A young couple have revealed how they managed to live out their retirement dreams 30 years early - by ditching their jobs and moving to a idyllic Greek island where they can live on £5,000 ($6,500) a year.
Steph and Mat Trott, 30 and 34 respectively, from Burgess Hill, Sussex, decided to leave their businesses as dog walkers in August 2018 and move to the small village Houmeri, in Rethimno, Crete, Greece.
After getting fed up of living with Steph's parents, the pair moved into a caravan while they scraped together money for a deposit to finally get on the property ladder before deciding to skip ahead 30 years and move to the Greek village they'd dreamed of retiring to.
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The pair spent £50,000 ($65k) of their savings to buy a two-bedroom villa, located in the quiet village, surrounded by olive trees and say it's 'the best decision' they've made.
The pair have even bought a £25,000 ($32k) stone ruin called the 'Walnut Cottage' that they are renovating with a view to running it as an Airbnb next year.
The eco couple say they try to lead a sustainable lifestyle by using a solar oven for cooking, have their own vegetable garden, a water system installed that filters their water, a composting toilet and only use electricity when absolutely necessary.
Steph said: "We couldn't afford the lifestyle we wanted in the UK - especially coming from Sussex, property is extortionate it was out of our reach.
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"Our whole aim was to create a life with less outgoings so we wouldn't have to work as much - now because we don't have a mortgage, we don't have to work near as much as we used to in the UK.
"We were dreaming of moving to Greece when we retired but eventually, we decided to do it earlier."
The couple only works over the summer period, when Steph works in a hotel part-time and Mat, who works as an animal nurse assistant, travels back in the UK for a six week period.
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And although their salary in the UK was around £20,000 ($26k) a year, the pair claim their alternative lifestyle enables them to survive on no more than £5,000.
Steph added: "We try to be as eco-friendly and go back to nature as much as possible, our whole aim is to be as environmentally friendly as we can.
"We are very frugal, we don't have any mortgage, our outgoings every month are minimal, we are vegetarians, we try to do everything to reduce our impact on the earth.
"When we were saving to come to Crete, we reached a point where we were saving about 90 percent of our wage so we got so good at saving money, we know how to cut corners on everything.
"Some might think we are lazy, but our aim is to give back - we are raising money to neuter the stray cats, we are planting fruit trees up our lane for anyone in the village to come and pick the fruit, we are cleaning the beaches."
The couple say they are not planning to return in the UK anytime soon.
To follow their journey check: http://sidestepping-normal.com/
Featured Image Credit: StorytrenderTopics: Greece, Interesting, Community