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

I’m from the same area, most of those would be crappy Celtic Tiger apartments.

If that’s what you want then great and you will see from my other posts that I’m
not saying not to go but I think you need a bit of a longer term plan if you’re going to sell up and ship out.

Inflation? Cash depletes in value.

I know. It's hard to know what the best thing to do is.

Honestly I don't particularly want to come back to Ireland.
I haven't been happy really since I came back to Ireland.

But I was just thinking - in case I change my mind in a years time, I'll try to keep enough money to be able to buy a 1 bed flat in Ireland if I want to come back

Don't sell your house, op. You're in a very, very fortunate position in owning it outright. It's a valuable asset that you might regret selling if you want to return to Ireland after travelling. You know as well as I do how bad the housing market is here. You might never be able to afford to buy, but with the scarcity of rental properties you might have difficulty finding somewhere to rent also. And rents have gone crazy.
Rent your house out and go travelling. It's a valuable asset and you can make it work for you. Please don't sell it. I understand your restlessness in turning 40, but in a few years from now you might view things differently and you might be thankful that you have a little home of your very own to return to.

Even if you choose not to live in it if you return, the rental income would help towards your rent somewhere else.
What county do you live in?

Personally I wouldn’t sell the house. I would go travelling or go live so where else but I wouldn’t sell up. It’s your security

I follow lots of travelling communities on Facebook

Solo travelers
Work while travelling
Property sitters
Van life
Interail
Work at camp sites
Swap your property, so you go to stay at someone's home & they come to stay in your home

Find your tribe

Make it work for you !

Another alternative is that you work for 6 months or X amount of months in Ireland, then travel for Y months, then repeat. I know some people who do this & it works for them. Then you get to keep your property.

I’d sell the house and buy the flat now. Then you can either lock up and leave it knowing it’s in a secure block or rent it through an agency. Then travel!

Do it. I went when I was 30 and best thing I ever did. But keep your house. I very nearly bought before I went but with purchase delays decided not to as thought renting it out would be a hassle. Biggest financial mistake I ever made. Speak to different estate agents about what checked they would put in place to ensure your experience of renting is not the same as your mother's.

Rent out your house. Don't sell it.

Let, don't sell.

Then in a few years sell when you know where you want to be.

Have you looked into what SEAI grants are available to make your house more energy efficient?
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/housing-grants-and-schemes/grants-for-a-home-energy-upgrade/

https://www.seai.ie/grants/

Go for it. Don’t worry about the house, just sell it. You may find somewhere abroad you love & decide to stay there. There’s a much more exciting life out there for you!

I feel excited for you just reading this! Go for it and enjoy your life.

100% do not sell your house. Where will you live when you're old? You could spend the next 30 years trying to pay off another mortgage, or otherwise get stuck paying ever increasing rents at the mercy of a landlord.

I would rent it out, travel, then sell it when you return and buy a home somewhere you really love.

Hi my house doesn't meet the standard to rent it out. There are strict rental standards. It's an old house. The house doesn't have central heating, which I've been told is required to rent it out.

Yes I know it's important in one way to have a house.

But there are other alternatives to living in fifties and sixties , without owning a house. When I was abroad before, I met fifty year old English teachers, where the school paid for their room in the school.

Or I also met 40 year old English teachers, who were just working in schools abroad and renting a small studio flat that didn't cost much

Oh thats interesting. I'm annoyed I didn't see that before.

I don't know where I was looking before , but when I was looking at grants to do up houses before , I read something like there must be a child living in the house, in order to qualify for the grant.so I thought I didn't qualify.

So anyone can qualify for those SEAI grants?

This.

I had the option to do something similar at 40ish (now 44). But then I remembered my parents, who DID do something similar moving abroad when I was a child and my mother ended up back here with me, a broken marriage and homeless, when I was 14.

No way would I ever give off a permanent home and secure employment for the insecurity of low-paid ESL teaching abroad and living in a rental with multiple other people (as that's all you'll be able to afford). Not saying don't go, but find a way to keep the home.

People saying don't sell the house, it's great to own a house. But is it great to own a pretty run down house in an area I hate living in.

I don't know - you never know with any decision you make. But my gut feeling is telling me to sell the house.

I can then - either go and work a broad for a year.
Or I can go rent a room in a bigger city in Ireland for six months, work full time , then apply for mortgage to buy a better house in a better area.

But I need to move in some direction. And get out of this town

But there are other alternatives to living in fifties and sixties , without owning a house. When I was abroad before, I met fifty year old English teachers, where the school paid for their room in the school.

I knew a fifty something year old ESL teacher a few years ago. She was only doing her CELTA for the first time at that point though she'd been working abroad as a ESL teacher for many years - low paid despite all her experience because no CELTA.

She was keen to return to the UK at that point because she was getting older and starting to experience health problems that she wanted to be able to access NHS care should they deteriorate further. But she couldn't afford to buy in the UK and even rentals in this part of the country were beyond her scant savings. She had no skillset beyond teaching English and was staying with her sister whilst she did the CELTA course and looks for paid employment in the UK (so far, no luck). She felt she had little choice except to return abroad to teach, which she didn't want to do anymore.

Have a look through the website and you'll find out about what's available to you. You said yours is an old house so you should be eligible for a few of the grants. This page is a summary:
https://www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/

Ok, so if the house is unrentable and you can‘t afford to upgrade the heating, why not sell it for 90,000 and then buy a flat somewhere for 80,000 and then rent THAT out?

I know there would be some fees involved, but that way you‘re still getting a monthly income, you still have some security for either later in life, or if you just decide to come home,or if in a few years you decide you never want to come home but know where you want to settle, you could sell it at that point?

The house sounds like a millstone round your neck. Owning a house isn’t the right thing for everyone. I’d sell it & be free.

The problem with renting out a property is that you might quite suddenly need thousands of pounds (euros) to fix something for example if the boiler breaks or there's an issue with something else. I've been renting out a flat for some years now and found there were always lots more repair and maintenance costs compared to properties I've lived in myself. Partly because I would live with something tenants wouldn't accept and partly because they don't look after a property the same way they would if it was their long term home.

I'm just getting out of being a landlord and would say it's really only for people who have a fair bit of money in savings and other assets.

Somehow I doubt the rental income from a small flat in Ireland would be that much anyway.

I would sell the house but invest most of the money so it continues earning interest during the years you're travelling. Worst case scenario you come back and get an entry level job that just about covers your living costs. Best case scenario you go abroad and have amazing experiences and new opportunities open up for you. Yes, it makes sense to have a long term plan but in your situation at 40 and with no plans to start a family why wouldn't you take a bit of a risk? There's more to life than getting through the years, week by week, and working just to pay the bills.

I'm also 40 and about to do something quite different (also very different from your plans) and also don't have children and I think it is a bit of a now or never moment at this age to step out of the ordinary and take a chance...

Reading through your idea does make me quite envious and I do think that sounds great in your 40s, 50s, 60s, probably well into your 70s and maybe even 80s but having seen quite a few neighbours, parents and in-laws go from really active to needing full time care within a matter of months, what is your plan to deal with that?
I think that is a bigger question than whether or not to sell the house TBH