Where can a US citizen retire outside the US? (pension, social security, retirees)
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Do Americans know that to utter a sentence "I want to retire to USA", for a person from any country, equals utter nonsense? That you have to be young and smart and preferably in science-technology, to even consider entering and living in USA? Or they do know? But somehow think that other countries cannot have a similar policy? Regularly, we get perplexed American posters on the Canadian forum, who are gob-smacked to realize that they cannot just up and move to Canada....
It not only doesn't surprise me. I completely understand why Canada does that.
Canada and western European countries all have an extensive social safety net for their citizens that exceeds what is available for Americans. If they allowed people from other countries to immigrate at will, Canada would literally be overrun with old, sick, and poor immigrants. It would cause their own system to either collapse or be heavily strained.
Too many Americans refuse to take responsibility for what has happened in this country. If our medical system is too expensive and does not serve all, we need to enact our own national health insurance. If there is too great a gap between rich and poor, we need to change our tax structure. If too many people on the bottom earn $10 an hour or less, we need to look at raising our minimum wage.
I intend to retire in this country and stay here. I continually see these threads about retiring to foreign countries and I admit I find them a bit irritating. Perhaps, it is a sign of the financial difficulties many Americans find themselves in. There is no great panacea somewhere else, people. There is simply a place with a different culture and often a different language. If you move, there is a good chance you will wish you were back in the USA eventually.
The grass will always look greener on the other side.
I have a friend who had nothing but negative experience with property ownership in Ecuador.
Her beach would wash away, $4,000 each time to replace. with rising seas, her home would flood every once in awhile. This went on for years. She totally lost her home with the last earthquake.
BTW, not so much for the op but those who are curious from the thread title... I consider Buenos Aires to be an overlooked gem to most Americans, a vibrant, sophisticated, beautiful city with more in common with Spain/Italy it can seem sometimes than with most of Latin America, plus it is very inexpensive. Spanish would be mandatory, they have a peculiar accent there it seems.
Buenos Aires is one of the most fascinating cities in the Western Hemisphere, if not the world. 'First World' is every respect and the Greenback is king. In Argentina, people really do "keep their money under their mattresses" . . . and usually in the form of U.S. Dollars.
However as much as I enjoy visiting, both as a tourist and to visit relatives, I would not consider retirement there. Primarily for two reasons, 1.) an out-of-control inflationary rate, and 2.) a corrupt political establishment.
If one is considering that part of the world, take a look across the river, (which is over 100 miles wide at that point), at Uruguay. Good and bad, just like everywhere. The good; safe, stable both economically and politically, retiree-friendly, and great food. The bad? Boring, unexciting, and technology/automobiles are quite expensive. Mostly rolling farmland/ranchland. Not much topographic relief, if that is what you want. The ethnicity of most Uruguayans are Spanish and Italian, with pockets of Swiss and Polish.
And all of the stores, including Walmart, have signs in Spanish, workers who only speak Spanish, and all of the product labels are in Spanish. You better be fluent.
I think it might be a bit of an exaggeration that one needs to be fluent in the local language to shop. Sure there are some challenges but shopping is basically going around to pick up items you need, them telling you the total cost, and you handing over money. Where does need for fluency come in?
Can't tell shampoo from conditioner? Google translate on the phone.
Don't understand when cashier asks if you want a bag? Look confused, she'll gesture a bag it'll be obvious.
No price tags or bargaining? Someone has a calculator to hand back and forth with numbers.
My husband and I have been checking different areas to see where we might be able to retire outside the US but it seems they have such high income restrictions (and/or other restrictions) that we won't qualify since we won't be working. We were looking into Canada and the UK. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would love to hear from others that have made the move.
Thanks so much for any input.
Income restrictions? Do you mean--requirements? Minimum income requirements? Canada's actually one of the cheapest of the developed countries to buy your way into as a retiree.
Never heard of an expat getting kidnapped. The policy REALLY is, Hands off the Expats.
The lake is beautiful now....waves lapping at the malecon (board walk).
