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I will! It was a tossup between Panama and Costa Rica, because I would love to see the Canal and the museum about building it (there's that guy Goethals again) and the idea of a staying in a city with beaches nearby was appealing. But when I was looking, I was getting some news stories about unrest and whatnot in Panama City, and we are looking for a relaxing vacation to escape from the sadness of Christmas this year, so Costa Rica it is. I will let you know!
I do know from a quick read that apparently CR welcomes retirees as long as they have a minimum of a guaranteed income of $1000 USD from a pension or some other reliable source that they will deposit each month into a Costa Rican bank and withdraw in colones, their monetary unit. That's easy enough.
Since my phone listens to me, I keep getting articles on expats in Costa Rica, so there are things to consider there, like where is a good place to live and practical things to get used to, like regular electrical blackouts. But it doesn't hurt to check into these things.
Strikes in Panama were crushed but supplies are in very short supply. Especially medicine. It is not pretty right now and expats without family/ties are leaving.
pa also does not allow deductions for retirement money contributed ..they don’t tax it later on when taken but you potentially miss the deductions when income is highest
[quote=WVNomad;66122996]Make sense….clearly one has to cover property taxes, maintenance, the cost of furnishing and paying utilities on a second place, and if one borrows to make the purchase, financing the home. If one can pay cash, however, I think the actual purchase price is probably more of an asset allocation decision than a cost of acquisition. It would be deciding to put more of one’s portfolio in residential real estate vs, equities/bond/cash/or whatever. I guess that could work out well or not depending on how the residential real estate market performs.[/QUOT
Yep, we bought a snowbird house here n Phoenix area while residing in Washington state and for various reasons including some that you mention, elected to just move permanently to Phoenix in our retirement and sold our Washington house.
We still think about possibly just buying a condo in Idaho or Montana or possibly in Flagstaff as a respite from the Phoenix summer.
I think owning 2 homes with the associated costs of 2 homes to be something for people with excess means. We have good friends here that still maintain their Washington house as well as here in Phoenix but their net worth we believe in millions is double digits.
Fits in std parking spot
16-20 mpg
Full Sized shower (+ outdoor shower, my favorite)
Genset / power, Microwave/ AC / furnace
Huge picture window
All equipped for hobbies and travel.
Can seat (8) belted in, so we take seniors who had to give up their RV out 'Camping', and we stay in a tent (as usual). I bring along a ADV motorcycle or one of my 50mpg econo sports cars, and escape often.
Nice rig. My mom bought one for $12k with less than 50,000 miles.
They have a quirk (Transmission), but very easy to mitigate. (Add a $200 cooler + more sump capacity)
Roadtrek is similar 'van' option (but much smaller to live in). Mom bought one at an Estate Sale for $11k and sold 10 yrs later for $16k
I little mini RV would be good for a single person but tight for a couple, especially if you bring dogs along.
I'm thinking a couple's travel trailer is a better option for us. A motor home is expensive and you would wind up towing a car to drive around anyway. I would prefer the travel trailer/pickup truck option. If the truck breaks down, we'll still have our stuff and a place to stay in the travel trailer. If the travel trailer has a problem, we'll be able to offload the stuff inside into the bed of the truck and send the trailer into the shop for repairs while we get a hotel room.
We would keep our primary home and just forward mail if we were going to be on the road for awhile.
I think owning 2 homes with the associated costs of 2 homes to be something for people with excess means. We have good friends here that still maintain their Washington house as well as here in Phoenix but their net worth we believe in millions is double digits.
Not if both homes are very small condos, and you have very few other expenses, as in my case. I travel quite a bit to other places in addition to my subcompact-sized condos, including internationally, but my annual cost of living is between $40k and $45k. A lot of need to travel is satisfied by just the change of scenery between my two places. I don't spend much on other stuff - I don't have kids, I am rarely with my extended family and we do not exchange gifts except really cheap ones, I don't have a car, I don't have pets, I very rarely eat out, I don't buy particularly expensive food, my entire home entertainment are books and media discs which I pretty much don't buy any more because I already have all I want, I don't buy clothes any more because I also already have lots of them (some dating from high school - my weight hasn't changed), and I buy the cheapest health insurance with high deductible (used only once in 18 years for an eye problem, and the bill was small).
So, I think I really leave frugally, focused on what really matters to me, and that happens to be just moving around. I do have solid resources, but I think a person on fairly thin resources could live the same way as I do, where no major means are needed to support a couple of very small condos, considering that I am not supporting any kind of particularly expensive lifestyle - in fact, I don't have a number of other expenses that most people consider basic and essential.
In Europe after the WW2 it was extremely common to limit the size of the family to one child, and a lot of those kids migrated from the countryside to large cities. When parents died, kids inherited a house in the countryside in addition to the condo that by that time they bought in the city. So, it is not uncommon for a married couple of my generation to have 3 homes - their condo in the city, and two houses out in the country that each spouse inherited from their parents. Single people likewise often have their condo plus the inherited house. That happens across all economic groups (including working class), and the inherited houses are often used as vacation homes. In my travels I have met a single woman a couple of years younger than I, who has worked in Paris for 4 decades as a secretary. She owns a small condo in Paris metro area, and inherited house in Normandy from her parents who weren't well off (father was in some way involved with fishing, mother did not work outside of home). In addition to that, she is an avid world traveler. Very low property taxes in France (including in Paris), and the fact that she was an only child, and lives solo in a large city where public transportation allows not keeping a car, as well as the fact that she pursues budget travel, allow for that kind of lifestyle in a person of very modest means.
