Retiring Overseas (On Topic)

[scratch]

Believe it or not, I do think about what I will do when I retire. I have started doing research about cheaper places to live, and other countries like in Central America are catching my attention. Supposedly you can live on just a Social Security check in places like Costa Rico, Panama, and Belize among others. Throw in a Teamster's Pension check and I am thinking a beach house in a tropical climate without touching my investments. Has anybody else looked into this?

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I've seen that on the travel channel. People seem to like it. Not sure if I would give up the protection of living in the United States

 

[scratch]

I'm seeing two bedroom houses starting to rent for $400 a month, cheaper food, cheaper healthcare, cheaper taxes, although owning a car seems to be more expensive.There are whole communities of people from the US settling down there.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Maybe the best answer I could give you is...go spend a few weeks vacation down there but not in a tourist spot.
Maybe you can find some people that have moved down there and find out all of the pros and cons

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

One more important question


How much does the beer cost!!!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I'm seeing two bedroom houses starting to rent for $400 a month, cheaper food, cheaper healthcare, cheaper taxes, although owning a car seems to be more expensive.There are whole communities of people from the US settling down there.

So you want to move to a foreign country to live around a bunch of Americans? What would be the point of doing that?

Reminds me of when I was stationed overseas. Most of us took advantage of the opportunity to check out our surroundings. There were those who never left the base except when they returned to the States permanently.

 

[Brown_Star]

I'm seeing two bedroom houses starting to rent for $400 a month, cheaper food, cheaper healthcare, cheaper taxes, although owning a car seems to be more expensive.There are whole communities of people from the US settling down there.

How are the crime stats?

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I have a older lady on my route that goes to Mexico from January till March.
$500 a month includes utilities, breakfast and lunch.
.
She just shuts her house down for the winter.

It's much cheaper than staying up here

 

[scratch]

How are the crime stats?

From what I read so far, comparable to here. Not much violent crime, mostly property theft.

 

[scratch]

So you want to move to a foreign country to live around a bunch of Americans? What would be the point of doing that?

I am just exploring my options, I haven't made that decision yet. I would have to vacation down there and check locations out first if I decide to go that route. I would rent for a year or two before I built or bought a place. I have always wanted to live on the water, thats too expensive here. Its a lot cheaper to live overseas, the dollar stretches further and a lot of countries welcome retirees. Some places were former British colonies, so English is spoken there.

 

[Brown_Star]

I am just exploring my options, I haven't made that decision yet. I would have to vacation down there and check locations out first if I decide to go that route. I would rent for a year or two before I built or bought a place. I have always wanted to live on the water, thats too expensive here. Its a lot cheaper to live overseas, the dollar stretches further and a lot of countries welcome retirees. Some places were former British colonies, so English is spoken there.

Look into the British Virgin Isands also St Thomas ...

 

[moreluck]

Central America is where they had young missionaries.....they were white, with a toddler and getting shot was a real fear for them. They also had horrible bugs. Everyone spoke Spanish there.
.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have also been exploring my options, Googling "pension friendly states", but my options are limited by my desire to be closer to my grandchildren.

I have never been to Atlanta but my son has and he thought it was a very beautiful area. The traffic sucked but he really liked it there.

 

[Brown_Star]

Central America is where they had young missionaries.....they were white, with a toddler and getting shot was a real fear for them. They also had horrible bugs. Everyone spoke Spanish there.
.

St.Thomas is overloaded with mosquitos at dusk....

 

[moreluck]

When you're retired, traffic becomes a non-issue since you can work your activities around drive times.

 

[scratch]

I have never been to Atlanta but my son has and he thought it was a very beautiful area. The traffic sucked but he really liked it there.

A lot of people are surprised that we have so many trees in the area. The climate is decent and people seem to get along with each other for the most part. There is always a lot to do around town. Its a short drive to the mountains and 4-5 hours to the ocean. We are a major traffic hub, so that's the worst part.

 

[scratch]

International living - Live, Retire and Invest Overseas.


The Best Places To Retire Abroad In 2015

 

[BROWNCAT]

I'm far from retirement, but that's my flight plan... With social security alone you can live well down there... With our pension (as of right now*) you live like a wealthy person... Social security and pension and you live like a celebrity (As long as you earn in US dollars and spend in local currency). My Parents are originally from somewhere in the Caribbean (don't wanna be too specific), and down there the only thing more expensive is buying a car and fuel (maintenance is cheaper)... That's why some people buy a new reliable car couple years before retirement, pay it off, then ship it down there... It's cheaper and a "safer" way of having reliable transportation down there after retirement... I'm pretty sure Central and South America are the same way...But who knows down the road 20 years how's everything going to be...

 

[Operational needs]

I've been entertaining the idea for years because unfortunately, my pension will be nothing like a UPS pension. I've been following this woman's blog. She and her husband retired to Nicaragua.

We’re Leaving Our Babies

 

[over9five]

We have been thinking of this too. We've gone to the Caribbean/Central America many times (4x/year the last 3 years). Would love to retire there. Someone mentioned St Thomas and BVI, but we're thinking those would be expensive....
Like the Belize idea a bit. We were part of a conversation with an American who wanted to move there soon, and a Belizean businessman. He was a younger guy, still working, and checking out job opportunities. His job here was installing cable, which is in demand there.
I hear there are a lot of Americans living in Colombia, we'll be there in January, but only for a day. We do have plans to check out some places, but I think it's "rich guy land". We'll also be in CR for a day, but no plans yet.