Where can a US citizen retire outside the US? (friend, husband, trouble)
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Well sure, I'd rather be in Hawaii too....by a long shot. Looked on the Big Island for a couple years hoping for that. But the COL is the main factor for many of us. I wouldn't leave the U.S. either if I could afford a beachfront place there.
You don't need to be fluent in Spanish here. We are trying to learn but get by in all the stores without it. Grocery shopping is no problem at all. If we need to find something, we just put it on our smartphone and show an employee. All the food looks the same. Gestures go a long way.
Our beach did not wash away but I know the area that did. Luck of the draw. Just like tornadoes or hurricanes or earthquakes anywhere else. There are always horror stories and always trade-offs.
We try to look as poor as we are so we don't attract kidnappers!
We thought we would retire to Mexico and spent considerable time looking for the right place. The reason for going there was a combination of weather, an adventure, and we thought we could get more for our money.
After a few years of research and many trips to Mexico we ended up moving to Hawaii. Reasons we gave up on Mexico:
- Friends of ours who own property there have to hire a house-sitter to guard the place while they are away.
- Crime is a problem - more of it and less effective police.
- We did not want to live in an American enclave but we realized that we would never fit in to the Mexican culture. We have no children and are not religious.
- Land ownership there is complicated if you are within 50km of the ocean, which is where we were looking. Legal protections for home buyers is far different than the US and we felt a little too exposed to risk.
- No support for senior citizens. Mexico relies on families to support their elderly.
- Medical care is too iffy.
- Living in a foreign country is romantic but the romance wears off and you are left with all the above challenges. They are manageable when you are 40 or 50 but not what I want when I am 70.
We are glad we gave up on the Mexico idea and ended up in Hawaii. Except for the cheap living we got most of the other things we were looking for when we retired.
We took a serious look at HI for a home but my DH quickly got Island Fever. It surprised both of us but it happened.
FYI, after 5+ years in MX and heading down to our new home in a few months, let me clear up a few things on your list.
- Friends of ours who own property there have to hire a house-sitter to guard the place while they are away.
We owned for 5+ years and never had to do this and we were gone for a month or so often.
- Crime is a problem - more of it and less effective police.
Again, never a problem....one night someone rang our bell rather late (10PM)...when my DH went out, there was a young Mexican man who pointed out to him that we had left our keys in our exterior door.
- We did not want to live in an American enclave but we realized that we would never fit in to the Mexican culture. We have no children and are not religious.
We are childless and no religion. We lived in the village, not in a US enclave (nor a Canadian enclave...more CDN expats than US where we lived). Our MXN neighbors were friendly and helpful without fail.
- No support for senior citizens. Mexico relies on families to support their elderly.
Actually the reasonable cost of senior care is one of our top reasons for returning to MX. While we intend to live in our own home and pay for private care if that time ever comes, there are also assisted living facilities that far exceed what we have seen in the US. See this recent PBS clip (it's from our village actually).Why foreign retirees are flocking to Mexico | PBS NewsHour
- Medical care is too iffy.
We live 45 minutes from Guadalajara which is home to many of Mexico's Medical Schools. Many of the students there are from US colleges! Lake Chapala where we live is where many doctors (and lawyers, dentists, engineers) from Guadalajara have weekend lake houses. In the past 10 years a number of these doctors have opened offices at the Lake. BTW...both of us had medical emergencies while in MX and both were handled expertly according to our US doctors who we saw as a follow-up. My orthopedic surgeon in MX is a Cleveland Clinic graduate, BTW.
Everyone finds their own place in the sun. I am glad you found yours. And glad we have found ours. The video of the PBS story can be played here: https://youtu.be/vjAet-Af190
BTW, not so much for the op but those who are curious from the thread title... I consider Buenos Aires to be an overlooked gem to most Americans, a vibrant, sophisticated, beautiful city with more in common with Spain/Italy it can seem sometimes than with most of Latin America, plus it is very inexpensive. Spanish would be mandatory, they have a peculiar accent there it seems.
Also Santiago Chile is very nice as well, both countries are worth a visit.
