They are known as the emi-greys - those who choose to up sticks and move to a warmer climate as the sun starts to set on their own lives.
More and more pensioners are choosing to leave the grey shores of Britain in search of a lower cost of living, good quality healthcare and, of course, a more clement weather pattern.
A study released yesterday by Scottish Widows shows that more than one-third of those living in Britain would consider moving abroad when they retired, with Britain's poor climate a key reason for a potential move.
The Scottish Widows study found finances were also a major driver to leave the UK and 35% of those questioned said they would consider moving abroad after retirement to dodge the high cost of living in this country.
Around one-half believe that the UK is too expensive to live the life they want to lead and one-third feel that they can't afford to stay in the UK when they retire.
At present, there are around one million people from the UK who choose to have their state pension paid into an overseas bank account. However, the number of senior citizens from this country who now live abroad is thought to be much higher than that.
Some people don't declare they are living abroad full-time and others choose only to leave Britain for the winter months, often renting out their property during the profitable summer season. Official figures are hard to come by for those living the dream.
The country with the biggest draw is Australia, with almost 250,000 state pensions paid into bank accounts held there. The next is Canada and the United States. Around 80,000 UK senior citizens are thought to be living in Spain, but the British Consul estimates as many as 500,000 people over 50 are living either full-time or part-time on Iberian soil.
George Glen, of Sunworld Estates, based in Johnstone, has worked in the overseas property business for 15 years and said that new homes abroad for retirees was a growing sector of the market.
He said that the "state of Britain" played a large part in people choosing to move abroad.
"The main things I hear are that people are looking for a better climate and also, the state of Britain at the moment does play a part. We have people coming into the office who say they are fed up with the high cost of things in the shops, the high cost of fuel and the general conditions of the country, such as the amount of tax you have to pay."
He said that Spain and France remained the most popular choice of destination for his clients, with Cyprus too a big draw for the older generation. People want to settle in areas where there is already a settled expat community, Mr Glen added.
"Older people want to go to countries where they are not going to feel isolated. When you are older the quality of healthcare is important. Spain has excellent health facilities, very good hospitals. That is a big concern for some people," he said.
Mr Glen added that Cyprus was becoming more and more popular because it had many reminders of home.
"Most people speak English over there and they have shops such as Marks & Spencer and Next. They drive on the left-hand side of the road and all these things help people fit in and allow them to cope with their new situation."
He said he knew of a number of retired people who were set to move abroad, but had paused in their plans while the economic situation keeps the euro strong and the cost of living less favourable than it once was.
"The market is generally quite quiet at the moment. The strength of the euro is making people wait a bit longer. If there is a 20% rise in the exchange rate there is also a 20% rise in the cost of living to consider."
However appealing the sound of endless balmy nights, cheap and healthy food, low heating bills and a more relaxed way of life may be for those in later life, Age Concern has researched the effects of moving abroad on the older generation, and found that it has, for some, not been the dream they had hoped for.
"Most people retire abroad successfully, however a change in circumstances can be worsened or made more difficult to cope with by living overseas," a report by the organisation concluded. Getting the required standard of health care has proved difficult for some, Age Concern said, and community and residential care have been found to be out of reach for many.
"Even if it is available, not being able to speak the local language can make communicating a need and accessing appropriate care difficult," a report said, The group found that a typical retiree moving abroad was no longer the domain of the wealthy.
Isolation is another big problem for retirees living abroad, the group found. Death of a partner can lead to extreme detachment, particularly if they were relied upon for language skills or other essential functions such as driving, Age Concern said.
But, as figures show, there appears to be little to cast a dark sky over people's sun-kissed retirement hopes.
As people finish their working lives with more money and more experience of foreign travel, the ambition of moving overseas appears to be in sight of many.
Scots, however, are the least likely to want to move abroad when they retire with only one in 10 likely to consider it an option. The sun would appear to be not such a large draw for all.
In many ways, living in France is no contest to UK
Fidelma Cook Tarn et Garonne, South West France
It's almost 20 years since Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence touched something deep in the British pysche and started the flood to France.
In the past few years TV programmes on living the dream have fuelled the idea that a better life is to be found here and it's estimated that something like 500,000 of us have swallowed the bait.
There are no statistics on how many have crept home again after discovering that the idea of the dream is often better than the reality. But it is known that those who find they can't hack it usually quit after two years - the rest stay, but many live in an expat bubble, sustained by Sky TV broadcasting the BBC News and Radio 4, the internet, copious amounts of wine and socialising with each other.
Yesterday, my local paper in this rural part of south-west France asked why so many of the Brits who have come here show no wish to integrate, and disturbingly suggested it was turning many of the once-welcoming French away.
Sixteen months ago I arrived here simply to find a mortgagefree, cheaper and possibly more satisfying way of life. The first two I found, owning a Roman-tiled 200-year-old farmhouse with nearly four acres of land bought for the price then of a one-bedroomed Glasgow flat; and a food bill halved despite regular inclusions of foie gras, oysters and fine wines.
Thanks to relatively good French I have integrated as much as possible with my farmer neighbours who leave fruit and vegetables piled at my door, invite me to their homes and come rushing at any emergency.
I have access to a health service which puts Britain's to shame and am treated daily with a courtesy and respect probably last seen in the UK in the 1950s.
Throw in a short winter, spring and summer temps averaging 30degrees, regular fetes, soirees and markets, and in many ways it is no contest.
But of course there are downsides. The main one being a complicated, deliberately thrawn' tax and bureaucratic system which involves mountains of paperwork (even if retired) and punishing social charges if still working, under 60 and resident.
And if used to a city, or even a lively town, it is hard to get used to the shuttered, empty desolation which is rural France after 5pm in the winter.
Yet there are thousands of expats here who would live nowhere else and despite wincing at the cliche of living the dream, are quietly doing that.
The rest of us know we probably are, and if not, then the fault lies within ourselves.
Source: The Herald