Hello from London

[jayritchie]

Hi All

I found this forum at some point during covid and have binge read periodically. I had never heard of FIRE or related communities until around that time and really wish that I had many years earlier. I'm well beyond early retirement age being in my early 50s but saving more than 50% of salary to become FI in a short timescale.

I had been keen on alternative lifestyles and working towards a variant on the ERE/ FIRE objectives but ended up not pursuing this following a change in UK legislation which made the lifestyle less attractive/ feasible, and some health issues which may have precluded long term travel in cheaper countries.

My recent project has been researching LCOL areas in England to move to. Very struck by how ones quality of life compared with cost of living varies between different towns in different ways with a low level of spend compared with a more average level. Public transport, free events and amenities and general walkability seem huge factors here.

Random stuff:

- I've never been particularly impressed by 2 week holidays so have tended to save the money and head off for a couple of months when opportunities (such as being out of work) have arisen. I worked and backpacked my way around the world living in a few different countries for around 7 years when younger.

- I looked for hobbies/ activities in a city I visited a few weeks ago and was attracted by volunteering in libraries coupled with doing a degree in maths/ physics. These were courses/ careers recommended to me when I was 17. Strange that I might end up doing them now.

[ertyu]

My recent project has been researching LCOL areas in England to move to. Very struck by how ones quality of life compared with cost of living varies between different towns in different ways with a low level of spend compared with a more average level. Public transport, free events and amenities and general walkability seem huge factors here.

Hi there, welcome

I'd be curious about your findings.

[delay]

- I looked for hobbies/ activities in a city I visited a few weeks ago and was attracted by volunteering in libraries coupled with doing a degree in maths/ physics. These were courses/ careers recommended to me when I was 17. Strange that I might end up doing them now.

Welcome to the forum! Modern math and physics courses teach you to follow rules. To pass, you have memorize old exams, be polite, produce papers that meet publisher's rules, and so on. Usually ERE is an escape route for people subjected to this kind of education. If you would successfully go in the other direction that would be interesting.

Why not follow a course where you learn a practical skill? Like woodworking, bicycle repair or do-it-yourself. Learning skills allows you to spend less. That's the other way to approach financial independence!

[jayritchie]

Welcome to the forum! Modern math and physics courses teach you to follow rules. To pass, you have memorize old exams, be polite, produce papers that meet publisher's rules, and so on. Usually ERE is an escape route for people subjected to this kind of education. If you would successfully go in the other direction that would be interesting.

Why not follow a course where you learn a practical skill? Like woodworking, bicycle repair or do-it-yourself. Learning skills allows you to spend less. That's the other way to approach financial independence!

Many thanks! You've really got me thinking. I'll ponder further and respond.

[jayritchie]

Hi there, welcome

I'd be curious about your findings.

Hi - Many thanks! To give a little context I'm trying to work out what life would look like on an annual spend of £12,000 / USD 15,000 with a small place to live paid off. Also contemplating how much each increment of USD 3,000 a year 'buys'. This assumes not owning a car. I don't like the idea of living a life where I need to have a car - the costs of owning and running a vehicle are too volatile as they become a larger percentage of annual spend.

The biggest differences I've found between locations is the cost of public transport passes (be these daily, weekly, monthly or annual) and the areas covered. They tend to work within boundaries determined by political administrative boundaries rather than distance from home or places one might wish to visit. As such I find that the options for visiting the country, lakes and hills varies much more between locations when using public transport than would be the case with a car. Similarly the number of locations with free attractions such as museums, public libraries and concert venues you can access without incremental travel costs seems like something which could be important.

Another thing I've noted is that the quality of municipal facilities such as gyms, hobby classes etc varies. Given these are always subject to change I'm not sure how much to factor that into any decisions.

[chenda]

Welcome.

There are a lot of opportunities for geo-arbitrage in the UK, especially for public sector workers. I would consider somewhere like Northumberland. Its the most sparsely populated area of England, lots of moors and mountains, low COL but still near good ferry and air links in Newcastle.

[Frita]

Welcome, I find my 50’s be an interesting time of life, very transitional like late-teens to young adulthood. How will you factor your future selves into the decision process?

[jayritchie]

How will you factor your future selves into the decision process?

I think I'm struggling a bit with that thought process. I'm still pondering the post from @delay and wondering if some of my ideas have
been the continuation of things I wanted to do 10 years or so ago rather than what would be the best thing for now and in 5 years then in 10 years time.

I've not seen many threads covering such decisions and have googled extensively a couple of times over the last year. There is a benefit in reading the thoughts and experiences of others. I'm pretty sure that if I found a series of a hundred posts from people who had made similar decisions or were going through the thought process I would find something which would make me re-think the current ideas.

My real thought as present is to move somewhere which may not be ideal for any one thing, but which leaves a lot of possibilities open. It would be disappointing to not need to work and not to happen upon some new hobbies and passions!

I would consider somewhere like Northumberland.

Actually I have been looking there! Agreed - it has a huge amount going for it. Especially so if you don't need to work. Really enjoyed exploring Newcastle and some of the surrounding towns and appreciated the access to quiet beaches.

[jayritchie]

Welcome to the forum! Modern math and physics courses teach you to follow rules. To pass, you have memorize old exams, be polite, produce papers that meet publisher's rules, and so on. Usually ERE is an escape route for people subjected to this kind of education. If you would successfully go in the other direction that would be interesting.

Why not follow a course where you learn a practical skill? Like woodworking, bicycle repair or do-it-yourself. Learning skills allows you to spend less. That's the other way to approach financial independence!

I've been pondering this and suspect that your hints about the downsides of undertaking a mathematically orientated STEM degree are very valid. I got interested in this route quite some time ago as a bit of a challenge and also with an eye to a career change. Time has passed since then and the same weightings probably don't really apply any more.

A couple of things I'd like about doing this is that maths tutoring can be either a good source of erratic part time income or a real value added way to volunteer. Perhaps much more involved but not dissimilar to getting a TEFL qualification. I've known a few people who found being able to tutor a real life changer when times got tough for them. Also - were I to look to re-enter the workplace in a part time position - I'd find it easier to explain time spent studying than having a few years unaccounted for.

Practical skills sound much more feasible! Actually I'm pretty inept manually. Possible near to some extreme of a population distribution. Learning about DIY and decorating sounds both interesting and rewarding. With things like woodworking I've wondered about the trade off between owning a home with more space for hobbies vs the up front cost and increased upkeep costs. Likewise I ponder how much true value I would get out of having somewhere with a larger garden. I'd love to have an annual harvest of potatoes and carrots.