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If you retired to another country to be an ex-pat, what do you miss the most about the good old USA?
And where did you retire to?
We may spend some time abroad living/traveling , but doubt we will ex-pat.
Depends on how well travel health insurance covers us while we are gone. Probably 4 mos a year.
Then again, we are not sure we want to be gone that long, and dont know how long we can afford it with our tight budget, but a cheaper place will help.
Quite honestly, nothing. I came to Philippines two years ago, with all my worldly possessions in a carry-on bag in the overhead compartment. There is nothing I wish I had brought along.
I married a woman I had never seen before, and she turned out to be honest, capable and resourceful. I've turned my life over to her, and have no fear.
I married a woman I had never seen before, and she turned out to be honest, capable and resourceful. I've turned my life over to her, and have no fear.
At age 80, I could no longer expect to live safely by myself forever.
Why was not part of the OP's question, I just added some background. The point is that I expected to miss nothing, for the reason indicated, and the developments have borne that out.
I'm not retired, but I am an American expat who has been living in Asia for the past 20 years. The one thing I miss the most is my extended family. I have two brothers who have families of their own, and I miss out on the holidays, family get togethers, weddings and BBQ's.
Although I speak the local language (Chinese) I will never be considered a local. This goes for most non-English speaking countries where its very difficult to integrate into the local community. Besides not being a native speaker, I also have very different interested, as well as a different background and culture which creates seperation. I want to be apart of something, and have a sense of community with a great social network. This is something that is very difficult in some countries.
I also miss watching live sports on TV. I'd much rather watch a baseball or football game at 8pm with a beer, then at 8am with a cup of coffee and eggs.
Lastly, I have faith in medical care and many countries around the world have excellent, inexpensive medical care, facilities, doctors and equipment. My only concern is if I ever needed to call an ambulance during an emergency. The sense of urgency and service in that area is a little scary, and nothing compared to what you'd expect in the U.S. Traffic jams and just a lack of urgency is a concern for me in many countries, esp developing countries.
Things I miss, which often aren't realized until we swing through USA to visit parents:
1. Friendly people politely greeting each other "good morning' etc. (more missed when in Asia)
2. American BBQ, nobody else does it right not even close
3. Strip malls, it's easy to take for granted how easy it is to just drive up and park in front of your destination
4. Free water at restaurants, often they don't even ask!
5. Amazon Prime
I could go on and on...
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