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The good life
When it comes to escaping to a simpler, less stressful way of life, Chris and Gillean Sangster wrote the rule book – quite literally They first ‘downshifted’ or ‘downsized’ before the expressions were even coined. Their book The Downshifter’s Guide to Relocation is the result of their own experience in relocating from their home in London to the Wiltshire countryside in the 1980s and leaving high-powered careers in business training consultancy and systems analysis, respectively, behind them.
It was not if they were unused to change - both are former teachers, and they have used their
understanding of how to use and share knowledge to their own and others’ advantage.
Now the art of downshifting, and how to do it properly, has become a third vocation for them. After living in Wiltshire and working from home, they decided to downshift again – this time to Scotland where they realised a long-held dream to live in a beautiful Highland home and rent out self-catering accommodation to help pay for it.
Seven years later, and having established a successful self-catering cottage business, they’re at it again. They are moving back to the West Country, where Gillean will become more involved in writing and crafts and Chris will be focusing on personal development coaching and stress management seminars.
And, if anyone knows about managing stress it is arguably Chris Sangster. His career path has also taken him to Brussels where he was international training manager for an American company. Now he prefers to advise people and companies from home.
And as he and his wife have proved, as long as you know where you’re going, and what you’re
going to do when you get there, any of us can enjoy what he describes as a ‘brilliant future’. Read their booksThe Downshifter’s Guide to Relocation, written by Chris and Gillean Sangster and published by How to Books (www.howtobooks.co.uk). £9.99
Others books by the authors include:Starting and Running a Holiday Cottage Business, by Gillean Sangster (published by How to Books; www.howtobooks.co.uk)
Brilliant Future – work out what you want and plan how to get there, by Chris Sangster (published by Prentice Hall)
Messages from the Mountains/Echoes in the Atrium – two-book set of work/life balance inspirational sayings, by Chris Sangster (Gordon Nott Publishing) Written by David Allsop Read their top tips
This article was created: 11 October 2006.
This article was last edited: 22 November 2006.
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