HELP....I am addicted to travelling and cannot settle down again in a house

just keep on going mate, you will spot a place, and let's hope it's a little cottage in s/w france because the uk has to many stressed out folks, and it's far to small to accomerdate this crazy influx of people. good luck MARK

That's a good question. Basically, there are 2 kinds of people: those that travel and those that don't. After all that traveling do you really want to settle down to a quiet life. However, I find that after a long trip I always need a home base. I don't know how much cash you have but don't spent it all on buying a huge place. At your age you should be interested in downsizing which my wife and I are doing right now. Getting yourself a small place because you might want to "hit the road" again. As you get older you discover that there are still places to go and you'll never see it all but you'll always want to. Both my wife and I have plenty of family who never travel and most of them are rather boring. We are headed for a winter down in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and feel very excited about this. Our ages are 65 and 71 and still have the travel itch. I don't think it ever goes away. I look around at the people who never travel and I do not wish to join their "camp". Best of luck. Whatever you wish, it will probably come true.

"Equity" is a sales gimmick.

Ain't no luggage racks on a herse.

What do you gain by home ownership?

Water heater replacement. And you do the hassling.
Erent for as long as you want. Move/change when you want.

Accumulated crap, multiplies to fill the space vulnerable to it.

When this Texan expat made his/my 2nd reconoiter to Spain, I asked every expat I met, if they had any regrets para. In Portugal they simply said, "Yeah. This place is cheap, mate. But ya don't wanna live here. Its a pain in the ass."

In Spain, to a man, they all claimed two regrets. "I regret not making the move twenty years sooner. And I regret, having all that crap in storage back home. I'll never look at it again."

I thought about, when victems of house fires or tornadoes are interviewed. They always say,"Well...we managed to save the family pictures. I guess thats all thats really important."

Its just stuff.

I passed on, all the hierlooms. And saved 30 of my hundred collected records. I called a Salvation Army truck and said its all yours. I coulda shipped a cool chair that belonged to my mother, to my brother or sister. Wuolda cost over two hundred George Washington fun tickets. But it wouldn't fit the above's needs. They have their own. I shipped $280 worth of clothes, those records etc. to Spain. Mail Box Etc. Used UPS. ohhh.

80% import duty, in Spain. I never used 99% of it. I still haven't listened to any of those records, 8 years later. Was given three turntables, but none worked.

THERE AIN'T NO LUGGAGE RACKS
ON A HURSE.

Don't worry. Its just guilt over having so much fun.

Get a maid to help with that self propelled bachelor's pad.

Until then try cold compresses. Iiit'll pass.

DO NOT buy any property, it only ties you down.

This Canadian expat bought a place in El Salvador, moved mother down from an overpriced nursing home in Ontario, bought as there was no suitable rental. All was fine until mother passed on, took a trip to SE Asia & would have been happy stating there for an indefinite period but the dang property was costly to keep up + not immediately sell-able, so returned & not a happy camper.

Should just put it on the market & return to Asia, single & while Latina's are nice, have a bad case of yellow fever LOL.

While I agree with most of the other poster's advice, I think what I would do is rent (or just borrow) a bit of land in or near a town I like and try it out, living in my motor home. If you give it a few weeks, months, years you will eventually know if this is a place you want to grow older in. If not, start 'er up and move along.

Why settle down and buy a house, anyway? What is the point? Do you want to grow a garden, find a spouse, spend all your money, or just die with your boots off? Okay, but life being life it probably won't work out quite that way. If you like where you are, stay. If not, move. That's my philosophy, anyway.

As to equity, that's the last thing for an old guy to worry about accumulating in this economy. IMHO, of course.

the frame of mind needed to settle down again in a house

You assume the 'stay at home' frame of mind is about valuing what is familiar, the 'travel' frame of mind is valuing what is unfamiliar

But there's always something new you can find in familiar surroundings - change of seasons, discovering more depth in people you thought you knew, or just seeing things you never noticed before.

"I have travelled a great deal in Concord" - Thoreau meant he was always interested in his little town and it's surroundings, curious, and paying attention.

I have no idea why you think you need to change your frame of mind.

Are you worried that with no foot in the real estate market you'll be priced out if the day comes when your health says it is time to go home? Then buy an apartment and rent it out, letting an estate agent handle it. Keep travelling.

Friends of mine have a big RV and they "settle" in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico every year from November to May, traveling out from there to see other places in Central America. In May they head north and "settle" in a lovely small town in Ontario with a strong music/arts culture that they actively involve themselves in. Their kids/grandkids are an hour away so they catch up on their grandparenting then too. If they could afford international travel as well they would. But they've made peace with what they have and max out their lifestyle accordingly.

In my case, we have a large home which we rent out at least 1/2 of all year to help fund traveling 6-7 mos of the year. Sometimes internationally via bus/train/plane, sometimes throughout North America with our small camperized van. This works for us right now. When it does not we will do something different.

I always like to have a nest to return to ...but that is just me. My husband LIKES home reno stuff so we've kept our money invested in this large house and he is happy to come home and do things to it. It's his hobby. If I were alone I would sell it as it is too expensive to have to make house repairs via contractors. As to stuff ....every time someone makes the mistake of admiring something in my house they end up taking it home with them! I am very happy to get rid of stuff and adamantaly refuse to bring anything more home from our travels unless it has a practical use and we actually NEED it.

I know people who talk about moving to another country in their retired years. Does not appeal to me on a permanent basis as I LIKE my friends/family/activities at home. I also think about health care and social services. Yes, health care is cheap in developing countries but when you ask around you inevitably discover that anyone who can afford to flies out for care the minute they have anything serious wrong with them. So when I think about my older age I think I will want to be in Canada where healthcare is available to all and if I cannot afford a nursing home we have some good ones that are paid for by the taxes I paid all those years. And where my kids will hopefully keep an eye on me.

So ...we all have to find the road that works for us. But no one should feel obliged to "settle down". Reminds me of how everyone put pressure on us to "get married" all those years ago. Until we were ready to start a family we did not see any reason to. So we didn't.