Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
BTW - I grew up speaking both English and Spanish. I have lived in Mexico (granted, as an exchange student, not an adult), I have done a lot of work throughout Latin America. So in case anyone might be wondering, no, I'm not some ignorant Gringo who wants to build the wall.
Fences can make better neighbors. Walls can make better borders. One can be a pro-wall Gringo who hasn't found a country that will consider emigration by Americans without mucho dinero in the banque. Funny how everyone expects us to just let everyone in without any criteria. Oh, theese gringo is highly educated and bleeding with common sense. I studied Latin America long enough to watch how often government changes in many of those countries and often not peacefully. Think I'll stay stateside.
USC has published a study recently that USA ranks number 3 in retirement. Only behind Norway and Sweden, despite income inequality. And those 2 are small countries. I'll see if I can find the link.
Right, the fact we have more resources allows the option of other countries.....for example, not that many Peruvians where I worked have the resources to come retire in the USA but conversely, most Americans have the resources to retire in Peru if they had that desire.
I spent a few weeks in Central America speaking to American "Ex-Pats" living there.
I have just transitioned from full time to part-time "semi-retired" status and if my plans materialize I will be fully retired in early 2018.
It was interesting to talk to Americans who have moved full time to El Salvador and Nicaragua and I was surprised how gungo-ho and adamant they were in their decision to moved out of the US. I suspect it is something akin to people who find a new religion and are enthusiastic about their new faith. Frankly I am a bit skeptical.
1. El Salvador - the capital San Salvador is not one of the safest cities to live in, and if you want to live there you had better confine yourself to one of the safer neighborhoods after dark (I stayed in the University area which was consider Upper-Middle and rather safe). A few Americans have retired to one of the pretty villages along the Ruta de la Flores which are admittedly safe and very pretty - but these are hardly more than villages with very few amenities.
2. Nicaragua - the Ex-Pat community I met in the town of Granada (population 50,000) was close-nit and gave very high opinions of their new lives in that charming historic place. I became friendly with a couple from Pittsburgh, both 65, who are having a brand new house built there. The reasons Americans gave me for liking it down there had to do with cost of living (COL), availability of reasonable quality health care at bargain prices, warm tropical climate, friendly and polite people, laid back lifestyle, and not the least - the adventure of living in a foreign country and braking out of predictability and the rut of their former lives. At least they had two huge pristine air-conditioned supermarkets where you can buy Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Sara Lee Coffee Cake, Lean Cuisine, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese!
It's true ... at least for now ... if your income is only $2000 a month - you are rich! Even on that amount you can afford maids to come in and clean and cook for you 3 - 5 days a week. I had a dinner in a fancy restaurant with twin lobster tails and that set me back $12. An hour long professional massage cost $10.
Remember this, however: if you're a single person like myself you will have to work double duty to make friends. You will be lonely. The Ex-Pats are mostly couples and they've been there for a while. If you love watching American sports your choices are limited - better develop a taste for soccer. Jewish? No synagogues or places to buy kosher food. LGBT? There are places in the capital city of Managua only (in fact it was Gay Pride Week when I was there and there were rainbow flags all over Managua). You will always be a visitor ... a guest. Some local people will see you as a walking ATM and will pester you for services you don't want or need.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest!
That sounds nice, although I could spend the rest of my life not eating American food and I wouldn't miss it one bit. I don't know what the local food is like in Central America, but the food I had in Japan and Thailand was wonderful and not once did I crave any greasy, bland American garbage.
That sounds nice, although I could spend the rest of my life not eating American food and I wouldn't miss it one bit. I don't know what the local food is like in Central America, but the food I had in Japan and Thailand was wonderful and not once did I crave any greasy, bland American garbage.
Learn how to cook. There are only several million YouTube videos on how to prepare any dish.
That sounds nice, although I could spend the rest of my life not eating American food and I wouldn't miss it one bit. I don't know what the local food is like in Central America, but the food I had in Japan and Thailand was wonderful and not once did I crave any greasy, bland American garbage.
Why even go to restaurants at all? To me restaurants are a big waste of money and totally overrated no matter where you live. I can eat at home for a fraction of the price (<$5 a day), get all I want, have leftovers, and far healthier. I like to control the ingredients of what I eat. And in my experience in the U.S. you have much more convenient access to very high quality low cost groceries then anywhere I have been in Europe, Asia or Latin America (trader joe's, costco, winco, aldi, farmers markets...and a million other grocery stores 5 min from your house). To me eating out is totally overrated overseas or anywhere, it gets old fast.
Also the USA is getting so diverse ethnically you can find just as good ethnic food here. I thought the Thai food in SoCal or Seattle was just as good as Thailand (plus since its so diverse here in the U.S. its not just Thai food like it is in Thailand, you can get Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Indian, hipster USA farm-to-table organic style, Persian, Mexican, Afghan, Chinese, Sushi, Korean, Italian, Greek, Tapas, etc....) . Certain parts of the U.S. can have some damn good ethnic and other restaurants.
Also I think the cost of living difference is overrated. You can move to a cheap part of the interior of the U.S. and the cost of living is really not that far off living in a 3rd world country.
Why not just vacation for a few months in the winter to a low cost place in latin america or SE Asia? Why go live down there full time? From my experience, retiring overseas has a very high failure rate.
The part that would stop me is "always being a visitor, a guest" ...
Yes, and it is amazing how Americans can never put that shoe on the other foot and realize how many immigrant are made to feel that in the U.S........and why they stick together, continue to speak their own language, etc.
....Why not just vacation for a few months in the winter to a low cost place in latin america or SE Asia? Why go live down there full time? From my experience, retiring overseas has a very high failure rate.
American born and raised, and in my early sixties emigrated to southern Europe, where I have lived since January 2000.
My feeling is that if you are bringing more of the U.S. with your than the memories in your head, stay put. You are doomed to failure before you step on the plane.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes
