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We did the day and night tour and it was pretty cool at night. In general, the architecture in downtown in Arequipa is interesting.
Oh, I didn't know there was a night tour! Yes, I do like the architecture downtown. The weather there is awesome, and it seemed pleasant, but it didn't seem like a very vibrant city compared to Cusco or Lima.
Oh, I didn't know there was a night tour! Yes, I do like the architecture downtown. The weather there is awesome, and it seemed pleasant, but it didn't seem like a very vibrant city compared to Cusco or Lima.
Correct, it's not a party town, it's a more serious town than Cusco or Lima. If I were to retire in Peru, it would be hard to choose between Arequipa and Miraflores. Cusco would be fun but that is some very serious altitude to live in.
For those skittish about retiring too far into Mexico, you can try going 1-leg-in-1-leg-out in northern Baja: Rosarito (16 miles to the border), Ensenada (70 miles with a one-hour express bus to the border) or retire in one of Tijuana's more exlusive gated communities with other ex-pats. This way, you can still have your medical needs met in San Diego. And if you feel comfortable enough with that, then head to other parts of the country.
Many say the Mexican border towns aren't truly Mexican, which I hotly disagree with. Ever been to the colonia's of Tijuana?
Or, as I plan to do, live as close to the border as my budget will permit: Tucson, just 66 miles to the Border, where, you can hop a bus and head to Guaymas for a weekend. If you're not fussy, RE prices are still quite a bargain in Tucson, IMO.
If you're the restless type, worrying about how you're going to fill all those days of freedom in your retirement years, like myself, and if you find yourself climbing the walls, what options are there, besides owning your own business, which doesn't appeal to me. Bored stiff, and you apply for a job washing dishes at a restaurant? Think again!!!
When in Ecuador I met up with an ex-pat, living for 20 years in Otavalo, and she knew before she moved there, being the restless type, she would have to open up some kind of business, so she opened a restaurant, which has never made any money for her, it just keeps her from going insane with all that freedom!
Also bear in mind the effect of the falling fertility rates around the world. Down the road, it may be harder and harder to find cheap maids, gardeners, caregivers, as the Asian countries will be vying for more and more immigrants to take up the slack of a declining population. Mexico's fertility rate is now down to 2.2.
Thailand's fertility rate has gotten low enough to where they're now importing immigrants from Mayanmar and Cambodia to fill gaps. Long term, Thailand can only get more expensive to retire to.
The Philippines is still one of the biggest "baby makers" in SE Asia, and exporters of labor. And if ever they legalize abortion there, down will go their fertility rate. I once read the Philippines is 10X more corrupt than Mexico!
I have to laugh about labeling countries 3rd world, as what's the hallmark of the 3rd world, a small, wealthy 1% and lots of poor people, along with corruption. Think about that for a minute!
Are you aware that it's illegal in Mexico to even wear a political tee-shirt unless you are a citizen? Best be careful.
Americans don't realize that the rules and laws are different in different countries. You could have been arrested and deported, if you aren't a citizen, for participating in a political rally in Mexico. Even for wearing a political tee-shirt.
Well aware....but the last thing I want to do in this political environment is hear another word about politics, whether in US, MX or planet Mars.
Even in Los Angeles that is true for fairly large parts of the year. Cooling consists of opening the windows at night and closing them during the day, and heating consists of opening the windows during the day and closing them at night.
However, I certainly wouldn't want to be without my central heat and central air conditioning even though each may run only a total of 20 or 30 days a year. We do have outdoor lows in the 30's a few nights a year, and outdoor highs over 100 a few days a year too.
In this area double pane glass is not very common because it's just not cost effective. A neighbor just changed out his windows and sliding glass door for double pane; I am curious how much that cost him, but I'm not going to ask because he is a nut case and rather hostile.
During the 16 years I've lived in this townhouse, my highest monthly electricity bill was $42.08. It ususally runs about $20.00. Natural gas runs between $10 and $20. I would probably have to live here another 50 years or more to make double-pane glass pay off.
Off topic, sorry. Many people switch to double pane (or triple pane) for the reduced outside sound level and the safety, both in security and breakage. Intangible payback, but if the door/window is at ground level and needs to be replaced anyway, then it makes sense. I wasn't even aware one COULD get quality single pane anything. Almost all new quality construction is DP by default and often triple pane. Naturally, without a thermal reason, there is no financial reason besides resale maybe. Even my garage is double pane.
I always wondered why in TV shows (written in Hollywood) they always show the person easily breaking in through a window or door glass with no effort with single pane glass. I always used to say "Who has single panes any more?" Now I know that they write that way because (besides making the scene easier), they actually do still have single pane.
Are you aware that it's illegal in Mexico to even wear a political tee-shirt unless you are a citizen? Best be careful.
Americans don't realize that the rules and laws are different in different countries. You could have been arrested and deported, if you aren't a citizen, for participating in a political rally in Mexico. Even for wearing a political tee-shirt.
