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Why do you have to give up gardening in the summer if you stay in England? We had just returned from a 17-day trips to England, Wales and Ireland. We stayed at many B&Bs and one airbnb. There were wonderful flower and vegetables gardens everywhere.
Because I'm going to be gone 3 months, who is going to take care of my tomatoes. Some wild animals are going to eat them, cause more problem. I didn't plan any this year for the same reason.
In February and March there was a thread, "Best countries to retire to," in this forum which really went over this topic backward and forward. That might be a good thing to scan through for anyone interested in the topic.
For the record: I am a U.S. citizen, now aged 78. I emigrated from the U.S. to Europe permanently in January 2001. I have lived in two countries. One I lived in for three years and did not like for reasons that were not financial, and returned to Portugal where I had lived previously for about a year and a half, and I have lived here ever since.
I have not thought of any scenarios which would induce me to return to the U.S. I prefer life here; in fact, I love life here.
As has been brought out in many other threads on this subject...it is always money, money, money. And while money has certainly to be considered and well thought over, there are many countries where your U.S. income will go farther and which will provide you with good healthcare.
But question #1 should be: Could I make the adjustment of living in another country...a different culture, different society, different products, different types of shopping environments, etc..
# 2. Could I actually live in a neighborhood surrounded by local people, or would I have to huddle in an enclave with other Americans or at least other English-speakers?
# 3. Money and anything else.
Most Americans in these threads come up with, "No." Personally, I think "No" is probably the best answer for most Americans.
I can count the number of Americans whom I have met in the past sixteen years who have been living permanently in either country I have lived in. That number is 5. Most of the foreigners I have met who have come to live in another country, and there have been many, were English or German. The Germans seem to be able to really settle in, many of the Brits are very iffy about it and live in huddles.
I can agree with you on many points. I'm in one of the Top 5 best countries in the world to live-Switzerland. I could NEVER live in the US again. Can't take it and didn't want my daughter bothered with the US culture. Luckily, it was easy for me as I have dual citizenship so moving was no problem. I received Swiss citizenship through marriage many years ago when Switzerland gave women Swiss citizenship immediately when they married a Swiss! Those days are over, so I was lucky! I tried living in the US again for a few years, I couldn't wait to get out! I even know a few people who have given up their US citizenship. It's a stunning place and you don't have to be a millionaire in order to live a good quality of life. I agree with you when you wrote: "no, is probably the best answer for most Americans," when it comes to living abroad. I don't hate America, of course, it's just not for me.
Have you bothered to look into visa requirements for those countries, or are you just enamored of posting picturesque videos of city skylines?
That is what I am wondering about. When someone starts to post pictures of Makati, Philippines as representative of life in the Philippines as an ex-pat ...
These days, there are hundreds of YouTube videos on most ex-pat destinations and many of them show the positives and negatives of life as an ex-pat.
Makati, Philippines as representative of life in the Philippines as an ex-pat ...
This is a great point. For one thing getting an apartment in Makati will likely uncheck the "way cheaper" box at the top of the list of reasons to move there.
There are other nice places in the Philippines (for example lots of expats cluster around Moalboal) but overall Makati is far from representative.
This is a great point. For one thing getting an apartment in Makati will likely uncheck the "way cheaper" box at the top of the list of reasons to move there.
There are other nice places in the Philippines (for example lots of expats cluster around Moalboal) but overall Makati is far from representative.
Most of the ex-pats that I have talked to are centered in Cebu or Dumaguete which are nice towns. Makati has struck me to be more of a location for tourists and foreign nationals working in the Philippines with nice expense budgets. Of course, "expensive" in the Philippines for ex-pat workers is cheap for companies who housed their foreign nationals in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo.
Was robbed there. No thanks. I won't give my real opinion of the Phils. The women on some of the provinces are cute though. Would be one of the last countries I'd retire to.
I know I'll take heat from the Filipinos on the board, but I'm not the only one who has this opinion. Once you get outside of Makati, well....
However, i guess if cost of living is the primary consideration, or one has relatives there, I can understand.
That is what I am wondering about. When someone starts to post pictures of Makati, Philippines as representative of life in the Philippines as an ex-pat ...
These days, there are hundreds of YouTube videos on most ex-pat destinations and many of them show the positives and negatives of life as an ex-pat.
Definitely Makati CBD is not representative. That's not the purpose of this thread though. The purpose is to share information of retirement places outside US.
I think we can agree that any country will have its good and bad spots. What I am sharing are the good spots that I know of, having actually grown up in one of them.
Curious = how much do you anticipate your RMDs to be, and how much income tax would you pay on it?
It's unpleasant for me to discuss personal details (call it a senseless phobia), but for purposes of discussion I am postulating the doctor-lawyer type as recently mentioned by GoeffD, except that my hypothetical personage (1) began his/her career without any tuition-debt, and (2) had a lifelong career in an institution that offered both a 401K plan and simultaneously a traditional defined-benefit pension. Upon retiring, this individual takes his/her employer-provided healthcare plan into retirement (employer continues paying employer-portion of premiums). We'll assume that this person never married, has no children, and his/her parents have already passed away.
I am also assuming a retiree who is aggressively parsimonious. Some rough (but not unreasonable) numbers:
- Retire at 70, and wait until 70 to collect Social Security. Assume a lifetime (45+ years) of IRS-maximum 401K and Roth-IRA contributions. Assume that salary was well in excess of the SS-annual cap. Also assume a lifetime of taxable-account annual contributions at least equal to tax-exempt/deferred contributions.
- We recently had a gentleman here asking about financial readiness for retirement, who mentioned $45K of total annual expenses. That seems like a reasonable number to me.
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I even know a few people who have given up their US citizenship. It's a stunning place and you don't have to be a millionaire in order to live a good quality of life. I agree with you when you wrote: "no, is probably the best answer for most Americans," when it comes to living abroad. I don't hate America, of course, it's just not for me.
