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It sounds like the previous poster's parents wanted to retire to try the self-sustaining farming thing as an adventure? It would seem likely to do that when younger, not old-old, but to have a plan for when you can't keep up that physical effort.
I thought Medicaid didn't cover assisted living- am I misunderstanding?
It does seem dicey to retire so early- financially- unless you're really in high clover.
I imagine they'll use up what they have from the house in assisted living and then transfer to a nursing home that takes medicaid when that's gone.
It is dicey which is why I am concerned. I did see my uncle retire to Mexico when my aunt's Alzheimer's became serious. He was able to get very good help for her there very cheaply and she lived comfortably at home till the end. He became a teacher at the art school in town and lived very happily until he was involved in a car accident down there. He then finished his years in that very same house with the very same help who had cared for his wife. They are both buried in that town. It seems a lot better of a way to go than an anonymous nursing home with an overworked and underpaid staff. Their experiences are definitely inspirational for me.
Like the others said, I think you have enough money.
However, I have lived in and enjoyed other countries but it's not for everyone. Before you jump in with both feet, I would strongly suggest you rent for a year or two and see if this is really for you. Just like you see your home here as possibly going down in value and being hard to sell, properties in CA can be easy to buy....and a nightmare to sell. I considered doing what you want to do and I can tell you some of the same properties are still on the market today just like they were 5 years ago.
Best of luck!
Thanks. Yes, we'd definitely rent for at least a year or two. We like moving around anyway and I really want to explore the entire area. I have been seeing certainly acceptable (some actually very nice) places in the $500/month range. And, it certainly seems to be a buyer's market down there right now. Dont know how long it will last though. CR in particular certainly seems like a perfectly great place to retire.
]We have around $550K. We will be inheriting about another $500-$750K within the next 20 years. We are in our late 40's and would love to relocate now to Central America where we can rent cheaply and have lower cost health care. Neither of us will have pensions and our social security will probably be minimal. Since local help is plentiful and cheap, I imagine we would have in-home help should one of us get to the point of needing it rather than rely on a nursing home situation.
What kind of monthly draw should I budget taking from the $550k for now? Any ideas on where should it be invested? We can live comfortably on as little as $600 month, or we can live very, very well on as little as $2K a month.
Can we afford to do this? Or are we being unrealistic? Thanks in advance...
I'm 50, I love what I do for a living and I'm just going to come right out and say that I don't get where people like you are coming from.
1. Why would you leave a country like the USA with one of the highest standards of living in this world?
2. Why would you trade life in a country like ours for life in an equatorial, overly humid, political unstable region like Central America?
3. Why do you want to give up on the notion of work and productive labor before you even turn 50?
4. Why would you take your chances on health care in the third world when you can stay in this country?
5. Why do you prefer a dream like living in Central America cheaply to the reality of working and living a truly good life in the United States?
6. How do you think the people of Central America will regard you when they realize you don't work and you are simply living in there to exist cheaply and be waited on?
I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a good job. Some jobs are physically demanding. Some require employees to spend too much time away from their families. Some jobs involve interaction with unpleasant bosses and coworkers.
It doesn't change the fact that retiring early is just a pipedream for all but a few people. This is the way it should be. All of us want abundance in our lives and in America we''ve done a good job of creating that. That abundance has come from hard work performed everyday by millions of people. If suddenly everyone decided they wanted to retire that abundance would come to a screeching halt.
I read some of this stuff about early retirement and to be honest, my reaction is one of shame. I am ashamed there are so many people out there who want to give up working just so they can loaf. What kind of an example are you setting for children and for young people? What values are you teaching? Why are there so many people who expect to have a free ride on the gravy train in this country?
I read some of this stuff about early retirement and to be honest, my reaction is one of shame. I am ashamed there are so many people out there who want to give up working just so they can loaf. What kind of an example are you setting for children and for young people? What values are you teaching? Why are there so many people who expect to have a free ride on the gravy train in this country?
Trolling 101: Find a retirement forum and chastise the people who are retired or are planning to retire.
Congratulations! You passed!
Next lesson: How to derail other threads while waiting to see if anyone takes the bait on this one.
