Author Topic: Retire overseas?  (Read 9754 times)

zweipersona

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Retire overseas?
« on: May 09, 2012, 12:09:24 AM »
I'm curious if any of you have done some research or are currently retiring somewhere overseas.  I've heard some stories that you could live more cheaply in some places, which would allow FI and early retirement that much sooner.

arebelspy

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2012, 07:43:26 AM »
The wife and I have talked about moving overseas when FIRE'd.

The thing is, I wouldn't use it to RE any earlier, because I'd want enough to support a SWR assuming that we live in the states.  I'd always want the option to move back, and moving back and having to get a job would be unappealing.

So any cheaper that it is would be gravy, but I'm still planning on a portfolio supporting a retirement here.

Specifically we've talked about, and looked into, retiring in Belize.  It's basically on the Caribbean, amazing weather, they speak English (and Spanish, but the official language is English, so all the signs, etc. are in English), perhaps slightly cheaper than here (though it's billed as the cheapest place in the Caribbean, most expensive place in Central America).

Talked about maybe getting a few acres there, having a big garden, fruit trees (oranges, avocados, etc. etc.). Sounds nice, but who knows if it'll happen or not.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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HeidiO

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2012, 10:33:35 AM »
   I hope to spend some time overseas when we retire.  I am a bit of a wanderer, so I am not planning on staying in any one place.  Instead, I want to travel to an inexpensive country (ie Thailand) rent an apartment and stay for 4 months or so.  Then back to the US to see family for a little while (our home base will be an RV) then maybe off to another inexpensive country for 4 months (ie Ecuador.)  I need a home base to feel secure (discovered that a few years ago) but it doesn't have to be a house. I am lucky that my wife is just as excited about this plan as I am. 
   I like the US - I don't want to move away for good.  I also want to travel this country extensively.  But Belize sure sounds amazing (gonna check it out this summer.)
Heidi

DC

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2012, 11:19:03 AM »
I'm planing on spending some time working abroad, maybe southeast Asia, to take advantage of the local low cost of living to travel and build my 'stache quicker. Not exactly retiring earlier but to have the best of two worlds, travelling on a low budget and save money by having very low expenses.

reverend

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2012, 12:47:45 PM »
A friend of mine has been in South America for about 18 months now, with the family.  First it was Costa Rica, then Ecuador... or Nicaragua? Not sure...

He moved to the 2nd one because it was far cheaper than Costa Rica. People are friendly, lots of expats, everyone knows English and everything is cheap. Going out to dinner is dirt cheap, and we're talking Outback and not Taco Bell. When he visits the US, he buys iPads and stuff which he sells to a guy he knows (who resells them) and he makes an instant $100 on each.
He could make more, but he weighs the convenience of dumping them all at one place vs selling them himself.

Housing is cheap, maids are cheap, cooks are cheap. Basically, he could live for the rest of his life without having to spend much money at all - $100K would retire him and his wife (while the kids presumably go off to college and do their own thing).

It's interesting, though I *like* living in the US.  I've been intrigued by Germany or possibly France.  Having family in Europe makes it easier, but I am probably too westernized to give up the conveniences of high-speed internet and stuff. hah

jimmygibbon

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2012, 05:20:45 PM »
My husband and I are planning on retiring overseas.  We would like to start out on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  We have travelled and researched quite a bit over the past few years, spending 6-8 weeks in most locations, including Panama, St. Maarten, Costa Rica, Barbados, etc.  We usually would rent an apartment or condo instead of staying in hotels and resorts so as to get a slightly more realistic feel for "living" in various countries. 

I can't wait to sell it all and start our adventure.........

Thank you MMM for your wonderful blog and thank you to all the great forum members from whom I have learned so much.


zweipersona

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2012, 07:06:45 PM »
I've done a lot of thinking about this, and will likely work in the US for a few years, working toward FI until I do some further dabbling into this.

I've read a lot about teaching overseas and how many countries, particularily a few westernized asian countries, are looking for teachers.  It'd be an ideal way to earn some income, learn about a new culture, and research cost of living there. 

Good to hear others thoughts on this.

reverend

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2012, 10:05:16 PM »
For travelling and living overseas for weeks at a time, you can use couchsurfing.org to find local people and see how they live and what they do. Another thing that I've done is to walk everywhere instead of taking mass transit.  That way you see how people move, where they shop, what they buy and how they behave in their own element.

Zwei - Asian countries seem eager to learn English so if your skills are good (I'm guessing you're German speaking?) you could probably test out in a TESL program (Teach English as a Second Language) and live overseas while doing it. You could make good money, especially if the program pays your housing.
It's also a great chance to learn an Asian language. Speaking English AND Chinese/Japanese/Korean would make you incredibly valuable as a guide, corporate 'guide' in local customs or translator.

