Thanks 🙏 I’m toying with taking 12 months Long Service Leave pre retirement

Agree with everything you say Les. I left a job once after 6 years. I’d been sick for 3 months, got no sick pay and no contact to ask how I was. I resigned after I got well. Was told by the company I’d never work for them again. Made me very hard faced towards employment and for the past twenty years I’ve done exactly as I’ve pleased with work. Retirement will be a pleasure hopefully in 3 years time at 55 🤞

I have been following your Vlogs recently with interest . As you have said Redcar may not be the best place in the world but its certainly not the worst when you look around. Well done for giving it the credit it deserves. There are places I have considered living before but the world has changed so much and i now think i don't know that i would want to live there now its gone down so much. Redcar hasn't faired too badly the worst can be the grey skies. Interesting to have the reminder about Roseberry Square you can soon forget. It was officially opened by my grandfather. It was a shopping centre of its time. You will no doubt recall the Oasis? I agree retire as soon as you can life is too short and too many people never make it to retirement. I retired early 2 years ago and work was a means to an end for me. I have always had lots of interests so have never had a problem occupying my time. Its important to try and keep your mind active and dont think or act old or you will become old.

I can understand why at 50 you would want to change careers if you are doing physical work. But stoping work completely, unless you are very financially secure and have a lot of interests to keep you occupied seems like a risky move.

Good take on your new life after work, i had an app on my phone with retirement D Day set to count down, i could not get away at 50 but much later in my early 60`s , i did not want to go on the state pension retirement date but got away before, i had a slush fund to bridge the time before my pensions started paying out ,saved like mad last few years and it did tide me over . good luck in your new life i hope you are happy from old England in the North :}

Very interesting comments on your work life…regarding the end with the bin bags,did they never offer you opportunities to improve your position or were you not ambitious for this? 30 yrs doing the same old every day and we all know the decline of the fire industry with great improvements in fire safety in all walks of life, I know people who were fireman all had small businesses whilst working with the different brigades and made a lot of money. You seem very bitter about it.

Great views on retirement. I am 2 weeks into my retirement now and it has been great. My job was never my identity. I trained up some replacements to manage the gear and all but know they have it from here and don't really think about work. Enjoyed travel while we worked so now we get to do more of that on a slower pace. Have been working on health for 2 to 3 hours a day. Getting back into meeting old friends and family. Planning some fall hiking trips. It's all good. Love being in control of my time now and not having to worry about if we are away somewhere and having a blast, well we can stay for a few more days or whatnot.

100% right, Love every minute of my 17 years retirement.

This is so true. In our workplaces we are only a number. Just a number. That’s it.

RETIRED! DON'T GIVE UP: yes have a plan and a hobby that will keep you from getting bored. My hobby is 53 videos in and counting. Nice one Les

Very Entertaining and interesting topics as always Mate. To be honest with you I couldn’t care less about what I will leave behind when I’m retired. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it in about 6 years probably in Pattaya. I’m totally agree with you LES I mean when you gone that’s it very few people will keep thinking about yourself. I guess is only natural. I hope your sister is feeling much better. Thanks again for your wicked videos. Keep safe Mate

As you were walking, if you saw a smoke coming from a house. What would you do? Jump into the house rescue people, dogs or cats. Others call emergency number and walk past the house😢

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on retirement Les. The past only exists as a memory. The present moment is all we ever have. Peace and clarity of thought come from living in the present. Retire from the rat race - start living again is what i did. Always have a plan B ready in these increasingly troubling times.

I always worked to live, never lived to work. The days fly by for me now, unfortunately.😁

Was said Les

Howdy, Les!

Nice cloudy day there Les!! So many shops closed what’s up with that?

It’s so true about leaving work without looking back! I’ve been made redundant a year before retirement age after 13 years in corporate life! I’m very happy with my retirement life now and filing my days without boredom! Started learning something new and taking it as my new hobby. No stress these days indeed. 😁

Thailand 🇹🇭 is great for a holiday but wouldn’t want to live in that stifling heat all the time. 🇬🇧 isn’t so bad if you live in a good area and switch off the news/twitter!

Good video as usual Les.Been retired 19 yrs. Fully endorse about not going back to your old work place. Got into rental properties,when I retired but getting out now because of age,40% tax payer, increased taxes and regulations, Labour Government. Just got a new DTV visa for Thailand, will spend even more time in Thailand. Must pop down from Stockton later in the month before you go back for a beer/coffee etc. When are you intending to return to Thailand Les?

My working life has been similar to yours but in reverse. I spent around 25 years working and living in Middle East, Africa and Asia (two years in Thailand). Now I'm retired and live in Wales but still enjoy traveling to distant places. It's only now that I look back and think how lucky I was to have been paid to work and visit some very intersting places. I used to go to Patong beach, Phuket in the late 1970's when there was only a few shacks, now look at it! Places change but I'm finding that it's not usually for the better. Have a happy and long retirement. 🍻

Hi Les, great that ticking spiral clock you've shown there

I’ve been properly retired 21 months now, I finished work on November 18th 2022, aged 68.5 y/o, walk away and don’t look back is my advice, it was a little emotional but it’s right what you say les your just a cog in the wheel, easily replaced, some good things about working an extra 3 years passed my retirement age of 65.5 y/o, 3 years paying no national insurance boosts wages, I was earning £800 p/wk average over those 3 extra years,and saved over £25000, also had an extra 4 years peoples pension, and I deferred my uk state pension also, I was gob smacked yesterday as I phoned the uk pensions office to claim my 4.5 years deferred pension and the very nice helpful lady on the other end of the phone told me that I would get £15000 in my bank next week, and that I would be receiving over £300 p/week pension, 10 minutes on the phone and a few simple security and information questions job done, on the other hand my 2 other pensions, people’s pension and personal have been a chore to try and collect, the people’s is not so bad with the phone app, but my personal pension took me around the houses, proper nightmare to get my money, reams of paperwork and hoops to jump through, drawing 2 tax free lump sums to start with and then sort my incoming monthly payments, just what you don’t need at 70 y/o !,. I’ve got a friend who’s saved £100 p/week for most of his working life and he’s amassed £70000 in savings that he can just walk into the bank and pull out without any hassles, me, I’m going to pay tax on my pension money if I drew it all out, it’s not worth the hassle, plus they are playing with your money , I’ve lost around £5/6000 on my so called pension investment,like you say les, hey ho,….