Ajijic is appealing to many. You don't like Third World Countries at all, per your posts. Have to wonder if you've ever been???
And as the OP mentioned in her last post, we too were strongly motivated to return to Ajijic because of the current US political climate.
Never heard of an American getting kidnapped in a 3rd world country? Right.
You wonder if I've ever been to Ajijic, after all of my details about living there for a year?
I would bet money that you have a property to sell in Ajijic. That you bought there, on the promises you read on the internet, and now you want the heck out. So, you're perpetuating the problem, by selling the place as some ideal location with no problems whatsoever, and you'll have some reason you are selling your place, even thought you love it soooo much...... Just like the last guy did to you.
I think it might be a bit of an exaggeration that one needs to be fluent in the local language to shop. Sure there are some challenges but shopping is basically going around to pick up items you need, them telling you the total cost, and you handing over money. Where does need for fluency come in?
Can't tell shampoo from conditioner? Google translate on the phone.
Don't understand when cashier asks if you want a bag? Look confused, she'll gesture a bag it'll be obvious.
No price tags or bargaining? Someone has a calculator to hand back and forth with numbers.
Ha, you've obviously never been there.
Okay, picture walking into a Walmart in even your home town where everything is in English.
You are walking down the aisle and are wondering which shampoo to buy. Of course, there is a helpful Walmart employee standing at your elbow waiting to see if you need any help selecting a shampoo for your type of hair.
Hmmm, never happen for you in America? Yeah, me neither.
Now, picture you're at a Walmart in Mexico, where the workers only speak Spanish and they are nowhere in sight, anyway.
So, you try to figure out which aisle has shampoo. You walk around, not being able to read the signs easily, or there aren't any signs. So, you just wander and wander until you find an aisle of shampoo and conditioners, etc.
Now, all of the bottles are in Spanish. Maybe you know the Spanish words for shampoo and conditioner. Good for you. Maybe you want to figure out which one helps with dandruff. So, you get out your Spanish English dictionary to figure out the word for dandruff. Or you just give up and grab some bottle hoping it won't really matter.
Can you use your iphone to do this? Probably not. There probably won't be a signal. Better have your dictionary with you, and hope it has all the words relating to dandruff and shampoo...
Whew, shampoo picked out. Now, where is the laundry detergent? Okay found that aisle, but nothing looks the same as what you're used to. Lots of plastic bags, instead of boxes and bottles. You don't know what to buy. No clerks in sight. A nice lady is grabbing a bag for herself and she doesn't speak English. You try to ask her in Spanish which laundry detergent is good....
You get it home and have to try and figure out how much to use and can't make out the instructions on the bag - or there are no instructions on the bag.
And let's say you did find a clerk to help you. What are you going to ask them as far as what to buy, on an aisle with 50 options? And how do you think they're going to look at you?
Then, you get that rice home that you bought at the market, etc., and it won't cook. Oh yeah, because the elevation is over 5,000 feet. You need to cook your rice with a pressure cooker because of the elevation. Which is also hard on anyone with heart or breathing problems.
And as far as paying for those "cheap" things? The sales tax in Mexico, last time I checked, was 15%.
The cost of insurance? Really high. And can you trust the insurance companies? Nope.
It goes on and on.
Great place to visit, although I won't even visit anymore. I know first hand now, that it's just not a safe place to even visit. You always have to be on your toes.
Not that it's not without it's charms. But, when I was living there, an educated Mexican asked me why on earth I wanted to live in Mexico, when they were all trying to get the the U.S. I think that says it all.
I think it might be a bit of an exaggeration that one needs to be fluent in the local language to shop. Sure there are some challenges but shopping is basically going around to pick up items you need, them telling you the total cost, and you handing over money. Where does need for fluency come in?
Can't tell shampoo from conditioner? Google translate on the phone.
Don't understand when cashier asks if you want a bag? Look confused, she'll gesture a bag it'll be obvious.
No price tags or bargaining? Someone has a calculator to hand back and forth with numbers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
Ha, you've obviously never been there.
Okay, picture walking into a Walmart in even your home town where everything is in English.
