If we do get the year away we have to think about our house.
Do we leave our offspring in it? (Can’t see them going anywhere in five years, more’s the pity.)
Implications: they are lazy shits and will not care for things. So they would have to pay for a cleaner, mum being absent. But at least they’re here to “look after” the house and pool. And we don’t have to worry about our possessions. I would make them pay all the utilities which will be a shock to their system, but will be a life lesson to them, and save us money.
Do we rent out the house?
Implications: we need to declutter our stuff and put things into storage. Huge effort! I could stop buying clothes and shoes and wear them out over the next four and a half years (which I’m doing anyway) but the furniture still needs to go somewhere. And so will our offspring. Lol. We also need to fix up bathrooms, kitchen and extensive yards. But we would earn a huge amount and it would finish off our mortgage, pay the rates and them some.
Do we get house sitters?
Implications: we don’t need to declutter so much as furniture remains where it is. I could take the same approach and stop buying clothes and shoes and wear them out, opening up wardrobe space. Our offspring will need to move out. We will still need to fix up bathrooms, kitchen and our extensive yards. We’d earn some money. Enough to finish off the mortgage.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself, not having applied yet, but what do you think? Which one should I choose?
lucinda sans 
I love my children dearly. I am so relieved they left home…
Hahaha. Only a mother who truly loves her rotten ungrateful children would understand the humour and truth in that.
And yes, I know I am at fault for their lack of resourcefulness, lack of contribution to the household and sense of entitlement.
Perhaps another reason to leave Sydney. Sydney children never leave home. Often still there until 30.
Reg and I have been planning something similar for our antiquity. I’m a smidge older than him, but I’m probably less inclined to retire at 65, so I can wait til he catches up to me. Because I’m a late bloomer, I’m going to be in my sixties by the time Mayhem finishes education, so yeah… there’s going to be a need for me to keep working for a while. BUT when they’re off our hands, the plan is that we take off in a camper van and see Australia. Ironically, 75% of our ‘fights’ involve my lack of sense of direction and dubious abilities with map reading, so it’s probably an interesting proposition. However, we made it to Queensland and back without killing each other so it’s not out of the question. I may have micromanaged every aspect of that trip, however, we’re working on Spontaneous and Detour (no, it’s no me that needs help being free-range!)
I have a great internal sense of direction but annoy Mr S with my map reading ways. I have to turn the map the way we are going. But at least I can read the map. Mr S’s eye sight is not the best. He also trusts the Nav thingie. I am dubious. Luckily we ignored it at my direction once. Or we would have ended on a goat track over the ranges between Qld and NSW.
Bloody goat tracks that Navpeople think are actual roads… one of those was the cause of a tense moment on our road trip. We ended up with an analogue navigation assistant after that incident. Maps are generally quite reliable.
Rent it out with furniture included. If this will pay off the mortgage, this would be a fabulous option. Maybe your kids come as part of the package deal?
Home and family package deal!?!
I have no idea how I would deal with that dilemma! It’s all very well to joke about turfing one’s kids out, but in the city’s rental market, how realistic is it that they could be self-supporting? If it were me, and Link was here, I would probably resign myself to letting them stay in the house, but I would also have to hire someone to maintain the property (outdoor stuff) and I would be tempted to put some stuff in storage to protect it! But Link would probably want a room mate and maybe I could charge them rent 🙂 I also have family living nearby, so I would have to ask my brother and sister to stop by regularly, check on Link and the house, and provide support for getting repairs and maintenance done. That would be my reality. So glad it is not happening – I think the worry would ruin the travel plans for me!
Luckily we have neighbours who keep an eye on things. I just resign myself to letting the offspring stay. Think I would book a lawn mower man though for an extended trip away.
I was going to say, ‘Rent the house. Rent the house. Rent the house.’ But given the kids are there, I’ll amend that to, ‘Rent the house to the kids.’ It’s a nice half-measure which is the only realistic thing to do in the Sydney property market. Let them sub-let it to friends to off-set the cost. It will teach them the real-world skills of paying their own utilities and rent (perhaps slightly cheaper than normal rent) and skills like having to clean and maintain things themselves. I’d set it up like a quasi-real rental with Condition Reports etc. and make them do maintenance!
I’m with you but Mr S would never do that. He’d be happy to have them here forever.