For those of you who are from the US who are set on retiring outside of the country, where have you chosen to go?
I will start in Europe (I have friends in a couple of countries), then see where it takes me from there. I do not have a permanent retirement spot picked out and plan to do a lot of traveling beforehand to check out different areas. FWIW, traveling in Europe is awesome. I lived in Mexico (one year), Colombia (one year), Venezuela (two years) and Nicaragua (two years), and the travel infrastructure was just not there. During my assignment to Estonia, I was able to visit seven other European countries.
How soon are you planning to retire?
I retired in 2013. I moved to a LCOL area in Wisconsin in order to get my youngest through high school but now I am an empty nester.
-Are you single or will you be doing it with a family?
I am single with two adult children, but I am still financially supporting the youngest.
-Will you maintain a residence in the US?
No, I am selling my house this summer and putting all my stuff in storage. I will change my legal residence from Wisconsin to Texas (where my oldest child lives) so that I'm not paying state income taxes while overseas. Returning to live in the U.S. at some point is still a possibility.
How often do you plan to come back to visit?
Once a year, if needed. Possibly more often - I have elderly parents. I will be leaving this autumn, then my children will join me in Barcelona for Christmas.
-Was COL the primary factor in choosing to retire abroad?
No.
If not, what was? What were some of the other motivating factors (i.e., healthcare costs, desire to travel to other international places close to where you will be moving abroad, etc.)?
I love living overseas, learning languages and seeing new cultures. I spent 25 years as a Foreign Service officer, and moving from country to country was my idea of a dream job.