Retirement overseas?

All the different ways of solving the shelter problem. To be static or mobile? Roots, legs, or wheels?
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Ego
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by Ego »

On our first day walking around town we met one of the queen-bees of the expat community who introduced us to the local Mr. Fixit who knew about the house vacancy. It seems this place revolves around the bi-weekly dinner party so I think we'll have plenty of social events though I don't think Christmas rates too high here, even with the expats. Lots of interesting characters.

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Ego
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by Ego »

We've are now in Agadir, a beach resort town in Southern Morocco. Most of the expats in Essaouira look down or Agadir as being un-Moroccan, which to some extent is true. Nonetheless, we are really enjoying it. Beautiful beaches, clean streets, lots of sun and all the amenities that go with a resort town.

It seems we did indeed overpay for the medina-house we rented in Essaouira. We could have gotten some for about $300us all-inclusive but would have had difficulty finding something at that price with a view of the sea and lots of sun. Dampness is a big problem there so sun is important. Also, water is becoming scarce and we've had times when the pressure was not high enough to reach our fourth floor place. Apparently in summer it is much worse where they go days without water.

Walking around town here in Agadir we've seen signs for furnished apartments 10-15 minute walk from the sea that look nice for 3000-4000 dirham ($330-440). There are times when we see more gray-haired Europeans than locals. Supermarkets are well stocked. Internet work okay. If we were to move up or down the coast a bit I'm sure we could find a place close to the sea for that price. Lots of Euros purchase their place then never use it so there are opportunities if one could tap into the expat community word-of-mouth network.

Also, this is a great place for an extended bike tour.

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jennypenny
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by jennypenny »

Joshua@RPF did a podcast recently discussing living overseas. Rawles is the guest so it's from a survivalist angle, but they discuss some of the countries mentioned.


Does anyone know anything about living in Honduras?

radamfi
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by radamfi »

I find this thread interesting as retiring abroad is something I've been thinking of for years. Most if not all of the previous contributions are about moving from the US, however I'm in the south of England not far from London. I'm sure most Americans and Brits alike assume the cost of living is much higher than in the US. Quite a few Brits want to retire in Florida. Obviously the visa situation is tricky so I've been toying with doing 6 months a year in Florida and 6 months in the UK.

But maybe the cost of living isn't so bad in the UK if you consider that we don't have to pay for healthcare, you don't really need a car in the UK (despite what people here say) and most towns have many supermarkets within walking and cycling distance as towns are more compact in England. Obviously I could save a lot of money by moving to the north of England.

Veritas
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Re:

Post by Veritas »

Mo wrote:As secretwealth points out, this has been discussed before, but it seems to be a topic that still provokes discussion.
The COL in many parts of the US seems to be very low if one lives with the appropriate expectations. Jacob demonstrated by example that one could live in pricey San Francisco on a very low budget. Perhaps it all depends on what you expect to buy-- maids and meals out are cheaper in the third world, for sure, but if I don't need a maid here, why do I need one there?
Many of us have discussed healthcare a lot in these forums-- always a topic of brisk discussion, and mentioned in this thread in relation to ecuador. Why is it that Ecuador is seen to have an advantage over the US? I get that it's cheaper. I read a lot that some folks put a lot of belief into these healthcare rankings-- is the thought that since it's cheaper we don't care that ecuador has a really crappy health care system overall? Is it okay to argue that those who can pay get good care in ecuador-- like ex-pats with US dollar nest-eggs, but not okay to argue that those who can pay get good care in the US?
Depending on your particular disposition, though, the QOL for a given COL may be much higher overseas. In many Asian countries, you can live in an Alpha-level world city for the same price as a small town in the US. It all depends on what your idea of a good life is, I think.

OldPro
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by OldPro »

For anyone still following this thread I can offer the following observations as someone who early retired over 25 years ago and has lived in various countries since then.

I don't know of any statistical data available anywhere but I can tell you from personal observation that of every 10 people I have seen move to their 'dream retirement paradise', 5 were gone within 2 years and only 1-2 were still there after 5 years. There are a lot of places that look good while you are still wearing 'rose coloured glasses' but that don't last beyond that honeymoon period.

The biggest issue I have observed is the simple inability to adapt to 'different'. There is no way to know if you will 'stick' or not without trying it. It's not about a place being good or bad as a place to live, it's just about being different. Some people can adapt easily while others never can. In some cases a realistic look at yourself will give you an indication but only if you fall into the highly unlikely end of the scale. For example, if you are the kind of person who goes on a 2 week vacation and find yourself missing your dog and home within 5 days, you aren't likely to do well moving to another country to live.

