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I've been researching websites lately that cater to Americans and others that are looking to retire in places in South America. I've been just briefly looking into it and it definitely looks appealing on some level. I'm gonna keep on researching it. I'm upper 40's and I'm just sick as hell of the rat race here and I'm thinking about working a few more years and maybe taking an early retirement in a place like Chile or Argentina. Need to do much more research of course, but I was just wondering if anyone else here has thought of this or has done it if they have any thoughts. I know that a lot of research is still needed to be done to really understand what is really involved. There are websites dedicated to this was just looking to see what CD'ers thoughts were.
I've researched the numbers and man, they sure look good, We've got a few assets now that we can turn and be able to live off of till our retirement benefits we have kick in. After that I think we'd be so fat dumb and happy at least financially speaking that it makes it hard to not to hop on a plane now... impulsiveness not withstanding of course.
I'm from South Africa and next year will finish a 4-year contract working in the Philippines. From here we'll spend a year or so having a look around Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand).
Then off to what will probably our final destination (I'm 68) ... South America.
I have visited Argentina and spent some time investigating living in Equador, Costa Rica, Colombia and Uruguay. There are many living options but the one that attracts me is the temperate weather and the mountains.
I did consider Santiago, Chile as it's got a great climate (for me), is a nice size, has excellent food and wine, is almost 1st world with a good subway system and is cheaper than comparable US cities. Also vina del mar on the coast is nice.
Arequipa and Lima Peru aren't terrible.
I haven't made it to Argentina yet but have heard Buenos Aires and Mendoza are nice.
Columbia, Mexico, and Ecuador have some nice spots but too dicey for my tastes.
We owned a house in Mexico from 2008-2012. We had to return to the US to care for my elderly father-in-law. Sadly he died late last year. We are once again contemplating buying another home in Mexico.
Here's why I'm posting, as a heads-up to US citizens wanting to become full-time expats.
New US banking laws took effect in 2013, after we left MX. If you do not have a US address, you cannot open a US bank account, AND more and more of our friends in MX are getting notified by their existing banks and brokerages that their accounts are being closed since they live outside the US fulltime.
Some of our friends are relying on their kids in the US to "borrow" their address. This is working for now. However, it does mean lying to banks and other financial institutions who are inquiring due to both FATCA and the even worse, Know Your Customer rules (KYC).
These financial laws were enacted as part of the Patriot Act and its offshoot laws. They were originally (in the early 2000's) aimed at terrorists, their finances and collection of data. In the more recent amendments/tightening, they aimed at drug monies/operations.
While their intent may be laudatory, they have basically made it impossible for US citizens to become full-time expats. FATCA has such long reaching effects, that MX banks are closing accounts of US citizens. Can't have a US account, can't have a foreign account. It's quite the Catch-22.
My stories are from MX as that's where we know people; however, if you google this issue, you will find similar issues all over the world for US expats.
Right now, we continue to shop for a MX house, but won't give up a US residence, for now. We feel we are being held hostage by the US government to maintain a residence in the US. For us, it's a bit of a financial burden; for many potential expats, it's too expensive to maintain a home in the US and own or rent one elsewhere.
While their intent may be laudatory, they have basically made it impossible for US citizens to become full-time expats. FATCA has such long reaching effects, that MX banks are closing accounts of US citizens. Can't have a US account, can't have a foreign account. It's quite the Catch-22.
Friends of ours retired in MX have told us this is true. Also there's a current crackdown on sales of US mutuals fund to non-US residents. Apparently the prohibition has been on the books for a long time, not part of FATCA, but it has been loosely enforced in the past. Not so anymore.
Not sure if it applies to ownership or only to new sales but it's creating headaches for some expats.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Income tax free and bank friendly SD makes it ez to retain a US domicile, but if you are truly a 'FT resident' of foreign soil there may be trouble with banks. I ran into stock trading issues on Friday, since I have been out of USA over 6 months, but still a resident. Need to use a USA VPN to access data and trade.
I plan to fully consider SA once I am more equipped in native language. I trust bargain flights will become more plentiful by the time I run low on free award miles.
I purposely will be FAR from an 'ex-pat' community. 28 yrs working overseas has given me too much exposure to typical ex-pats, but there are many 'integrated' foriegn residents who are doing well and imbedded in local people and culture.
It is not too interesting or productive "living-as-a-visitor" in a foreign (or USA) destination.
The south coast of Portugal (as per above article) is quite an ugly example of how ex-pats can destroy local real estate, shopping, food, entertainment. Largely due to decades of EU and Brexit popularity in that region. We have the same 'ugly' in popular USA destinations. The USA has displaced millions of residents and native cultures.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 08-28-2016 at 01:44 PM..
I did consider Santiago, Chile as it's got a great climate (for me), is a nice size, has excellent food and wine, is almost 1st world with a good subway system and is cheaper than comparable US cities. Also vina del mar on the coast is nice.
Arequipa and Lima Peru aren't terrible.
I haven't made it to Argentina yet but have heard Buenos Aires and Mendoza are nice.
Columbia, Mexico, and Ecuador have some nice spots but too dicey for my tastes.
Chile would be a great choice. Argentina is too unstable, both politically and economically.
I'm very interested in Ecuador. I've vacationed there and feel that it would be a viable place to consider retirement. Stable (for South America) economy, world-class medical care in the cities, the US Dollar is their monetary unit and the weather is great. My retirement income would stretch quite nicely there.
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