‘We’ve got a mortgage, it’s small, but we don’t know how to pay it out.’ That’s what a recently-retired client couple told me, and asked, ‘What can we do?’
Jill Weeks, the co-author of Where to Retire in Australia talks about how to work out where to retire. Long involved in the retirement industry, she’s researched and understands what’s involved in this decision. She has also written 21 Ways to Retire, co-authored Retire Bizzi and is a regular contributor to ABC radio.
Would you, should you retire interstate? In Australia, it seemed that in the 1970s there were many ‘southerners’ (particularly from Victoria) travelling up the Newell Highway in record numbers to live in Queensland. Now Tasmania may become the ‘Florida’ of Australia. The Apple Isle is likely to attract many who want to retire there.
Have you thought about moving to a peaceful tourist area in your retirement? Or perhaps you’re looking for a place that is busy and welcomes tourists throughout the year. It’s a good idea to think about the advantages and disadvantages of moving to a tourist area.
Moving at any stage of life can be challenging. There’s so much to think about and do. That includes making lists, advising people, institutions, and companies of your new address, and wondering what to keep, what to donate and what to throw away.
Statistics can give an indication of what an area is like in terms of a median age. But there’s nothing like going and researching an area well before retirement to see if it appeals.
The choice of where to live in retirement is important. So is getting it right the first time because it can be costly to sell up and move again if you make the wrong decision.
One of the dangers about deciding where to live in retirement is to pick a favourite place—often a holiday destination you’ve enjoyed—without enough thought. This can be a problem, particularly if you’ve only ever been there in the holiday season.
A growing number of people are retiring outside of Australia, with some Asian countries being popular choices. For some, it’s because the cost of living is much lower there. Others are moving back to where they lived during an earlier phase of life.
Where do you retire? Stay? Move? Downsize? Rightsize? Do you move interstate or overseas? There are so many factors to consider when rating ‘best’ places and we will all have different items on our lists.