To do something totally different at 40

[Mooshamoo]

I'm 39. I live alone. I live in Ireland. I own a small house outright from an inheritance.

I'm very lonely and I'm not happy really.

I was considering doing something really radically different than most people do in their forties.

When I was in my early thirties I backpacked around the world for two years and I really enjoyed it.

I have my house up for sale and I just had an offer on it. I will get about 90k. It's a v small house.

I am considering using the money to go and travel for a couple of years around the world . In my forties. If I stay in the cheaper countries I can eek the money out. I will also volunteer at points on workaway com, so I will stay in those places for free.

I would leave my current full time job. But I also work a couple of hours part time in English teaching which I could do from anywhere. Which would help to sustain me.

It's not the normal thing to do in your forties I know, but part of me really wants to do it. The cons are I won't be building up a career in Ireland - like I'll never get to manager level in a sensible career. I know when I went travelling for a couple of years in my early thirties and I came back, I was kind of at the bottom of the ladder sensible careers in Ireland. IE "years of travel" does not look great on your CV.

I also think it's a little irresponsible to choose a different path to the norm in your forties.

However part of me really wants to do it. What do you think. I've no kids and I am single

The older you get the harder it is to get a job because you’re competing with younger, fitter and more recently trained graduates.

If home ownership isn’t for you, and you don’t want to rent, would you consider investing the 90k or even 60k for the future.

Why don‘t you start by planning to do a year and see how you go? Rent your house out for a year, use the income to fund your travelling, but have a fixed time on it. After that year you can see whether you‘ve "got it out of your system" or if it‘s a lifestyle you want to pursue. You might also at that point have a better idea of what renting is like vs selling up. You could always choose to sell at that point if necessary, but I think a guaranteed income every month is better than a lump sum when you have no idea how long it will last.

If the house is already paid outright, you could always get a small loan to set you up/get plane tickets etc, but that can be covered by the rent payments.

Basically, like someone else said life is for living. I am 44 and someone I know my age died last week. I also have 3 other friends/husbands of friends who have died in the last few years and it makes you think.

And in terms of CVs, if you volunteer and have jobs while you‘re travelling, that would absolutely be something you could put on your CV.

Good luck!

You can rent your house our through an agency with a guaranteed income plan so that the risk is on them if the tenant defaults. So they manage it properly and vet the tenant carefully.
I do agree you should probably hold onto your house if you can.

I say go for it. £90k for one person could last you a good while if you are sensible with it and travel cheap, especially if you are supplementing with part time teaching. You don't know what other jobs you may find along the way that could provide a few weeks or months of income.

Owning property isn't the be all and end all and renting isn't guaranteed income. Life is for living and having this opportunity when you are young enough and able enough to enjoy it is amazing. Enjoy your travels :)

Go for it OP!! As for the sale / rent honestly it's a risk either way depending on the economy and who is in government when you come back so just go with your heart. If you do not ever plan to live in this town then it doesn't matter. If selling definitely keep a nice % hidden away to cover deposit on a rental and a couple of months rent while you find your feet if you return. You may find a happy fulfilling life somewhere else and never come back only to visit! Best of luck.

Agree with this.
I think it's a great idea, but I think giving up your house might be a bad move.
Houses are a lot cheaper in many countries, so there is that to consider.

This. Don't spend your capital travelling. Going away sounds like a great plan but try to fund it through your teaching, some rental income and living in places for free in exchange for work. Good luck.

Do it!!!!!! You've already got some experience in ELT which is great but is it only online?
If I was starting out I'd go somewhere I wanted to be and take the 4 week intensive CELTA (if you go onto the Cambridge or IH website you'll see a list of places running the course. They run in most countries so you should be able to find somewhere.
Also look at tefl.com for current vacancies though be careful of those who don't want qualifications as you could end up working for virtually nothing, dodgy contracs and no legal work visa. Also note that some countries do require a degree for visa purposes.
As for the house..... I know exactly how you feel... there are millions of horror stories about places that have been trashed plus you need to 100% rely on your estate agent to manage everything.

One thing I will say, keep a permanent address. If you come back and rent its a nightmare if you've spent the last few years overseas and you may need to provide 6 months /a years rent upfront.

Good luck

I wouldn’t rent the house, but seeing as there’s no mortgage on it I wouldn’t sell it to fund your travel either. You will need some form of pension when you’re older and unable to travel/work. Keep your address/bank account etc.

My advice would be to speak to an independent financial advisor to make sure you’ll be comfortable in later years and then travel and work to fund as you go.

This is the other reason that I was thinking that I can't rent my house.
I don't think it meets the criteria in Ireland to rent it out .

