Moved Abroad, What Next? When The Sun Sets on Your Dreams

by Piglet in Portugal
I cried when yet another of my close friends, who had taken early retirement, announced she was selling up and returning to the UK. The reason for her change of heart and even direction was due to disillusionment and boredom. She confided there were only so many coffees you could drink, social events to attend, weeds to pull, vegetables to grow, books to read etc etc. Life here was simply no longer challenging as one day just drifted seamlessly into the next.
I wondered if expats who move abroad on a fixed term work contract felt the same. Maybe because they know they are only going to be in xx country for xx number of years they are already physiologically adjusted to the transient nature of friendships. However, when you retire there seems to be a greater sense of permanence. You are almost mentally saying to yourself “the only way I am leaving here is in a box!”

Sitting in a dreary office in the UK looking out at equally dreary grey skies made “La La” land in the sun seem like paradise. But for some, this is just not the case – paradise also has its down side.

How many people who retire to a “place in the sun” actually consider how they will fill their days once the challenges of settling in to their new home have been resolved and the initial holiday period and...

Read more: www.expatfocus.com/piglet-in-portugal-230411