Six months out should find us 3 months into our “semi-retire” in South Africa (SA) adventure.
Semi means we still have a house back home in Switzerland.
3 months in to being in SA I aim to have some routines; neighbours and neighbourhood where we play sports, drink, take coffee and invite new friends round to our house.
Just maybe we’ll be having our first guests from amongst our current circle of friends fly in to stay with us.
My focus is a bit different, in that, as of June this year we did both retire. Our income will be set and our energy is not focused on income making activity. Fo me "never retire" means that I still have interests that engage me, I'm still out in the world, not having a smaller life just a different one. I LOVE not having to think about money making because we were fortunate enough to have almost enough passive income. I want to focus on making art on my terms and that's the part where i'm sorta still working but the pressure is off.
I enjoy your observations on how things are different in Spain as these things resonate with me too, even of I have a lot of them here in Brooklyn. There are things we don't have and I'm hoping that the adjustment is a good one. I'm hoping that our money will go a little further and that the day to day activities will be an interesting shift and keep the brains going.
so six months in I'd like to have the bureaucracy taken care of, pretty nice apartment and a pleasent daily routine established. Some activities with new people started and some ideas for adventures planned. I also want to be able to buy groceries speaking in Spanish.
In a year I hope to know if this for the long haul, doesn't have to be forever at this point but we're staying. I want to have a small community of people, expats and locals alike. And I want a daily art practice in my routine. We would also have created a base from which we can visit our friends in nearby countries, Italy, France and beyond.
Five years in, hard to say. I'm happy now and I hope that this move is another great place to be happy in.
Sitting on home equity for the next two years until my daughter graduates, then we plan to downsize (maybe buy a small home outright) and then snowbird each Q1 (first to explore places, then to narrow down locales we want to return to regularly).
Do you have a digest post of the best articles to read from your earlier content, how you decided Spain?
Also curious if you're open to meeting readers, as I might be in Spain summer 2026!
All of this is based on a (currently aspirational) goal of retiring in November of 2027. My wife intended to keep working a little bit longer:
6 months from now: I’ve made some headway on landing freelance or ghostwriting clients, and stabilized/increased revenue from Medium and Substack. We continue to pay down both car payments.
1 year: if all holds, this means the one year countdown to retirement is on! I’m focused on what I’ll be retiring *to*. Need to solidify any client work (which hopefully I’ve landed) as well as networking to keep options open. Will start working on downsizing and have garage sales, sell things in FB marketplace, donate, etc. Downsizing also includes pruning things like subscriptions that we’ll no longer need.
3 years: one year out from retirement. we have sold our home and downsized to an apartment. If we’re still in the states we have one car and it’s paid off. Ideally, we’re somewhere that we only need it occasionally. I have built a small portfolio of writing clients and have a steady stream of work that pays the bills, and writing that fills my heart. Day starts with light breakfast and coffee with my wife, 3-4 hours of deep work, and a walk or bike ride midday. Another shorter work session after.
Six months out should find us 3 months into our “semi-retire” in South Africa (SA) adventure.
Semi means we still have a house back home in Switzerland.
3 months in to being in SA I aim to have some routines; neighbours and neighbourhood where we play sports, drink, take coffee and invite new friends round to our house.
Just maybe we’ll be having our first guests from amongst our current circle of friends fly in to stay with us.
My focus is a bit different, in that, as of June this year we did both retire. Our income will be set and our energy is not focused on income making activity. Fo me "never retire" means that I still have interests that engage me, I'm still out in the world, not having a smaller life just a different one. I LOVE not having to think about money making because we were fortunate enough to have almost enough passive income. I want to focus on making art on my terms and that's the part where i'm sorta still working but the pressure is off.
I enjoy your observations on how things are different in Spain as these things resonate with me too, even of I have a lot of them here in Brooklyn. There are things we don't have and I'm hoping that the adjustment is a good one. I'm hoping that our money will go a little further and that the day to day activities will be an interesting shift and keep the brains going.
so six months in I'd like to have the bureaucracy taken care of, pretty nice apartment and a pleasent daily routine established. Some activities with new people started and some ideas for adventures planned. I also want to be able to buy groceries speaking in Spanish.
In a year I hope to know if this for the long haul, doesn't have to be forever at this point but we're staying. I want to have a small community of people, expats and locals alike. And I want a daily art practice in my routine. We would also have created a base from which we can visit our friends in nearby countries, Italy, France and beyond.
Five years in, hard to say. I'm happy now and I hope that this move is another great place to be happy in.
Sitting on home equity for the next two years until my daughter graduates, then we plan to downsize (maybe buy a small home outright) and then snowbird each Q1 (first to explore places, then to narrow down locales we want to return to regularly).
Do you have a digest post of the best articles to read from your earlier content, how you decided Spain?
Also curious if you're open to meeting readers, as I might be in Spain summer 2026!
I don't have a digest, but maybe I should create one? Some of the forthcoming posts might also address this broadly.
And, definitely, let me know when you confirm your plans!
I appreciate you sharing your plans! I look forward to seeing where you spend your Q1s.
All of this is based on a (currently aspirational) goal of retiring in November of 2027. My wife intended to keep working a little bit longer:
6 months from now: I’ve made some headway on landing freelance or ghostwriting clients, and stabilized/increased revenue from Medium and Substack. We continue to pay down both car payments.
1 year: if all holds, this means the one year countdown to retirement is on! I’m focused on what I’ll be retiring *to*. Need to solidify any client work (which hopefully I’ve landed) as well as networking to keep options open. Will start working on downsizing and have garage sales, sell things in FB marketplace, donate, etc. Downsizing also includes pruning things like subscriptions that we’ll no longer need.
3 years: one year out from retirement. we have sold our home and downsized to an apartment. If we’re still in the states we have one car and it’s paid off. Ideally, we’re somewhere that we only need it occasionally. I have built a small portfolio of writing clients and have a steady stream of work that pays the bills, and writing that fills my heart. Day starts with light breakfast and coffee with my wife, 3-4 hours of deep work, and a walk or bike ride midday. Another shorter work session after.