You lot have all got it wrong.

When I was nearing 30, I saw a joke somewhere. This personal manager, [remember them], was telling a pimply face youth, "you'll like our retirement program John". "We retire you from 30 to 40, then you come back & work till you die".

That sounded pretty good to me, so I shot through, sailing around the Pacific islands, where I actually made a quite reasonable living, building jetties, & odd jobbing around the place.

I even kept the contract, returning & going back to work for many years. It was only after the third heart attack that I reneged on the deal, & retired again.

I'm having a ball, playing with my old cars & stuff, but it's not a patch on the fun I had during my early retirement.

So retire young, & often, it's more fun. It is no use saving up to do that trip down Route 66 after you retire, if you can't get travel insurance to do it, because you're too old, & a bad risk.

Hello Ludwig,
All is forgiven, and I might seek forgiveness for some of my passionate posts. Yes, my friend, I live in that beautiful place called Esperance.
Everyday when I either walk or drive into town I wonder at the beauty of the place, and how lucky we are to live here.
We have turned our sand hill of a block into an eco garden, and enjoying the many species of birds which visit us every day, everything from the Noisy minor birds, to red-capped parrots, black cockatoos,silver eyed wrens, new holland honey eaters, wattle birds both big and small,even a rescued rainbow honey eater found on the road near Norseman, magpies coming to feed, just to name a few, oh! and a sacred Ibis which ate my goldfish.............grrrr.
Frogs, and three generations of bobtails., our garden is like a jungle, full of natives, bird baths, feeding trays, you name it. It grieves me to see the big McMansions which are devoid of vegetaion for our little critters to enjoy. btw Ludwig, are you a WA guy?, and have you visited Esperance.
Cheers my friend,
NSB (aka Wendy)

Dear Ludwig, & Sonof
I am studying to achieve two things, a diploma in Education and (mainly to keep the grey matter healthy), if I am up for it I hope to get a degree in Australian History. Having a Father in the British Royal Marines, I attended 15 schools 11 of which were Primary, the rest were Secondary, education was fragmented, and on my 15th Birthday I was dragged out of school to get a job,(by this time we had arrived in Aus.) it was expected in those days that the girls got a job, and the boys went to Uni. But that was part of the social structure in those days.
Thanks for the interest
NSB

Dear Ludwig,
Two People's Bay?, would that be at Albany per chance?
Noisy

Hi Sonof,
I agree with you that todays' generation does it tough regarding the
the cost of housing etc, but are their housing aspirations too high for achievment?, just as my Father advised me (hundreds of years ago when I was a teenager), to set myself achievable goals, we have advised our kids to do the same, to cut a long story short, they all purchased ex-state housing houses, slapped on some paint and did repairs, new carpet etc. now over the years, they have been able to each buy a better house at an affordable price. We must live in one of the smallest houses in our Street, as the sun is blocked out in the afternoon thanks to the mansions being built. I have to wonder, who, in their right minds would want to have a mansion to clean in their later years?.
Cheers my friend.
NSB

Hey Hasbeen, good on you my friend. btw, what sort of boat did you cruise in?, our first boat was home built, for the kids, we then graduated to some-one else's home built yacht, then a Court 650, a compass 28, then a Plymouth Pilot, we cruised around Esperance and parts of the Recherche Archipelago, local yachties reckon that if one can sail in the Southern Ocean, one can sail anywhere, after many frights and added grey hair, I would agree with them all....we now lack the agility we once enjoyed, but my hobby now is learning to paint Marine pictures, including the boats ('tis easier to sail them)
NSB