Live: Launceston Tasmania. I only retired at the start of last year so the adventure has only just begun!

 

We decided to move to Tassie when we retired as we’d had enough of living in the big city. The traffic, the pace of life and the cost of everything. We holidayed down here numerous times over the years and always thought Launceston was beautiful. It’s a slower pace and people are more likely to stop and chat, they’re friendly.  We love the cooler weather too.

 

After selling up in Melbourne we had enough money to add a substantial lump sum to our retirement savings and buy a fantastic new townhouse near the Old Launceston Seaport.  The area has been completely redeveloped as a ‘lifestyle precinct’ with restaurants, bars and a Peppers Resort. We’ll make great use of the facilities as my new boat will be housed in the marina. I have been looking online at the various options for a while now, and I found this great shipwright in Gladstone. We went up there a few weeks ago to check it out and placed an order for a 33 foot sail boat. We will go up again later in the year to pick it up. The plan is to sail it back, but we might need the help of a professional skipper the first time.

 

 

 

Family:  We have two adult daughters, one lives in Melbourne and the other is in the UK.  No grandkids yet but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

 

Sandra, our youngest has been married for 18 months. She and her husband Aaron work in the banking and finance industry. They are doing really well in their careers but of course don't have much holiday time so we try to get back to Melbourne once every few months to see them and catch up with our old friends.

 

 

 

                                                       Sandra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                           Jess

 

We take the Spirit of Tasmania across Bass Strait (www.spiritoftasmania.com.au). It’s a great service that lets us take the car, so we have the freedom to get around on our own when we’re in Melbourne and not be a burden to anyone.

 

Jess our eldest daughter moved to London 2 years ago for work.  She is planning on coming back to Australia in a year or two so we need to make sure our “grand tour” of Europe is sooner rather than later in order to have her show  us around London.

 

 

 

Interests:  We only retired at the start of last year,  so we’re really still in the process of settling in.  We spent the first few months enjoying short trips around Tassie but we’re getting more involved in the local area now.

 

I joined the Tamar Yacht club (http://www.tyc.asn.au) when we first arrived and recently Allison discovered the Australian Plant Society (http://www.apstasnorth.org) where she’s volunteering.  It makes up for not having such a large garden in the new place.  Given  that we want the freedom to get up and go as we like we felt a low maintenance home was the best way to go.

 

The kids bought me a new set of golf clubs as a retirement present and I am making the most of them.  I have just become a member of the Launceston Golf Club and teamed up with a group of gentlemen who play once a week on a Thursday.

 

Allison is also indulging her passion for theatre by becoming involved in the Launceston Players, one of the oldest theatre companies in Australia (http://www.theatre.asn.au/node/11594).  She’s found that to be a great way to make new friends too.  I think the move has been a bit harder on her than me.  Everyone’s friendly but it takes time for people to truly accept you in a new place and I know Allison’s missed having her own set or friends to socialise with.

 

So far  retirement is actually very busy but it’s also very relaxed.  The best thing about retirement is having the ability to choose when and what we want to do each day.

 

Travel: We’re really looking forward to traveling more now we are retired.  We finally have the time and the money to visit the places we have always wanted to.  Obviously, we’re planning to get to the UK shortly.  Apart from visiting Jess, Allison is keen to see the place where her parents grew up.  They emigrated from Great Britain before she was born so she wants to go back to Windermere in the Lakes District and experience it for herself.

 

We have always wanted to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus.  Allison is keen to go to the theatre (maybe the Royal Ballet) and all the galleries and museums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are planning to visit France and Spain at the time.  I am a big Picasso fan, and would love to see where he lived and some of his greatest works, like the Guernica which is kept in Madrid and also visit the new Guggenheim in Bilbao.

 

 

 

When we get back we’ll spend some more time

exploring the top end of Australia.  We’ve seen a lot

about Broome, Kakadu and the Kimberly region on

 shows like Getaway (http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au)

and the Great Outdoors (http://au.travel.yahoo.com/

great-outdoors).  We can’t wait to get there. After

seeing the TV travel shows Allison likes to jump online

and plan everything down to the last detail.  She’s been

researching for months.

 

 

 

 

We have actually started using the internet for all sorts of things these days.  I do all of our banking online and look up how our shares are performing.  The Commsec website is brilliant. www. commsec.com.au Initially, I went online to have a look at it because we loved the ads.  Those ads are one of the few that actually talk to people of our generation in a way we can relate to.  I think Allison believes I spend too much time online trading shares, but it is good to keep myself engaged and also to feel as though I have some day-to-day control over our financial future. Allison is more interested in searching for recipes or information about plants.  We fit all sorts of activities into what used to be our old work day!

 

Favourite TV Shows:   We watch a lot of TV. That’s something else we do more of since retiring.  Shows we like are Dancing with the Stars, Cold Case, AFL, McLeods Daughters, Current Affairs programmes, Inspector Rex, The Bill and Australian Story.  We generally watch the local news so that we can get the weather report and plan what relaxing thing we should do the next day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the summer we really like watching the cricket and the tennis.  We love the Australian Open.  We used to go out when we were in Melbourne but to be honest it is just as enjoyable watching it on TV.

 

Favourite Music:  I still really enjoy listening to classics like The Beatles and The Beach Boys.  Allison has similar tastes and we often watch our favourite music clips online at youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuUhZxkr194).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favourite Films:   We’re not massive fans of modern day block busters, we prefer more Arthouse releases.  Recently we have enjoyed Jindabyne, Thank You For Smoking, Goodnight and Goodluck and The Queen starring Helen Mirren.

 

 

Favourite Reads:   I like biographies and history while Allison prefers a good novel.  We have a few magazine subscriptions.  I get a boating one, Allison gets Women’s Weekly and we share Australian Gourmet Traveller.  We tend to read the papers online  (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) and really only buy the weekend papers for the TV guide. We did buy the Launceston Examiner when we first moved here to try and get to know the local area better.

 

 

Allison has the house looking great. We downsized when we moved so we brought a lot of furniture with us but all the appliances and furniture in the guest bedrooms are new.

 

We also treated ourselves to  a new car.  Following much debate we ended up settling on a Holden Astra Convertible.  I wanted a Mazda MX-5 but Allison said I would look like mutton dressed up as the proverbial lamb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know it sounds like we’ve spent a fortune but we budgeted for it all.  Being on a retirement income certainly makes you shop more wisely but it doesn’t mean we have to miss out on the finer things in life.  We simply look out for specials now and plan in advance for major purchases.  We draw a monthly allowance to live on from our investment earnings— that  includes travel money—and if we want to make a large purchase like a car or boat we pick the phone and discuss the best time and way to do so with our financial  advisor.