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Old 07-22-2018, 09:13 AM
 
6,385 posts, read 13,123,473 times
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Nice pics of Iowa. But you didn’t show any of the miles and miles of flat farm fields.

And with those winters I still wouldn’t want to retire there! No matter how cheap it is.
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Old 07-22-2018, 09:31 AM
 
Location: equator
11,035 posts, read 6,589,028 times
Reputation: 25523
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda View Post
Great retort!



LOL. Thanks for the chuckle.




It is. I was there in February and visited several areas, including Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), but the by far most beautiful was Halong Bay, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBehpXUGnNg
Gorgeous---thanks for sharing!
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Old 07-22-2018, 09:31 AM
 
17,320 posts, read 11,196,684 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dothetwist View Post
Mostly because no one wants to live there
I guess you can say that's why Mexico is cheap. People born there are flocking to leave and do so by the millions. Then of course there are the drug cartels as well
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Old 07-22-2018, 10:04 AM
 
7,401 posts, read 4,623,873 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eastcoastguyz View Post
Such incredibly insensitive treatment to our Veterans here on C-D by thinking they should just forget all that and go enjoy the country side there and the food. Simply amazing. Like we don't have great country side and food in the US already we must go there. Fail.
I know where you are coming from but Vietnam was divided into southern Vietnamese allies and northern Vietnamese enemies during the War. It's not US vs Vietnam as a whole. Ever seen Vietnamese refugees here in US? Are those our enemies as well back in the day?

My former neighbor (who was shot there btw but survived) has good stories to share about Vietnam. He has no qualms about retiring there.
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Old 07-22-2018, 05:36 PM
 
338 posts, read 615,370 times
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At the moment, Malta is currently overrun with African "refugees" making it an overcrowded and dangerous place. The Maltese are none too pleased.
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Old 07-22-2018, 05:41 PM
 
338 posts, read 615,370 times
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https://www.dollartimes.com/inflatio...0000&year=2001

$100,000 in 2001 dollars is currently $141,680.
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Old 07-22-2018, 06:37 PM
 
107 posts, read 67,194 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yippeekayay View Post
The article is from moneywise. It came out June 6, 2018.

https://moneywise.com/a/10-countries...etire-for-200k
I researched this stuff for years.
First of all International Living magazine from which some of this info is taken , how shall we say this, "has a vested interest" in people believing what they say about these countries. They make money off selling real estate, and so on in at least some of these countries.

Nicaragua? I've been there several times. It's downright scary and dirty in many parts. You couldn't pay me to live there!

Thailand? I've heard good things but the language is a real difficult one imho, not like Spanish which most anyone with a will can learn. My friends who've been there say the people are very nice. The cities like Bangkok are pretty dirty, dirtier than most big U.S. cities for example. And auto traffic is said to be horrendous in parts, like India.

Costa Rica - almost all the info they give on this one is just plain wrong. It is a good place for some to retire; I'll give them that, but the info they give here shows they don't know their butt from a hole in the ground about it. Some gringos love it, I'll say that, as I know some who live there.

Malaysia? A woman I know's family went there, then left there for the USA because they hated it so much, Muslims all over the place and according to her, they were not making it a pleasant place to live. I know nothing about it but I do know she left and why she told me she left.YMMV.

Spain - if you smoke or don't mind smoking it might work for you (and if you can afford it). My friends go there every year for a month or two at a time and love visiting but they say the smokers are hard to deal with, they smoke EVERYwhere even in elevators and on buses etc. Otherwise I must say it looks very nice if you can afford it.

Malta - I know nothing about it.

Ecuador - International Living has been pushing this for years but a friend of mine went there to see about retiring, and he said it was quite expensive. If you do have enough $ you might like it, but it's not for those on a low budget. The prices given in this article are not really realistic at all from what I've been told by people who've been there. Also it's quite cold in many places in the mountains!

Mexico - Are you kidding me?! The narcos are so bad now they pretty much control the government. Think in terms of Colombia when controlled by Pablo Escobar etc.! Kidnappings are common now even in places they never were before like Guadalajara. I used to go there every year. Now I won't go at all!

Portugal - I know nothing of this one.

Panama - Went there myself a few years back. It is okay I guess. Good roads, very American influenced both money wise and infrastructure. People were mostly friendly. One thing I hated about it was that they have men with machine guns along the roads (ostensibly looking for drugs)(or bribes, as was the our case)... and stops along the major highways where you have to show your passport/ID etc. routinely (again, ostensibly due to the narco influences). They have a good program for retirees and all in all it's not too bad but I wouldn't move there even though I speak Spanish.

All in all I'd say this is a very bad list.

Of these the only ones I'd truly consider - of the ones I know anything about - are Costa Rica, Thailand, Spain and Panama.

I've heard great things about Germany, France and Italy BUT I think they cost a lot more and are not friendly towards immigrants (i.e. they make it hard to immigrate).
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Old 07-22-2018, 06:41 PM
 
107 posts, read 67,194 times
Reputation: 280
Quote:
Originally Posted by engineman View Post
Thanks, but I will stay here in Florida. Medicare stops when you cross the border.
Medicare does not stop, in fact you are required to have it once you reach 65.
However you have to fly back to the U.S. to use it, so that's a problem.
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Old 07-22-2018, 06:49 PM
 
107 posts, read 67,194 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE View Post
$200,000 ? We were hoping to stay where we are and live on $150,000. The countries listed I am thinking you could do fine on even less than $200,000.
Yes. I know people who are retired in Mexico and Costa Rica and Nicaragua and Panama on ONLY Social Security, no savings and no other income.

If you're living a Beverly Hills lifestyle, "movie stars, swimming pools" etc. then no, you'll have to have quite a bit more than social security to afford the pool, central air, 3br 2 ba house, new car, imported (U.S.) food, etc.

But people I know live pretty well in a modest budgeted way on just Social Security, in some cases only $1300 a month for a couple.
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Old 07-22-2018, 08:40 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,661 posts, read 57,789,143 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
Barcelona is great, I'm sure. But it's definitely not cheap.
There is more to Spain than Barcelona (Where they HATE the Spanish and anything SPAIN!!!)

As with most cities in Europe, venture outside the city 30 min > 1 hr and find a very nice / affordable vlla!

We lived within 30 min of Barcelona in a village founded in the 9th century. There were many affordable spots nearby. If you get AWAY from the cities 2+ hrs it can be downright CHEAP!!!~(food / housing / wine)
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