Just wait until someone hands you a business card in Asia and see what happens if you don't know the proper respectful routine to receive it. :)

Spartana

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2012, 01:49:57 PM »
Check out www.escapeartist.com or any of the other ex-pat websites for lots of great info on living abroad all around the world. Also check out www.coolworks.com for off beat seasonal jobs in unusual places. A book that inspired me to retire early and travel was written years ago by Paul and Vicky Terhorst call "Cashing in on the American Dream: How to retire at 35" (or something like that). They quit their jobs, got rid of everything they owned and became Perpetual Travellers (PT's). Living the ex-pat life in different places around the world. 
« Last Edit: May 26, 2012, 01:52:27 PM by Spartana »

RusticBohemian

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2012, 08:19:32 AM »
I just lived in Southeast Asia for two years. Not retired, but just living because I run an internet business and can live anywhere.

The cost of living is dirt cheap, which gave me the time leverage I needed to build my business.

In Thailand I had a luxury apartment with a rooftop pool, included internet, bathroom with a hot tub, etc, for $300 a month. I could have gone much cheaper. 

Food/restaurants, and anything made in country tended to be cheaper. Imported stuff is slightly more expensive than you'd pay in the US, mostly due to lack of local demand.

The more remote areas of Cambodia/Lao had cheap rent/food but lack of amenities.

Burma I would not recommend.

Indonesia had some great deals, but Malaysia offered few cost savings.

Thailand is probably your best bet for a developed country with many western amenities but low cost of living.

I'm curious if any of you have done some research or are currently retiring somewhere overseas.  I've heard some stories that you could live more cheaply in some places, which would allow FI and early retirement that much sooner.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2012, 08:21:11 AM by RusticBohemian »

YK-Phil

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2012, 12:07:10 PM »
Retiring or semi-retiring overseas is the only viable option unless money is not an issue. My wife (37 y.o.) and I (55 y.o.) are planning to do that, in a couple of years as soon as my youngest of four children is out of the house. We are not FI yet, although in the past 5 years, I've traded a high-paying career as a scientist for a part-time gig as a flight attendant that pays little but gives me a lot of free time and the chance to travel on the cheap.

If someone else pays for my retirement, I would probably live somewhere on the California coast, maybe around Carmel or Monterrey. Manhattan Beach is also a good option...Although Mustachians seem to be nice people, I don't think I'll get a cheque in the mail anytime soon...So instead of California dreamin', we are looking at affordable places such as Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, even Spain -Murcia for example, is a beautiful area and real estate is cheap, even on the coast, etc. I am of Latin origin and would prefer a Spanish-speaking country, and my wife being from Okinawa (Japan) would like Okinawa where the cost of living is very low, and the quality of life is high. I love Asia as well, for having spent time in South-East Asia where even a retired North American couple on a shoe-string budget can have it all in places like Thailand, Malaysia, Viet-Nam, etc. On the other hand, as I have grown children and will eventually have grand-children that I will want to see regularly, moving too far for long periods of time, is a factor to consider. Another factor is that we enjoy traveling to other places, and we may not like settling full-time in one place, even one that seems like paradise. So while owning our own place abroad seems to be an attractive proposition considering what you can get for so little, in the end, we will rent. I've been researching the rental market in various places like Panama, Belize, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, etc., and found gems for as little as $300 per month. Believe it or not, you can even find apartments in downtown Barcelona -one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in the world- for about 600 euros! In many countries, a couple can live comfortably for as little as $1,000 a month (rent, food, expenses, health insurance, maid-cook, etc.). Our goal is to probably spend half our time (most likely from May to October) in Calgary where we own a couple of condos, then find a small apartment or little house to rent in a different country for the rest of the year. Age will eventually take a toll on our plan, so we would do that as long as my health allows it, keeping in mind that my wife being 17 years younger than me and from a place known for its centenarians, will outlive me by 50 years and will need a stable income when I am no longer around.

If you are young or even not so young, why wait for that elusive retirement? Living and working overseas is possible, and options abound. I am a little skeptic about work-from-home options, but why not. If you have portable skills, you can take them anywhere. You can also teach ESL (it's fun and you connect with people: take a one-month ESL teaching course and teach to kids and young adults who will give you the respect that teachers in our countries could only dream of), be a scuba-diving instructor (in a little over one month and for under $1500, you can be PADI-certified instructor or divemaster and work in a resort in Thailand...can life get any better? Seriously, you are on a boat, in the tropics, surrounded by girls in bikinis who think you are some kind of semi-god haha), etc.

So I say: Do a little research and plan according to your own circumstances, don't listen to naysayers, and take the plunge!

erwannabe

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2012, 06:26:21 PM »
Definitely.  But I want to have enough in my stache that I could afford to live in a higher cost country in Europe, America, Canada or Australia quite comfortably.  I know you can live on very little in South East Asian countries for example, and no doubt that makes them an attractive option - but I dont want to be stuck to only being able to live there.  In saying that I would live in Indo/Thailand in a heartbeat if my hubby didnt have a job here!

auri

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2012, 09:52:23 PM »
This is an issue I have been struggling with for the last few years.

I am 40yo, live in Australia, and intend to work for another 2-3 years. I am pretty close to being FI.

