Many of us have saved diligently with the idea of moving abroad to enjoy some sunny retirement years. However, before you finally choose the destination or move to an overseas home you may have purchased as a holiday villa, have you really considered all the options?

I know it's easy when working toward that retirement date, to dream of spending endless days walking the beach in shorts and T shirt, spending time in a favourite watering hole in the balmy evenings of the Mediterranean. There is obviously a lot more to it than that, but let us assume you have already considered all the financial implications and developed your own financial plot.

The most common misconception is the actual location of this dream villa in the sun. Holidays are one thing, living the dream is entirely different. Have you considered what happens in the winter months, as yes for sure there are cooler months and they can be very cold. Do you know which local businesses actually close down, including your favourite watering hole?

Do the Budget airlines continue a winter service?

Does your existing holiday villa have central heating?

So let's consider first where you want to be. It might be prudent to spend a month finding that location and researching out of season. Think about what local services you may need, Hospital, Doctor's surgery, supermarket, pharmacy, golf club, tennis club, library service, gas station, nearest open-all-year-round Bar/Restaurant. It is all very well being located in the hills with wonderful views, but, if you need to drive for even 15 minutes to get to any local service, then think again.

Conversely, do you really want to be on the beachfront? It may be very well situated but think about those summer months when it becomes infested with tourists and mosquitoes. The roads become clogged and life is unbearable. This is not why you decided to retire abroad. I know several people who have done just that and now go abroad in July and August including going back to the UK!

As well as this, many local businesses will close down for 3 or 4 months. My father always said to me that the perfect position for any home is on a hill. Now I am sure he was right. If you buy your dream home overseas on a hill overlooking the coast, or an inland property with incredible views, you are on the right track. Keep away from busy tourist centres, but stay close to essential services and a social life. You should escape the mosquitoes by avoiding large areas of inland water, but bear in mind where the local airport is. Now, if you are retiring, then the distance to the airport is not as important as a semi-retirement option or a working abroad operation, but it would be nice to be within an hour of escape with the knowledge that the Budget airline is operating all the year round.

So, if you have a holiday home already, it is possible that it is just not suitable for permanent living. Ensure you try it out in the winter as an experiment; spend 2 weeks in early January there. Maybe you can't sit outside as often as you thought, and indoors is too cramped for permanent occupation. Maybe it's a lot colder than you thought and you have no heating! It might be better to sell this property and move inland. You will probably make money at the same time as actually enjoying the experience of finding a new location for your retirement overseas.

Otherwise spend a few weeks of winter trying to enjoy and experience your present choice of a dream home location. If, at the end of your holiday, you have any pangs of homesickness, then maybe living abroad is not for you. You are allowed to miss things, like good English beer, soft toilet paper, Rutland sausages and a leg of English Lamb. That's fine, but now you need to embrace a new way of life without any real regrets or misgivings.

More importantly, you will probably re-think your preferred location choice and continue the quest on your next visit. Don't forget winter breaks are very cheap, and you DO need to do this research, and, should you be retiring abroad with your partner, then you both need to agree!

Some bring their friends with them! This can be risky, but rewarding if it works. Just be careful, as you might not always agree about everything, especially life-changing experiences. It will help to try and attain a certain level of foreign language. It really impresses the locals, even if you don't need it, and it will help with the gardener or pool man and other workmen, even the supermarket checkout girl!

Remember, if you retire to a European destination, you can take your pensions with you and obtain the indexed increases along with everyone else. The cost of living in Europe in warmer climates is much lower than in Britain and Ireland. Fuel is cheaper; the quality of fruit and vegetables is better and seasonal. Wine is ridiculously cheap and in the Iberian Peninsula Sherries and ports abound for a Euro or two a bottle.

It certainly beats being in expensive and wet "Blighty", when you can sit on your own terrace in your new home, looking at your view until 1.a.m, sipping a glass or three, taking a dip in your pool just before bedtime, and waking up whenever you feel like it to another endless day of blue sky.

Now that is retirement. Enjoy it and live longer.

Here's to your retirement success!

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Hugo Raymond
Founder: www.myPropertyPal.com
hugoraymond@mypropertypal.com