Pack in the job, rent out the house, get in the camper van, fuck off

[GotTheBug]

WIBU to do the above?

We have a house with a small mortgage, stable but unfulfilling jobs, a camper van and itchy feet. Some savings (but not a huge amount!) No kids at home, one ageing but currently still independent parent nearby. Both of us early 50s and healthy.

We have talked about doing this for years and I'm increasingly starting to think that we should do it now before we get any older - also I'm aware that my DF may need us around more in the years to come. I guess I'm worrying that if we leave it another 10 years/wait until retirement we'll have missed the window.

Obviously leaving the job and renting out the house are massive steps and that scares me - so much to potentially go wrong. But at the same time, life is for living, right? We could rent out the house easily I think - seaside location, an hour from London on the train - and the rent would pretty much cover our travel expenses. DH could take a career break for a year or so much more easily than I could, though, and we'd be pretty skint on our return.

Would we be mad to do this, or mad not to?

We did something similar albeit working abroad. I would echo considering selling the house prior to taking off. We didn't and even with a letting agent, maintaining the house and worrying about making sure tenants were in place was an ongoing stress, which did take some of the fun out of the experience. Plus when we returned we couldn't settle back into the old house/neighbourhood, so ended up moving on relatively quickly anyway.

It's do-able but...I think you are both quite young to pack in work for a year.

Personally, I think you are overestimating how 'tired' you might feel if you did this later and were older.

The couples we know who do this are early 60s or post-65 and retried. They are still 'young' and energetic.

Have you looked at the impact of taking time out on your pensions? Presumably your H will have a good pension being a teacher.

Why would he want to go back to it if he finds it unfulfilling now?

Your savings sound quite meagre if they are just 5 figures. That's just into the £10K region? It's not eve enough to tide you over for long if you both lost your jobs for any reason - redundancy or ill health.

In comparison, at your age, we had savings well into 6 figures.

Renting your house out- you need to be aware that tenants have a lot more protection now and if they don't want to leave you would have the hassle of getting them out via the courts.

Airbnb might be a better idea but you'd need to pay for the cleaning etc and have all of the out sourced.

My personal take on this is your H uses his teacher's summer holiday and you take holiday, make it 6 weeks and see how you like it.

I'd say go for it..

A decent letting agency would cover absolutely everything for you..that's how they run a profitable business by taking a nice cut of the rent.

I wouldn't sell until you return, then think about selling and downsizing to get some funds behind you.

This is Mumsnet, so people will get all worried about pensions etc, but the number of people that have waited for the luxuries of retirement then have encountered ill health or very aged parents that stop them enjoying it is a concern for me.

Life is for living, you have each other, go for it!

Personally, I wouldn't pull the trigger on big dreamy plans like this in January, the most miserable and darkest of months, when the temptation is to make grand knee-jerk decisions just to shake off the short term perma-gloom.

Do it! Figure out a way to make a small income while on the road. You could drop ship, make and sell items, work online, the possibilities are endless. I did similar while making and selling jewellery. Made a fortune in the tourist spots!

I did this aged 35 before I had DS (albeit not in a camper, just travelling and casual work around the world) and fully intend to go again once DS leaves home. I've never heard of anyone regret travelling more!

@Porkyporkchop I think you mistyped there “I think about this daily because I have young children”

😉😂

Have all the 'go for it!!' people had experience of being a landlord? Have had to evict people from their home? Had to live in a vehicle?
Moved back to your home country with no job, no home, unable to get a mortgage?
What are the enjoyable aspects to these things?

If your hubby can get a career break, it's a no brainer really. Life is very short. Make sure you get good insurance though.

I would do it (and have done similar with kids) though might consider shorter trip as sabbatical because your mortgage might not allow you to rent out and being a landlord is a massive hassle. We did a shorter trip and didn't bother rent out the house because although the money would have been nice most would have gone in tax and the hassle and risk outweighed it. Appreciate you might not be able to afford this - maybe go over summer and Airbnb house and if you love it then maybe plan a longer trip after that

Adding to my previous post -

You're too young, he doesn't like his job anyway - so who wants a 'jaded' teacher reapplying for jobs in his 50s? Unfair on the students for a start. And your savings are meagre.

This could wait for another 5 years or more.
60 is not old nowadays.

Do it. You may have to budget for NI contributions to keep your pension topped up. I paid voluntary contributions for years, it’s easy to arrange.
There are also lots of opportunities for housesitting, pet sitting to cut down on campsite costs. Look at a site called MotorhomeFun.

I think you should go for it

Is it possible you could ask your employer for a years leave of absence?

