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I tried this and ended up with a fresh new love of my country, and won't ever consider moving anywhere outside the US again. Maybe visit. But, never to live.
I, like many, got into a mindset that I had to leave the entire country to get out of the situation I was in, in a particular city/county/state. But, right within our own country, there are very affordable places. And you'll understand the language, the customs, body language, can trust the police departments, as well as insurance companies and mortgage insurance, just on and on.
My advice is to keep looking for what you want within the US. And travel for fun. Been there. Wish I hadn't sold the condo first. So, add that to my advice - if you do decide to try living outside the US, rent your house for at least a year, while living in a different country (and rent there, too) and then decide if you still want to sell it and stay.
Exactly! We have lived outside of the US and are glad we had those experiences but like you, would never consider doing it again, especially at our age now. You gave some excellent advise.
These articles do a good job of showing the benefits, but little to show the downside. Yes, many countries have a much lower cost of living, but they have very shaky economies, and very shaking financial systems. If you are able to keep your money in cash without risk of robbery, and avoid law enforcement, you could live quite well. I will use my mother in law as an example. She is from the Dominican Republic. She visits often, however when I asked why she wouldn't retire there, her response was direct and to the point. She said that the United States really protects it's citizens, and in DR, the authorities just don't care. She maintained a separate bank account back home, unfortunately, the bank closed, and the money she had just disappeared. About $3,000.00 dollars. Just gone. No FDIC to replace the deposit. She was also assaulted during a robbery, and went to the police. They didn't even take a report, they scolded her for walking by herself through the neighborhood.
Again, it's great as long as nothing happens.
You can go over to the retirement forum and on a regular basis find posts like these.
I find these posts a little frustrating. What lies at the bottom of most of them is apathy. Most people who want to leave this country are upset at the high cost of living and the inability of many Americans to afford the retirement that they think they deserve.
What people need to do instead of dreaming of moving to a foreign country is to face up to the problems that exist in America and try to fix them.
If health care costs too much money why don't more Americans think in terms of working for a true national health insurance system? I find the apathy and inaction on this issue to be quite frustrating. People don't want to stand up and tell their U.S. House or Senate member that unless such a plan is enacted they will never vote for them again. That's the type of message that needs to be sent.
If retirement is a problem people need to seek jobs with higher incomes and retirement benefits. The last thing we should be doing right now in this country is enacting a tax law which will reduce taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Yet, it is almost certain to be enacted into law because of decisions that were made during the last election by voters.
Other countries have their problems too. Corrupt police, unregulated banking systems, and crime are serious problems in most third world countries just like you point out. There is no magically panacea somewhere else in the world. There are only countries with different cultures, different languages, and different problems than our own.'
Once upon a time, this country had a huge middle class and worked for most of its citizens. It doesn't any longer and instead of trying to fix those problems, many simply want to flee. Running away from problems seldom works.
americans arent worried about other people's retirment if they move to a cheap country, not like their new neighbors making local currency is any better off... if the locals had a better economy, it wouldnt be a cheap col
they just like to act like a big fish in a small pond and be the local "rich" guy, in their minds, they spent their lifetime being at the bottom, so its their turn to be at the top by taking advantage of cheap labor, which they said was bad when it them at the bottom. now they dont feel bad about it
I'm sorry to hear of the poor state of your finances. But in this country, a simple 911 call is likely to be enough to deliver you (or anyone else) into competent medical care within a matter of minutes. If you live in a more than sparsely populated area, you will likely have nearby the full range of medical facilities and specialists needed to monitor and care for any health condition at all. In these cheap-cheap foreign retirement havens, this is only rarely the case. For many expats, what stands in for 911 is a quick flight back to the US. Much better here to look before you leap.
Great article!!!! I'd move to Medellin in a heartbeat and find myself a Colombian wife. Maybe if I lose my job, thats my move. I should check out Nicaragua as well.
I'd seriously consider it a plan B. If anything ever happened to my current job and I had to give up getting any decent job as a Chemist (a distinct possibility) I'd consider using my net worth to retire early and move abroad to make it work.
As a guy in financial services and NOT a sales guy, I can relate. I would too.
From any of those places, you can ride the bus an hour down the road and find perfectly nice towns where you can live for half that cost. On this list, you're paying a premium for a touristy atmosphere.
As several have pointed out, good luck getting a residence visa in most third world countries. One of the easiest in that respect is the Philippines, where you can just get off the plane and apply for a residence card. In addition to the low cost of living, foreigners can buy into PhilHealth, for $30 a month.
I'm currently living in Cebu, and loving it in a very livable city of 4-millon, on what a national magazine recently ranked as the second friendliest island in the world.
You can go over to the retirement forum and on a regular basis find posts like these....
If health care costs too much money why don't more Americans think in terms of working for a true national health insurance system? I find the apathy and inaction on this issue to be quite frustrating. ...
The impediment is political and cultural; the two are ultimately one. For many (most?) Americans, the very idea of a national health insurance is anathema, combining the worst of government incompetence and red tape, with the worst of medical bloat and opaque cost-structure. America remains a land of remarkable potential and robustness, but some travails of modern life just can’t be solved, without – sorry to use the term! – shifting the cultural paradigm. I don’t see how this is going to happen.
As for the whole retirement-abroad thing, yes, novel ideas appear with high frequency, each bout of the same news ever fresher than the previous. But here’s something that these articles never say: wherever you go, you’re going to pay US income tax. Got investments in Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard? You’re going to pay US income tax, whether you live in Brooklyn or Borneo. And if you have enough investments to support the jaunty ex-pat life, chances are that your main expense isn’t going to be healthcare or real-estate or, ahem, intimate friends. It’s going to be taxes… wherever you go.
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