You are walking down the aisle and are wondering which shampoo to buy. Of course, there is a helpful Walmart employee standing at your elbow waiting to see if you need any help selecting a shampoo for your type of hair.
Hmmm, never happen for you in America? Yeah, me neither.
Now, picture you're at a Walmart in Mexico, where the workers only speak Spanish and they are nowhere in sight, anyway.
So, you try to figure out which aisle has shampoo. You walk around, not being able to read the signs easily, or there aren't any signs. So, you just wander and wander until you find an aisle of shampoo and conditioners, etc.
Now, all of the bottles are in Spanish. Maybe you know the Spanish words for shampoo and conditioner. Good for you. Maybe you want to figure out which one helps with dandruff. So, you get out your Spanish English dictionary to figure out the word for dandruff. Or you just give up and grab some bottle hoping it won't really matter.
Can you use your iphone to do this? Probably not. There probably won't be a signal. Better have your dictionary with you, and hope it has all the words relating to dandruff and shampoo...
Whew, shampoo picked out. Now, where is the laundry detergent? Okay found that aisle, but nothing looks the same as what you're used to. Lots of plastic bags, instead of boxes and bottles. You don't know what to buy. No clerks in sight. A nice lady is grabbing a bag for herself and she doesn't speak English. You try to ask her in Spanish which laundry detergent is good....
You get it home and have to try and figure out how much to use and can't make out the instructions on the bag - or there are no instructions on the bag.
And let's say you did find a clerk to help you. What are you going to ask them as far as what to buy, on an aisle with 50 options? And how do you think they're going to look at you?
Then, you get that rice home that you bought at the market, etc., and it won't cook. Oh yeah, because the elevation is over 5,000 feet. You need to cook your rice with a pressure cooker because of the elevation. Which is also hard on anyone with heart or breathing problems.
And as far as paying for those "cheap" things? The sales tax in Mexico, last time I checked, was 15%.
The cost of insurance? Really high. And can you trust the insurance companies? Nope.
It goes on and on.
Great place to visit, although I won't even visit anymore. I know first hand now, that it's just not a safe place to even visit. You always have to be on your toes.
Not that it's not without it's charms. But, when I was living there, an educated Mexican asked me why on earth I wanted to live in Mexico, when they were all trying to get the the U.S. I think that says it all.
NoMoreSnowForMe you are quite wrong. It is as lieqiang described. If you do have a phone whether it is an Android or iPhone (any of the smart phones) you can with the right apps scan the bar code and get exactly what that item is and translated in English. You can even take a picture of the sign and run that through. I went to South Korea and saw a sign that well my daughter and I were talking about. We decided to check out the app and translate the sign. Snap and there was the No Smoking words right in front of us on the phone. This from an alphabet form not the ones we see here. No Smoking - 금연
pretty damned simple if you ask me. I am not picking on you but really I have gone to foreign countries where I do not speak the language or any dialect of it. A few words, some gestures and well it is a cumbersome process but communication takes place.
I've posted this before but.....also keep in mind that once you move to another country you give up all the rights/safeguards the U.S. affords. A lot of the 2nd and 3rd world countries mentioned above are rife with corruption (yeah...I know the US has it ...but it pales in comparison with others), kangaroo courts (who favor locals) and other such issues.
Think long and hard about such a thing......get hurt in an auto accident and sue for real damages/medical fees in Thailand, Phillipines, etc.....have fun with that. As mentioned also, most US based healthcare coverage is not applicable in non- US territories.
Another thing....I knew someone who was an expat to a Caribbean island...he bought property and the deed defined it as his but when a neighboring local farmer complained (read: knew someone or greased their palms) he had his property lines redrawn & "decreased" to a smaller parcel of land under the excuse that the original measurements were mistaken.....this even though he had documentation showing the property boundaries and stake marks. He chose to live with it as he heard being an "outsider" his chances of winning the case in that country were slim and in fact could create more problems for him and mark him as a troublemaker.
Its only Kangaroo if your the outsider, we should be that way in the USA too and actually favor americans.
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