Senior Nomads – does the dream live up to the reality?

Breaking out, hitting the road, running away from home. Call it what you will, the notion of experiencing life-on-the-move is hot on the bucket list of many seniors. But is the dream really as good as the reality? To find out, we checked-in with three seniors who have test-driven the nomadic lifestyle for themselves. They are: a retired home-exchanging couple (Rob and Sue), and two solos, Peter (a house-sitting accountant who works remotely), and Jocelyn, (fully retired and with a camper). This is what they told us:

Rob and Sue

Sue: We set out to home-exchange when I turned 65. Rob had already retired, so he did all the organising. We exchanged internationally for 7 months, and it was as good as I’d hoped for. I have just two regrets: I wish we’d stayed longer in each home (a couple of months rather than a couple of weeks) because I would just get to the stage where I knew my way around a town, and it would be time to move on. And I wish I’d taken up the suggestion of friends to fly to meet us here and there, because there were times when I missed girlfriend company. We always chose the option to pay for a cleaner to come in after us (rather than manage the cleaning of the exchange-home ourselves). If we hadn’t done that, I may not have felt so relaxed because I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

Rob: Yes, it was a great 7 months away, but it was also a huge effort to make it happen. We didn’t want to pay for more than a few nights accommodation here and there, so before we left home, I spent, literally, months arranging all the home-exchanges and the transport to get us to and from each one on time. (I also had to arrange and co-ordinate all the reverse exchanges, as well – the people coming to stay at our place while we were in theirs). Public transport isn’t what it was in pre-covid times, and there were several bus, and a couple of plane, journeys, that fell through. So, although I’d think it was worth it, it certainly wasn’t a holiday 24/7. There were times, even after we’d left on our travels, when I was on my laptop for hours (and having to work at night to deal with different time zones), feeling a little like a hassled travel agent! Yes, it’s a great way to travel, but at times it can also feel a bit like a full-on job!

Peter

I’ve been house-sitting internationally, and working remotely, for a year and a half, and I have absolutely no regrets. Having said that, I’m careful about what I commit to, and the places I go. I like company so I won’t travel anywhere I can’t speak English (you’d be surprised how many people you meet when you’re out walking your house-sit-host’s dog!). I’m happy to care for animals, but not a garden – I’ve met too many sitters who regretted saying they’d take on jobs they really didn’t want to do, just to get a house. But the thing that’s made all the difference for me, is that I have kids living abroad, so it’s been a great opportunity to visit them, and catch up with my grandchildren. Just one thing to be wary of, if you’re working digitally: friends sometimes ask if they can visit me, which is fine, but they need to understand, although they’re on holiday, I’m not. So they have to be prepared to take themselves off sight-seeing alone, unless it’s the weekend when I can join them.

Jocelyn

Fortunately, I’m not someone who minds admitting they got it wrong – and fortunately, I was always going to buy a camper when I retired, regardless. But, now, I go away for weekends or short breaks, rather than months on the road. Looking back, I got a number of things wrong when I closed up my home and set out to travel round New Zealand for a year (it ended up being just 4 months). I didn’t factor in our unpredictable weather, so I often felt cooped up in my van when the rain went on for days (and there’s only so much knitting and reading you can do!). And sometimes I got cold. This was despite the fact I’d timed things so I would be in the north for winter (even the far north can have cold-spells!). I had factored in repair costs to the van, but not the cost of finding accommodation to stay in for a week while my garage waited for spare parts to arrive – ouch!). And there were several times when I felt quite lonely. I’d had this vision of popping in on fellow campers for afternoon drinks, or joining them on walks. But most of the other campervanners I came across were couples, and they were happy to keep to themselves. I still love my van, but I now prefer to take it away on short trips, often with a friend in tow.

Still tempted to try the nomadic lifestyle? We give it the thumbs up, as long as you’re aware of the occasional downsides!