You can organize your life any way you want to fund your preferences, if you don't spend on stuff that doesn't in fact interest you just because other people spend on such stuff. And in all of my experience, a small family size is the cornerstone of financial stability in people who start from poverty.
Not if both homes are very small condos, and you have very few other expenses, as in my case. I travel quite a bit to other places in addition to my subcompact-sized condos, including internationally, but my annual cost of living is between $40k and $45k. A lot of need to travel is satisfied by just the change of scenery between my two places. I don't spend much on other stuff - I don't have kids, I am rarely with my extended family and we do not exchange gifts except really cheap ones, I don't have a car, I don't have pets, I very rarely eat out, I don't buy particularly expensive food, my entire home entertainment are books and media discs which I pretty much don't buy any more because I already have all I want, I don't buy clothes any more because I also already have lots of them (some dating from high school - my weight hasn't changed), and I buy the cheapest health insurance with high deductible (used only once in 18 years for an eye problem, and the bill was small).
So, I think I really leave frugally, focused on what really matters to me, and that happens to be just moving around. I do have solid resources, but I think a person on fairly thin resources could live the same way as I do, where no major means are needed to support a couple of very small condos, considering that I am not supporting any kind of particularly expensive lifestyle - in fact, I don't have a number of other expenses that most people consider basic and essential.
In Europe after the WW2 it was extremely common to limit the size of the family to one child, and a lot of those kids migrated from the countryside to large cities. When parents died, kids inherited a house in the countryside in addition to the condo that by that time they bought in the city. So, it is not uncommon for a married couple of my generation to have 3 homes - their condo in the city, and two houses out in the country that each spouse inherited from their parents. Single people likewise often have their condo plus the inherited house. That happens across all economic groups (including working class), and the inherited houses are often used as vacation homes. In my travels I have met a single woman a couple of years younger than I, who has worked in Paris for 4 decades as a secretary. She owns a small condo in Paris metro area, and inherited house in Normandy from her parents who weren't well off (father was in some way involved with fishing, mother did not work outside of home). In addition to that, she is an avid world traveler. Very low property taxes in France (including in Paris), and the fact that she was an only child, and lives solo in a large city where public transportation allows not keeping a car, as well as the fact that she pursues budget travel, allow for that kind of lifestyle in a person of very modest means.
You can organize your life any way you want to fund your preferences, if you don't spend on stuff that doesn't in fact interest you just because other people spend on such stuff. And in all of my experience, a small family size is the cornerstone of financial stability in people who start from poverty.
Can you please name sources for your statement that after WW2 it was extremely common in Europe to limit the size of the family to one child and that a lot of these children migrated from the countryside to large cities? Thank you.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by springfieldva
I little mini RV would be good for a single person but tight for a couple, especially if you bring dogs along.
I'm thinking a couple's travel trailer is a better option for us. ...
We would keep our primary home and just forward mail if we were going to be on the road for awhile.
Just depends on the personal way people travel. As a kid we had a trailer (didn't work out well for our family)
Several friends RV FT and PT with trailers and it's just perfect for them.
Trailer is better if you go to a destination (get there early) and stay a few days to a few months.
We often drive till 2-4AM (as a truckdriver- I prefer light traffic and cool weather). Your neighbors, 4 ft away in a campground are not gonna appreciate the yelling and cursing of backing a trailer into a tight spot in the dark.
We often find spots we like that have no space for a trailer.
(We seldom have a set plan... if we find a spot we like, we stop and stay. 1 day, 1 week. We can make it a month in a small vehicle (if necessary / in NZ or Europe), but... in USA, we are seldom stuck together for more than a couple days (RV or at home),
Each person has different tastes in accommodations... and they change a few times during a long retirement
We've been a month in one of our remote cabins (16x24). It's about right. Has a loft, bath, kitchen. But we are not inside very often, except more on long winter evenings. 40x70 shop is a 100yrds away if we need some space / hobbies / shelter. We have destination venues within 20 minutes in all directions. + a large rural acreage with a wonderful view and lots of wildlife and livestock. Easy to stay home when needed. Small town ~18,000 (with everything we need, including a college, library, and most Big Box stores, + Dollar Tree, Geriatric Health Club with lap pool and hot tub, and 10+ tex-mex cafes) is 8 miles away. It's a really nice break from PNW weather. 70+ and sunny for next 7 days.
Must head home (PNW mtns) for Christmas, then to some other destinations for Jan - Mar ($29 fares on SWA within CA, AZ, NV, and & HI was $82 (with one companion for free $5.60 taxes). We fly to SMF (Sacramento) for $39, then all over CA, and nearby states for $29 one-way. 1/4 tank of fuel at CA prices.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 11-30-2023 at 09:14 AM..
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