My life seems too easy, don’t know if I’m in for a shock at some point. So many seem to be burnt out and looking forward to retirement, also talking about the country being shite, and I just can’t relate at all.
What’s prompted this post is a senior at work retiring (early, maybe 57) and belly aching from others saying they can’t retire due to mortgage or expenses. I tend to go along with the chat for smooth relationships but inside I squirm a bit. I bought a property early 20s (in the 2010s). When I bought I overpaid on the mortgage a lot. I inherited late 20s after death of parent and paid off the mortgage and had some besides so invested elsewhere. I’ve not had a mortgage for well over a decade.
My siblings decided to upsize with their inheritance. I didn’t because paying off the mortgage just seemed easier - the cost and hassle of moving wasn’t worth a better house especially at a very difficult time. To be clear I’d far rather have kept my parent than inherited. I still grieve their loss profoundly, I miss them every single day.
Shortly after I moved abroad for fun for a year or so and then the UK to have DC. In primary years I moved specifically to where quality of life is good and housing costs low, and could learn other language and culture, especially for DC. We went to a neighbouring country to explore more and learn a slightly different language and see more of the world. I moved back to give my DC a bit of experience in the UK in secondary and now as they are getting towards end of secondary I’m moving back to what they consider their home country to ‘launch’ them to adulthood.
I’m plagued with doubt I suppose about moving abroad again, possibly because I don’t have a parent to use a a sound board for my thoughts. Possibly I think I’ve missed come critical planning point and it’s a huge mistake to give up a solid job (again) for more adventure for myself and DC. I believe that my life seems to be easier than most and I’m worried I’ve missed something. I don’t have an especially big pension. I love my job (HCP) and going to work. I get a buzz from it every day. Earn average. I don’t plan on ever retiring, honestly I love my daily life. I have critical illness insurance if I can’t earn due to disability or illness.
I have saved a lot of money and it’s made my life much easier. My siblings have DC and much much better paid jobs and seems to find things hard. Things I think make it harder: too many pets, extra curricular clubs, tutors, big houses, expensive furniture, long haul holidays. I’ve avoided all of these and feel I have lots of spare capacity. I don’t stress about the state of the country; I moved around a lot as a child and have not got huge attachment to the UK. However generally speaking I think it’s doing average or well comparative to most places I’ve lived. Certainly I think people have lots of options and freedoms here. I just can’t relate at all to talk of civil unrest - living in Northumberland helps, it’s almost blissful I find. In terms of partner, I’ve been lucky in that my husband left me when my DC were little. I was crushed at the time. He has very little to do with them now and allows me to have almost total freedom to make decisions. I’d prefer to have a more traditional family set up for my kids’ sake, but I can't force him.
I want to improve my language skills and study more - I am aware of cognitive and physical decline and would rather invest in preventing this than earning/saving slightly more money. I don’t feel I need to stress about pension and daily grind, but on the other hand… my priorities and perspective almost feel wrong, at least at odds with the accepted reality.