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A place of my own
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Carefree globe trotters
We cashed in on our property so that we could travel the world David Bradshaw, 67, a retired builder, and Janet Bradshaw, 64, a retired book-keeper, moved from a five-bedroom Thirties semi to a three-bedroom semi five years ago. They live in Enfield, Middlesex.
David Bradshaw’s mother never left England, and spent her last years in a rest home. Her son’s idea of retirement is very different. Over the past five years, David and Janet have been to South Africa, Canada, France, Ireland (twice, fishing), Italy and the Mediterranean. David is a man of his time. “The fact that my mother left me some money, that my business went well and the property market exploded means people like us from working-class families can see the world,” he says. “I want to spend my money while I can. I don’t want to leave it to the kids!”
This prompts mixed emotions in Catherine, 31, and Michael, 33, who live nearby with their children.
“Catherine will half jokingly say, ‘Oh, you’re selfish going off and leaving me,’” says Janet, who helps out with her grandchildren. David thinks Janet should be more selfish. “You can’t have your life revolve around your kids,” he’ll say.
Five years ago, the Bradshaws sold their house for nearly 45 times what they paid for it 30 years earlier. They swapped a renovated five-bedroom Thirties semi with a sauna, solarium, gymnasium and swimming pool – “Dave has never been someone who just decorates,” says Janet, “he’s knocked a wall down or built something on” – for a modest semi with three bedrooms two miles down the road. David, a man of strong opinions who likes pub life, had wanted to move to Spain. Janet, an easy-going, devout Roman Catholic, wanted to stay. Among other things, she belongs to a history group, an art club, a ladies’ group “and I didn’t want to change doctors”, she says.
Their released riches are not all for global travel, however. Both rely on state pensions. David had paid into a pension fund from 1970, but ceased contributions after injuring his back and winding up his company. It now pays £1,800 year. “Ridiculous,” he snorts, “We couldn’t live off that.”
The hardest part about downsizing, they say, was the actual move. “It was physically exhausting,” says Janet. They hadn’t realised that removal companies are booked up months in advance. In the end, a friend of David’s had to move 30 years of family life in two white Transit vans. Written by Sally Williams
This article was created: 19 October 2006.
This article was last edited: 12 July 2007.
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