December 2022






Retired at 54? Does that mean I will be retired for 20 years? 30? 40?

My Husband (Andrew) tells me that most people in the world would envy me. Having enough money not to work again unless I want to is a privilege I know but do I want to not work again? Honestly, I don't know yet.

After a lifetime of being busy and "pushing the envelope", retiring early is a strange concept and one I am getting used to (or not, we'll wait and see)...

I am Leonie Jarrett. 54 and living in Melbourne, Australia. I have lived in Melbourne all my life and I love mostly everything about it. Yes, the weather is not always wonderful (especially at the moment courtesy of La Nina, a wet and cold weather system which is keeping Summer away). Mainly, though, I love this city. Loads of trees and beautiful gardens, cafes, restaurants, coffee, theatre, sport, so many different cultures with all the wonders they bring...you name it, we have it in Melbourne.

I am lucky enough to have two homes - one in a leafy part of Melbourne and another on the Mornington Peninsula which is a little over an hour's drive away. Now that we're retired and aren't restricted by 9-5 weekdays and school terms, we can live between the houses easily. I am unsure about a lot of aspects of retirement but the freedom from the weekly grind of routine is definitely a bonus!

I first met my Husband, Andrew, in 1978 - we were in Grade 5 together! We have been a couple since we were 20, celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in June and have 4 adult kids - two boys and two girls. Since I expect that they won't want me to spill too many secrets about them (they don't know I'm writing a blog yet!), we'll call them M, N, L and G.

The photo at the top of this post is Andrew and I on Hamilton Island, Queensland earlier this year. 

Completing our family are two Golden Retriever brothers. I don't expect much opposition to my blog from them so we'll call them by their names -Albus and Harry. Yes, there is a "Harry Potter" theme there! Albus is 2 and Harry is 1 and they enrich our lives greatly although they do pose some issues for us travelling.

There is much uncertainty at the moment but travel is clear. To travel is the one certain objective that Andrew and I have. 

We have travelled widely as a family - we took every opportunity we could and have taken the children to many parts of Australia and to countries including: Russia and Egypt as well as toured parts of Asia, the US and Europe.

Now that the kids are adults and we have sold our business and retired, we have time...plenty of time. We do have to be mindful of what we spend (we may be retired for 30 plus years after all!) but there are plenty of cheaper, travel options if you spend enough time on the internet looking! Our problem, then, is our fur babies.

This blog will evolve but, for now, it is my story of how I got to this point and how Andrew and I navigate retirement and travel. Sometimes, the travel will include kid/s, sometimes it will include dogs, sometimes it will be just Andrew and I - we are the Two Drifters.













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