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Original poster

Retiring and selling house - mad idea?

10 replies

JustPhoningIn · 23/09/2026 20:57

Coming up to early retirement in the next few years. Own my house outright - no mortgage - and live alone. Kids are grown up and settled in jobs.

I would like to spend the first few years of retirement travelling around the UK and EU while my health is still ok. In my head I have visions of setting off in my car and spending a week or so in one area before moving on to the next place. Or perhaps spending a month or so in different towns in the UK to decide if I would like to settle there long term.

Leaving the house unoccupied for months on end seems like a stupid idea particularly over the winter. So I had thought about selling up, sticking the money in an investment account and using part of the returns to fund my travels.

Does anyone want to persuade me that this would be a stupid idea? I'm not thinking of doing it forever and I would probably buy again at some point but maybe that would be in 2 years or 5 years?

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Empress13 · 25/09/2026 09:38

What if you became ill and had to cut short your travelling? No way would I sell
my house too risky

TheSandgroper · 24/09/2026 02:59

Adding further, what you are proposing to do is called being a Grey Nomad here in Australia. It’s a big industry. If you join a couple of websites, you will get loads of information about what all to think about and plan for.

TheSandgroper · 24/09/2026 02:53

My 2c worth. Have a look around at where you may like to end up living. Somewhere with good transport links, a hospital not far away, walk to shops easily etc. Can you downsize to buy a small, cheaper house there? This will free up some cash and keep you with a base. In Australia, older women are the fastest growing cohort in the homelessness space. Don’t be one of those.

How do you propose to travel? A small caravan or a campervan may be an expense upfront but pay for itself in cheaper accommodation and still have a value when you are more prepared to settle down.

Growlybear83 · 23/09/2026 21:18

I think it sounds very exciting and wish we had been brave enough to do something like this!

jonnybriggswasgreat · 23/09/2026 21:17

I think this is a great idea but you should keep an eye on the property market and also keep enough money to buy a house in a good area wherever that is. Personally I don’t see house prices ever going up exponentially as we’ve seen over the last couple of decades.

Original poster
JustPhoningIn · 23/09/2026 21:05

AmazonAntiqueStore · 23/09/2026 21:02

How will having no permanent address affect things like healthcare, banking, general life admin stuff?

Can use a family member's address.

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Original poster
JustPhoningIn · 23/09/2026 21:04

CopiedMyBlottingBook · 23/09/2026 21:00

The obvious risk with buy again is that you don't know what's going to happen to the housing market.

Would letting your house be an option?

Seems like a lot of hassle and risk if you're out of the country half the year. Plus would almost certainly want to sell it to move to a different part of the country. Don't feel emotionally attached to the house.

OP posts:
AmazonAntiqueStore · 23/09/2026 21:02

How will having no permanent address affect things like healthcare, banking, general life admin stuff?

Sally2791 · 23/09/2026 21:02

I would be more comfortable if it was rented, more secure

CopiedMyBlottingBook · 23/09/2026 21:00

The obvious risk with buy again is that you don't know what's going to happen to the housing market.

Would letting your house be an option?