Leaving the rat race after COVID

[mikeiow]

BigMon said:

I'm in a similar situation. Am currently furloughed but have worked in IT for just over 20 years. I very much enjoy my current role and the employer I work for, but I don't know if my job will be there.

If I get made redundant it's likely that most of any opportunities available will be a substantial commute away and I just don't think I can face a 2-3 hour commute again.

My wife is a self-employed accountant and there seems to be plenty of work available so, if I can't find a suitable IT role, I'm considering a change in career to work alongside her until retirement (I'm 48 this year).

I think there are a HUGE number of people in the IT industry who are of a similar vintage, and perhaps somewhat jaded. I personally know many....& COVID is indeed a spark that could trigger change for many people, some through choice, others perhaps less so as we move relentlessly toward more & more automation, takeover by AWS & cloud IT....

Change is of course, good, & to be embraced.

A week of solid "gym work" (in the garden!) reminded me that a bad day in the outdoors beats a good day in the office, whether that be skiing, hiking or simple hedging: I feel the rapid approach of an escape from the daily grind bearing relentlessly down on me, & it feels good
Meanwhile...just another pay cheque.....just one more....or two...or......

Skyedriver said:

Just a personal story
I've done the retire/part time work twice.

I was in Civil Engineering from 1970 to 2004 which was the first time I (semi)retired. I was 53, just married, new family, relocated to very rural area. Went part time as a postman then gardener.

You'll find firstly that the travel distances become longer. You'll find you are no longer near the facilities you take for granted, be it gym, supermarket, pub, hardwear store etc. Then you'll find the savings aren't lasting as long as expected and I forecasted we would eventually run out.

We relocated to a more industrial area and I found full time work again. This was 2009, I changed job in 2012, finding probably the best job in all my employment, still in Engineering. This lasted until 2018 when at the age of 65 I retired to Scotland again. I was sad to leave but once again we were relocating to a rural area, just not as rural as the last time. Life is relaxed, the family seem happy, I miss a few things like music and motorsport venues and no longer take part in any motorsport.
Funds this time are more secure.
I did however agree with my employer that i'd continue working from home part time and various links were set up. Sadly the clients expected me to be available full time, and the pressures of work became overpowering. Without the company of my colleagues to chat to I felt alone in a room. It quickly became depressing and I stopped.

The move to a new life in the country can be great, but don't be swayed by all the TV programmes, there are downsides, travel, supplies, you can't just pop down the road for a plumbing fitting or length of wood. The roads are so much less busy BUT if you are in a holiday area be prepared for motorhomes, caravans and idiots in hire cars.Rural areas can also suffer poor road conditions, in N Yorkshire the farmers are happy to spread the soil from their fields along the roads making it dangerous for cyclists and motorbikes. In general though the people are friendly, have more time to talk and help.

Get to know your new area BEFORE you move there. Take a few holidays to suss out the area and decide if and which part you want to relocate to. And make sure your finances will cope. Prices of run of the mill stuff can be higher than expected and inflation eats at your finances quicker than you think.

Some great advice here, I feel.
On the first one, when you felt savings would run out - do you think there is anything you could have done, or indeed someone in a similar position could see ahead of time, to ensure that doesn't become an issue?

Sounds like you have it fairly well sussed out now!

For me....it isn't about upping sticks and moving hundreds of miles: we have many good friends (& cycling/volleyball buddies!) locally, and some of those have started on their retirement path....so out current outgoings might well continue apace - we have tried out best to "future-proof" the home......
....but I'm keen to learn any hints & tips ;-)

Edited by mikeiow on Tuesday 7th July 11:46

[anonymous-user]

mikeiow said:

For me....it isn't about upping sticks and moving hundreds of miles: we have many good friends (& cycling/volleyball buddies!) locally, and some of those have started on their retirement path....so out current outgoings might well continue apace - we have tried out best to "future-proof" the home......but I'm keen to learn any hints & tips ;-)

Agreed. I like to be near the UK action and close to airports for getting away. Covid19 has been an absolute PITA with everything shut down at home and abroad.

Manage taxes carefully and use the increased time available to DIY in any area you can. By the time you've avoided 40% income tax and 20% VAT it's staggeringly efficient in terms of your "effective hourly rate".

[Groat]

Invite your teenage kids to sit at your knee, build a big 5 skin cone, and play this LOUD as you pass it around.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pssJVLxyBDA

[Hitch]

Lifeisalemon said:

Yup.



Going to setup my own business after the summer and go part time.

Liberating.

Well done.

Having done this previously I'd recommend getting through some of the bureaucracy around setting up your own business (Companies House, HMRC, bank account, insurances, websites, trade marks etc.) over the next few months whilst you're being paid by someone else.

