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.
Just a thought, I worked as a social worker with many elderly people who were ex-pats. A common theme was they loved the first few years and had a wonderful time but as their health deteriorated, they found themselves forced to return to the US. I cant' tell you how many times one of my clients told me how much they wished they had kept their home here in the US and merely traveled for extended periods to the countries that interested them. Upon returning to the US they found that the paid off home they had sold to finance their adventure was now unreachable to them in terms of cost and they could not only NOT afford to purchase a home but were forced to rent at outrageous prices. Now this is in S.FL were the cost of living is rather high but it is a very senior friendly state. Now that I am myself venturing into retirement, hubby and I have decided to travel to Spain for several months out of the year but KEEP our home here in FL. You never know when a medical/family issue may force you to return only to find out you can no longer afford to live there.
Real life, boots on the ground testimony from the people you worked with sure beats pie-in-the-sky dreaming any day. I hope many people will be helped by your post.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,733 posts, read 58,079,686 times
Reputation: 46210
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmbf57
Just a thought, .... wished they had kept their home here in the US and merely traveled for extended periods to the countries that interested them. ..
It would be very poor planning to rely on your home equity for ANYTHING during retirement, especially an internationally relocation. (of course there is the exception of those PLANNING to take a primary residence windfall and downsize, but if you GO, have a 'return plan', including housing and HC.
It is wise to keep a sustainable home in a desirable place; (USA or abroad) especially;
if you qualify for homestead exemption / prop 13, / senior property tax relief,
stay invested within a desirable region (avoid price spikes)
Have a place to stash your 'lifelong' treasure collection (handmade furniture / collectibles from grandparents in our case). We keep an extra living space or shop with apartment at primary homes, available for our use or storage.
Medical / extended family needs in future. (Adult kids / grandkids / aged parents).
Ironically this thread has stayed fairly informational and not yet bombarded by our usual critics, "Hey, you can't do that! Why would anyone even consider leaving the USA!"
Healthcare (under age 65) remains a wildcard, and my hope that it will ever be affordable in USA are declining. I have not heard of any silver bullets. The cost of coverage has dramatically increased under A(?)CA, so 'roll-backs' are never likely to meet pre-A(?)CA available costs (which were way too high as well).
Fortunately, availability of HC for ex-pats in foreign countries has been improved, and several countries are promoting USA retiree immigration. This too can change... / roll back. During the current High value of USD, we may be in a 'sweet-spot' to leave. (temporarily)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 02-06-2017 at 11:30 AM..
The PBS article does make it sound nice. Perhaps we will end up there. I am still having too much fun here in HI, surfing every day etc. but when we reach the point of needing to go to an assisted facility perhaps the places described in the PBS piece are what we will do. I speak Spanish pretty fluently so it will be easy. Is there hospice care in Mexico? You never know what will happen as you age. Cancer runs through my family.
I talked to friends at Lake Chapala this weekend. There are at least 3 assisted living facilities there that provide Hospice care...you pay the standard monthly rate for assisted living (1500 to 1800 USD apprx.) but you pay separately for your doctor visits and medications.
FYI...doctors in MX still routinely make house calls! I was laid up and my doctor came by our house and charged 200 pesos per visit; this was in 2009. When I was in Ajijic last February my DH saw this same doctor at his office and the charge was 250 pesos. I would guess a home visit is now 300 pesos (under 15 US) these days as I recall it was 50p more for a house visit vs. office visit.
My DH takes meds for A-fib and it is available in MX at a reasonable cost....though because we have great (so far) Medigap plan through my ex-employer, we generally buy them in the US. If he runs out, it's never been a problem getting them in MX....and you don't need a prescription!
But for us, we will live in our own home in MX with caregivers coming to us. Our 92 year old neighbor hired 24 hour caregivers at the avg. rate of 45p per hour. We saved our money so we can do that, if need be. In fact the home we just bought has a separate casita and we may use that as a residence for caregivers (thinking a married couple, very common setup); in that case the provision of their lodging would greatly reduce their hourly pay.
Last edited by dothetwist; 02-06-2017 at 03:11 PM..
My wife is Filipino. English is one of the Philippines two official languages. Plan to spend a great deal of time there when retired. Yes, Medicare does not cover healthcare there but it is cheap and pretty good in the Philippines.
