not at all… I retired at 56 (now 72) and moved to France with the determination to enjoy retirement rather than slog it out to 65 as my father did and then fall of his perch in his early 70’s a year old than I am now, exhausted.
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I retired at 45 (now 60) and my move to France was for the same reasons as Graham’s, it doesn’t feel like 15 years ago though.
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I retired at 54 following a hip replacement thinking that continuing to work in the building industry was not a good idea. Arrived in France 15 years ago and managed a year of retirement, got bored and started a gite management business which created more building work that I could have shook a hairy stick at.
Definitely retired now and my hip joint still as good as new.
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hip, hip, hooray! 
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Indeed Graham!
I even wrote a book about the experience.
Tried to create a link but failed , hence screenshot.
@graham I need a lesson in how to link.
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Very interesting to learn of all of your ‘youthful’ retirements.
Given COVID, and never knowing what’s around the corner, I wanted to leave work when relatively young and healthy enough to enjoy it, with my wife and dogs. I was very influenced by the example of my parents. My Mum left retirement too late, with hindsight. She was a full time local Councillor until her early seventies, then the moment she stepped down, she had to become a full time carer for my Dad (dementia). They missed out on a happy joint retirement and I want to try and avoid that happening.
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I
If you want it done cheaper then move to another country……like the UK…….that doesn’t pay excessive wages etc etc etc.
Either the tradesman or the customer are taken the pix out if so you have chosen to be the latter. Enjoy living in France!
Sorrywhatpardon?
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Don’t worry about it, as it is a member that no one is quite sure why they are here as they just grump about France and the EU all the time 
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You obviously don’t like it very much when it is the other way round do you?
O dear
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perhaps you can explain what you actually mean.
At the moment you are just posting incomprehensible rubbish 
More to the point - why are you here at all?
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I think the straight jacket makes it difficult to hit the correct keys
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I’ve been living here for donkey’s years and I could give you a list as long as your arm of people who swizzled me. Found a plumber in Yellow Pages (before Google days) and he came to see what was wrong with my washing machine which seemed to have popped it’s clogs. He turned on a special kind of timer like chess players use.
He pronounced it dead and buried and convinced me that he has fabulous deals from his supplier so I agreed and I signed something without reading it (dumb) and I later discovered it was some kind of a service contract with him!!! He charged me 100 Euros for his 30 minutes and I discovered the same machine cost HALF in chain shops.
I reckoned it was just an extension od the 100 Years War…