-old thatched-roof farmhouse that we occupied most of the time,” says Ian. “Every year something was falling out or rotting and had to be replaced, and we thought, ‘It’s time we downsized.’ This was in Bedfordshire, which is not famous for its coastline.”
Both Ian and Anne were keen sailors who had taken part in parts of the Clipper Round The World race. While Ian was working for the company in Portsmouth, the couple visited the Isle of Wight with friends and realized the property was surprisingly good value.
But there were initial concerns about moving there. “There was concern that we were breaking away from ourselves by moving away from our daughter, our son, our grandchildren. However, we thought that if you live nearby, your family may come and go and you may not be able to spend quality time with them. “Instead, they will live somewhere private and come in the summer, at Easter or during the half-term break and stay all week.”
The couple spent another two weeks on the island before moving. “We took a really slow tour looking at all the villages and trying to understand them,” says Ian. “It felt right as the Cowes area has a large and vibrant sailing community which is important to us. “There are other places on the island where all the houses go dark in the autumn or winter as people disappear from their second homes or holiday homes.”
They settled in Gurnard, a small village just outside Cowes, and began island life. “We volunteer with a lovely group of people at a local vineyard and do some voluntary heavy lifting as we get paid in bottles and not cash,” says Ian.
In 2024, he will play a part in celebrations of the 175th anniversary of his great-great-grandfather Charles Dickens’ four-month stay on the Isle of Wight, where he wrote parts of David Copperfield. The grandchildren will also return for Easter.
“I hope we are passing the baton on to people we will never meet,” says Ian. “When my grandson Joe becomes a grandfather, I’d love it if he said to his grandchildren, ‘We should go to the Isle of Wight because I remember such happy times there.'”
Sandy Crook took early retirement and moved to Spain with his wife Fiona in 2020. The couple currently lives in Alcaucín, Andalusia. “Over the years we rented a few villas and took the kids with us,” she says. “Then we bought a caravan and traveled all over Spain, but we kept coming back to this area.”
The couple loved the comfort as well as the weather in southern Spain. “Malaga airport is 40 minutes away and you are close to the beach,” adds Sandy. Initially, they admit, a visible British presence was delayed. “We were staying in this villa and went to a local shop, it was called Arkwrights. We thought, ‘I would never shop where there was a store called Arkwrights,'” says Sandy.
But eventually the attraction proved too strong, and Mario, the couples’ builder, helped them assimilate into Spanish society. “Actually, there aren’t many expats here, but they use British builders and buy British food. “We were lucky with Mario, who brought us together with all the Spanish tradesmen, and he also became a friend,” he says.
Health insurance has been a stumbling block. Sandy has Parkinson’s disease and although they are very happy with their Spanish healthcare, dealing with insurers is stressful. “Hospitals are great, you can’t blame the nurses. But there is a challenge to deal with with the actual insurance companies,” says Fiona.
Amy Morton of Aim Coaching and a local real estate agent shared their contacts to help them with the wider “Spanish bureaucracy”, but Fiona became homesick. “When you’re in your late 50s, the thought of making new friends and stuff seems pretty daunting, but you do it,” she says.
Three years later the couple is quite settled. They purchased two other local properties to generate income during their retirement and enjoy swimming, walking and motorcycling in their pools. “Every time I leave here now, I want to come back here,” Sandy says.