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The C-D posters are those with enough time to post due to having a Gravy Train pension / retirement.
There are A LOT of very bitter souls here. (many ex fed / state workers)
You do know, those of us lucky enough to have pensions had to work for those pensions, right? No one gave us anything. In my case I worked for a pittance for years, and only made marginally decent salary in the last 5 years of my working life. I worked hard. My DH worked hard too--really hard. He worked a 60 hour week for years.
I am not bitter, and I am not an ex government employee, and I am thankful for my small pension. But I have to admit that I resent my benefits being characterized as a "gravy train."
go for Ecuador or Columbia (while you are young and able / flexible / adaptable / adventurous / resilient).
I did 8 months in Thailand last yr (work related)
It is VERY ez to live there for $2k USD / month.
I was 2-3 hrs from Bangkok and in a beach rental for $400USD/ month (and traveled A LOT!... every weekend). Asia Air $25
Food is pretty cheap (for an expat living like a local)
I have NO IDEA how locals can afford to eat in many countries (Very high % of monthly spend is on food / cell phones...).
I really enjoy living overseas in a 'local' lifestyle. (Shopping / eating / transportation)
food MAY be cheaper in USA (ingredients / not eating out).
We have always ate / fed family for $100/ month. (when $100 food envelope gets empty, we get creative!)
BTW: 90% of the responses you get on C-D retirement forum are form people who have no interest / desire / need to economize and move overseas.. The C-D posters are those with enough time to post due to having a Gravy Train pension / retirement.
There are A LOT of very bitter souls here. (many ex fed / state workers)
I'm not a bitter soul. . You can live like Stealth Rabbit. The $25 flights almost never happen and I've taken dozens of flights on Air Asia and shopped for thousands more over the last decade. I have spent about 18 months in Thailand. The question is whether you would WANT to live in Thailand. If you want to eat noodles three times a day and eat like Thais you might be able to eat for $3 a day. Otherwise you won't.
It depends on what you want. Think about health care, also. My experience has been that for Westerners that are there for any length of time, they want at least some Western comforts. These will cost and sometimes more than the USA because they are harder to find. But if you want a basic lifestyle you can do it for 2k. Do you really want to go somewhere as different as Thailand without trying it out first? I sure wouldn't.
It's also not automatic that you can stay for two years . You would need to meet visa reqts etc. iI's not like you can just go as a tourist and stay for two years or make visa runs every so often.
You do know, those of us lucky enough to have pensions had to work for those pensions, right? No one gave us anything. In my case I worked for a pittance for years, and only made marginally decent salary in the last 5 years of my working life. I worked hard. My DH worked hard too--really hard. He worked a 60 hour week for years.
I am not bitter, and I am not an ex government employee, and I am thankful for my small pension. But I have to admit that I resent my benefits being characterized as a "gravy train."
^^^ I wrote then deleted a long rant about my gravy train but it was off-topic really, as was the ill-conceived post to which you responded.
You could certainly live on that amount in many Florida towns. Whether or not you could live WELL depends on your definition of living WELL.
This list gives you the median income of a number of Florida cities and towns. It's somewhat misleading, though, because it indicates that the median income of Tallahassee is under $19k, but having lived there I can tell you it would be tough getting by on that amount.
One can live much better on $19k with a paid-off house (no mortgage) than you can with a mortgage, and vastly better than you can if you are paying rent.
Living overseas is a possibility, but is way oversold and can be difficult on many, many levels.
Not least of all that Americans do not want to live like the locals even in western European countries. Americans want to move somewhere where they can have the same lifestyle for less money, and a few personal tweaks here and there perhaps. Well, forget it. You want an American lifestyle, use your head and stay in America.
You will be a foreigner wherever you go...and that really brings a lot of Americans up short. "But I'm American!" cuts no ice. No hostility, just a glassy-eyed stare in response.
And in most places to really live with ease you will have to have some fluency in the native language (and know the social etiquette). Americans (and the English) are not inclined to want to do this. This means many small daily adjustments and difficulties will be encountered, and most of your time will be spent living with other English speaking foreigners in a bubble. Again, might as well stay in the U.S.
I live in Europe, and I love it. But I never recommend that other Americans do it.
My mother in law lives on very little, around $1400 a month. We found her a senior one bedroom apartment with 5 day a week bus service and right on a city bus line. She pays a somewhat high rent for the area but the services and maintenance are super.
Find a simple small comfortable apartment with available transportation in an area with close amenities. Our city has a population of 1 million and has good medical facilities and competition for the shopping dollar meaning a lot of sales on basic supplies and lots of choice.
Choose too popular a place and rent prices go up fast and choose to small and remote a place and services/competition are not available.
Our city has a variety of new "affordable" apartments, even in the popular downtown, if you can get a spot and know where they are. They are also some being built right now.
