Podcast Series 1, Episode 3: A conversation with Brian Crisp
Host Bec Wilson, the author of How to Have an Epic Retirement talks to Brian Crisp about retiring from his career role and moving all the way across the world with his wife and her parents, to beautiful Scotland. Hear how they made the decision to move, and all about where they lived and what they did.
Brian also talks about his progressive attitude to working in retirement, playing in a band in his sixties, finding work in both Scotland and Australia and finding his tribe. There’s so much wisdom to enjoy.
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Highlights of the podcast:
2.00 Let’s get to know Brian Crisp
2.50 Brian’s views on living a retired but not retired life, doing what he loves, journalism, playing in a band as one of two sixty year old blokes
5.10 One of the secrets of retirement is finding your tribe. How Brian did that.
5.50 The process of deciding to retire, and what to do when retiring and then the the process of deciding to move to across the world to Scotland
8.35 Picking a town to live in and finding a new home near Aberdeen in the Scottish Highlands
9.15 Living in a green keepers house on a golf course, in a forest in Scotland.
9.40 Living the dream in very cold weather, and what life was like in this beautiful climate
10.40 Loving the history of the region, playing gigs in old pubs in Scotland, telling his funny story about Paul Kelly
11.50 Putting the change in place, the very long to-do list required to move overseas, starting before you retire. Getting a credit card, the challenges, the visa and the other things. Making decisions about what to do with your house
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12.55 His inlaws moved across the world with them. How that decision evolved because his wife didn’t want to leave her parents.
16.40 Travelling with your inlaws - as a blended family. Travelling as a sandwich generation. The tragic story of his father-in-laws passing while in Scotland.
17.00 Living in a multi-generational household with his mother in law now - Why Australia isn’t so good at it.
17.50 Leaving a big corporate career, making big steps to change your life.
18.25 Your job doesn’t define who you are. Learning to be yourself and being honest with yourself about it.
21.00 Retiring these days is not ‘retiring and never working again’, you can still just go and do stuff. Thinking of being a Santa for 6-7 weeks and that will pay for his next holiday.
21.45 Making decisions for you.
22.03 Setting up a framework for getting casual work. Putting it out there that you are happy to be a person who will help them get things done. Setting up relationships in Scotland to get work - in journalism, and in making music in pubs.
24.15 Playing in aged care centres to people with Dementia and enjoying the reactions of residents who knew every word to every song.
25.55 Using Scotland as a base to travel from. They travelled to Germany, Norway, a spiritual trip to Egypt, toured England by car. Had done his Ancestry.com and really enjoyed seeking out his history in Oxfordshire. And Scotland, everywhere he could. Visiting to see the Royal Family going to Church on a Sunday.
28.00 Learning things about the Royal Family that you would not have known unless you live there. The incredible things the royal family actually do for their communities.
36.33 It’s time for the fast five.
What would Brian tell his 21 year old self? It’s OK to be patient. We were just rushing to be old. Feeling like a naughty kid now.
Number one lesson learned the hard way? Always say yes to everything. People will never ask you to do something if they don’t need you to do it…
What do you do that you really love doing that no matter what you’ll fit into your week? Playing the guitar - working out if you can play something, understanding people through their stories in song
Biggest tip for people approaching retirement? Clearing your own headspace and working out what it is you want to do. You can’t leave it to chance. You shouldn’t retire because the age tells you to retire… Getting your mind in shape
What does having an Epic Retirement mean to him? Being able to hop on a plane and go and see things that he hasn’t seen before. “I love learning about other people’s cultures… tells story about understanding other people” “Once you stop asking questions and stop trying new things, that’s when a routine exists and a routine isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Did you see this week’s Epic Retirement Newsletter?
This week in our Epic Retirement Newsletter, I did a deep-dive into the 2023 retirement communities landscape with all the latest statistics on what age people enter each type of village and how long they live there. I also brought you up to date on the big changes to the pension and superannuation drawdowns that arrive for all retirees on 1 July 2023. If you missed it, I’ve linked it here.
Retirement Diaries: Packing up and moving across the world to Scotland in retirement with Brian Crisp