There are heaps of places you can stop over for free too

You'll know you can buy nice awnings and porta toilets for your van

Your dp could do online tutoring to increase his earnings

if it all goes Pete tong you can always come home and get a bar job etc there are plenty jobs that take people with no experience

We did this and loved it (but not in a campervan) but will reiterate the renting out advise. Every month we had one thing after another and although we had an agent the renters would want a dripping tap fixed (£80) toilet leaking (wasn't but cost the same to find this out) etc etc any excuse to get out of paying the rent.
Yes they cost us money but glad we did it as my husband became ill and we had to come back to UK but we had travelled the world when we were middle aged and would not have been able to do it later when he was unable to travel.

i know somebody who did this.

the hassle of renting and annoying tenants put them off doing it anymore than a year.

Honestly @GotTheBug - do it! My mum died aged 56 - life is for living.

With your DH being a teacher I bet he could pick up ad hoc online tutoring if needs be. My DD will be tutoring a uk child from NZ during her gap year!

my partners NDN did this. House happily rented out and off they went!

I've been a landlord to our own house when we've moved twice and now own three extra properties. It's not that hard.
Managing agent can do it all for you.

Go OP and have the time of your life.

Yes, I've told DH this. We are both in very good health from a lot of walking and a decent diet. No medications, nothing. I spent three years in my early 50s in a horrible menopause and felt awful, and now feel back to normal, and I just want to get out and about when I can. We were going to buy a smallholding which fell through as the house had massive structural issues, and so, well, we need to do something fun.

We take a walk in the morning in the dark with a torch to accommodate his work schedule, and I'm starting to say...why? Why not walk in the sunshine? We have a nice caravan which we are paying rent to store. Why? Why aren't we using it?

Out of some exasperation, I applied for a fellowship next year to Oxbridge so I could work on a book and get out and about...very surprised I won it. I said, come with me...I have a flat in the college which will accommodate us...let's have fun, enjoy the college dinner, go punting, take minibreaks as we are close to an airport. He'll probably still be at work!

I guess some people don't ever want to retire and want to work till they are dead. That's their choice. I love DH and he is a good man, but I don't think he thought much about retirement, and it is here, and he isn't sure what to do. Easier to keep working I guess. Oh well, I'm going to have fun before I end up being his carer.

we'd be pretty skint on our return.

This is not a sensible thing to do in your early 50s.

I'd say it was do-able if you had 6-figures in savings, over and above £100K.

You could need money for all kinds of things- healthcare, legal fees for the house selling and buying, helping adult children etc.

Yes. Except living out of a tent rather than a vehicle.
I love being on the road. Waking up in a different place every day. Seeing the world and living a simple life. I have no interest in progressing a career, having a bigger house, accumulating money for retirement. The life I want is the one above, so that's what I've chosen. People want and value different things, it shouldn't be that hard to understand.

Do it. No one knows what the future holds. FIL retired at 65 full of plans to travel- he died aged 66. Things work out, I find not doing things scarier than doing them.

Do it!

Rent your house through a good agency and take landlord insurance.

Life is for living.

Ask your job if you can take a sabbatical as well.

Good luck with your adventure!!

I think the people who say wait until your are 60/retirement are often deluding themselves about how much they will be able to do in old age.

I heard stories recently of people having strokes in their early 50s linked to having stressful work lives....

There is no guarantee you will be healthy enough when retired to travel and enjoy life.

But probably not as much as they think! There will be letting agents fees, tax to be paid. They still have a mortgage. Are they planning to do wild camping? If not they will have site fees to pay, petrol/diesel/food to buy. According to OP they only have savings at the lower end of 5 figures so not much to fall back on!

Don't assume a teacher in his fifties will easily get a job, when his salary is a lot more than a new graduate.

I think it's too risky, OP, and wouldn't do it. I'd focus on making my life more interesting now - it won't be any easier to return to jobs you find unfulfilling.

Never underestimate how much you'll need for retirement. For your husband, taking a year off in his fifties will mean he can't stop teaching a year early in his sixties. That would frighten me. (Ex-teacher here.)

This was my plan and dream, then covid happened, then we had a baby. Now it's the plan for later. You'd be mad not to and may regret forever.. or you may be fine letting it go, only you know. Try to ensure some stability. If you rent out your home - get an agency with rent guarantee and full service for no worries. Can you get a sabbatical, you don't ask - you don't get. Can you get a remote job part time to do in the van, to keep something going on your cv? Can your DH do some tutoring while traveling? Can you save up really hard for another 6 months/year to make sure you're comfortable during travels and upon return? etc. Good luck, I'm jealous.