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Grey Nomads choosing Bordeaux over Play-doh

Amy Crutchfield

by Amy Crutchfield

09 Jan 05:45am

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Filed under: Children, Grandparents, Money, Parents, Society, Travel

30 comments

She checks what the time is in their far-flung time zone and then looks into the distance. It is so long since they have been back in this city, back at home. What exotic locale are they exploring today? Who are they spending time with? Are they safe? 

Cartoon: David Rowe

These could well be the musings of a parent surveying a nest emptied of backpacking children. But they are in fact the reflections of a child, a middle-aged child left in the wake of the fastest growing class of traveller – The Silver Mobility.  The Silver Mobility are superannuated, silver-haired (underneath) and they’ve got very itchy feet.  It’s not only pneumonia that hits seniors hardest - wanderlust is just as bad. 

The Silver Mobility sweated it out for over 40 years. They sent more of us than ever to private schools, supported more of us than ever through tertiary education, funded unprecedented material comfort, and then they waited for us to move out. And then they waited some more for the ones that moved out, and then moved back, to move out again. But finally, we’re gone. Which means it’s time to dust off the suitcase, fill a few prescriptions for Brufen and Lipitor and get the hell out of there.

Even in my twenties, carousing around the world, with the most challenging part of the day being the choice between an Amstel and a Grolsch, the potential injustice of the situation was apparent.  At the same age my parents had children, a mortgage and a weekly salary that would make you want to reuse tea bags.

But now it’s payback time. While septagenarians flit through passport control or roll into wine country in their hire cars, their grown children are stuck at home with the babies and the mortgages, hugging their parents’ Powers of Attorney for comfort and checking for intermittent emails. 

Avant-garde, globetrotting grandparents have discovered the most painless form of engaging with grandchildren in the history of man – Skype. You’d have to have the EQ of a lizard not to enjoy looking at a photo of grandchildren, and Skype is, afterall, just a talking photo – with an off switch. 

Distant grandchildren have similarly embraced the technology.  No need to be scrubbed and polished for a staid visit. They simply pause their computer game for a few minutes when a photo of that old person they see at Christmas pops up in the corner of the screen. Grandpa is online and ready to Skype.

Traditionally, the idea of saving your pennies to leave a legacy had a strong hold on our collective psyche, but the end of that era is nigh. The new mantra seems to be there are no pockets in shrouds.  Perhaps this is one ramification of a welfare state.  Because let’s face it, even if you do drain the last of your potential legacy in the south of France, it’s not like you’re leaving your descendants at the mercy of Dickensian England. 

You’d be leaving them to bounce on one of the springiest social safety nets in civil society.

The fact is that retirements are getting longer and healthier and there is only so much Sudoku one person can do.  After decades of tending the vines, the Silver Mobility are ready to eat grapes.  However, it’s not always about an urge to travel.  Staying put at home leaves you a sitting duck for childcare. 

Looking after grandchildren may be a dream come true for some grandparents, but for others small children are a tour of duty they have already completed.  I know septagenarians who would rather dine with a ferret than look after a slavering toddler for 24 hours. When the time comes, if it’s a choice between Bordeaux or Play-Doh -  I know what I’d do.

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30 comments

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    • scubasteve says:

      05:46am | 09/01/12

      “... fill a few prescriptions for Brufen and Lipitor and get the hell out of there.”
      I wish they WOULD fill their prescriptions before they travel, the reality is they fill country hospital ED’s   because country town GP’s are booked 6 weeks in advance, and boy, are they upset about the four hour wait!  Their over-blown sense of entitlement is not deserved. Go back to work and pay some taxes, you’re going to live for another 40 years!

      Reply

    • marley says:

      06:31am | 09/01/12

      Completely irrelevant comment. I’ve been in country EDs and a city one in the last few years (only once for myself) and they were certainly full of people who didn’t have major problems but couldn’t get an appointment with a GP - but the people weren’t just oldies by any means.  They were all ages.  The shortcomings of our medical system are irrelevant to the point of the article.

      PS as a member of the silver mobility set, I’ll let you in on a little secret - I pay quite a lot of tax.  You don’t travel a lot if you don’t have something more than the pension to rely on.

    • fairsfair says:

      03:36pm | 09/01/12

      I’m not sure if it is that irrelevant Marley. There seems to be a real sense of entitlement with Grey Nomads and the medication issue is just one example. It seems quite minor, I agree, but these types of things seem to have a cumulative effect.