I'm 50, I love what I do for a living and I'm just going to come right out and say that I don't get where people like you are coming from.
1. Why would you leave a country like the USA with one of the highest standards of living in this world?
2. Why would you trade life in a country like ours for life in an equatorial, overly humid, political unstable region like Central America?
3. Why do you want to give up on the notion of work and productive labor before you even turn 50?
4. Why would you take your chances on health care in the third world when you can stay in this country?
5. Why do you prefer a dream like living in Central America cheaply to the reality of working and living a truly good life in the United States?
6. How do you think the people of Central America will regard you when they realize you don't work and you are simply living in there to exist cheaply and be waited on?
I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a good job. Some jobs are physically demanding. Some require employees to spend too much time away from their families. Some jobs involve interaction with unpleasant bosses and coworkers.
It doesn't change the fact that retiring early is just a pipedream for all but a few people. This is the way it should be. All of us want abundance in our lives and in America we''ve done a good job of creating that. That abundance has come from hard work performed everyday by millions of people. If suddenly everyone decided they wanted to retire that abundance would come to a screeching halt.
I read some of this stuff about early retirement and to be honest, my reaction is one of shame. I am ashamed there are so many people out there who want to give up working just so they can loaf. What kind of an example are you setting for children and for young people? What values are you teaching? Why are there so many people who expect to have a free ride on the gravy train in this country?
There is only 1 job for every 5 people looking. It's my patriotic duty to let one of the other 4 have it if I can afford to. My husband leaving his job would open up another - that's 2 more jobs for the unemployed!
We would then be giving jobs to those in a poorer country so they wouldn't need to try to sneak into America to earn a living and **** y'all off. Plus we wouldn't be a drain on medicare and medicaid when we get older. Overall, I'd say we'd taking some strain off of the system. You wouldn't like us very much anyway I suspect - there is no benefit to you for us to stay.
Oh, and most of the countries are very stable politically and there's no humidity in the mountains. The world's most perfect climate can be found here...never gets lower than 60 in the winter or higher than 80 in the summer.
Markg91359 has a minority opinion. I think he is a bit too harsh on the OP. I especially disagree with his last sentence; if a person has financed his or her own retirement, at any age, then he or she is not on any "gravy train", and Social Security, which doesn't start until age 62, is not a gravy train either. But that does not make him a troll. Sometimes we are too quick to call a person a troll; we get irritated and we reach for the worst insult allowable. Yes, there are real trolls on the C-D Forum, and they represent a real problem. I object to the over-use of the troll accusation as much as I object to the real trolls.
Markg91359 has a minority opinion. I think he is a bit too harsh on the OP. I especially disagree with his last sentence; if a person has financed his or her own retirement, at any age, then he or she is not on any "gravy train", and Social Security, which doesn't start until age 62, is not a gravy train either. But that does not make him a troll. Sometimes we are too quick to call a person a troll; we get irritated and we reach for the worst insult allowable. Yes, there are real trolls on the C-D Forum, and they represent a real problem. I object to the over-use of the troll accusation as much as I object to the real trolls.
Oh, please!
A minority opinion on what exactly?
The subject of the thread is whether the OP has enough resources to retire early in Costa Rica. The troll did not offer an opinion on the subject whatsoever - minority or otherwise. Instead, he posted an inflammatory diatribe aimed at the OP and anyone else on the forum considering early retirement, the sole purpose of which was to derail the original discussion.
That is the very definition of trollish behavior.
And now, with our assistance, he has accomplished his mission.
To come back to the OP's question about where to invest: having all your assets in US$ is dangerous. If the US$ suffers hyperinflation or even just moderately high inflation for a number of years, you're dead meat. You need to diversify into other currencies or monetary metals. I would investigate buying gold or silver and possibly storing it offshore. Over the last 40 years, gold has gone from $35/oz to $1200/oz and there is every sign that this meteoric performance will continue. For example, this company has good reviews: Buy Gold Bullion TODAY ▷ Buy Gold Online at LIVE Gold Prices - BullionVault.com
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if I can afford to. My husband leaving his job would open up another - that's 2 more jobs for the unemployed! 
Markg91359 a troll??