I was just about to ask if anyone had looked at Argentina. Buenos Aires is a great place, but I wonder how suitable it is for aging retirees? How about Mendoza?
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.
Don't kid yourself. We have most of that in FL too.
Everyone finds their own place in the sun. I am glad you found yours. And glad we have found ours. The video of the PBS story can be played here: https://youtu.be/vjAet-Af190
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.
LOL. As a most of my life Texan, your post sums life up here, if not succinctly, at least accurately
Now, picture you're at a Walmart in Mexico, where the workers only speak Spanish and they are nowhere in sight, anyway.
So, you try to figure out which aisle has shampoo. You walk around, not being able to read the signs easily, or there aren't any signs. So, you just wander and wander until you find an aisle of shampoo and conditioners, etc.
Now, all of the bottles are in Spanish. Maybe you know the Spanish words for shampoo and conditioner. Good for you. Maybe you want to figure out which one helps with dandruff. So, you get out your Spanish English dictionary to figure out the word for dandruff. Or you just give up and grab some bottle hoping it won't really matter.
Can you use your iphone to do this? Probably not. There probably won't be a signal. Better have your dictionary with you, and hope it has all the words relating to dandruff and shampoo...
Whew, shampoo picked out. Now, where is the laundry detergent? Okay found that aisle, but nothing looks the same as what you're used to. Lots of plastic bags, instead of boxes and bottles. You don't know what to buy. No clerks in sight. A nice lady is grabbing a bag for herself and she doesn't speak English. You try to ask her in Spanish which laundry detergent is good....
You get it home and have to try and figure out how much to use and can't make out the instructions on the bag - or there are no instructions on the bag.
And let's say you did find a clerk to help you. What are you going to ask them as far as what to buy, on an aisle with 50 options? And how do you think they're going to look at you?
And as far as paying for those "cheap" things? The sales tax in Mexico, last time I checked, was 15%.
Great place to visit, although I won't even visit anymore. I know first hand now, that it's just not a safe place to even visit. You always have to be on your toes.
Not that it's not without it's charms. But, when I was living there, an educated Mexican asked me why on earth I wanted to live in Mexico, when they were all trying to get the the U.S. I think that says it all.
I find many of the same products at Walmart Mexico, buying shampoo is just not difficult. BTW, I never read the instructions on shampoo in USA or Mexico. Sounds like you had a difficult time living there, living in a foreign country is an adventure, some don't like the adventure, nothing wrong with that. You tried it didn't work out for you, good for you for trying it.
The comment that the Mexicans were all trying to get to the US is an insult to Mexicans. Many Mexicans have no desire to live in the US, they love their home country. It is a common American thought that all the Mexicans, if they could, would run for the border to come to the US. Very insulting to Mexicans. I understand you said a Mexican said it to you, I am commenting because I know many people think that and it just not true.
Everyone finds their own place in the sun. I am glad you found yours. And glad we have found ours. The video of the PBS story can be played here: https://youtu.be/vjAet-Af190
The PBS article does make it sound nice. Perhaps we will end up there. I am still having too much fun here in HI, surfing every day etc. but when we reach the point of needing to go to an assisted facility perhaps the places described in the PBS piece are what we will do. I speak Spanish pretty fluently so it will be easy. Is there hospice care in Mexico? You never know what will happen as you age. Cancer runs through my family.
NoMoreSnowForMe you are quite wrong. It is as lieqiang described. If you do have a phone whether it is an Android or iPhone (any of the smart phones) you can with the right apps scan the bar code and get exactly what that item is and translated in English. You can even take a picture of the sign and run that through. I went to South Korea and saw a sign that well my daughter and I were talking about. We decided to check out the app and translate the sign. Snap and there was the No Smoking words right in front of us on the phone. This from an alphabet form not the ones we see here. No Smoking - 금연
pretty damned simple if you ask me. I am not picking on you but really I have gone to foreign countries where I do not speak the language or any dialect of it. A few words, some gestures and well it is a cumbersome process but communication takes place.
Did you read the part of her post that said there likely is no signal for your phone to hook up to the internet with? Did you think every store has Wifi?
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