      They expect Show Associations and Regional Councils to supply them with facilities free of charge. Every Winter my area goes through the public stoush. The Mareeba Rodeo ground opens up for their use, so that just leads them to whinge about the fact the Cairns Showgrounds doesn’t do the same. All they do is take money off Caravan Parks (which I agree are overpriced, but everything is) and become a financial liability to rate payers and show associations. They inject no funds into the local economy, because they don’t really take part in it. Spending $75 a week and Woolies and buying some fuel doesn’t stimulate much. Someone has to supply the water, power and clean the communal amenities that they demand be available to them. They aren’t hiring cars, they aren’t going on pre arranged tours, they aren’t flying in, they aren’t paying for accommodation. They are actually a drain on services and from a tourism perspective, they are not an economic priority. 

      This is an interesting article. I am truly torn on the matter, but it doesn’t personally effect me so I struggle to see that they are doing too much harm. I am happy that they are “living the dream” - but I will note that most of them can’t really afford to do it properly. All it seems to be doing is creating an older generation of “keepin up with the joneses” and living beyond their means. A lot of them embark on this journey in their late 60s, early 70s - I am not sure if a lot of them realise that they are likely to live for another twenty years at least. I am sure selling the family home and cashing in the super will get them a good campervan and if they are lucky a couple hundred grand to burn. But I don’t know many people who could make a couple hundred grand last two decades?

      Good luck to them chosing the bordeax over the play-doh, but they should realise that when they are in their 90s maybe they will need to rely on the current play-doh players to keep them clothed and fed. I would have no problem doing that for my Grandma if she was still alive - but then again, she is not likely to have missed my childhood spending all her money roadtripping around Australia. Yes she worked hard, yes she had the right to spend her money anyway she wants, no you can’t take your money with you - but you should have some sort of contingency in place.

    • TM says:

      03:41pm | 10/01/12

      And who do you think paid for the country hospital, what a DH comment.

    • acotrel says:

      06:16am | 09/01/12

      ’ Go back to work and pay some taxes, you’re going to live for another 40 years! ‘

      It will be cold day in hell before I will again do a 9 to 5er, and cop that bullshit again !  I have a son who doesn’t believe I should have a life that I enjoy in my old age - he can get stuffed too !  I had 32 years of the living death, and I will never go back there. These days when I get out of bed, I think about what I WANT to do with my day - life is good !

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      08:56am | 09/01/12

      Very unusual situation when I find myself agreeing with you in the main Acotrel. As a 43 year old I adore my children, and have told my parents, whom my brother and I have supported over the years, they are asset rich cash poor, to go spend their money. In fact I had this discussion only on New Years Eve with them. At 72 this year and 70 in Feb, I recon they have only 8-10 years at best of international travel. Whilst they have done plenty, ive almost had more trips than them. They go about every 2 years or less much of this is short 2-4 weeks as my mother still works (she gets about 100 a week to cover her travel expenses but does 4 days a week so its mostly voluntary) to go spend up travel first class and enjoy as after 80 the chances of them being able to do it properly and see sites, walk around etc is SFA.

      If I need their cash I obviously havent done too well in life. If and when they pass on any money it will go straight to my daughters as a head start in life, paying for uni fees and/or buying a home unit (well at least a good deposit)

      Having said that, they used to travel a lot and were away for my second daughters birth, 1st and 2nd birthday. I didnt care but also didnt miss the odd opportunity to sink the boot in and say if you dont invest time in them as young children when you get old they wont want anything to do with them.

      My in laws on the other hand visit 2-3 times a week, dont travel much but last year took my wife and the kids to Italy to see the country, something my parents would never think of. Yet my in laws were on the pension, and saved as well as drew down on some money to do this. Its called priorities.

      I think as a society you need a good mix, heaps of travel be it international local etc but lots of family time as you age.

    • acotrel says:

      06:24am | 09/01/12

      My super will run out in about two years.  What will I do then ?  Big crisis ! ! If I’m still alive I will have to do a big rethink.  I used to do sessional teaching, but the other teachers are into age discrimination, and find ways to edge you out.  Especially when you have done a REAL job all of your life, and they feel inadequate beside you.
      My attitude to my oncoming money crisis, is not to worry.  I’d rather starve than cop bullshit !

      Reply

    • RyaN says:

      09:16am | 09/01/12

      @acotrel: Perhaps selling your computer will be a good start.

    • Spruce Goose says:

      03:04pm | 09/01/12

      How can super run out?  Don’t you simply take it as a pension?

    • Zoyd says:

      06:11pm | 09/01/12

      Yuu’re serious, aren’t you.

      If you’re in a super scheme and seriously don’t know how it’s going to pay out, you’d better find out. Pronto.

