Retiring outside the USA

[Daydreamer7130]

Hubby and I have 10 year retirement plan and we are considering retiring outside the US. We are just starting to look into different countries.

If you could retire outside the USA, where would you go and why? If you live outside the US, please tell why we should consider your country.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bee*]

Well I might as well fly the flag for Ireland. We have very friendly people, beautiful scenery and food, great restaurants, pubs and villages. If you want a big city we have Dublin, if you want smaller, they are all over Ireland. The only negatives are that it can be quite pricey to live here and of course, what you''ll have to learn to moan about if you do move over here, the weather

It''s also not too far away if you want to go back to the US.

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Thanks Bee! I have always wanted to see Ireland and almost had a trip planned when other committments got in the way. I have heard from those who have visited about the people, landscapes and of course the weather! HA! the weather is quite a talk.

Thanks again!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

How about Mexico? Your money would go a long ways there! The other plusses are that it''s close to the US (in case you still have family here), and the weather (for the most part) is divine.

 

[fieryred33143]

I would go to Santiago, Chile.

It''s where my FI is from and he has a home there already. From what I''ve seen, its beautiful.

 

[Octavia]

Daydreamer, do you and your husband have any particular foreign language skills, or are you willing and able to spend serious time acquiring them? This, more than anything, would impact my decision on retiring elsewhere if I was in your shoes (as I hope to be someday!). Even though English is pretty commonly spoken throughout the world, it''s still not uncommon for people in smaller towns and villages in non-English speaking countries to know very little English. We tend not to see it as much when we''re tourists, but it''s a very different thing to be living somewhere and to have a hard time communicating with anyone. Living somewhere is an excellent way to improve your language skills, but if you don''t know a little of the language already, it could be extremely difficult for the first few months!

 

[AdiS]

Date: 10/14/2008 3:00:25 PM
Author: Octavia
Daydreamer, do you and your husband have any particular foreign language skills, or are you willing and able to spend serious time acquiring them? This, more than anything, would impact my decision on retiring elsewhere if I was in your shoes (as I hope to be someday!). Even though English is pretty commonly spoken throughout the world, it''s still not uncommon for people in smaller towns and villages in non-English speaking countries to know very little English. We tend not to see it as much when we''re tourists, but it''s a very different thing to be living somewhere and to have a hard time communicating with anyone. Living somewhere is an excellent way to improve your language skills, but if you don''t know a little of the language already, it could be extremely difficult for the first few months!

That''s true but the acclimatization actually takes only a month or two. Here in Bulgaria we have whole little villages inhabited mostly by GB citizens and they have invented a brand new language together with the locals. lol They speak this english-bulgarian (that can be hilarious to listen to) and understand each other perfectly well!

 

[Octavia]

AdiS, that''s really interesting! If that''s the case, it would make things much easier. My first post was based on personal experience, since after spending several weeks in a place where I could only communicate by sign language, I got frustrated pretty fast and I felt that the local people were equally frustrated with me. I don''t pick up languages quickly, though. For some people it might not be a huge issue, but IMO it''s still something to think about when considering where to put down new roots.

 

[Elmorton]

AdiS - I LOVED learning about pidgins when I took linguistics - I didn''t realize that there are still pockets of the world that create them! So interesting.

I second Mexico - my parents have talked about retiring there for years (both speak Spanish, my mom is nearly fluent and my dad can get by), but were always worried about medical treatment. In some places, medical care there can be better in than in the US now.

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas. Hubby understands Spanish and speaks little and I''m in the process of learning. As you may know picking up a second language as an adult is really tough. I have heard great things about Mexico. I have heard great things about Panama and other Central American countries as well. I know there are many things to learn like if you can takie your furniture, cars and how to own property as an X-pat and retirement visas.

Certainly living somewhere where you get more for your US dollar is quite tempting especially in these times. We would just love to go somewhere and do what we love for a living (me medical and him software engineering) instead of living the rat race games like we do now.

I really appreciate everything mentioned. Thanks!

 

[MishB]

Ever considered Australia? It''s a very diverse country with a pretty good standard of living.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

If you want Mexico, look into San Miguel De Allende. It gets a lot of foreigners so you can get by without much Spanish, but they are largely Europeans and artists, so it is not like a tourist trap. It is in central Mexico, the weather is lovely and the town is really beautiful. It''s where the Desperado movies were filmed and Bandaras actually stays with a family that runs a mortuary about 6 blocks from where I lived when I was down they. My good friend from high school lives there now and loves it.

