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I'm very lucky. Woooohooooo I found both!!!!! Don't give up so fast!
I agree. WE are looking at our retirement are, COL is comparable, but housing prices are about half ours here. WE can get twice as much NEW {newer} house there than here for the same $. AND some houses we have looked at remotely have been like a "dream house" to us. We expect within the next 3 years to buy, even if housing goes up there, we should still get a marvelous house for what we paid for ours here.
SO DON'T give up, but you might have to use "selective choosing" in that you have to find an area you like as we ll as the house that "suits you best"...rather than your actual dream. Dreams are rarely ever based in reality.
My priority is to find the right state and town and then the right house. Of course, if money is no object, you can renovate until the cows come home or build your own house in what you consider to be the perfect location. Everything comes down to money.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760
My priority is to find the right state and town and then the right house. ... Everything comes down to money.
Money can't always guarantee a great neighborhood (neighbors change... unless you buy 10,000 acres (500 - 800 is not nearly enough SPACE for 'quiet'. )
for me... QUIET retirement abode...... Neighborhood / environment / uninterrupted view is primary for me, AND it must be <30 min from international airport, colleges, medical...
Low(er) costs and taxes would be nice... but so far I am paying the price of admission by restructuring my retirement income.
I still live VERY cheap... < $1000/ month is EZ EXCEPT for property taxes and HC. (~ $2000/ month EACH) so 4x my 'cost of living - spend'
If the world collapses, I will move to one of my paid-off rental view props. But Have got 4 'neighbors from hxll at 3 of the properties this yr alone. (usually barking dogs / (Service animals are not dogs / pets))
We can afford a million dollar house, cash. Not bragging, just giving you our take on housing.
In the US, if I bought a million dollar house I'd expect a water view or waterfront. Where we have a more modest home in FL (one block from water, no view), sales value likely 350K (we paid 245K in 2013 and made some improvemens), our current taxes and insurance (inclu. flood) are about 6,500 a year. There was a house for sale on the water near us (but surprisingly not great views...lots of mangroves that cannot be trimmed)...800K. The taxes and insurance (incl. flood) on the new home would be almost 20,000 a year. And it's not like taxes and insurance (ESP. flood which are going up 17% a year by law) are going down. So after 10 years, maybe 250,000 in overhead.
Our MX house, is a block from the water (largest lake in Mexico), killer water views. Same size as that 800K house in FL we looked at, but the MX house is stylistically superior (16 foot ceilings), interior real stone walls, and a small casita (now for guests, later possibly for live-in caregivers). I paid 350K for it. My MXN taxes and insurance are just over $500 a year. Even with some inflation, 10 years worth of taxes and insurance overhead, maybe 6,000 total.
So, my BIG issue with a dream home in the US is the cost to carry it. It galls me to pay 250,000 when I can pay 6,000 for the same 10 year period.
Last edited by dothetwist; 05-28-2017 at 04:19 PM..
It's nice to have choices and even better when you find a niche that suits you...
I've never traveled South of the Boarder... my brother did several times and always had problems... once they had to pay off the local police to get their car back.. police said it was a very bad area and they towed the car to keep it safe...
Another time they were driving and came up to a roadblock... everyone out and everything searched... the soldiers seem to like the cooler they had with beer and food... they ended up giving it the soldiers and were allowed to continue...
It guess these things could happen in California but so far not that I'm aware... also, I don't speak Spanish...
Very good friends are from El Salvador... her family owns a resort and I told her I would like to visit... then she came down with all the precautions for Americans traveling alone and it sounded like Hawaii would be a much better destination...
Don't get me wrong... I have lived in worked in Europe and spent time in all the countries from Slovenia to England and never felt uncomfortable... to me Bavaria is just as much home as California and could easily see myself residing there... and I speak German.
It's nice to have choices and even better when you find a niche that suits you...
I've never traveled South of the Boarder... my brother did several times and always had problems... once they had to pay off the local police to get their car back.. police said it was a very bad area and they towed the car to keep it safe...
