Big Decisions To Be Made
I am almost 100 % sure that I want to make Zakynthos my permanent home. I feel that I've settled well & although I haven't yet experienced the whole of the Winter I think I'm fully prepared & aware of what to expect in terms of lots & lots of rain.
One of the biggest factors is that I've been able to make friends which was such an important issue for me. Secondly, my success in finding a job has given me a degree of piece of mind that I will be able to support myself. Thirdly, whenever I speak to people in the UK including people I used to work with, they tell me nothing that would make me want to be back there in fact quite the opposite. I still receive a daily email from what was my old UK local newspaper & I follow the link everyday to the website & read the news stories. They are always bad, someone stabbed, raped, mugged etc. Do I miss it - no I don't.
I've started to make more earnest enquiries about selling my UK house & think I will make a decision on that quite soon. I've also been looking into financial options, one option that's open to me is to take my occupational pension early, in effect take early retirement (wow!! that makes me feel old) This is an option that becomes available when you reach 50 in the civil service pension scheme I am/was in. The pension would be reduced from what it would be if I kept it preserved until I'm 60 as would the lump sum payment too but part of me thinks, I may not even get to 60 & I may as well start having a smaller pension from now, over a longer period, than wait & get more money but for a shorter period. The lump sum would also be a useful addition to have available for buying a property here.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS - I have a lot going around & around in my head right now.
One of the biggest factors is that I've been able to make friends which was such an important issue for me. Secondly, my success in finding a job has given me a degree of piece of mind that I will be able to support myself. Thirdly, whenever I speak to people in the UK including people I used to work with, they tell me nothing that would make me want to be back there in fact quite the opposite. I still receive a daily email from what was my old UK local newspaper & I follow the link everyday to the website & read the news stories. They are always bad, someone stabbed, raped, mugged etc. Do I miss it - no I don't.
I've started to make more earnest enquiries about selling my UK house & think I will make a decision on that quite soon. I've also been looking into financial options, one option that's open to me is to take my occupational pension early, in effect take early retirement (wow!! that makes me feel old) This is an option that becomes available when you reach 50 in the civil service pension scheme I am/was in. The pension would be reduced from what it would be if I kept it preserved until I'm 60 as would the lump sum payment too but part of me thinks, I may not even get to 60 & I may as well start having a smaller pension from now, over a longer period, than wait & get more money but for a shorter period. The lump sum would also be a useful addition to have available for buying a property here.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS - I have a lot going around & around in my head right now.
posted by Sandra at
2:00 am
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