SwordGuy - that sounds like an excellent deal! Ethiopia would be such an interesting place to explore, too.
I wouldn't ever FIRE on a budget on a budget insufficient for here but sufficient for a different area, in the reliance on always staying there.
I'd get enough for here, then go live in a cheaper place to try it out (or get enough to go there and do so with the plan of working more later if necessary).
It's a slightly different case for me because I consider both countries to be home. However, since I am very fond of Australia and will probably want to return, I don't plan on quitting work entirely/forever. But it would be lovely to have a sabbatical and I now increasingly feel like I am in a better position to do so.
My husband and I would love to do this, although we're not close to ER yet. For all you "digital nomads" would you mind sharing more details(like job titles)? I would love to find a job I could do from anywhere. Are you all computer programmers/web designers? Freelancers or are you tied to a company? Any info would help as I would like to pursue something with remote potential and I would like to know where to put my energy. Thanks.
I know a computer programmer who moved from US to Australia and he continued to work remotely for his company.
My boyfriend is a freelancer in computer graphics and already does most of his work at home, though some jobs have required him to be on location. Overall, it is quite feasible for him to be a digital nomad. He just needs to build up a more consistent stream of work.
I am in market research and pretty much all my work is done with a computer, so if I want, I can probably arrange to continue to work remotely for my company even if I move. I have colleagues who have done this.
I have already run away albeit to a more expensive place, but it's quite likely that I would eventually move back to my native Latvia. Currently I live in Switzerland which is high income and very high costs place. I like it here (particularly the mountains), but it's unlikely to be my place of retirement.
This sounds like me, I came to Australia and I appreciate the higher income, though taxes and the cost of living is also high. However, I like it here and haven't really decided where I will retire yet, I am keeping my options open. I have resident status here and have still retained citizenship back home.
In general, I would not recommend retiring to an inexpensive place for many reasons people have already mentioned. I'll add some other things.
Thanks for the many thoughtful points! Fortunately I don't think most of these things apply to me, not at this stage anyway. Also, for me, I wouldn't be moving purely to cut costs - I want to run away for a sabbatical, to explore possibilities, to travel and have fun! For at least a few months, maybe years, who knows.
I am so happy to speak my first language, hang out with friends and family, know how everything is done, and not be a foreigner. There is no place like home, even after more than ten years straight in the same place I grew up. I appreciate it every day.
Heh, English is actually my second language, and Australia is not where I grew up. Yet, I am so comfortable speaking English (it's probably morphed into being a first language after living in Australia for so long), I have more friends here than back home, my family is scattered all around anyway, and I'm probably more familiar with how things are done here, these days. So, it can go the other way. Having said that, when I go back to my original home, it still feels like home. Maybe I have the best of both worlds.