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So, it is now a little over 2 years since I retired and settled down in Bali. Time for a look abck on those 2 years and a SITREP ? Let’s split this in a few points : 11) Stopping your professional activity : Working is for most of us the thing where we spend a good part of our life on, being it time or energy. So, when suddenly you remove this from your life it is quite a change. Hence many people delay retirement, are afraid to be bored, and plenty other reasons. In fact, the adaptation is very easy, and you soon realize that even without you putting in 12h x 6d a week, the company continue to thrive and the world to spin. Yes, in the beginning I sometimes missed the intellectual or technical challenges, but that didn’t last long. One has to accept when it’s time to hand the wheel to the younger generation and sit back. 22) Moving from country : I understand this can be a bit stressing for some, especially if they never did it, but for me that was a very easy part. The country selection, well it happened to be Bali because I am with an Indo woman, it could have been anywhere near the sea in a sunny place. Of course, the administrative process (hassle) for the retirement visa in said country is to be considered with attention. It could turn into a stressing event every year and take away a lot of the enjoyment of “retirement under the sun”. 33) Staying with your partner 24/7 : For people having had a nomad professional lifestyle, this IS quite a challenge ! And even for people who had a more “regular” 8-17 job and every evening at home. I have known several couples who struggled seriously with this part, even in the West. It is a big difference seeing your companion every weekend, or even every evening and being 24/7 with her. In my case I apprehended it a bit, but as we still have our regular separations when the Miss is in Java and me here alone, I makes for nice breaks appreciated by both and it works. Here again a reasonable age difference probably helps as well ! 44) Adapting to your new financial status : Of course, switching from a full expat package to a regular pension, with your income divided by 3, and having to pay yourself for your lodging requires a bit of adaptation and change in habits. But if having a long-term partner, well you don’t hang out in bars every night anymore. And age helps you as well, even you don’t really like it. For those who come to places like Pattaya to finally ,at the end of one’s life, “live the dream” it could be more tricky. Plenty examples around that ended badly. Hence I can not repeat enough “prepare your retirement from very young !”. It must be horrible to realize that suddenly you are out there with 500 Euro/month to live on at 65 y old… 55) What to do with all this free time ? Yep, that is a good question. My answer is simple, we live like we would live a “normal live” in any country. Grocery shopping, buying bread, supermarket run now and then, restaurant, reading etc.. In my case I always loved reading, learning things about the world, so now I have again plenty time for it. But sure, depending on where you settle down, this will be an issue. There are things I would do in France that I can’t do here, but on the other hand there are things I do here I couldn’t do in France (like swimming pool every morning). Important is to impose oneself a certain daily discipline. From my experience in the past 2 years, having a partner helps also as you have a “normal couple” life. I appreciate when the Miss is away for 2 weeks, but longer than that it becomes a bit difficult and knowing myself living alone would be a tricky path. Conclusion : Till now no regret concerning retiring or the partner and country I choose. But I am not saying I found paradise, and I will stay here for life.