Retirement done right, and a dangerous $1m home

[padding] [If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [padding] [stuff header] [spacer] [padding] Hi {NAME}, There is no age limit on fun. If anything, life should get more fun in retirement. That’s the whole point, right? You work hard most of your life, and then you should get to kick back and smell the roses. As far as my own family is concerned, I hope my dad gets the cheap house in Spain and lock-up-and-leave in Wellington that he’s been craving for the past 10 years. Mum reckons Italy would be a better spot, provided they can still get up a ladder to put [one of those $1 countryside villas back together.]( Much like anything else in life, there is no right way to do retirement. [The Homed team has scoured the country to find inspiring Kiwis]( with many backgrounds (and income brackets) to share their wisdom about making the most of their third age. I’m biased, but [my favourite was Kerry Darke]( a colourful woman in every sense of the word. Kerry never leaves her retirement village studio without lipstick, just as her Italian mother taught her. She calls herself a hoarder, paints every bit of brown furniture in primary colours, and bakes for her bookclub in a toaster oven. I hope you love reading about her as much as I loved meeting her. [padding] [user profile pic] [padding] Mikaela Wilkes [padding] Homed Reporter [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][separator] [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] The queen of downsizing [spacer] Packing up a 10-room house into a one-bed flat has been retired interior designer Kerry Darke’s Everest. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Single mums go in together [spacer] Two best friends shared the $1.3m price tag on their first home, a two-storey, four-bedroom house in east Auckland. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] ADVERTISEMENT [padding] [spacer][placeholder]( [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] When Plan A fails [spacer] Victoria and Doug Hamilton had a plan for semi-retirement: a bed and breakfast at Barrys Bay overlooking Akaroa Harbour, but a “horrendous” court battle with neighbours put an end to that. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] Too dangerous to enter [spacer] …but on the market. A derelict property in the Wellington suburb of Northland could be one of the most run-down properties for sale in the capital. It’s still expected to fetch $1m. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] ADVERTISEMENT [padding] [advertisement]( [spacer] ADVERTISEMENT [padding] [Advertisement]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] For the love of books and building [spacer] Laura Christie is a bookworm. Her idea of heaven is to disappear down the rabbit hole of imagination. And so, when she and husband Brad built in Wānaka, a reading nook in a little library area was top of the wish-list. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Retirement on the road [spacer] No stress, no lawns, no maintenance. There is nothing Ann Flynn misses about living in a house [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [padding] [spacer][Support Stuff]( [spacer] [padding] Enjoying this email? [Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters.]( [spacer] # [padding] [spacer] [padding] Discover more at [spacer] [stuff logo] [spacer] [www.stuff.co.nz/homed](#) [padding] [spacer][footer bar] [padding] [spacer] You are receving this email because you are a opted in to receive the Stuff Homed Newsletter [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get the Stuff Homed newsletter in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonsby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand [spacer] [padding]