I lived in Dublin for a semester and really enjoyed it. Having come from Colorado, I expected the weather would really get to me and it didn''t, although it is much worse on the west coast of the island. The people really are remarkably friendly and I loved being in the city there, but it really is pricey.

Canada has some really nice places if it doesn''t need to be too exotic. Montreal and Victoria come to mind for me.

 

[arjunajane]

Come live in Australia!

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Date: 10/15/2008 8:13:02 AM
Author: arjunajane
Come live in Australia!

Actually Australia and New Zealand is very high on hubby''s list. In fact, we plan on visiting maybe in 2009. How is the cost of living? (housing, food, utilities, etc.)

BTW... I love all your posts everywhere!

Thanks!

Cynthia

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Date: 10/15/2008 3:36:58 AM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
If you want Mexico, look into San Miguel De Allende. It gets a lot of foreigners so you can get by without much Spanish, but they are largely Europeans and artists, so it is not like a tourist trap. It is in central Mexico, the weather is lovely and the town is really beautiful. It''s where the Desperado movies were filmed and Bandaras actually stays with a family that runs a mortuary about 6 blocks from where I lived when I was down they. My good friend from high school lives there now and loves it.

I lived in Dublin for a semester and really enjoyed it. Having come from Colorado, I expected the weather would really get to me and it didn''t, although it is much worse on the west coast of the island. The people really are remarkably friendly and I loved being in the city there, but it really is pricey.

Canada has some really nice places if it doesn''t need to be too exotic. Montreal and Victoria come to mind for me.

Thank you for the reply! Mexico is on the list. One of my co-workers is also considering retiring somewhere in Mexico and thought it was interesting that I brought the subject up because she had never said anything to anyone. I''m not sure where they plan, I think it''s somewhere near Cancun.

It is so nice to hear that Ireland''s weather is not so bad. I can tell you that I''m pretty sick of Cleveland''s weather! The only time I like to be out in the snow, is when I''m in a hot tub with a glass of wine watching hubby ski!

We both think Canada is a nice place to visit but really not where we were looking to land. Thanks for the input anyways.

Cynthia

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/15/2008 9:36:08 PM
Author: Daydreamer7130

Date: 10/15/2008 8:13:02 AM
Author: arjunajane
Come live in Australia!

Actually Australia and New Zealand is very high on hubby''s list. In fact, we plan on visiting maybe in 2009. How is the cost of living? (housing, food, utilities, etc.)

BTW... I love all your posts everywhere!

Thanks!

Cynthia

Oh thankyou! To be honest, I can''t comment that much on the cost of living in other states, but housing/rent has been incredibly ridiculous in West Australia (Perth), where I live for the last couple years.
This has been driven by our huge resources boom, with younger people having bigger and bigger salaries, and lack of rental properties to go around.
I don''t find normal things like groceries or utilities to be too much, and of course gas has been bad but where hasn''t it , lol ...


However, I am sure it will all settle down way before you are thinking of coming here.
I would be happy to answer anything else that I can !

 

[katebar]

Date: 10/15/2008 9:36:08 PM
Author: Daydreamer7130

Date: 10/15/2008 8:13:02 AM
Author: arjunajane
Come live in Australia!

Actually Australia and New Zealand is very high on hubby's list. In fact, we plan on visiting maybe in 2009. How is the cost of living? (housing, food, utilities, etc.)

BTW... I love all your posts everywhere!

Thanks!

Cynthia

Hi Cynthia come live on the east coast of Australia

.
In particular the northern New South Wales is idyllic perfect weather and wonderful beaches. Google Byron Bay Coffs Harbour.
Or in Queensland where I live Noosa on the Sunshine Coast is stunning too in fact all the beaches up that way are awesome and the amenities and infrastructure is jut the right balance between natrual beauty and comfortable lliving.

 

[iheartscience]

My parents looked into retiring in Costa Rica (at least part time) and even went there to look into it. But my mom found it a little too third world for her, so they nixed it. (She likes A/C everywhere she goes!) However, everything seems pretty darn cheap in Costa Rica still, so it might be worth checking out.

 

[neatfreak]

Daydreamer Speaking from the experience of moving to another country without speaking the language, I agree with AdiS that you will acclimatize MUCH faster than if you were just visiting or tried to learn a language in a class. It takes a few months, but if you immerse yourself I swear that one day everything just CLICKS and you can understand and speak quite decently. So don''t let language be a barrier!

