My primary retirement planning considerations are always going to be financial; however, secondary considerations are going to be where I retire. Sure money is important, what money buys is a decent lifestyle, no point working all your life then not enjoying your time off, work hard then retire early, the plan is to retire early enough to enjoy the time.

I live in Perth and enjoy living in such a remote capital city of about 2 million people. Summertime is fantastic, late spring and autumn and also great time. Winter sucks, Perth is an awful dreary place in winter, the only redeeming feature is going and watching the Fremantle football team play at home every second weekend – hopefully they will be competitive then.

My plan is to spend at least winter living overseas, that’s at least three months of the year. I think that could easily be extended to four, five or six months very easily. I own my private residence outright and have done so for a number of years, I don’t owe any money and have no net debt. During the summer season, I am happy to be back in Perth to enjoy summer, water sports including diving and sailing are what enjoy life is about for me.

So now the question is where? I have spent plenty of time in South East Asia over the years, the region is well priced and affordable. From Perth, flights are reasonable and frequent to most destinations. Sure, I will likely have to transit through a hub such as Singapore, Bangkok or even Hong Kong, but I don’t mind.

I looking a little further away, the European summer is my first choice with the Mediterranean countries of Portugal, Spain, Italy or Greece my primary destinations. There is nothing stopping me from moving around from year to year although I want to remain close to my primary accommodation for the European summer.