Survery~Most ExPat Friendly, Safe and cheap country to live?

[todd00]

I think perhaps more people will be thinking of finding a cheaper place to reside as baby boomers retire and find they can't live like they had hoped to here at home. I think ya probably get a better idea of other countries for expats by forums rather than websites that only promote the possible positive aspects for the expat.

I'd heard Uruguay was a pretty safe and relatively cheap place compared to the states. If one is looking for an English speaking country, one can live a middle class life much cheaper in the Philippines than here in the states. There are quite a few expats there. A place one might not think of, Tanzania. It's a stable country and one could live well on a reasonably small amount. Like the others, its a beautiful country. I know something about it, as my exwife is from there.

[chilaili]

Question: Do any of these expats who retire overseas ever plan to return to the US? Eg; if you get sick or so elderly you need full-time care and would rather have that at home? Or would you just continue to live where you are?

There is so many other possible standards and expectations for what someone can look for in a place and country with a higher amount of standards that is more specific/comprehensive.


For those exact standards with “Expat friendly, safe, and cheap/low cost of living,” these are a lot of the best countries for that:

Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, India, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Fiji.


For a slight variation in standards such as areas of a country that is Expat friendly, safe, and more expensive/higher cost of living, these countries become part of the picture:

France, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Norway, UK/England, Belgium, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by ISellSarasota

I can't even tell you how many books I've read on great places to retire and how safe and cheap they are only to dig deeper and find out there are people being attacked with knives, missing tourists,etc.

I think it is irresponsible for any real estate agent to paint a rosey picture to entice ex-pats. People sell their homes, give up their lives in hopes for that deam of retiring to a safe, reasonable place only to find out the hard way that it is not safe at all.

Interesting comment, since I was going to ask about this wide difference of opinions. I've been reading a lot of articles about Ecuador and "International Living" is really pushing that country as one of the best places to retire on a budget. Yet I went to the U.S. Department of State web site and there are numerous reports about crimes against Americans. It warned about taxi drivers who will pickup unsuspecting tourists and drive them around the corner where someone is waiting to rob them with a knife. I just don't know what to believe.

[justNancy]

I want to add that, no matter where you live, it's often your lifestyle that determines your overall budget. We are so used to turning on the central a/c or heat and running the hot water that we take these things for granted. When someone says "You can live in XXX for under $1,000 a month" it usually means you can live on that budget if you give up the 250 cable channels you now have and the 24/7 high-speed internet.

I know we're talking about a foreign country, but to give you an example, one year I stayed in a mobile home community in Port Charlotte FL for several months. In the summer, my neighbors told me their average electric bill ran between $100-$120 a month. One day I met a man who was living on a very small budget and told me he didn't use any air conditioning and his average electric bill year round was about $35 a month. I can't imagine living in Florida without running the a/c. It's only March and I'm using it today. I've also lived in neighborhoods where some neighbors didn't own a car, and I would feel totally helpless without one. Same with cable and internet. I see many people using the computers in the library and have friends who stopped watching TV.

So whether you live in Florida or Ecuador, what you can live with or without is going to have an impact on your monthly expenses.

By the way, I only visited Costa Rica for a short time, but everyone I met was very friendly to me. Maybe they have the same resentment as Americans have when people who move to the U.S. from other countries don't bother to learn English? For example, I met a few Americans who had lived in Jaco (a terrible place IMHO) for years and couldn't even communicate with the locals. I stayed in a small hotel near Quepos and the American owner was notorious for paying the maids very low wages. I was told Americans are only resented when they act superior or expect others to change their way of life to suit their personal needs. That will happen wherever you go, even in the United States. If you move from New Jersey to Mississippi, you can have the same experience, unless you try to socialize and fit in with the locals. Again, I never lived in Costa Rica, but I found the Ticos to be the kindest and most patient people I've ever met.

[kyliema]

Originally Posted by ISellSarasota

Just curious to see what people think is the safest, most reasonable, ex-pat friendly, warm, best health care country in the world? If you don't have a country to mention you can also post a misconception of a country as I am going to do.


Advertising can be very misleading. I read Costa Rica is resonable, very ex-pat friendly, great healthcare and safe. So I would have answered this by voting for CR. After digging around a bit, I found that the majority of sites that are claiming it is wonder are owned by real estate agents, tour guide businesses, builders. Even the posts on ex-pat forums you will find this.


I have read many crime reports that have changed my mind on that. The developments are often behind razor blade barbwire, with armed security guards. Also, I read reports of homes being emptied while people are out of town. One man even said he was at the hospital with his wife and they emptied it, including the kitchen sink!

From what I am finding out, the CR people are not welcoming the ex-pats the way it was before. Also, I have read in various posts the police there do not protect the people, let alone ex-pats.

One man wrote how he was robbed in broad daylight 100 ft from an ambulance while the ambulance workers stood and watched. The man then found a police to report it and they laughed at him.

Healthcare practices were scary as well. One man wrote about how his wife had been treated poorly and ignored, left to wait, was discharged too soon, all because she was an ex-pat. Also, he mentioned they would draw blood without cleaning the area with alcohol and would not use gloves. He eventually lost his wife

That's my 2 cents. I am curious to see what other places people come up with. Good or bad, it is all good information for us to have.

Portugal is extremely safe ,no crime at all you can litrally walk the streets at anytime of the
Night and wont be harmed ,ofcourse everybody knows the most friendliest people and caring
And religious are the latinos so really friendly down to earth people
But we have road rage ! Everything is equal ,the food is by far better than any other country
The sites are amazing ,the history is beyond interesting and u will never be bored the beaches are lovely
To tan and meet new people.