That way you'll be 'ready to trade' by your target date at the end of the summer. You can do it all on the hoof of course but I found it a drag when I wanted to be focusing on getting customers and doing work.

[The Cardinal]

My life's guiding motto:

You can't be in the rat race if you are not a rat

I think people focus more on the bit about racing and not enough on the bit about being a rat!

[Lifeisalemon]

Hitch said:

Well done.

Having done this previously I'd recommend getting through some of the bureaucracy around setting up your own business (Companies House, HMRC, bank account, insurances, websites, trade marks etc.) over the next few months whilst you're being paid by someone else.

That way you'll be 'ready to trade' by your target date at the end of the summer. You can do it all on the hoof of course but I found it a drag when I wanted to be focusing on getting customers and doing work.

Thanks for this.

Fortunately I have been 'softly' planning this for a while so the above is in hand - just needed to make the final decision to break away from the corporate teat . Now that is done I can fully focus my efforts.

[5pen]

Not strictly COVID related, but the last few months have helped shape my feelings about never wishing to do another 'daily grind' type of job again (not that I've ever had what I would describe as a particularly high pressure job).

I am leaving my current role at the end of September (planned pre-COVID) and have no plan to work again unless I decide I want to. I turned 50 last month. I'll be living from savings and investments until I can take any of my pensions in 5 years time and won't be able to withdraw savings at the rate of my current income of course, but I'm confident I can be content nonetheless.

[Groat]

5pen said:

.........the last few months have helped shape my feelings about never wishing to do another 'daily grind' type of job again (not that I've ever had what I would describe as a particularly high pressure job).

I'm confident I can be content nonetheless.

And how, bro, and how! Just how I felt in 1970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDwbL59GLzo

[XJSJohn]

This is something that has been in the planning stage for a few years now, and has another 4 years to run before all the moves are complete and we can then make our decisions.

Again, like many other posters, i work in IT, again, like many posters here, i have worked many years overseas (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Norway), and again like many posters above, i am mid 40's with a nipper that has many years to go before she finishes her education.

A few years ago we built a holiday / retirement home in Indonesia, we also have several plots of land waiting to be "local income projects" such as boarding houses, (i just need to build them .... )

We also have property in the UK that should be in a very good income generating position within a few years (commercial industrial estate)

we have been back in the UK for 12 months now (couldn't have picked a worse 12 months in retrospect) but i just need to keep my head down and make a "living income" for 4 more years and everything else should line up then it will be off to Java Timor, to project manage building my boarding houses, or whatever they will be, then sit back and drink bintang .....

drink lots of bintang!!!

i hope ....

COVID has definitely reinforced that our current plan is the right move, i just hope that it doesn't have an adverse effect on some of our inflight "projects" and delay things longer.

[Mezger]

XJSJohn said:

This is something that has been in the planning stage for a few years now, and has another 4 years to run before all the moves are complete and we can then make our decisions.

Again, like many other posters, i work in IT, again, like many posters here, i have worked many years overseas (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Norway), and again like many posters above, i am mid 40's with a nipper that has many years to go before she finishes her education.

A few years ago we built a holiday / retirement home in Indonesia, we also have several plots of land waiting to be "local income projects" such as boarding houses, (i just need to build them .... )

We also have property in the UK that should be in a very good income generating position within a few years (commercial industrial estate)

we have been back in the UK for 12 months now (couldn't have picked a worse 12 months in retrospect) but i just need to keep my head down and make a "living income" for 4 more years and everything else should line up then it will be off to Java Timor, to project manage building my boarding houses, or whatever they will be, then sit back and drink bintang .....

drink lots of bintang!!!

i hope ....

COVID has definitely reinforced that our current plan is the right move, i just hope that it doesn't have an adverse effect on some of our inflight "projects" and delay things longer.

Great plan, also an expat, interested in how you got into commercial industrial estate in the UK? I'm also looking for ideas/areas to invest in away from the day job.

[XJSJohn]

Mezger said:

Great plan, also an expat, interested in how you got into commercial industrial estate in the UK? I'm also looking for ideas/areas to invest in away from the day job.

Family business that i inherited so it sort of came before the expat'ing and the IT'ing as i can remember working on the estate as a teenager in the summers.

definite pro's and cons to commercial.

you generally get tenants in for longer periods, 10 year leases being the norm, and they are usually fully maintaining leases so once someone is in, everything is their problem. Once a tenant is in, its very hands off, just have to send a quarterly invoice so great to deal with from overseas.

However, it's expensive to get a tenant in, last unit cost me 3.1k in agents fees and 3.6k in solicitors fees, and when a unit is empty you are liable for rates and maintenance.

Having said all that, i find them much easier all round to manage than residential property.

[dmahon]

Great to hear people seeing the light and stepping off the gas. Hope we don’t all go back to what we were doing when COVID clears.

