Grey nomads are being warned that the stresses of life on the road can strain their relationships to the limit. However, psychologists also say a long-term trip can satisfy a need to engage in activities that deliver enjoyment as well as a sense of achievement … and give recent retirees a renewed sense of purpose.
“Even though travel can certainly be stressful, stress is part of life and it can be good for you,” clinical and health psychologist, Dr Bob Montgomery, told the Grey Nomads website. “People want to be stimulated and to achieve, but not to be overwhelmed.”
The key to grey nomad contentment then is not to take on more than can be happily accomplished … whether it be in terms of the size of rig you drive, the distances you travel, the time you go for, or the types of places you camp at. Dr Montgomery says when long-term partners know just about everything there is to know about each other, visiting new places together as grey nomads, sharing new experiences and making new friends can deliver a relationship tonic. Nonetheless, Dr Montgomery strongly recommends couples discuss in detail their trip expectations.
“In any relationship there is a sense that you have to accommodate the other person’s wishes but you shouldn’t agree to things you can’t deal with,” says Dr Montgomery. “If you do, there can be a point where it all blows up and someone might say ‘I never wanted to travel Australia in a caravan in the first place.’”
The sudden loss of valuable ‘private time’ also means it is a great idea for grey nomads to pursue hobbies they always wanted to try such as reading painting or photography. Most importantly though, Dr Montgomery recommends wannabe grey nomads give life on the road a number of trial runs before committing to the lifestyle.
“There are an awful lot of yachts up for sale in Cairns because people from Melbourne and Sydney have decided their dream lifestyle is not the dream after all,” he said. “The open road or the open sea can start to look very familiar after a while and it is not for everybody.”
And if a trip simply doesn’twork out for whatever reason it shouldn’t be viewed as a failure, rather as the acquisition of useful information that can help in the setting of new goals.
