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My wife and I was watching our favorite show, House Hunter International and came across an episode that intrigued us. It was about a retired couple that chose to live overseas for 4 months a year. They used this strategy so they can have a "home base" in the region and use it to travel to other countries nearby. They chose a no-frills housing rental that is close to a major airport. In this case, they rented an unit just outside of Bangkok, Thailand so it's cheaper but still allow access to the city. Couple mentioned a lot of benefits with this approach:
1) Live like a local in home base and be immersed in new culture
2) Regional flights to nearby countries are affordable (they went to Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, etc)
3) Avoid long uncomfortable flights from US to Asia and minimize jet lag. Rest between trips in home base rental.
I told my wife that I am willing to do something like this when we are retired. We can have an adventure for a prolonged period but still come back to US where we have lots of family/friends. Only negatives I can think of paying for multiple housing (US, overseas, etc). Maybe rotate to a new continent every year. Start with Asia, then rent an Italian villa to explore year Europe the next year, then South America, etc.
Has anyone else thought or done something like this? Any other negatives with this approach?
You could rent a very affordable studio not only in Bangkok, but probably for less money also in Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Hanoi VN, Bintan, Kota Kinabalu, or Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia. All have extensive expat presence for a reasonable price. You could also do a one-time AirBnB or VRBO or something similar without committing to any contract.
Georgetown & Chiang Mai are particularly interesting to me (this week! )
Go for it. The main issue I can think of is how to handle a health emergency. Also be aware that some countries will only allow you to stay for 90 days.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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some of my friends live full time in Medellin and love it.....not sure I would do it full time, but now that I am recently retired I could see living in a different city for 2+ months each year to get a different perspective on life....Barcelona would be a great base for me to explore Europe...I could easily spend that time in Rio de Janerio and explore Southern Brazil from there, though I need to first learn more Portuguese. I love the rotation concept.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hikernut
go for it. The main issue i can think of is how to handle a health emergency. Also be aware that some countries will only allow you to stay for 90 days.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by capitalhockey
My wife and I was watching our favorite show, ... episode that intrigued us. It was about a retired couple that chose to live overseas for 4 months a year. They used this strategy so they can have a "home base" in the region and use it to travel to other countries nearby. They chose a no-frills housing rental that is close to a major airport.
... Only negatives I can think of paying for multiple housing (US, overseas, etc). ...
Has anyone else thought or done something like this? Any other negatives with this approach?
We do similar. Created a 'separate living space' in our (cheap / rural) USA homes for ....eldercare / caregiver / rental / traveling guests (Long term), boomerang kids, or us when we desire smaller space.
This way we have a house / plant / pet sitter and get a little revenue to cover costs & utilities on our USA place while we are gone (Often). If within home regulations... You can do a similar plan by adding an RV pad at your primary home. There are a lot of RV retirees who would love to have a spot to park for a few months. We have all rural spots, so some have cabins, bunkhouse, RV sites, apartment in shop, apartment in Daylight basement.
We have found our 'away places' via "Homeaway" or similar, but often we travel to camps / schools / farms or use guest hospitality homes. (for last 30+ yrs) https://wikitravel.org/en/Hospitality_exchange
We prefer traveling and living like a local, not a tourist. (Relationship building, not focused on quick and deliberate sight-seeing only)
YMMV
It is quite affordable ~$40k for entire yr away (transportation / rental cars and camper vans are largest expense).
Negative for us is the extreme maintenance required for our USA rural props (mowing / tractors / fences / roofs / landscaping.... ) Could be much easier in a condo living situation (that allowed sub-lease). Ideally we will find / build a senior cottage community... then there will always be someone around to watch / maintain the property. We will try to always have multiple living spaces in our homes (in case of need for a live-in caregiver). We did 32 yrs caregiving for a disabled parent, stuff happens.
I lived in Europe for 7 years as a young adult. I'm itching to go back, and had also considered snowbirding abroad. The adorable furkid in my life is the major obstacle to implementing that.
There are many websites that advertise exchanging homes from other countries with your home for a certain period. The other side usually lists all their details -- location of home, personal profile, the period that they expect to stay in your place, how many people will be staying in your home,...etc.
They also list the destination. Usually if your home is located in a hot tourist spot, there are many requests.
For example, there are strong demands from Japan for homes in Hawaii.
If it were not for the pets, we would do it, well I would like it anyhow, not so sure about the OH.
Yes, we have the same complicating factor. I was just reading the rules on bringing pets to some foreign countries, and there are places where it can be done without quarantine. England is one example, but they do have breed restrictions. Another nice thing about England is that a U.S. citizen can stay for up to six months as a visitor.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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My pets (farm dogs and cats) prefer me to be gone... Then they get to run the show.
They are kind to welcome me home for a few minutes, but they soon relapse to enjoy their independence / daily routines.
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