Discovering Your New Lifestyle

Retirement calls for a change of outlook, and for some people the transition from a regular work routine to a less structured way of life is not easy. For this reason an increasing number of firms are providing pre-retirement counselling sessions for their staff to enable them to manage the transition effectively. If your life centred on your work you may feel somewhat bereft when the time comes to hang up your boots.

The transition is less abrupt if you have developed interests outside your workplace – as the organiser of a social club, as the leader of a guide troop, as a JP or a local councillor. Many retired people I come across in the UK insist they are more active now than at any time in their lives. However, if you head abroad you turn your back on all this, and will have to build your life completely from scratch.

Forget about the idea of lazing in the sun all day. This may be fine on holiday when you need to unwind from the pressures of everyday life, but people who are used to leading active lives can easily become bored with this kind of existence. The idea of a perpetual holiday with sun, sand and sangria may sound marvellous, but, as I have already mentioned, the novelty can wear off after a time.

Expatriates come in all shapes and sizes. There are loners who prefer to keep themselves to themselves; there are those who wish to live rather as they did in the UK and confine themselves to the expatriate community; there are those who decide to ‘go native’ and distance themselves from all things British. It would be wrong of me to prescribe how you should spend your retirement, but this chapter offers suggestions.

Get To Know The Country

When I worked abroad I was surprised to come across expatriates who knew little, if anything, about the country where they were employed. Admittedly there were some among them who were preoccupied with their work, but there were others who had little interest in their surroundings and regarded their stay abroad as a form of exile. They were just waiting for the day their posting would come to an end.

As a retiree you will have plenty of time to get acquainted with your new surroundings. Fortune always favours the bold, and there are three initial steps you need to take to achieve this goal:

• Travel. If you do not have your own transport there are bound to be coach tours, or you can plan your own itinerary by bus or rail with the help of a guide book – such as Fodor, The Blue Guide, Baedeker, Insight or Lonely Planet. Some national tourist offices and local information bureaux issue travel literature free of charge.
• Read. Search out books on the history and traditions of the country and try literary works by local authors. If local bookshops seem to have very little to offer in English, try contacting a bookshop in the UK to see if they offer a mailing service. The Good Book Guide is one organisation which is geared up to sending books abroad. Also investigate local English libraries.
• Watch. Watch films that have been made in the country and tune into the local TV station to see what keeps the locals amused. If the programmes are dreadful regard this as part of your education. Go to the theatre, if there is one in the locality, and attend festivals and other events.

Learn The Language

In order to be able to participate fully in the life of your adopted country, you need to speak the language of its citizens. This will not prove too onerous if you have moved to Australia or Canada, where there are only differences of vocabulary, but elsewhere you will need to make an effort.

While you may not become perfect in the language, a working knowledge can be very useful, when you are shopping, dining out, dealing with tradesmen or touring. It will prove indispensable in emergencies – if you are hospitalised or involved in an accident.

Above all, knowledge of the language will do wonders for your social life. The barriers will come down and you are more likely to find yourself accepted, simply because it demonstrates your commitment to the country is long term and you are prepared to blend in with the people.

Ideally you should have already made a start on the language, as recommended in Chapter 7. Whatever the general consensus, it is never too late to start learning a language, and in the UK I have met foreign refugees in their sixties and seventies who have made passable attempts to get to grips with our language, so it is not an impossible task. If you are unsure how to set about learning, you might ask members of the local expatriate community for suggestions.

Most towns – in Europe, at least – have language schools, some of which will have special language classes for foreigners. Local newspapers, particularly English language newspapers, will carry details of these. Alternatively you could look round for a private tutor – ideally someone who has experience of teaching languages to adults.