 

[loriken214]

How about moving to the SE Texas area? We have a low cost of living here and we''re very close to Mexico and Central/South America so you can visit whenever you''d like. We have the world''s largest medical center and lots of job opportunities, despite the current economic situation, and our weather is warm.....rarely any snow here. We are very diverse and many languages are spoken here.

Just a thought....

Lori

 

[loriken214]

P.S. Ireland is awesome, too, but I understand that it is very expensive to live there now. I visited Christmas of 1985 and loved every minute of it. I stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Balbriggan while meeting my Irish penpal for the first time. We went all over the Republic, but it was too dangerous to go into Northern Ireland at that time.

Lori

 

[AdiS]

Date: 10/14/2008 10:25:51 PM
Author: Elmorton
AdiS - I LOVED learning about pidgins when I took linguistics - I didn''t realize that there are still pockets of the world that create them! So interesting.

I second Mexico - my parents have talked about retiring there for years (both speak Spanish, my mom is nearly fluent and my dad can get by), but were always worried about medical treatment. In some places, medical care there can be better in than in the US now.

It is interesting, isn''t it? There was a TV show recently on the life of foreign citizens living in Bulgaria. As I said, they are mostly British, but there are also quite a few Americans. They all said they like the serenity and the beautiful nature of the little villages they''ve chosen to live in, as well as the friendly local people. I have to admit I was ROFL when a woman from the USA was telling the reporter about her life here and she was unconsciously using Bulgarian words while she was speaking. And I mean really old, obsolete words that most of the Bulgarians from the big cities don''t even know. It was really fascinating as she said she''s been here for only about 3 or 4 months. And it was even funnier when I heard an old woman from the village saying she loved "their" American (lol) and then gesturing to the said lady: "Come, rakia" (a strong Bulgarian alcoholic drink). So, I guess it really depends on the willingness of both foreigners and locals to relate and build up a life together. Octavia''s right that if the local people are not willing to help and support you during the process of acclimatization it could be really tough. Well, I guess it''s not that easy for the poor foreigners here either with the locals trying to get them drunk with rakia all the time. lol

 

[beau13]

I second CANADA..our healthcare system ROCKS!! Clean air..clean lakes..mountains..nature is so pretty here. It's no wonder celebrities have cottages to "escape" to here in the North. No wars!! Four beautiful season (no deserts..snakes..scorpions, earthquakes, hurricanes...tsunami's)...shall I go on? LOL
I don't think people know enough about Canada, and are sometimes ignorant to the fact that it's one of the cleanest, safest, pretties places one earth!!(Anyone who's ever been to the "Muskoka's" would KNOW what heaven feels like!! Eric Lindros (NHL), Tom Seleck, Avril Lavigne, Cheryl Crow, are just a few of many who have "homes" here. It's funny how you said "it's a great place to visit..but.." I always think the same when I visit the US (crossing my fingers I don't have to seek medical attention while visiting)..and can't wait to get back home!!

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Date: 10/20/2008 6:12:27 AM
Author: beau13
I second CANADA..our healthcare system ROCKS!! Clean air..clean lakes..mountains..nature is so pretty here. It''s no wonder celebrities have cottages to ''escape'' to here in the North. No wars!! Four beautiful season (no deserts..snakes..scorpions, earthquakes, hurricanes...tsunami''s)...shall I go on? LOL
I don''t think people know enough about Canada, and are sometimes ignorant to the fact that it''s one of the cleanest, safest, pretties places one earth!!(Anyone who''s ever been to the ''Muskoka''s'' would KNOW what heaven feels like!! Eric Lindros (NHL), Tom Seleck, Avril Lavigne, Cheryl Crow, are just a few of many who have ''homes'' here. It''s funny how you said ''it''s a great place to visit..but..'' I always think the same when I visit the US (crossing my fingers I don''t have to seek medical attention while visiting)..and can''t wait to get back home!!

Hmmmm.... you make some great points! I really appreciate the honesty and enthusiasm. We will have to come and spend some time with open minds the next time.

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Date: 10/19/2008 8:27:15 PM
Author: neatfreak
Daydreamer Speaking from the experience of moving to another country without speaking the language, I agree with AdiS that you will acclimatize MUCH faster than if you were just visiting or tried to learn a language in a class. It takes a few months, but if you immerse yourself I swear that one day everything just CLICKS and you can understand and speak quite decently. So don''t let language be a barrier!

Thank you for the positive reinforcement! I really don''t see language as being much of a barrier ( I don''t know why but I should ). I think as you do in that it will come naturally.