Well done mate.It's was nice to hear your story.

As an aside Les, Have the new thai tax laws affected you and have you made any plans to mitigate against them should you need to, looking at some of the stuff it really could have a serious impact on expats like yourself or even potential expats like myself. Barry

Very very true....Les ..nailed every objective rationale point. We are merely a means to an end for the vast majority of people.

Les, You are just a name and number and when your gone no one gives a rats ass about you, while you were there you had power and influence if you were a manager and had subordinates. Some of your staff will have been really appreciative if you were decent whilst others will be so glad your gone, the people you would have fired if it was your choice. I'm sure as a decent person you have seen idiots that were in charge of you and rose through the ranks on degrees of codology, much the same as how the country is being run. regards Barry

Very wise words, Les. As soon as it is financially viable, I am out of the UK destination, Thailand. More affordable, better quality of life. Thank you for your time.

Not many people will be retiring to Thailand now with shocking tax rules being enforced

Right on Les! Really few people even think about you when you're gone. None of us are that important. It's only politicians and media who think they are important or experts and want to tell the peasants how great they are.

Thanks for advice ❤❤❤

25000 for the pension retired pension life .and a lot mor for the rest at the start

Nothing is permanent Les everything is tempory and no one is indispensable😅

Appreciate Ur honesty and realism les. I'm 60 now, I'm a farm worker in Oz and I'm considering my options

Not nice in the northern east today very dull and cold

GB uk is like a ship caught in a fierce storm, struggling to stay afloat amidst waves of economic and political turmoil. The crew-its leaders-are divided, unsure of the right course, while the passengers-the people-cling to hope, fearing what lies ahead. The ship’s oxygen-symbolizing essential resources and stability-is depleting rapidly. Without immediate, unified action, the vessel risks sinking into a sea of despair, from which recovery may be impossible. The leaders must quickly chart a clear path to safety, or the ship-and the dreams of its people-will be lost to the depths.

Will your UK state pension be index linked as an expat in Thailand?

Redcar looks a nice area Les but I bet you can’t wait to get back to the Kingdom,hope you’re sister is on the mend, cheers mate.

Les, the 15,000 baht house I know it’s in Ban-phe but what is the village called where the house is located?

I retired at 58 in 2020, your active years are between 60 and 70, my dad retired at 58, he lived until he was 96, he told me years ago to retire as early as you can afford to

Tell how scary les just caught a bug spent 2 days in hospital paralysed for a day my arms dead and it's caused by a virus you get in hot climates You know me never been in hospital hospital, but if it was someone less fit it could have been worse Doctor said it could paralyse for a week so I was lucky

I left England 35 years ago. Sometimes feel guilty for leaving family, especially my mum, but sounds like maybe I was lucky.. I live in San Diego, California. Very expensive, but I’m fortunate to have a good job. Coming back twice a year now to see my mum. I don’t really see the negatives being I’m only there for two weeks at a time.

Well done Les, a minefield of information. Thank you🌍🌎🌏

As a non british eastern european, I could say UK is country of people who love to complain. There is living lots of foreigners here, ask them how they not find this country expensive. It's allways depends on your salary, your rent price and food you buying, car driving. If you know that dentist here in UK asking for higher price, go to another country and you get same or even better quality for 5 times lower amount of money. Bad weather? Tell to scandinavian people about that :D every day I come to work with smile and positive attitude and found not happy british people smoking cigarettes and complaining about everything. Life is good here, trust me. Good roads, high salaries, lots of opportunities to open business, cheap cars, cheap houses. Just don't be lazy and you could make living here perfect 👌

I’m actually considering moving back after 10 years. England still has a lot to offer, especially in the countryside. I love it

Yeah les it's the system we have. We can't change it.

Easily manageable as long as you don’t chase skirt or booze. Great weather, beaches and you can make good expat friends( clear out the suckers). Then act as if you are a happy 10 year old with pocket money. If you’ve still got your looks. You can marry an educated, lady with a proper job who is not out to juggle 4 farang boyfriends sponsorship income. If you just want to play, play but wise to the fact that you should never, ever get married unless she has money and is prepared to share.

I left in 1979 .Over the past 5 years when i return it has plummeted into a state of disrepair. So very happy that i decided to leave when i was 24 years old .So sorry to hear about your nephew ,he deserves so much better .

Is it always wise to sell everything and cut all ties to live in another country?

Just discovered your channel Les. One thing that those in power don’t want the rest of us to realize that the state of the UK and the U.S. where I have lived for 40 years is the crazy and criminal war industry funding that far far out weighs the hand outs to those in need. But do you hear that in the media ? No. They want us to be divided and blame each other. We should be out in the streets protesting the insane government expenditures on wars that we fuel or empower . People don’t be sheep and keep voting these criminal uniparty government in year after year