Also depends on your own requirements. Some like it hot and some cold. Hobbies, like gardening, come into play.
ps: I would love to live in Northern Thailand. Spent 2 months there and it would be doable but I would have to give up my current life with pets and friends. Their weather has its good months and bad months too.
BTW: 90% of the responses you get on C-D retirement forum are form people who have no interest / desire / need to economize and move overseas.. The C-D posters are those with enough time to post due to having a Gravy Train pension / retirement.
There are A LOT of very bitter souls here. (many ex fed / state workers)
You seem oblivious to the bitterness displayed in what you wrote. The irony totally escapes you. The business about having "enough time to post" is a non-sequitur. All kinds of people post on C-D, not just retirees, as there are dozens of forums which are not retirement related - history, urban planning, automotive, psychology, economics, and many more. Another irony - you post a lot here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by silibran
You do know, those of us lucky enough to have pensions had to work for those pensions, right? No one gave us anything. In my case I worked for a pittance for years, and only made marginally decent salary in the last 5 years of my working life. I worked hard. My DH worked hard too--really hard. He worked a 60 hour week for years.
I am not bitter, and I am not an ex government employee, and I am thankful for my small pension. But I have to admit that I resent my benefits being characterized as a "gravy train."
Excellent post. Interesting how when people are envious about something they don't have, they find a way to disparage the people who do have it. I got hearing aids a few months back - wish I didn't need them - but I have no resentment of people whose hearing is still normal at my age. Instead, I am happy for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by biscuitmom
^^^ I wrote then deleted a long rant about my gravy train but it was off-topic really, as was the ill-conceived post to which you responded.
"Ill-conceived" most definitely. Resentful, obnoxious, and bitter in addition.
Last edited by Escort Rider; 04-29-2015 at 06:31 AM..
I've been reading this blog: Lyman's Journey: July 2012 since the beginning. You will find it interesting. The blogger catalogs her search (mostly Latin American countries) for an affordable place to live. Each blog is filled with their experiences, pictures, and at the end of each month she provides a breakdown of their budget so you can see what the costs of their lifestyle was per country and per month. She has a very positive, upbeat personality. The beginning of the blog describes what they are doing to get ready for their search. Start at the bottom of each page and read up to the top.
Having spent a good deal of time in Thailand & knowing expats there & elsewhere, as well as seriously considering this for myself over several years, let me just make a few comments. The primary countries you should probably be considering since it seems you don't have any connection with a specific one are: Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, Portugal. All of these have their pluses & minuses, including COL, local culture, size of expat community, stability of government & safety, etc...
You will have to do the work to see which is the best fit & why... being honest with yourselves is important. Spend a few months there in a rental to let the inevitable culture shock & feeling of isolation to set in & see how/if you deal with that. I suspect it may be more difficult as a couple if one has more issues with an abrupt change of lifestyle. Do either of you speak spanish or anything else besides english?
The easiest place may be Mexico, lots of areas that yanks live, Lake Chapala area is almost like living in a midwestern suburb, upscale San Miguel de Allende is like California (with costs almost similar now) . Thailand & Malaysia are very cheap, great spicy food & hot, hot, hot.... If you like cities I feel Buenos Aires is an overlooked gem, very much like Italy or Spain but at a rock bottom price. Panama has a fair amount of expats, it & Malaysia have good deals for retired expats.
But you need to live anywhere for a while to see if you are copasetic with it, I decided that most of the real tropics were too hot & humid while other folks love that. ymmv
You do know, those of us lucky enough to have pensions had to work for those pensions, right? No one gave us anything. In my case I worked for a pittance for years, and only made marginally decent salary in the last 5 years of my working life. I worked hard. My DH worked hard too--really hard. He worked a 60 hour week for years.
I am not bitter, and I am not an ex government employee, and I am thankful for my small pension. But I have to admit that I resent my benefits being characterized as a "gravy train."
I think many are bitter because there is no pension for them, no matter how hard they work or how little they work for, etc. Pensions are a thing of the past for most, except select government workers. The lower-level workers now for government are often "contract" workers. Just a way to cheat people. You'll see the U.S. standard of living tank for the elderly who don't have pensions. An IRA or any other retirement plan is a crock compared to a pension.
Last edited by seasick; 04-29-2015 at 09:22 AM..
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. You can live like Stealth Rabbit. The $25 flights almost never happen and I've taken dozens of flights on Air Asia and shopped for thousands more over the last decade. I have spent about 18 months in Thailand. The question is whether you would WANT to live in Thailand. If you want to eat noodles three times a day and eat like Thais you might be able to eat for $3 a day. Otherwise you won't. 
I wrote then deleted a long rant about my gravy train but it was off-topic really, as was the ill-conceived post to which you responded.
