Where can a US citizen retire outside the US? (supplement, single, older)
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There are tons of things going on that lower costs in other countries. Malpractice insurance is an enormous expense in the US and I suspect nobody else is as litigious as the US. Medical billing requirements in the US generate a lot of overhead. Oversight and regulations make things more expensive particularly with drugs. Labor is cheaper in developing nations. It all adds up.
You work directly with doctors engineers and tradsmen and not middle men, contractors or over priced paper shufflers.
My wife recently needed to go see a dentist in a developing country because she was worried she cracked a tooth. Cost for examination by a dentist was about $11, and it was a for-profit clinic run by an Aussie dentist that caters to the expat community and health tourists.
There are plenty of private for-profit clinics in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand that specialize in elective (or non-emergency) surgical procedures for the round eyed devils waving cash.
Plenty of private clinics around the world and there are about 1/2 dozen in my neighborhood. As a matter of fact my Wife works in one of the JIC certified one's here. Her job is helping to get and maintain certification.
I spoke to a friend (53) a few days ago (thought he died). He was in a very nice 2nd tier clinic two years ago. His Pancreas exploded while he was visiting Peru. He spent 6 mos in ICU (1 month in a coma) his Gallblader and several other vital organs failed, but his kidneys held out. Ran up a bill of $340,000. Told me that they saved his life on four separate occasions. The care was so good, he decided to sell his biz in the USA for 3. something million and move to Peru where he can live less than a block away from this clinic.
His Pancreas exploded while he was visiting Peru. He spent 6 mos in ICU (1 month in a coma) his Gallblader and several other vital organs failed, but his kidneys held out. Ran up a bill of $340,000. Told me that they saved his life on four separate occasions. The care was so good, he decided to sell his biz in the USA for 3. something million and move to Peru where he can live less than a block away from this clinic.
Sheesh I'd much rather have had that happen in USA where my annual out of pocket would have been a couple grand. Then I could spend the other $338k on booze, whores, and bail money.
Sheesh I'd much rather have had that happen in USA where my annual out of pocket would have been a couple grand. Then I could spend the other $338k on booze, whores, and bail money.
That was the reason in the first place! He had an old BCBS Texas policy that was in force at the time and they actually covered international travel, hardly cost him anything out of pocket. They said they have not issued a policy like that in years and I suspect it will be cancelled if they can get out of it
I live on the far north coast of California, and don't have air conditioning, and don't need it. I also very rarely turn on my heater.
This is a HUGE country, with every climate and elevation, every type of geography, flora, fauna, etc., you can possibly come up with.
And housing in every price range.
And laws that work, and insurance you can trust.
But, nobody could have talked me out of it when I sold my condo in expensive Davis, CA, and moved to Mexico, only to come back singing Hallelujia when I hit American soil again.
If you only take one piece of advice from me, keep your real estate in the states if you own any and rent it out. Wait at least one year after living in Mexico, or any other country, for a full year at least, before selling it.
I really wish I'd kept my property. By the time I came back, I couldn't afford to buy it again.
And if you think all of your friends and family will be happy to come visit you? They all said they'd come, and none of them did. So, just be ready for the possibility that none of your family or friends will find the time or funds to come see you in your new country. In case that might matter, too.
And to the person who asked why would someone like me try and put the kabash on someone's desire to move to another country? Because I did it myself and really wished I hadn't. I do recognize, though, that nobody could have probably talked me out of it.
I probably can't talk anyone out of it, either. But, my hope is to save someone some heartache and hassle. Even if they just go about it giving themselves permission to come back if it doesn't work out, and hopefully, to not sell everything here without trying it out for at least a year first.
And most preferably of all, to take a deep breath and do some research on options right here in the U.S. This is an enormous country. Just try to really exhaust all options here first. And don't believe all of the websites and rhetoric you find online about how great it is to live wherever. Those sites and promoters usually have an agenda. And it usually involves selling you something. Often the home they want to offload, so they can move back to the states.
I think this is one of the better analyses in the thread. You can have your cake and eat it, too. If you get really ill, you can come running back to the States to get treatment, if you like.
We stay a few months out of the States each year and enjoy each place when we get there tremendously. We act like a tourist again for a few weeks, then settle down and cultivate friends and do things. Since we're retired, we can stay as long as we like out of the States (as long as we abide by the restrictions placed in our passport on arrival outside the US) and enjoy the best of both places.
Yes, there are hassles to living in two places, but in our opinion the ability to come back to the US permanently when we are too old to continue this lifestyle, is worth the hassle. Having a place to come back to takes the angst out of things.
Plenty of private clinics around the world and there are about 1/2 dozen in my neighborhood. As a matter of fact my Wife works in one of the JIC certified one's here. Her job is helping to get and maintain certification.
I spoke to a friend (53) a few days ago (thought he died). He was in a very nice 2nd tier clinic two years ago. His Pancreas exploded while he was visiting Peru. He spent 6 mos in ICU (1 month in a coma) his Gallblader and several other vital organs failed, but his kidneys held out. Ran up a bill of $340,000. Told me that they saved his life on four separate occasions. The care was so good, he decided to sell his biz in the USA for 3. something million and move to Peru where he can live less than a block away from this clinic.
So he ran up a bill that would have been the equivalent of 340k in the USA or was it 340k USD in Peru?
That would bankrupt most people so I am not sure that's the "smoking" deal that most people are thinking of.
I think this is one of the better analyses in the thread. You can have your cake and eat it, too. If you get really ill, you can come running back to the States to get treatment, if you like.
We stay a few months out of the States each year and enjoy each place when we get there tremendously. We act like a tourist again for a few weeks, then settle down and cultivate friends and do things. Since we're retired, we can stay as long as we like out of the States (as long as we abide by the restrictions placed in our passport on arrival outside the US) and enjoy the best of both places.
Yes, there are hassles to living in two places, but in our opinion the ability to come back to the US permanently when we are too old to continue this lifestyle, is worth the hassle. Having a place to come back to takes the angst out of things.
Sure, if you can afford it, this is definitely the way to go. For those of us who can't afford it, expat is the way to go.
And there are certainly trade-offs that "most" Americans probably wouldn't care for.
So he ran up a bill that would have been the equivalent of 340k in the USA or was it 340k USD in Peru?
That would bankrupt most people so I am not sure that's the "smoking" deal that most people are thinking of.
340k in Peru, The average ICU stay in the USA would have been 730K and I doubt they would have saved your life 4 times. His wife was initially told he had a 1% chance of survival.
No biggie, I hear that when you reach your seventies you have to do a beachcombover!
Buzz it. Not enough left for a comb over!
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Where can a US citizen retire outside the US?
