Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Americans RAGE about the language thing constantly on this site and others, but seem to take a very casual view of their need to learn a language when they move to a foreign country. This language learning thing is be a two-way street surely.
I call people out on it when they make fun of others whose English is serviceable but not all that good. Broken English means they have learned another language and speak it well enough to function in a society where it is the primary language. Most people who deride their skill at it have no such skill themselves. I don't; I can maybe barely converse with someone in Spanish if they are patient and clever.
Places that have a good quality of life, reliable governance / legal system, etc, are too expensive.
Cheap places tend to have poor governance and / or a very bad legal system, and possibly worse ... higher personal danger.
Truth is ... he said whilst clicking his Ruby Slippers' heels .... there's no place like home!
None of these are problems I have experience living in Portugal. As far as "expensive" goes according to several sources I have checked about 25% of the U.S. people with my income are in the lower class, and about 50% in the middle class, so I am able to afford the putative "expensive" with a not lavish income. For most things, except clothing, gasoline and automobiles, costs run from 25% to almost 50% less, depending on the item, than in most places in the U.S.
I think, in actual fact, there is no dilemma, but rather a gamut.
I just finished my scouting trip to Portugal, yesterday....
Just Like Spain.... People walk in the streets, cuz their dogs use the sidewalks for pooping.
After reading this post I took my forty minute morning hobble through the streets. I was abashed - and then almost ashamed - to encounter no poop on our sidewalks nor roadways packed with poop-avoiding pedestrians. Until, as I turned back home on my last lap, I encountered a little pile of doggies turds.......Oh, happy day. If I would only have had an American flag with me I would have left it flying on the little mound for other Yank scouts. I did encounter a man walking in the street, he was a gypsy leading three horses. (And, no, he is not a "Roma", ask him.) One or more of his horses had left a small trail of horseballs in the road....these, alas, seemed to be impeding no pedestrians nor was anyone attempting to flip them onto the sidewalk, where animal poop is reputed to belong.
Quote:
Just the stuff you gotta accept, if you can no longer live in the USA.
Right, like I tell foreigners going to the U.S., you have to wear a bullet-proof vest and helmut whenever you go outside cuz every street is a shooting gallery.
One of my favorite topics here. My wife and I have been all over Mexico and love San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato. I'm not sure if we'd want to live there full time. But definitely 4 or 5 months. There's a decent sized ex-pat contingent there but also many barrios with no gringos. It's close to the US,(you can drive there) American friendly and relatively cheap depending on your choices. The health care is excellent also. One of my local doctors here in the US went to medical school in Mexico. I know all about Mexico's problems etc. and I'm sure a lot of people would not be interested because of issues, but it's still the top of my list. There's very little crime in SMA and the drug violence is mostly in distant areas. I'm always looking though. I prefer Spanish speaking countries. I'll be going to Spain in a few weeks, who knows...
My take - would you really want to live in a place you never lived before, when you're retired. Cost should not be the only factor. Im a long way away from that but I would think, you want to be close to the folks you know - family, friends etc. At very least, you should spend some time in that place and develop a connection BEFORE you retire.
I think retirees are often by themselves (if spouse still alive) to begin with. Kids have their own lives already and unless they want me to live close to them to assist them in bringing up the grandkids, I'd just let them be and live my remaining years for adventure. Good thing with Skype, people can connect and talk for free visually every night if need be.
Lots of great info and suggestions on this thread. Keep 'em coming.
Just a reminder guys on this thread to be respectful of each other. Different people have different tastes, plans and situations. There are no wrong answers here, only correct ones so let's make this a fun experience-sharing, knowledge-learning place.
what i hear from retirees in europe and asia is that if you don't speak the native language of that country, life will be difficult unless you are a hermit or rich enough to have a personal servant/guide/translator at all times.
there are many older expats who bought a villa in italy or spain who came right back to the USA for this reason.. for them it's was like a vacation they overstayed.. and if you look at the real estate market in those areas, there are ALOT of listings, primarily by americans who were like, "oops". my mother's friend said in tuscany, you end up not having electricity often at night, the water is well water, they had to use their phone line to access the internet with a dial up 56k modem. it's rural. the brochure says "rustic", but it's damned rural..
After reading this post I took my forty minute morning hobble through the streets. I was abashed - and then almost ashamed - to encounter no poop on our sidewalks nor roadways packed with poop-avoiding pedestrians. Until, as I turned back home on my last lap, I encountered a little pile of doggies turds.......Oh, happy day. If I would only have had an American flag with me I would have left it flying on the little mound for other Yank scouts. I did encounter a man walking in the street, he was a gypsy leading three horses. (And, no, he is not a "Roma", ask him.) One or more of his horses had left a small trail of horseballs in the road....these, alas, seemed to be impeding no pedestrians nor was anyone attempting to flip them onto the sidewalk, where animal poop is reputed to belong.
Here in rural Arizona it is not uncommon to find horse and dog turds on the roads. We are so primitive we don't have sidewalks, so they have to do it in the street.
Let me add if you are worried about language English is one of two official languages in the Philippines and Belize is a English speaking nation.
My wife speaks Cebuano and Tagalog, prefers Cebuano. Plus she is a dual citizen of the US and the Philippines. May spend some of my retirement years (God willing) in Cebu or Baguio City.
Last edited by whogo; 05-28-2016 at 12:22 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
