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I would bet living in some of these countries will cost a retiree more than many places in the US. The products we buy in Walmart can cost close to twice the price. Cars double, gasoline a lot more. Medicare cannot be used so even if health care in cheaper overseas (if you qualify) it can exceed a Medicare Advantage plan. Minimal if any social services for the poor like food stamps or soup kitchens.
Savings are rent and home prices and services such as cleaning services, mechanics, hair cuts etc.
Yes you van live like a local but probably won't like it.
Living overseas can be a great adventure but I don't buy into the cheap living.
So many of these "cheap/best places to retire lists (U.S. or abroad)" lack essential information to make them more than column-filler: 'At what standard of living?' and/or 'Are the country comparisons 'apples vs apples'? (ie; "Do they ALL include A/C and utilities, "beaches within a few steps," good healthcare, comparable (U.S.) groceries, shopping and transportation, any entertainment, ... etc.?
20+years ago, when we had the desire, but, not the means to retire, many of these expat locations looked much more attractive ... than after we finally had the means to retire in the U.S. (12-years ago).
Having visited many of these locations, my suspicion is that most of these 'living costs' are the equivalent of what locals pay for local lifestyles. They likely ignore things like upscale expat areas, language and culture barriers and other conveniences that most Americans take for granted. As others have suggested, it might work for a 2-3 week 'adventure,' but, not in the context of actual retirement.
Also noticed that the title says $100,000, but, all of the 10-places listed would only allow one to live for about 4-years x $25,000 = $100,000. Also, it wasn't clear if the retirement costs (except housing) were for one or two people(?).
What is the retiree to do at the end of the four years when their $100,000 is gone? (I suppose SS comes into play, but, again, this was omitted from the article). An article that actually did the difficult research and provided real, comparative figures and lifestyles --- and real costs, would be interesting.
Apples to Apples living is going to be more expensive in Costa Rica than most of the US for sure.
Even the medical system is appx. 13% of your income equally, about $250 a month. Imported stuff taxed to the max and getting worse as the Colone declines in value.
Colombia has the best value in Latin America, Equador too as its on the US dollar standard.
I was also wondering about the $100,000 figure? Is that a year, a lifetime or what? I could be comfortable almost anywhere with $100,000 a year after taxes. Well maybe not Monte Carlo or Santa Barbara, but I'm pretty flexible.
I was also wondering about the $100,000 figure? Is that a year, a lifetime or what? I could be comfortable almost anywhere with $100,000 a year after taxes. Well maybe not Monte Carlo or Santa Barbara, but I'm pretty flexible.
Yeah, just throwing out that figure isn't enough information.
If you have actually retired in the US and are drawing Social Security that's one thing. We have had 2 sets of friends decide they were going to retire early.
One couple moved aboard their sailboat and found living on a sailboat was actually very expensive US (marinas are very expensive), so they had to get jobs. They did lots of sailing, but always had to keep one foot ashore, so to speak. They were less than 50 when they "retired". They are now 70, flat broke and back in Texas.
The other man was single and quite his job to live and wander on his sailboat. He is now mid-70's, living in Panama and broke. There is no opportunity for him to come back to US because he has no assets to speak of.
If you are forced to retire early without Social Security and only have $100,000 to your name you are in serious trouble.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760
I was also wondering about the $100,000 figure? Is that a year, a lifetime or what? I could be comfortable almost anywhere with $100,000 a year after taxes. Well maybe not Monte Carlo or Santa Barbara, but I'm pretty flexible.
Flexible enough to consider "Egypt and Morocco"?
That seems like a real stretch for an American as a LT retirement destination.
I was also wondering about the $100,000 figure? Is that a year, a lifetime or what? I could be comfortable almost anywhere with $100,000 a year after taxes. Well maybe not Monte Carlo or Santa Barbara, but I'm pretty flexible.
From the article:
"....you can retire to some countries with well under $100,000 in the bank."
They are talking net worth, the countries are being promoted with supposedly sub-$2K monthly expenses. I suppose with $5k/yr from assets & a typical $18K/yr SS income one could make a go of it there.
Egypt is certainly the oddest choice there. I would've put Cyprus or Turkey instead... even Greece or Argentina or Uruguay. But not Egypt.
That seems like a real stretch for an American as a LT retirement destination.
No, no!! I'm flexible as far as where I could live on $100,000 per year. I wouldn't need to leave the U.S. with that much. I don't make half of that working full time and own a house and do well enough. With that much money, the last places I would move to would be Egypt or Morocco. In fact, you'd have to pay me to move anywhere in North Africa or the Middle East and even then I wouldn't go.
"....you can retire to some countries with well under $100,000 in the bank."
They are talking net worth, the countries are being promoted with supposedly sub-$2K monthly expenses. I suppose with $5k/yr from assets & a typical $18K/yr SS income one could make a go of it there.
Egypt is certainly the oddest choice there. I would've put Cyprus or Turkey instead... even Greece or Argentina or Uruguay. But not Egypt.
With the right planning and research and $23,000 a year plus $100,000 in the bank, you don't need to move to a foreign country to retire.
I once saw one of these lists include Saudi Arabia as well. I couldn't believe it
Malaysia, Like Thailand, has Muslim populations, with eastern Malaysia and southern Thailand having large concentrations. Avoid those areas, but otherwise safe.
Right. A lot of the popular expat retiree locales (Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru) are Muslim minority (<50%). On Penang Island itself which is probably the #1 retiree spot, Buddhists outnumber Muslims.
Anyway I'm not here to convince anyone to move anywhere, just sharing facts.
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