50-plus and ready for adventure: Why retirees are setting off on ‘golden gap years’
When Lyn and Steve Stokes retired at the age of 48, they did not dream of settling down into the sedate lifestyle of the typical pensioner. Instead, the couple from Bedford in the UK yearned for something usually associated with young adventurous travellers: they wanted to see the world. Though not aware of it, the Stokes are part of a growing trend of older travellers choosing to spend their retirement undertaking ambitious and long-term trips. The phenomenon has been dubbed the ‘golden gap year’- a mature version of the high school graduate’s intermission of exploration and self-discovery - ...