There are also all the practical issues like healthcare, infrastructure, etc. but in my experience, those are usually all the issues given as excuses for not sticking rather than the actual causes. It's easy to say, 'the bureaucracy was just ridiculous' rather than saying, 'I couldn't adapt'. People don't like to admit to what they see as a failure on their part. As a result, posts like this on forums will be full of the negatives of trying it by those for whom it didn't work out or full of 'go for it everything is wonderful' by those who haven't been at it long enough to get past the rose coloured glasses stage. My advice is listen to NOTHING by anyone who has not spend more than 5 years in a place.

bad_LNIP
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by bad_LNIP »

Old pro-

How did you evaluate countries to live in? I am primarily looking at cost/weather/language.

What countries have you been to and which would you rate as your favorites/least favorite and why?

I am looking more at Asia/Central/South America. I know those are huge swaths of areas, but generally, with spanish you can get by in central/S america and the weather is pretty darn good.

I am also thinking/looking at greece/eastern Europe. I've seen some unreal pictures of the coast, although I would need to spend some quality time there.

OldPro
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by OldPro »

Actually, I tend to just end up staying somewhere rather than planning to. When I first retired, I packed up and went travelling in Europe. After about a year I ended up on the island of Rhodes, Greece. I figured a week or so seeing the island and I would move on. I stayed for 7 years. I would often meet tourists who when they found out I had been there a while would ask, 'what made you decide to live on Rhodes?' My honest answer was I had never 'decided' to stay, I just hadn't decided to leave yet.

I went to Scotland to meet up with my Brother and scatter my Mother's ashes (birthplace). While there, I met a woman, went back to Rhodes, packed up and left in a week and returned to Scotland. We got married and stayed there 6.5 years. One of if not THE primary advantage to being retired is you are free to do as you please.

You do have to consider where you can legally live of course and things like cost and weather do matter but I really don't see it as having to pre-decide anything beyond a maybe which gets you there in the first place. Go, see how you like it, leave when you decide to leave. You don't have to 'decide' to stay there if you see what I'm saying.

Bear some common sense things in mind. For example, health insurance. When I first retired at 43, I didn't give it much thought. Now 25 years later, it's a biggy. Not because I am not in good health but because the odds are that I will need decent healthcare at some point. The older you get the more important it becomes obviously. I read a lot on here that indicates younger posters who aren't really giving any real thought to what will happen later in life. I would not want to be living on $10k a year anymore. So you can consider a country FOR NOW if you want but do not presume that is where you will always want to live in the future. No one can see 25 years down the road and the reality is that things will CHANGE.
So I am not a 'where to retire' person at all. I am a 'where to live for now' person.

Bear in mind that third world countries are cheap but they are cheap for a reason. Things you take for granted like clean drinking water or fairly reliable electricity, relatively uncorrupt bureaucracy, decent hospitals and doctors, etc. etc. do not exist everywhere. Go to an expat forum and ask about countries there. Keep in mind though that you want to hear what 5 year plus residents have to say, not those planning to go or who have only been there a short time.

I personally, do not want to live in any country that is not a first world country. A lot of people who retire to countries based on cost, do so because they cannot afford to live elsewhere. They're stuck with that even if they won't admit to it. For example, Mexico is a cheap place to vacation but there is no way I would want to live there. Crime, corruption and lack of first class infrastructure are more of a negative than the cost of living or weather are a positive. Compare that to say living in Switzerland. That's a country to aspire to be able to live in.

I did like living in Greece which you have mentioned but even without their current problems, I don't know if I would have wanted to continue living there as I got older. Again though, it might suit you 'for now'. If you are currently retired and can legally live there, I can suggest a place to start for you on Rhodes, if you are interested. The only way to know if you will 'stick' as I have said, is to try it and see what happens.

My advice to anyone thinking of living in another country is always the same. Go ahead and try but NEVER buy anything (home,business)until you have lived in a place for at least 1 and preferably 2 years. You have to get past that intitial 'honeymoon' period before you can realistically see if you will 'stick' or not. Of all the people I saw move to Rhodes for example, I never say anyone leave with more money than they arrived with and most left with a lot less.

SamTheRetiredMan
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Re: Retirement overseas?

Post by SamTheRetiredMan »

I'd recommend retiring and living in your home country or a place that feels like home and taking a lot of vacations overseas. "Living in your home country" can be purely for administrative reasons. Becoming a citizen in a new country without a job is hard. It could cost you more than you'd initially expect and make it harder to actually enjoy your retirement. Using my own life as an example, I technically live in a retirement community in Canada, maintain my Canadian pension and health care while being able to travel as much as I want. I'm normally gone 6-8 months of the year.

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