Castles in the air

When my father was about the age I am now, he used to say he would retire at 45. I found it a mightily good idea. After all, who said a self-employed person should wait till 60 to retire if at 45, they have saved enough to be able to live happily ever after?

I wish I could do the same, but I have to acknowledge that I won't have squirrelled away enough by 2013 for it to be a serious proposition. However, I think that after more than 20 years of hard work, I am entitled to change my way of life a bit and enjoy nice surroundings, non-essentials like a sea view, etc.

Water is very important to me. Were reincarnation my thing, I would think I used to be some kind of marine animal in a former life. Being rather matter-of-fact, I'll just say I like the look and feel of water, which has a calming effect on me, helps me relax and be serene.

One of my most positive character traits is that I don't get easily discouraged by seemingly impossible dreams. If you apply enough pressure, most obstacles will yield. That's my belief, and I may be about to be proven right.

A few years ago, I spent 2 years in my preferred African country to date. Unfortunately I had to relocate to Europe for health reasons, but after having recovered and spent 2.5 years elsewhere on the continent, I long to go back to this place. I have been considering this new move for more than one year now, and went for a fact-finding trip last October. I was a bit apprehensive, because I had so fond remembrances that I was afraid reality wouldn't be up to par with my recollections. I shouldn't have harboured such doubts: the actual thing was even better than what I remembered.

There, less than 7 miles from the capital city, lays a wonderful house, complete with swimming pool and kids' pool, own beach, several terraces, poolside bar and barbecue, etc. I visited it and found it almost as wonderful as it seemed from afar. The beauty of it was that the then tenant was to vacate the property by end July 2007.

I was informed that the landlord didn't want to rent anymore but sell. There was no way I could come up with the money, but I saved the real estate ad in my favourites and within months, discovered that the tenant would go by end May instead of July, that the property was on the market for rental again, and that the price had dropped by $300. I got in touch with the the landlord, told him I was still very interested indeed, and racked my brains to find a way to come up with what he was asking (1-year rental in advance, plus a $2,000 deposit). While I was thinking hard, he sent another email saying he was prepared to offer another $150 cut on the monthly rent.

So in about 6 months, thanks to the drop of the US dollar and successive price reductions, my dream property had become quite affordable indeed: for the same price, in Paris, France, I would be able to afford a one bedroom, one sitting room 40sqm apartment in a not-too-good neighbourhood.

Of course, the property will cost much more than a Parisian apartment in maintenance. But again, it was built as a guest-house and even though it hasn't been operated as such for the last few years, its potential is tremendous. I decided that I would therefore re-open it as a guest-house and offer to share my little eden on the beach, for a fee. This should at least take care of the maintenance. I would also be able to meet people, with no strings attached.

Who knows? Maybe life can actually be as good as you can dream it?