      Where to ask? Your staff people. Your scheme’s help people. Or find a good finance adviser. Ask your local Citizen’s advice Bureau where to start. Or maybe start here:
      http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-4/ssguide-4.8/ssguide-4.8.1/ssguide-4.8.1.20.html


      But for Pete’s sake, do *something*.  Like *now*.

    • thatmosis says:

      06:28am | 09/01/12

      Ive got no problem with Grey Nomads, as I could be classed as one myself, going to see the world but I do get really pissed when time after time you see a line up of cars following a caravan going 20 to 30 klms below the speed limit on the national highway and the building frustration of the drivers caught behind. These same grey Nomads will boast that they have never had a accident but how many have they caused through their single minded abuse of the road. They argue that they also pay road taxes in the form of registration and are entitled to use the roads but they also have a duty to other users to make sure they do the right thing and keep to the speed limit. If they cant they should pull over and let the other vehicles through and show some common sense.
      I regularly travel our so called national highway and each and every time i have been caught behind these people who trundle on without a care in the world and no thought for others using the road. I have taken to using a CB to abuse them as they conveniently have their names and channel plastered all over the back of their vans. Also its time the coppers started to book those that are under the speed limit and holding up the traffic to any extent.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:24am | 09/01/12

      @Thatmosis
      Haven’t you heard ‘SPEED KILLS’, - would our police lie to us?  Most of us have spent our working lives avoiding fines for exceeding the speed limits by a few miserable KPH, and now you want us to go faster ?  Society should make up its mind what it wants, then tell us all about it !

    • centurion48 says:

      08:58am | 09/01/12

      @Thatmosis: My experience is that the grey nomads don’t get onto the roads before finishing a leisurely breakfast, sweeping out the van and comparing routes with the neighbours. They cruise for a few hours and then set up for another night or two, with a stop for morning tea and lunch on the way. If you restrict your occupation of the ‘racetrack’ to late afternoon and night-time then your progress will be unimpeded, you impudent twerp. Just swap your no-doze for a sleeping pill and settle down in the sleeper cab for a bit of daytime snooze. And, you can listen to all-night radio for some intellectual stimulation while you drive. We will listen to ABC Radio National instead - but I wish they would bring back Blue Hills.

    • Ben C says:

      09:11am | 09/01/12

      @ acotrel

      I want the person who came up with that slogan to define what speed is, and how it is deadly. If we are talking about the drug, then I’m in total agreement. If we are talking about movement, then the statement is just ridiculous. What speed is deadly? If speed kills, then should we all stop moving? If speed kills, why do we have roads where we can travel at 110kph?

    • RyaN says:

      09:27am | 09/01/12

      @Ben C: If they were being scientifically correct then what they actually mean is “VELOCITY KILLS” since actual speed can only be measured as time tends to zero, I am sure there is a scientific argument in the definition of the fact that so called “speed cameras” actually cannot possibly measure speed as per its scientific definition.

    • Ben C says:

      10:48am | 09/01/12

      @ RyaN

      You’ve raised a side point to my query there: Lazy or clever piece of advertising, substituting “speed” for “velocity”, knowing full well that a fair proportion of the population couldn’t distinguish the two as you have? And what about speeding being informally defined as exceeding the speed limit?

      (Sorry all for dragging this off the topic.)

    • MammaK says:

      11:10am | 09/01/12

      ‘I have taken to using a CB to abuse them as they conveniently have their names and channel plastered all over the back of their vans.’
      You sir, are an idiot.

    • jase says:

      11:12am | 09/01/12

      Speed, velocity, do not kill. Its the rate of change which kills. The faster the rate of change, the more damage which is generally done.

      what I dont get is that the speed limits have progressively dropped whilst the technology in cars has dramatically improved. We are always going to have a road toll whilst humans are in control of the cars, it is that simple.
      Every year the number of drivers increases, so the road toll is going to be higher. As per usual the government peddle the same statistics, that the road toll is increasing, when in fact the ratio of drivers to the actual road toll is very quickly decreasing.

      Btw in WA
      2008 - 217 Deaths / 1,148,574 licensed drivers

      That is a more than acceptable road toll, if it was 10,000, still less than 1% then I could understand the fuss made, but to currently be at a fraction of a percent.

    • RyaN says:

      11:47am | 09/01/12

      @Ben C: Agreed, the informal definition of speeding is in fact erroneous, furthermore I put it to you that there are many examples where the police and media use “speed was a factor” in explaining the cause of an accident neither claiming that they were in fact traveling faster than the law provides or dangerously, just that “speed was a factor”. I think speed being a factor is implied since clearly there wouldn’t have been a sudden impact between the car and the lamp post if either were standing still.

