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

Sounds amazing OP but I would agree with this advice.

I know there’s been a lot of focus on the house, but I think you need to look at your career and what else you can be doing.

I think you should look at retraining in something that will be a portable career, so you can travel and do
it.

your current plan basically allows you to travel a bit, but at some point you’ll be coming back to Ireland penniless and in a worse off situation than now.

I know life is for living, but it would be shit to be poor as an old person.

you could sell the house, use some money to retrain and then travel. Or train when you travel- this will mean you have something to show for your time away.

• you could train as a yoga teacher in India.
• train in IT skills that you can do from a laptop anywhere.
• train as electrician/ plumber - your skills would be useful anywhere and you’d have something to fall back on.
• get some formal English teaching qualification

Sounds fabulous, crack on.

I'd be worried I'd be trading an amazing 40s for an crap and impoverished 70s, particularly if you haven't got a dual income currently, or future kids that could put you up if you needed it.

I'd want to think about what I needed for my long term happiness in terms of investments, pension. I'd also want to think of some sort of passive income to help that, or as someone else said- a portable career.

I think the potential for financial insecurity would destroy the fun of travelling for me, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly to tell me "YOLO" and "you could get hit by a bus tomorrow, don't worry about it!"

You had a shit time last time you went travelling:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4608776-anyone-inherit-money-and-it-wasnt-good-for-you

Think carefully - why do you think it will be different this time?

Ugh, OP, you’re at serious risk of squandering your entire inheritance. Get some financial advice before you do anything.

Go for it! We've hosted workaways for 12 years now, some who are 'professional' travellers and it's a wonderful way to live. Who knows where your new life will take you??

Sell the house for €90
Buy one of those flats you like for €80 and rent that out instead.
Go travelling.

90,000 obviously

Please rent out, owning a house isn't meant to make you happy it's security for life. Imagine coming back from travelling and all your money is spent and you have to find x amount per month for someone else. Imagine at the moment if you lost your job and have no savings but the house was paid off. It would be a struggle with no job to pay rates, insurance and water etc etc. remortgage it take out 20k and travel until that is finished then come back after a while to your house with a relatively minimal mortgage. Even getting the deposit for a house is near impossible nowadays. Please please reconsider this. My friend sold hers for travel. She is now stuck paying 890 pcm for an apartment,fighting with her landlord who wants to put it up to 950, with a family of 4 kids beneath her who don't go to sleep until they fall down. 20k is a lot of money for travel. Please please rethink this I know life is for living but you are in a fantastic position to have the best of both. Please speak to a mortgage adviser say it's for home improvements then speak to a letting agent. DO NOT SELL THIS HOUSE xxxxx I really wish you well xxxx

This .
I'd absolutely follow your dreams but I'd never give up the security of my own home incase things went pear shaped or ill.
Rent your house out and use the rental income and savings to travel .

You have a wonderful opportunity. Go do it op.
No ties, and a skill you can use anywhere in the world.
You could rent your house out to fund your travelling. Selling up gives you a huge pot which you might find easy to spend. But pay as you earn puts a decent reign on you. Plus at least a something somewhere to return to.... Even if you decide to eventually sell up and buy elsewhere. Roots matter.
Have a wonderful time.

Rent the house out, get insurance/a good agency

Do a mix of working in different counties and travelling so your CV can build a bit too?

Yes , live your life for now, but ideally in a way that builds the foundations of a new good long term future too

Oh op...

Have you had any counselling?

Sounds amazing. Do it while your still young and enjoy

From this and your other thread, it sounds like you are struggling to readjust to life at home, so you almost want to run away again. Like you don't feel settled. But i don't think heading off again will fix that.

I also ran away for a while when I was younger, there was family stuff going on and I travelled abroad for a few years by myself. It was great in a way, but also lonely, and I realised I couldn't run away from myself. I was still me, I still felt how I felt, even though my landscape had changed.

I would urge you to get some counselling as suggested by a previous poster. It may help you sort out your feelings around the inheritance and the guilt that comes with that and get some direction.

Aim to build a good life where you are, instead of always running to the next thing. Try and set down roots somewhere - it doesn't have to be the house you're in if you don't want to live there.

Have you still got some money left from your inheritance or is it just the house? Maybe buy something more modern in a bigger city, where there are more people to meet.

You have plenty of options.