I actually began thinking about retirement in college. It was at that time I learned I had a net worth of around 600k via a trust fund. At the time I thought it would only be possible to retire on that kind of money in another country. Now, I realize with the advice shared on sites like this it would still be quite possible in the US. Well, several years ago a made the move abroad and I have not looked back. I don’t have access to my trust yet, although I do own an apartment outright which I rent out for income and have access to 30k in savings. That said I don’t live the high life and get by nicely making money as a English teacher here. My basic expenses for food(eating out included) and rent(plus utilities) are only $500 a month which is covered by income from my rental property, so my teaching money basically goes to funding my bar tabs, taxis, dates and weekend trips. As a single male I live a comfortable lifestyle on about 1000 a month here in Mexico.
Right now I live in Querétaro only a short walk from the center of the city. I rent a furnished studio with all utilities (cable,wifi,,water) for just under 200 dollars a month. One could rent a 2 bedroom apartment with no utilities or furniture for 350 across the street. If I want a bus its .50 cents and finding one is easy as they are plentiful and you rarely have more than a couple minute wait to catch one in the direction you need it go. Taxis are 2.50-4 dollars. Beer is usually 1.50 to 2 dollars in nice restaurants, cantinas, high end bars; it’s usually less than a dollar in some of the dive bars. Cell phones rates are reasonable if you are calling other Mexican friends but expensive for calling outside the country. So for foreign calls I just use Skype video or phone. Food is maybe 40% the cost of the United States and some food like fruits and vegetables are maybe 10% the cost of the US. For instance a kilo(2.2lbs) of steak is 8 dollars, for chicken a kilo of leg, muscle meat 3.50 while white meat 5.50. You can get delicious street food for a few dollars and be full or at lunch its easy to find 3.50-4 dollar meals at small Mexican restaurants. Avocados are 1.50 a kilo, broccoli is 1 dollar a kilo, carrots are 75 cents a kilo and oranges are 50 cents a kilo.
Many cities in Mexico and throughout t Latin America have great temperate weather. You can get a good idea of a cities weather conditions by looking it up on
www.weatherbase.com. Here is my city
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=766250&cityname=Quer%E9taro-Quer%E9taro-Mexico. As you can see it never gets too cold or hot so unless you were really fussy you could get by easily with just a few more blankets in the winter or a fan in the summer.
The cost of any type of labor is very cheap. If I rip a shirt or loose a button back in the US I usually would throw it away, but here I pay someone a dollar or two to get it repaired. I don’t drive but I hear from friends what car bills they have when it goes in for repairs and it is a fraction of the US. I had my teeth cleaned last month for 15 dollars and got a cavity filled for 35 dollars. A doctor visit costs as low as 2 dollars although a specialist might charge as much as 25 dollars.
As rosy a picture I am painting with respect to the cost of living, living in a developing country is not so easy for some people. In Mexico you need to be willing to learn Spanish which takes time but if your patient and practice you should be speaking it in no time. Personally I got terrible marks in school in Spanish but now I speak great. The food can cause stomach problems and I had my fair share of traveler’s diarrhea but to get around that every morning I take probiotics on an empty stomach. The costs of withdrawing money from an atm with your debit card can carry some stiff fees. So for debit cards you should look into Fidelity, etrade, Charles Schwab and Bank of America (it as partner banks in several countries). To my knowledge the best credit card is a capital one card which doesn’t charge for foreign transaction fees but since its mostly cash transactions I almost never use it.
The issue of crime is really overblown in Latin America, especially for Mexico as many safe places still exist. I think this is a big reason many people simply refuse to consider living here but they just don’t have their facts straight. For instance the state of Queretaro where I live had a murder rate of 3 for 100,000 meanwhile on the border the state of Chihuahua has 101 for 100,000. Source;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate. So obviously it’s unfair to lump a hot spot of crime in with the entire country.
The other wildcard is the visa laws which can vary greatly by country. Mexico allows 180 day tourist visas which can be renewed if you spend a day or 2 across the border. Peru also has this same law for Americans. However some countries like Equator, Colombia and Brazil only allow tourists to stay for 180 days a year unless they are on another type of visa. The Dominican Republic doesn’t have a visa limit for Americans so they just pay an exit fee which can be as high as $500 if you stay more than 3 years. In South East Asia it really varies by the country but I believe the Philippines is by far the easiest country to stay long term on a tourist visa. However many countries do offer retirement visas and even benefits to them and I believe Panama and Equator have programs like this.
I think moving to a foreign country is a deeply personal decision so I would be hard pressed to recommend it to someone. I will however gladly share my own experience and for people who really want early retirement some of the inconveniences abroad maybe offset by the incredible cost of living savings and interesting cultural experiences.