      These underhanded methods of instigating the initial phase of the three phased “Problem, Reaction, Solution” technique are blatantly obvious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEz5fQ_Pm-g

    • Ben C says:

      01:04pm | 09/01/12

      @ RyaN

      Exactly. It’s not that hard to add the word “excessive” when describing the probable cause of an accident. It would cover both the speed limit and also whether or not the driver was driving to the conditions of the road.

      Oversimplifying the problem isn’t going to allow for a considered reaction and well-designed solution.

      Anyway, back on topic, I don’t have a problem with grey nomads travelling slowly - it’s supposed to be relaxing for them, they don’t want to feel like they’re back in the rat race. If I’m behind one, I’ll look to overtake (safely, of course).

    • Wayne says:

      07:56am | 13/01/12

      Crap,going at the speed limit is not compulsory.it is a maximum not the compulsory!we have yet to learn: in Scandanavia the suburban speed LIMIT is 10 k less than Aust.In the US when a school bus stops so does the traffic FROM BOTH SIDES. You sound like vicroads who require 3 deaths before taking steps to improve/control a danger spot

    • Zoyd says:

      09:15am | 09/01/12

      Yawn. Yet another poorly researched,  shoot from the lip, stereotyping piece of slop from The Punch stable.

      As if grey nomads had’nt been around for, what, 30 years at least.

      As if anyone careful with their budget or health would waste money on a script for a common-or-garden pain-killer that you can buy in any supermarket.

      Etc etc etc.

      For goodness sake. Spare us this tabloid drivel, do.

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      10:48am | 09/01/12

      I don’t understand it. I’d rather travel when I’m young or middle aged ( and I do so every year). Travelling when you are an oldie would suck. You’d have to take a spare suitcase for the medicines and walking frame, ha, ha.

      Reply

    • Clayton says:

      11:11am | 09/01/12

      Hear Hear.  Despite the wingeing by the blokes, Amy has hit the spot.
      After working 54 years I have retired and turned off the drip-feed to my children (youngest 41). They have already spent their inheritance, now it is my turn.
      There will be no more babysitting and picking teenagers up from various venues as long as I can drag my bag off the carousel.  This is my time. What’s left of it.

      Reply

    • Mr Pod says:

      11:44am | 09/01/12

      @Clayton,  I admire your previous sense of duty to the leeches.  However your payback should not just be pleasing yourself.  I hope your children realise that it is now their duty to help you, should the need arise.

    • RyaN says:

      12:51pm | 09/01/12

      I hope they stick you in a terrible old age home and never come to visit, selfishness begets selfishness.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKIC3yLc5Rs

      I for one will be planning for the future of my family, there is a trust and the trust will become a legacy that places my children above just being peasants scratching around in the dirt eking out a living.

    • DA says:

      01:24pm | 09/01/12

      the look on a grandchilds face as they run up to give you a hug is worth more than any holiday.

      Reply

    • NFW says:

      01:47pm | 09/01/12

      You can eat grapes?  I just use the fermented juices, especially when travelling.

      Reply

    • Jenni says:

      02:26pm | 09/01/12

      My parents took off in May for the Grey Nomad lifestyle and I could not be happier for them smile So far they have been acroos to Adelaide, then straight up the centre (as Lake Eyre had water in it, which apparently only happens every few years and my dad didn’t want to miss it) to Ayres Rock and Darwin, then across to the bottom bit of Queensland and they’ve just crossed the border into NSW. Too hot this time of year to do upper Qld so they’re going down before they go back up LOL

      Both mum & dad have worked all their lives, raised three children and seen the grandkids recently reach adulthood. I talk to them on the phone frequently and am always encouraging them to spend every damn penny they can while they’re away! I certainly don’t expect them to support me financially at expense of their own enjoyment. I love seeing the photos from their travels and hearing about the beautiful places they’re visiting and the people they’re meeting. My only regret is that I couldn’t retire at 38 and go with them wink

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      10:37am | 10/01/12

      Oh my goodness.  So many young serious people who are so quick to pass judgement and criticize.    Will you all just chill out…pleeeese   My god at this rate you wont live long enough to retire.

      I’m 51 so I still have at lest 10 years in the workforce but I left school at 14 my first job was stacking railway sleepers, I have driven trucks, carried piano’s up stairs and now manage 40 people in a white color work force in the center of the CBD. I have raised 2 fine daughters, one is going to study medicine and wants to help society the other is yet to decide but she wont be on the dole.  I have done my share, I am fortunate enough that I will be financially secure in retirement and I intend to enjoy it.  Get over it and just try to enjoy your own lives, don’t get so uptight over what your parents are doing.  They gave up a lot for you now respect their right to enjoy what be their last 15 years where they are still fit and mobile.

      Reply
 
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