Funny how IT becomes such a slog 10-15 years in. The cycle of learning new technologies and dealing with the corporate politics wears really thin. Supporting all the crap legacy technology. Constant trend towards outsourcing and offshoring, declining rates etc. After having a good run for over a decade, sod that for a game of soldiers much longer.

[rustyuk]

There are some great jobs in IT. Finding them is the hard part.

[85Carrera]

Zstar said:

Yes, I’ve been thinking the same. I’ve worked in London, Singapore and Hong Kong, working ever longer hours for more pay and more stress. I own 2 properties but still live in rented accommodation as work and family keep changing. We have a 1 year old and WFH has been a revelation. I’m dreading going back to work, and I hate that he sometimes sees how busy and stressed I am. My wife is self employed and is always working late.

I think we will give it another 2-3 years (I’ll be mid 40s by then) and then look to move somewhere less stressful and try and get more enjoyable jobs (I’m thinking of training as a financial advisor) and spend more time together as a family. We also want to build a family home so that our son can settle down and make friends properly rather than living an expat lifestyle.

I did the expat thing like you. Best thing I ever did was move back to the UK and buy a semi-rural property. Makes you realise how much you sacrifice for that expat cash.

[85Carrera]

ninepoint2 said:

I had always planned to work till I was 65, however I got offered a deal in my late 50's that was too good to turn down, decent lump sum, generous pension and a years salary as an extra incentive. At the time I wasn't sure, we have 2 boys still at home, however now looking back 4 years later it was the best decision I ever made. This year has been a bit of a bugger, lots of stuff cancelled or postponed to 2021, so next year should be a cracker. If you can do it and the sums work out I can thoroughly recommend it

You lucky bd

[85Carrera]

Skyedriver said:

Just a personal story
I've done the retire/part time work twice.

I was in Civil Engineering from 1970 to 2004 which was the first time I (semi)retired. I was 53, just married, new family, relocated to very rural area. Went part time as a postman then gardener.

You'll find firstly that the travel distances become longer. You'll find you are no longer near the facilities you take for granted, be it gym, supermarket, pub, hardwear store etc. Then you'll find the savings aren't lasting as long as expected and I forecasted we would eventually run out.

We relocated to a more industrial area and I found full time work again. This was 2009, I changed job in 2012, finding probably the best job in all my employment, still in Engineering. This lasted until 2018 when at the age of 65 I retired to Scotland again. I was sad to leave but once again we were relocating to a rural area, just not as rural as the last time. Life is relaxed, the family seem happy, I miss a few things like music and motorsport venues and no longer take part in any motorsport.
Funds this time are more secure.
I did however agree with my employer that i'd continue working from home part time and various links were set up. Sadly the clients expected me to be available full time, and the pressures of work became overpowering. Without the company of my colleagues to chat to I felt alone in a room. It quickly became depressing and I stopped.

The move to a new life in the country can be great, but don't be swayed by all the TV programmes, there are downsides, travel, supplies, you can't just pop down the road for a plumbing fitting or length of wood. The roads are so much less busy BUT if you are in a holiday area be prepared for motorhomes, caravans and idiots in hire cars.Rural areas can also suffer poor road conditions, in N Yorkshire the farmers are happy to spread the soil from their fields along the roads making it dangerous for cyclists and motorbikes. In general though the people are friendly, have more time to talk and help.

Get to know your new area BEFORE you move there. Take a few holidays to suss out the area and decide if and which part you want to relocate to. And make sure your finances will cope. Prices of run of the mill stuff can be higher than expected and inflation eats at your finances quicker than you think.

An unusually honest post for PH and gives a lot of food for thought. Thank you (as I may be approaching the first stage you mention - or possibly not now ...)

[85Carrera]

The Cardinal said:

My life's guiding motto:

You can't be in the rat race if you are not a rat

I think people focus more on the bit about racing and not enough on the bit about being a rat!

What does that actually mean though? Is the sort of thing I’d expect to see on a “motivational” calendar

[AllyM]

85Carrera said:

What does that actually mean though? Is the sort of thing I’d expect to see on a “motivational” calendar

You’re at risk of overthinking it.

To be part of the race you need to elect to be a rat, don’t do that and you are not in any race.

[hyphen]

AllyM said:

85Carrera said:

What does that actually mean though? Is the sort of thing I’d expect to see on a “motivational” calendar

You’re at risk of overthinking it.

To be part of the race you need to elect to be a rat, don’t do that and you are not in any race.

What does that actually mean though? Is the sort of thing I’d expect to see on a “motivational” calendar

[red_slr]

I find it a bit strange that people who follow "FIRE" get a bit of a bad time of it on here as weirdos who will be bored in retirement. Then COVID comes along and suddenly people are seeing things differently and *now* they are looking at how to retire early or go PT or whatever.

Its almost like they knew all along