Another time they were driving and came up to a roadblock... everyone out and everything searched... the soldiers seem to like the cooler they had with beer and food... they ended up giving it the soldiers and were allowed to continue...
It guess these things could happen in California but so far not that I'm aware... also, I don't speak Spanish...
Very good friends are from El Salvador... her family owns a resort and I told her I would like to visit... then she came down with all the precautions for Americans traveling alone and it sounded like Hawaii would be a much better destination...
Don't get me wrong... I have lived in worked in Europe and spent time in all the countries from Slovenia to England and never felt uncomfortable... to me Bavaria is just as much home as California and could easily see myself residing there... and I speak German.
Your brother seems to be very unlucky! IMO the expats who have problems in MX are those who bring it on themselves. It's a big deal to tow away a car in MX....involves both the local police and transito (traffic police). MX law is very bureaucratic and to tow a vehicle requires a ton of paperwork and it doesn't happen unless the vehicle is creating a traffic hazard. My guess is your brother parked somewhere illegally; either his Spanish reading skills are lacking (couldn't read a no parking sign), or, doesn't understand the 'no parking' painted markers on the pavement...there's a number of red, yellow and blue 'no parking' painted lines. BTW,mostly if you park illegally in MX, the police take your license plate to the police station, not your car! When you pay your fine, they return your license plate.
We have driven tens of thousands of miles in MX; yes there are police and agricultural stops. We have NEVER been asked to get out of our car, NEVER had anything but a cursory opening of our trunk/hatchback (looking for fruit), but never had a suitcase opened, etc. Did your brother understand what the police asked him? No one should drive around in any foreign country without some basic understanding of that country's language. As you said, you are comfortable in Germany because you speak German!
El Salvador is a mess....my late FIL's caregiver's family were from Salvador and even when they go back to visit, they are fearful the whole time. It is pretty much a lawless state.
Your brother seems to be very unlucky! IMO the expats who have problems in MX are those who bring it on themselves. It's a big deal to tow away a car in MX....involves both the local police and transito (traffic police). MX law is very bureaucratic and to tow a vehicle requires a ton of paperwork and it doesn't happen unless the vehicle is creating a traffic hazard. My guess is your brother parked somewhere illegally; either his Spanish reading skills are lacking (couldn't read a no parking sign), or, doesn't understand the 'no parking' painted markers on the pavement...there's a number of red, yellow and blue 'no parking' painted lines. BTW,mostly if you park illegally in MX, the police take your license plate to the police station, not your car! When you pay your fine, they return your license plate.
We have driven tens of thousands of miles in MX; yes there are police and agricultural stops. We have NEVER been asked to get out of our car, NEVER had anything but a cursory opening of our trunk/hatchback (looking for fruit), but never had a suitcase opened, etc. Did your brother understand what the police asked him? No one should drive around in any foreign country without some basic understanding of that country's language. As you said, you are comfortable in Germany because you speak German!
El Salvador is a mess....my late FIL's caregiver's family were from Salvador and even when they go back to visit, they are fearful the whole time. It is pretty much a lawless state.
I don't know what to say... he has traveled all over the world and extensively in South America although often without a car... Mexico is the only place difficulties were encountered on two separate occasions.
The passenger side window was smashed out and that was part of the story as to being in a bad area and keeping it safe.
He and two friends were in Turkey on a train and asked for money from authorities... they said they only had credit cards and no big money... the "Police" took about $20 in cash and left...
As mentioned, I have never traveled South of the Boarder... Western Europe and Canada extensively...
Opinions are varied but some do find their ideal home and location...
It is also true that sometimes it's not until we move on do we fully appreciate what we had...
In couples it is more of a challenge as has been pointed out here on City-Data...
Friends left California for Arizona... the wife was miserable and three later she was back in California at a lower standard of living having cashed out to make the move to AZ... another late in life divorce.
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