The thing is, I would really like to spend some time in Asia, perhaps even half of each year ( or more). I know that the cost of living is certainly significantly lower there, but I just cannot reconcile the cost of having to maintain two homes. I would still like to have a base here in Sydney. Basically, it means even I may be staying in a low cost country for 6 months each year, my total expenses is likely to be higher than if I stay put right here.

auri

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2012, 09:54:39 PM »
I just lived in Southeast Asia for two years. Not retired, but just living because I run an internet business and can live anywhere.

The cost of living is dirt cheap, which gave me the time leverage I needed to build my business.

In Thailand I had a luxury apartment with a rooftop pool, included internet, bathroom with a hot tub, etc, for $300 a month. I could have gone much cheaper. 




Whereabouts in Thailand is this? Seems like a bargain.

travelbug

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2012, 12:26:49 AM »
Definitely.  But I want to have enough in my stache that I could afford to live in a higher cost country in Europe, America, Canada or Australia quite comfortably.  I know you can live on very little in South East Asian countries for example, and no doubt that makes them an attractive option - but I dont want to be stuck to only being able to live there.  In saying that I would live in Indo/Thailand in a heartbeat if my hubby didnt have a job here!

[
quote author=HeidiO link=topic=720.msg9701#msg9701 date=1336581215]
   I hope to spend some time overseas when we retire.  I am a bit of a wanderer, so I am not planning on staying in any one place.  Instead, I want to travel to an inexpensive country (ie Thailand) rent an apartment and stay for 4 months or so.  Then back to the US to see family for a little while (our home base will be an RV) then maybe off to another inexpensive country for 4 months (ie Ecuador.)  I need a home base to feel secure (discovered that a few years ago) but it doesn't have to be a house. I am lucky that my wife is just as excited about this plan as I am. 
   I like the US - I don't want to move away for good.  I also want to travel this country extensively.  But Belize sure sounds amazing (gonna check it out this summer.)
Heidi
[/quote]

We are doing a similar thing. We will be FI in 18 months or so and plan to sell up everything; cars, house, business and travel for afew years living for 2-6 months in each place in an apartment and checking out some more of the world. By living in Asia fro 4-6 months of the year will allow us to accumulate our passive income so as we can have the same lifestyle in more expensive countries.

C

KittyWrestler

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #15 on: June 08, 2012, 12:00:59 PM »
I am from Asia so I would spend some retired time over there. With the hope to educate kids some Asian culture.
The housing situation in China isn't that great anymore. Too expensive in my opinion. Cost of living has increased 1000% comparing to a few years ago, so I will need to do some planning if I want to make it happen..

CuencaSolo

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #16 on: June 12, 2012, 09:39:46 PM »
I'm retired in Cuenca, in the southern Sierra of Ecuador.  It's fairly pleasant, and my basic cost of living is about half what it was in the US (Dallas.)  I checked out several other countries before retiring, and this was the best trade-off for me of quality against cost.  Your Mileage May Vary; if you can do it, it's a great idea to live in a place for weeks or months before committing to move there.

I focused on Latin America because I could make myself understood in Spanish.  Asia has even cheaper attractive areas, but the languages and cultures are harder (except for the Philippines, where Americans will find that the natives understand us all too well.)  Other factors would include:  Whether you want a car as part of your lifestyle (cost and usefulness vary widely); what kind of climate and surroundings you want (city, small town, or country?  Tropical or not?  In the tropics, climate depends on altitude and rainfall.  Beach areas are sometimes sunny and beastly hot, while my mountain location at 8300 feet is very cloudy and a little too cool.)

If you will want to work part-time, you will probably be on the Web, so you need to verify good internet service (just barely adequate here.)  Some opportunities Americans are used to having, like doing buy/fix/sell on real estate, are much harder to do in most of the world.  Local work opportunities may be limited, or prohibited.

It's usually much easier to sojourn in a country for the period of time tourists are allowed to visit without a consular visa, often three months, than to set up permanent residence.  If you decide to stay for long enough to justify that, in most Third World countries, you need a local immigration lawyer or fixer to conserve time and sanity.  Prices vary in the $1000 to $5000 range, depending on the difficulty and what the traffic will bear.

Lots of good information lurks on the International Man free website:

www.internationalman.com

Sojourning or retiring abroad is a secondary theme there.  That is primarily a site for people interested in international diversification of their assets and personal lives.  With a few lapses, the level of civility is nearly as high as here, but most of the members take it for granted that current government policies in the US, Canada, and many other First World countries are on the wrong tack and will come to no good end.  There's more jargon to learn, like TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It.)

Sparky

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Re: Retire overseas?
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2012, 05:19:29 AM »
I couldn't stand the thought of retiring in my home and native land. In the next few years I am going to begin my retirement property project*.Thinking about Central America as the foreign ownership rules are pretty good and immigration is easy. Belize is tempting, not really for the language, but it's proximity to Cancun, Mexico (cheap flights to Canada).

*Retirement Propert Project
- Cycle to Central America from Canada
- Buy with cash 3-5 acre property
- Build house myself, completely off the grid
- Drink beer
- Likely start a family around the same time

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!