It is an old house , and there is no proper central heating. The radiators are heated by lighting an open fire. A back boiler in the fire heats the radiators. It is pretty inefficient at the best of times.

I have small mobile electric radiators around the house for heat

To rent out a house in Ireland it says that it must have adequate heating .

So I don't think I can rent it.

Whoever buys it , will be buying the house to do it up and renovate it

I love travelling too, so I understand the pull to travel

Have you considered buying a camper van or do you plan to travel further locations ?

I have rented out my property via an agency, but you will need money for repairs, tax, emergencies etc. I rented it for a different reason.

If you sell, you could put
3rd in a pension or savings that grow over time
3rd to travel & work
3rd emergency fund

Will you be paying your National Insurance contributions so that you will still be eligible for a full state pension at 67, 68 while you travel ?

I have seen some paid jobs for English teachers in Asia with accommodation. However, I've met volunteers too.

Age 54, 64, 74 may look very different

Yes, travel, but make some plans for your future !

I'd sell the house. Park the money in the bank (you shoudl be able to get 5% interest rate these days, which will give you almost 5000 a year). It doesn't sound like you'll ever want to live there again anyway. Let it go.

Try to fund your travels with work and only dip in to the money if you have to. Then re-assess in a years time where you're at.

I think you should speak to a financial advisor on how to make your assets work best for you. Gradually eating through all your house / savings doesn't seem very sensible, but maybe you could sell and use a little money for the initial flights and then invest the rest in such a way that you get some income in dividend payments.

Yeah I'm not planning to live off the savings. I'm going to work online while I travel. And hopefully not eat much into the money from the house.

However it will make a huge difference to my travel experience knowing that I have money to dip into if I need it.

But yes I know it's still not the most financially responsible thing to do.

I might sell the house , go travel for a year and work online. So I still have the money from the house. And then after a year I can see how it's going. If I think it's worth it to travel longer, or if I should use the money to come back and buy a house in a different part of Ireland .

Thanks for that

Please do it! You never know what opportunities and encounters await…

I don’t think selling to reconsider in a year if you should come back and use the money to buy in another part of Ireland is a good plan.

You will need a job and six months of accounts to apply for a mortgage. You’ll be constrained by the Central Bank rules of 3.5 times your salary. Stamp duty and solicitor fees and money to set up home will eat into your savings and don’t forget there’s still a massive under supply of housing in Ireland, that’s not going to be remedied in a year.

In short I think from what you’ve said you’ll struggle to get back on the property ladder unless you’re planning to buy in the back of beyond.

No point in keeping the house if it isn't somewhere you want to return to. I don't see house prices being very stable for the next couple of years. But I would try and put most of the capital away somewhere safe and keep 20-30k for travelling. If you work as well and live simply that should be enough.

Have fun, you never know what is out there waiting for you.

First things first - make sure your 90k is making you an income, whether that is letting out your house or investing the money. Try not to eat into your capital, because the more capital you have the more you can grow it. This is the financial basis for you being able to travel.

Secondly, find a community of people doing the same thing. There are communities for everything out there. As a start I would recommend joining the women’s only group Love Her Wild on Facebook, most of them are doing things like wild camping and wild swimming in the U.K., but there is knowledge and support for women travelling solo abroad and making their living through teaching, writing or adventure.

Thirdly, go for it! I had a change of direction in my early 40s, nothing as big as yours, but nearly 10 years later it has given me more enjoyment and satisfaction than I ever expected. Your life may go in a different direction to the way people around you feel it ought to, but don’t let other people’s expectations dictate how you live your life. If you find yourself not enjoying something, change it and do something different instead.

Good luck and have fun!

Oh and you’ll only be able to get a 25 year mortgage at most at your age now, will be less on a couple of years and interest rates are going up.

You need to speak to a financial advisor.

If I was buying, I wouldn't get a mortgage. I would just buy somewhere for under 90k. I'm from the Midlands of Ireland originally. There are a lot of flats there being sold for 80-85k.

I won't be getting a mortgage.

Where in the midlands in Ireland are there lots of flats being sold for that? I think you would be lucky to get anything not derelict.

Life is short. Do it. Do what makes you happy. Yes it's sensible to stay in a home you own outright, of course it is. But if sensible is miserable/unhappy for you then that's no good. You don't want to end up with regrets e.g. 10 years down the line still in the same house/small town/job etc looking at 50 years of age and still miserable. Grab this opportunity and go for it. As long as you keep yourself enough money to rent somewhere and get back on your feet etc if you choose to return then you'll be fine. Good luck with your adventure OP 😊

I just had a quick look online. Longford town has five flats advertised for under 90,000.

They are around the 80,000 price mark.
And I know the buildings, they are nice.