Yes, this is hard to remember for Americans. Example: slandering is not allowed here, justified or not. Jail time. If you are accosted with a stick, you can't respond with a gun. It has to be equal...also, if you are in a car accident that's not your fault, it's "still your fault"...
If you wonder if you'd be comfortable adapting to a different language and culture, you can stay in the US cheaply - maybe CityData has a like forum (haven't looked) but check out Reddit.com's subreddit called 'Vandwellers'. You can outfit a van, RV, minibus or other vehicle with solar panels, a bathroom, kitchen and bed and travel the country for around $500 a month, access health care (it's quite cheap in Mexico for dental and other if you want to go that way) and travel with your preferred weather; south for the winters, north for the summers, boondocking (parking for free) most of the way. There are already 10s of thousands of people doing it and more wising up all the time. You don't need a yard, a big house to deal with, and all the taxes, the boredom of staying in one place, etc.
What about "being out of network" for your health care?
My family and I live overseas and we are planning to move back to the USA for 5 years at some point in the future. My Wife who is 30 years younger than me is not a US citizen. According to social security regs, She must live in the USA for five years in order to collect my social security when I pass.
We are currently considering TX and FL. We have a bit of trepidation over FL due to Hurricanes/Tornadoes/flooding/bugs/sinkholes/etc but apparently is better than TX for the following:
Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, pirate attacks and amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, the highest homeowner insurance rates in the US, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects,etc.
Holy Crap!!!! Have you actually ever been to Texas? This ^^^ post is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in my life!!!! Are there bugs, snakes and other critters here, yup but "infested"? I've lived here for over 50 years and in various parts of Texas so I kinda think I have a good idea of what it's like. I've seen ONE rattlesnake my entire life and it was dead on the road after somebody ran over it. I've never seen a copperhead or a cotton mouth. I saw a baby corral snake once but they are more afraid of us than we are of them. MANY of the critters you've listed I've NEVER seen.
Many of the other things you've listed are also exaggerations. Huge piles of flaming mulch? That happened ONE time in San Antonio, we called it "Mulchie". It burned itself out after a couple of weeks and life went on. Natural gases? Yup, if you are in the Houston area or Midland, it's not everywhere. Pirate Attacks?? What the hell are you talking about? Hurricanes? Yup, the coast gets one every now and then just like any other coastal area but they don't really affect the whole dang state nor are the effects severe unless you are in the middle of it. Dust storms? Maybe in west Texas but nothing crazy. Home insurance rates can be a bit higher in some areas but not in all and not where I live. Property taxes are higher than national average but we do not have a state income tax either so it's basically a wash. mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions??? Ummm, NO. We had a kid not long ago that was drunk driving and killed 4 people and all he got was a slap on the wrist. I know of ZERO cases where anyone got the death sentence for driving drunk even those cases where the drunk driver killed people.
As far as the scenery goes, "bleak desolate scenery" is certainly available in some parts of Texas and some don't even consider it as you've described and actually find these areas quite beautiful. We do have the piney woods of East Texas (Google the Tyler area) the breathtaking Hill Country (Google Lost Maples as an example) and gorgeous beaches (Google South Padre Island).
I don't mind it one bit if you do not like Texas, it's not for everybody. But at least tell the truth and be honest. I do seriously doubt you've ever even been here or bothered to do ANY real research other than maybe googling things like "What bugs are in Texas", "What snakes are in Texas", etc, etc.
Just visited Florida. Was told that Florida is gaining 1,000 people a month total (after deaths, births, people moving in, moving out). That is a new medium size city a year.
As the boomer bulge hits retirement and want to move to sunny warmer climes I have to wonder if this will increase the meter on overseas retirement? The desert SW has huge water problems, southern California is too expensive and crowded, FL is crowded and seems to have sucked so much water out its collapsing, not to mention sea levels will be causing problems.
Most US citizens don't own passports and health care and security are concerns. So it would seem not. But I think that drive for no snow and sun will continue to increase. I've been unhappy about federal dollars fixing beaches that rich people own or want to own/limit public access to. I'm going to be really mad if federal dollars are used to fix sea level problems for the rich people living on beach property. Nor am I interested in pipelines or whatever of water to people in the desert SW. They know they have water problems and city commissioners keep asking people to come and people who know there are water problems keep going. Then they'll expect the feds to fix it and people in the rust belt and agbelt will be paying. I kinda hope people will retire overseas and leave a little habitat for wildlife here.
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This ^^^ post is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in my life!!!! Are there bugs, snakes and other critters here, yup but "infested"? I've lived here for over 50 years and in various parts of Texas so I kinda think I have a good idea of what it's like. I've seen ONE rattlesnake my entire life and it was dead on the road after somebody ran over it. I've never seen a copperhead or a cotton mouth. I saw a baby corral snake once but they are more afraid of us than we are of them. MANY of the critters you've listed I've NEVER seen.
