A FEW WORDS ON GOATS...

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As aspiring OATs ourselves (I am dropping the G for grey as, at 45, I am proud of my full head of brown hair), I have been interested to hear, from Nick, about the GOATs he has got talking to on our travels - Nick being more sociable than me, although I have become acquainted with a few of them.



At what point in life one should become an OAT is a frequent topic of conversation - as is to what extent one should retain a base in the UK versus release equity to fund travels.



We are still searching for the right answer. We are aged 45 and 55 respectively and have both worked all of our lives, and are continuing to do so to date. We have a nice home in the UK in a countryside location and have purchased Fugly outright.



Whilst we have not yet come to a conclusion, we have heard all manner of tales on our travels - the most notable of which inspired us to take the plunge and upgrade our Race Van to Fugly. We met Robert and Heather on our travels to Spain earlier this year, where we attended the Spanish Grand Prix and were camped alongside them, off grid. They were similar ages to ourselves and therefore neither OATs nor GOATs in our view, and had recently sold their Retail business in Ireland. They had taken the decision to take early retirement and travel full time for some months in the Hymer they had bought some 8 years before. Whilst we are not in the same financial position as them, this got us thinking and we decided that we should invest in upgrading our van before we retired, enabling us to enjoy it for, what we hope will be, many years to come.



We met another OAT in Spain at the preceding campsite in Barcelona, who was travelling full time. A little older than us - he was travelling with a new partner, having lost his first wife, and had sold up, retaining a small flat in the Midlands to retain a base, citizenship and access to the great UK national health service, which remains the unsung hero of today in the UK. A further couple, met in Italy this week, have done the same - and are now heading off to enjoy the Italian Adriatic coast, and next heading back to Blighty in October.



The debate continues. Maybe the mergers of the businesses that we both work for, and which are both scheduled to complete whilst we are away will force our hands. We will see. In the meantime we will continue to enjoy Fugly and the simplicity of life that travelling in him brings, as we sit on the bank of Lake Orta enjoying the view, whilst getting ready to row across the lake for a picnic on the opposite bank... Bliss... We have been in Italy for 3 days now, with 3 more to go, before we start our return journey to the Warwickshire countryside.

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