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I can't speak for anyone else, but I am finding it very disruptive by all this continual personal political infiltration in just about every thread on this "retirement forum" especially within those threads that are not even remotely related to politics. This devolves a potentially very informative thread about "retirement issues" which more often than not results in thread closure.
I was finding this thread very informative learning about the experiences of those who have or are considering retiring to another country, but it didn't take long before the Trump and those who voted for him bashing reared it's ugly head, and I am still trying to figure out what disrespecting Angela Merkel has to do with the topic of this thread unless in some odd way this would impact someone who is considering retiring to Germany.
Looks like this thread will join the many others for the same reason and also meets the fate of the Lock.
The topic of this thread is Americans living abroad in a foreign country.
If relations deteriorate between the US and that particular foreign country impacts the American ex-pats living abroad that is, in my view, a perfectly appropriate issue to be discussed.
Sometimes we can't escape politics, like it or not.
My happiest times when I was younger were spent living overseas, especially in Latin America. So I do want to move overseas, and not to save money. And I don't want to live in an expat enclave.
Now that both my parents are gone and I'm 71 I'm not sure I can still do it. But I'm thinking hard about it.
I also considered Spain and maybe still am. Argentina is also a possibility. And now I am thinking more about Mexico, thanks to Dothetwist.
Personally, and this is just me of course, "thinking outside the box" means staying in the U.S. and finding a nice, small, very affordable, low crime town where winters aren't horrible and are located within easy driving distance to a larger city. They exist by the hundreds if you just look, but most people are too closed minded to bother to even consider them.
This way, you don't have a language barrier and have medical care provided by American doctors and you aren't at the mercy of whatever politically may be going on in another country. There are many small beautiful historical low crime American towns that a person can live comfortably on Social Security. But that's just me again and the way I think.
There are places in this country that have a lower cost of living.
I did a quick search and I see in the Greenville, KY area there are studio apartments starting at $500 a month ... which is half of what rents go for in my town, and less than one third of the rents in my neighborhood.
I do believe, however, some people dream of living near a beach framed by coconut palm trees; a place where you can get daily maid service for less than $20 a week; and especially a place where you don't need a car.
I do believe, however, some people dream of living near a beach framed by coconut palm trees; a place where you can get daily maid service for less than $20 a week; and especially a place where you don't need a car.
I have all that and a lot more! But it is no place for an old single women.
There are places in this country that have a lower cost of living.
I did a quick search and I see in the Greenville, KY area there are studio apartments starting at $500 a month ... which is half of what rents go for in my town, and less than one third of the rents in my neighborhood.
I do believe, however, some people dream of living near a beach framed by coconut palm trees; a place where you can get daily maid service for less than $20 a week; and especially a place where you don't need a car.
Or you can purchase a cute little house for about $50,000 and have a mortgage for about $300 - $400 a month including property taxes and insurance. Your mortgage payment never goes up as opposed to renting. You also have more privacy if that's what you like and a small yard you can grow your own veggies and have flowers.
I know it's not what everyone wants and homes take maintenance and maybe some fixing up but that's what I'm looking for. There are options out there if you keep an open mind.
I'm not pushing this specific town or state or location but it's an example. Like I previously said, there are many, many others.
Personally, I don't need palm trees in my life. I've had them for the last 50 years or more.
Yup, bought a house in Georgia three years ago on one acre lot. It was built in 2008 during the boom. Paid cash and taxes are less than $500 a year, cheaper after 62. Retirement is going to be grand. Not the beach but mountains hold their charm.
My area (southwest Ohio) ought to be popular with retirees for COL-reasons, but it seems to be favored only amongst locals who retire-in-place. The climate can be harsh, but is moderate by Midwestern standards. Taxes are higher than in the South or the Plains, but lower than in the NE. There’s a huge plethora of housing-stock (distressed, top-notch, and anything in between) to attract frugal buyers. Local medical services are strong, as the healthcare industry is a major employer.
The job-market is sedate, to put things mildly. Culturally the area is decidedly blue-collar, with a smatter of airs of sophistication (symphony orchestra, independent books stores, etc.).
Personally I would rather retire somewhere else, for (1) cultural reasons, and (2) my preference for nearby salt-water. But for many retirees, local options are on careful reckoning actually quite appealing.
My reason for even considering retirement abroad is that I myself am a former immigrant; English is not my native language, and Anglo-American culture is not my native culture. I never embraced the “mainstream” American culture noted for example in Charles Murray’s polemic, “Coming Apart”. Surveying the admittedly incredible variety of options offered in America, my affinities lean towards what’s found in the SF Bay Area and in NYC, but those places are justifiably panned as being nosebleed-expensive, in terms of COL and especially state/local income taxes. Even so, they are probably cheaper than London or Berlin. The very last thing that I’d prefer is some woebegone third-world country, with unsafe water supply, disrupted public services, corrupted police, traditional village-minded culture and stark disparity between natives and transplants.
But for persons unhampered by such pretense, America’s second-tier cities in the Heartland offer an easy and commodious value. They’re definitely worth a second look.
I have visited and lived in some of the places mentioned in this thread.
Ecuador - My wife (she's from Colombia) and I took a retirement scouting trip in 2013 to Ecuador, spent a few days in Quito, a few days in Manta, a side trip to Bahia de Caraquez, and a side trip to Montechristi. Overall impression: a fairly typical Latin American country that uses the US dollar as its currency. Bahia is nice if you don't mind living in a small town and about two hours from Manta's airport. Housing is very reasonable. In the end, though, we did not find anything about Ecuador that made it compelling enough to live there.
Colombia - lived in Medellin for eight months in the last half of 2014 and first two months in 2015. Overall impression: The climate is almost perfect. Housing is overpriced considering the robust level of crime there and poor condition of infrastructure. We moved back to the US because we could buy comparable housing in the US for about the same price and not have to be watching our backs every time we leave the house.
Mexico - while living in Medellin, my wife and I took a week long trip to Ajijic, Mexico in 2014. Overall impression: would live there except the area has, IMO, little to do or see. We would probably wind up spending a considerable amount of time in Guadalajara or visiting other parts of Mexico. For us, Mexico was similar to Ecuador in that there wasn't much that made it compelling enough to live there.
We have been living in Tennessee now for over two years. Now we have our eye on New Mexico. I can't move every three years for the rest of my life, so I hope my next move is the last.
I really don't get the European suggestions here. Last time I checked, there's no such thing as a retirement visa in any of the E.U countries or rich non-EU countries (like Switzerland). You either need a job or you have to get out. Now, dodgier countries like Moldova are a different story.
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