In my opinion Filipinos are the warmest, funnest, most laid back people in the world. It is kind of ironic given the reputation for violent crime, Islamic insurgencies, wacky politics, poor economy, etc. but when people say Thais are cool cats I say yes they are but go hang out in the Philippines for a couple months.
Plus they know how to barbecue large chunks of flesh better than most other Asians.
Real life, boots on the ground testimony from the people you worked with sure beats pie-in-the-sky dreaming any day. I hope many people will be helped by your post.
Amen to that.
I have lived "overseas" in many different countries for the most part for the last 29 years related to my employment (20 years of military, now 9 under my belt with the foreign service). I have lost track of the ex-pats I have run into that have sold it all and tried to set roots elsewhere (non CONUS) for various reasons, but all seem to have varying levels of regret for sure. Quite a few have done this for political reasons somewhat like the OP states is her rationale, and they seem to have the highest regret factor from what I have seen. A lot of it is cultural for sure. My favorites were the two U.S. critical communists I met in Italy in the 90's, but who always seemed to want to hang around American military types (most definitely not a far left sympathetic demographic for the most part).
Me, I have gotten to live in all of these other places (and do not regret it) but look forward to retiring at age 60 in high desert central Arizona in a few years. My wife and I want to use that as a launch pad to visit all the U.S. states and areas we have not been to yet. We do not care who will be president, but we do care if our taxes will be high.
If you need any further inspiration, there is always the advanced construction techniques and strict OSHA compliance adhered to by builders for your dream tropical getaway.
This is some construction going on up the street from me right now. The best part was a few days ago when they had a long ant-like stream of women carrying broken up rocks on top of their heads to the construction site, but I didn't think to take a picture that day. They also managed to have a large pile of sand they were using to make concrete wash mostly away (it's rainy season right now) by not securing the tarps over it.
If you need any further inspiration, there is always the advanced construction techniques and strict OSHA compliance adhered to by builders for your dream tropical getaway.
I have many travel pix of third world construction. It always fascinated me to see the ingenuity so I took pix. Multi-story buildings with nothing but bamboo lashed together for scaffolding, going up 5,6 stories. Some guy straddling a big steel I-beam with a hack saw and sawing it by hand, all day. I watched a building demo in Nepal where a bunch of workers swarmed over a pile of busted-up concrete and chipped and hacked at it to remove the old re-bar, straightened it all out, and then re-used it in another building. In the US they use concrete-pumper trucks and a hose to fill the forms, in 3rd world they carry 5-gallon buckets up a rickety ladder and pour it by hand.
If you need any further inspiration, there is always the advanced construction techniques and strict OSHA compliance adhered to by builders for your dream tropical getaway.
This is some construction going on up the street from me right now. The best part was a few days ago when they had a long ant-like stream of women carrying broken up rocks on top of their heads to the construction site, but I didn't think to take a picture that day. They also managed to have a large pile of sand they were using to make concrete wash mostly away (it's rainy season right now) by not securing the tarps over it.
Your making a joke about the "advanced construction techniques and strict OSHA compliance" and I realize that.
However, this is a segue into another reason people should think twice about retiring to third world countries. Its easy to take for granted all the steps that the USA and other advanced countries take to prevent different sorts of accidents. OSHA and state agencies regulate safety at construction sites and may just prevent a crane from dropping a heavy weight on your head. Or maybe their rules will keep a crowd of brawny, uneducated lunkheads from dropping a bunch of bamboo poles and construction materials on you as well. American roads are some of the safest roads in the world. If we figure it by mile driven, your chances of being killed or seriously injured in a car accident are a fraction of what they are in third world countries like the Philippines You don't find meat hanging in the open air and if restaurants or stores in America serve you tainted food and you become sick, the legal system is there for you to take action against them. As a result, you can count on the food in America not being poisoned and tainted. Not so much in third world countries. We treat and control infectious disease so you seldom see illnesses like dysentery and typhoid fever in our country.
Malaria is more of a problem in tropical countries than it is the USA. Its both an issue of climate and how effectively the mosquito population is controlled. However, if you get it, it can be a very debilitating disease.
Finally, I am well aware that many Americans, particularly men, want to move to the Philippines. Many do so for the wrong reasons and you know what I mean.
Its easy to take for granted all the steps that the USA and other advanced countries take to prevent different sorts of accidents. OSHA and state agencies regulate safety at construction sites and may just prevent a crane from dropping a heavy weight on your head.
That may change under this administration and the mood of some state houses.
Not saying it's a good or bad thing, just saying.
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.
