Retiring and then settling abroad?

[justhookit 4,191]

11 minutes ago, ATexanAbroad said:

 

 

It is ruined in the sense that it is beyoned Americanized. There is a reason a bunch of Americans retire down there. IT is easy. Sure it's pretty but if I am going to retire somewhere to experience something different, it is not going to be a place that accepts the US dollar. 

 

Also, I stayed in Quepos and Dominicalito. 

Wait your cousin was fishing the billfish tourneys in Quepos? What boat? I fished them all season this past winter.

[midtown 3,345]

2 hours ago, ATexanAbroad said:

Sure it's pretty but if I am going to retire somewhere to experience something different, it is not going to be a place that accepts the US dollar. 

Its such a bit.  They commonly accept USD in Vietnam and when you pay for you VOA they ONLY accept USD.    But hey it's just like the US apparently

[VABuckeye 2,472]

I’m not sure about moving there as we have adult kids and maybe someday grandkids but I wouldn’t mind doing a 90 day visa once a year and base myself in Italy. 

[texasdago 7,573]

7 hours ago, HenryJames said:

Just tell her you no longer have to spend all of your vacations in Italy.

LOL that might do it

[squib 1,120]

On 8/7/2022 at 10:53 PM, shnsajax said:

This is where I have wanted to retire. Just not as economical as the previously mentioned.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/visit-giethoorn-quaint-village-without-cars

Spreewald area of Germany is similar. May be a bit more affordable. I am not sure. Haven't priced anything there. 

https://www.boboandchichi.com/2018/08/spreewald-germany/

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by squib

[zman13 180]

On 8/8/2022 at 7:14 AM, ClubWhatever said:

This is not a slam dunk.  Doing simple shit like getting your plumbing fixed can be a huge ordeal in some other countries.  All those annoyances add up.  Plus, some of the big stuff, like dealing with the legal system (if you have to) can truly be a nightmare.  Capitalism makes a profit off making your US life easier. 

Anyone planning to move to another country has to be honest about their tolerance for different cultures and customs.

 

I've talked to some people who retired and moved to another country and then moved back to the U.S. Many of them said they got tired of the cultural/customs difference. It built up over time and eventually wore them down. 

[Grimas 669]

Our plan is to downscale and keep a home base in the US but to pick a country and rent something for months at a time.  Get bored of it, pick next country...  We've done 10+ years as expats so know what to expect living outside the US...

As mentioned above, medical insurance is an issue until you get to Medicare age.  Outside the US, you can get private insurance for $3k/year while in the US, it's around $3k/month.  2 more years of high school and our kids are off to college and both are looking at University in the EU as they also have EU passports so we'll look at EU destinations for us one I quit working (or O&G tanks again and I get made "redundant"...)

One thing to consider is that it can be difficult to open a bank account in a foreign country if you don't have an employer who assists you.  Many foreign banks hate dealing with US citizens because they hate all the reporting they have to do on your accounts back to the US Treasury. (Pro tip: if you do live as an expat and have an account in a foreign country, don't close it when you leave so you can always use it later if needed...)

[midtown 3,345]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:25 AM, Grimas said:

Get bored of it, pick next country...  We've done 10+ years as expats so know what to expect living outside the US...

The more I think about having a place outside the US the more I am leaning towards just leasing a place for a year or two at a time.   I was dead set on buying a house but over the last two years I've been tracking home sales and houses sit for years sometimes.    Too many variables to sit on hundreds of thousands in an illiquid asset in a foreign country.

[Mo Horn 8,840]

Another reason why we will just rent an apartment

[zman13 180]

It's been mentioned before - check out travel arbitrage. 

Take your retirement dollars and live in lower priced countries. I was surprised that there are a lot of surprisingly lower cost options than I originally thought - Spain, Greece, etc.

Your options aren't just Mexico and Serbia.

[Grimas 669]

2 hours ago, midtown said:

The more I think about having a place outside the US the more I am leaning towards just leasing a place for a year or two at a time.   I was dead set on buying a house but over the last two years I've been tracking home sales and houses sit for years sometimes.    Too many variables to sit on hundreds of thousands in an illiquid asset in a foreign country.

As an example - 2 bedroom, 3 bath townhouse in Chang Mai, Thailand for 1200/month:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/42466865?adults=4&location=Chiang Mai%2C Thailand&display_extensions[]=MONTHLY_STAYS&federated_search_id=409d4586-e9c3-43cd-bef4-c763585e3f6d&source_impression_id=p3_1660327195_bJPI0RnZTm3Hj2uS&modal=PHOTO_TOUR_SCROLLABLE

[closetohumping 17,442]

59 minutes ago, Grimas said:

As an example - 2 bedroom, 3 bath townhouse in Chang Mai, Thailand for 1200/month:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/42466865?adults=4&location=Chiang Mai%2C Thailand&display_extensions[]=MONTHLY_STAYS&federated_search_id=409d4586-e9c3-43cd-bef4-c763585e3f6d&source_impression_id=p3_1660327195_bJPI0RnZTm3Hj2uS&modal=PHOTO_TOUR_SCROLLABLE

Oh hell yea

[52-80 19,157]

Why is the kitchen in the toilet ?

maybe its just the socialist in me, but i dont feel comfortable living in a place where my spending power massively outpaces the local standards. 
 

my wife comes from a poor’ish country, and when were passing by the rural areas that are even worse off, i feel a moral sense of guilt somehow, even though we’ve done absolutely nothing wrong strictly speaking. just cant picture settling long term in a place like that. 

[closetohumping 17,442]

3 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Why is the kitchen in the toilet ?

maybe its just the socialist in me, but i dont feel comfortable living in a place where my spending power massively outpaces the local standards. 
 

my wife comes from a poor’ish country, and when were passing by the rural areas that are even worse off, i feel a moral sense of guilt somehow, even though we’ve done absolutely nothing wrong strictly speaking. just cant picture settling long term in a place like that. 

Think about your money helping poor people.  What you’re doing to their economy.   Bigger tips

[USCATX 1,078]

This is the way.  We finished our place in Alaska last year and will be spending summers up there and winters somewhere warm and probably not in America when the time comes.  
 

I just want to be near the water where I can do a little fishing and a lot of reading and walking and eating good food. Maybe baha north of Cabo, but I’m open.  Buying definitely seems like a waste of time and money. 

[VABuckeye 2,472]

20 hours ago, zman13 said:

Spain

We found most of Spain to be much, much less expensive than where we live in the US.  The only exception was Barcelona where real estate and restaurant prices were higher.

[Mo Horn 8,840]

4 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

We found most of Spain to be much, much less expensive than where we live in the US.  The only exception was Barcelona where real estate and restaurant prices were higher.

Madrid as well, in our experience, but not as bad as Barcelona. One of the main reasons we are opting for Valencia. Big enough to have a metro, and other things, but much cheaper. Plus being right on the Mediterranean doesn't hurt. 

[VABuckeye 2,472]

Plus you're a very short flight away from Mallorca which is an incredible island.  We also found Malaga to be very affordable.  Nice big apartments on the coast are not expensive.

Not the greatest apartment but less than $1100 a month for aobut 1300 sq ft on the coast.  https://www.spainhouses.net/en/apartment-rent-benalmadena-malaga-8138798.html