Advice on RE: Australia vs Montenegro

[Realist35]

Hi guys!

We are a couple, no children, 43 year old. We live in Perth. We are close to achieving the following financial position (over the next 4-5 yrs), in todays dollars:

- PPOR fully paid off (3/2/3 villa in South Perth): 1M, rental yield after all expenses around 3.2%
- IP in Montenegro (south East Europe): 200k, 4% rental yield after all expenses
- Shares outside super (80%Vas, 20%vgs): 1.3M
- Shares inside super (20%vas, 80% vgs): 500k
- Total assets: 3M

Having a european origin, we also have an opportunity to retire in Montenegro (South Eeast Europe), where living costs are around 40% cheaper. We could live in our apartment there.

We are thinking of retiring in 4-5 yrs. Could you please share your view on which of the following two options may be financially better for us (or any other option)?

1. Retire in Australia:
- Live in our PPOR or downsize to 1 or 2 br apartment.
- Withdraw about 3.5% from our total portfolio (2M comprising of: 200k apartment, 1.3M shares outside of super, 500k in super). Total income before tax: 70k py
2. Retire in MNE:
- Live in our apartment,
- Rent out PPOR in Perth,
- Withdraw 3.2% of 2.8M portfolio (1M Perth rental, 1.8M shares portfolio). Total income: 75k after paying tax in Europe.

I think option 2 seems more attractive, as the lifestyle would be more comfortable and we could have more frequent (and relatively affordable) holidays around europe (4 ten day holidays per year). However we might become australian non-residents for tax purposes which complicates our situation.

Can anyone please advise?

Thanks a lot!

[chasingthegoodlife]

Why not get some expert tax advice from an accountant who specialises in expats before you make your decision?

You are still young with many options before you, there's no need to make a final decision about where you will live forever right now. You just need to set things up so there are no unexpected hiccups with tax residency/citizenship/pension eligibility.

[ChpBstrd]

Those two places are so radically different I think it comes down to preferences.

The financial incentives to move to Montenegro could also be had in Australia if you were willing to downsize to an apartment that is not in one of the world's highest-cost cities.

Finally, the Balkans have not been a peaceful place to live for many thousands of years. It remains to be seen if the current political status quo will be more durable than all of history.