Places Where You Can Retire on $200,000 and Feel Rich

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I would add The DR to that list. The travel advisories are a bit overblown. In the DR 2.7 million Americans visit as tourists each year and this year a few if them have died from apparently drinking from minibars at a couple or resorts. Not exactly a scourge of violence.

We have been to the DR 3 times in the 90's (my windsurfing phase), We liked it there, felt safe, and not too much like the rich gringos. And we met an American who'd retired there; he learned Spanish and integrated well, with Dominican friends, and was very happy.

I guess one question I would ask is - of the listed countries, which ones are easy to integrate into, and which ones require you to hide in a gated community, and your only contact with the locals is ordering your servants about?

[Comix Bay]

“ You cannot legally own property in India, if you are a foreigner.”

Who would want to??

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by GordMay

For anyone seriously exploring their retirement options, our sister site, “Early Retirement”, might be a good resource.
☞ Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community

FireCalc is a simple, but powerful retirement calculator.
☞ https://www.firecalc.com/

I used FireCalc. It is much better than it appears at first glance. And I’ve seen it recommended elsewhere, several places, as the #1 online retirement calculator. We also did a fancy program from our financial planner, asked a bunch of questions, took away to their panel of “experts” and returned with a very similar analysis as I had derived. Nice to have independent confirmation.

I found I needed to work with FireCalc quite a bit, to figure out certain nuances. At one point I kind of tricked it so as to incorporate some rental income.

All that said, it has a lot of infor and the worst that can happen by using it is that you learn something. I highly recommend it.

[hpeer]

Gord,

Thanks for starting this thread. We retired from “life” a few years ago, but eventually we will retire from cruising. At this point we have very little desire to head back to the USA except to visit kids. So I’ve been keeping a weather eye out for overseas retirement possibilities. We could easily retire to our summer cabin in Newfoundland. Except for winter, or about 9 months a year. LOL!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Comix Bay

“ You cannot legally own property in India, if you are a foreigner.”

Who would want to??

I feel that way about the N American continent..

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by GordMay

5 Great Reasons To Live, Retire, Or Invest In The Dominican Republic
☞ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/retir...blic_b_7546694

Retire to the Dominican Republic
☞ https://internationalliving.com/coun...ican-republic/

General visa requirements for the D.R.
☞ https://www.expat.com/en/guide/centr...-republic.html

Having driven around DR, Luperon to Santo Domingo and elsewhere, within the past two years I have to disagree with this aspect of that report. The roads were a mess.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GordMay

“... Numerous countries across Central and South America, Europe and Asia boast not only lower living costs and great climates but also modern amenities and advanced medical care.
We've reviewed travel advisories and the very latest information on living costs, visa requirements and other factors to find 2019's best places for an affordable, safe retirement abroad.
Follow along as we count down our top picks: 15 nations around the globe where retirees might easily get by on savings of $200,000 -- or less...”
Ie Top 5:
5. Spain - 4. Portugal - 3. Uruguay - 2. Costa Rica - 1. Panama
➥ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-pl...132424445.html

Interesting, if a bit 'fluffy'.

We have chosen Mexico because:

Inexpensive, (food, labor, meals out)
Easy immigration requirements
Close to USA (air transportation is low cost)
Medical is low cost and advanced in all major areas.
Convenient availability of services and equipment.
Professional and reputable officials (Yes!)
Fantastic cruising grounds.
Vibrant sailing community
Great weather

Downside:

Worry about crime.
Importation of parts is slow and expensive.
Hurricane zones.

We visited many countries during our cruising that looked really attractive, including many of those mentioned in this thread, but one niggling thought always remained in the back of our heads: "Will this be a good place for us when we are truly old? Would we feel isolated and alone (away from our families) living in a distant country when in our 80's?)

[stewie]

DR is one of the most dangerous places to drive in the world. Apart from that I would agree as No2. After retiring from yaching I have lived in Spain for many years and it has just about the right balance for the cost of food, drink, cost of living and eating out. The summer is guaranteed and a mild winter and it is not a third world country, in fact, today it is one of Europes top places to live.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by GordMay

For those with ties with India (Phil?), retirement to the subcontinent is a relatively simple endeavor; for everyone else, there are significant administrative obstacles. Unlike some countries that welcome foreign retirees, however, India has erected barriers that make it difficult (though not impossible) for many foreigners to relocate there during their retirement years. Unless you are of Indian origin, you will only get tourist visas.
No matter what anyone or any agency tells you, there is nothing called a 'retirement' visa. You cannot legally own property in India, if you are a foreigner.

In the Philippines there is no retirement visa either, but there is a process to get a 1 year resident visa (Need to be here for 6 months before you apply) which is what I have. other than that you will need to leave every 3 months I think.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Comix Bay

“ You cannot legally own property in India, if you are a foreigner.”



Who would want to??

In truth I think owning property overseas depending on where of course is to be taken as very risky. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility to wake up one morning to find that your property has been Nationalized or similar

[sailorchic34]

Having visited Costa Rica last February, I'm not sure I would retire there. Food /grocerys and fuel prices are the same as the United States. I will say that the food there especially the fruit is a higher quality than in the US.

While you can buy a house for $60k, most Gringos will spend $150k. What is cheap there is labor, as is taxis and buses. From a cost-of-living standpoint I would not call it a bargain.

It is a very lovely country and the tica's are very nice.

[gwaynel]

About 3 years ago I did some preliminary investigation towards living in Spain. Good climate and food, still generally affordable, and a great base to explore Europe. However, a requirement to live there was to have health coverage. If memory serves, a quote from an health insurance provider came in at about $800 per month; I can't remember if that included coverage for my partner. I'm in my 70s and have some health issues which, while not being life threatening, are chronic so health coverage costs for me are a big budget item and, as such, a major factor in making life plans. I notice that the article, 'Places Where You Can Retire on $200,000 and Feel Rich', didn't really dwell on health costs.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I would add The DR to that list. The travel advisories are a bit overblown. In the DR 2.7 million Americans visit as tourists each year and this year a few if them have died from apparently drinking from minibars at a couple or resorts. Not exactly a scourge of violence.

To each is own. What ever works. It is all about the trade offs and what each individual values or does not value.

That being said the DR would not be high on my list. I spent spent 6 months living in the DR and have traveled extensively to most of the places on the Op's list. Including having lived in the 3rd World in Cape Town, Rio De Janerio, and 10 years in Guatemala. In the first World, besides a lot of places in the States, I have lived in Provence and London.

As another poster pointed out there are a lot of fine, inexpensive places to down size in the USA. A good set up for a lot of people versus moving 100% abroad or becoming a 100% live a board is down size to the basics in the USA and travel or sail 3-6 months year abroad or return to the place or several places abroad you prefer 3-6 months a year. A high percentage of Americans that move abroad(planning to never return), return within 5 years. Just like becoming a live a board the best advice if some one is considering selling everything and moving abroad is slow down and take baby steps.

The DR is certainly more than doable. It is all about how and where you set your self up and of course the trade offs that work for the individual. Being based in Luperon(or anchored in Luperon), is a good way to go. The DR is probably worse than any of the places on the Op's list in terms of infrastructure, rule of law and ability to manage the security aspects.

However, rightly or wrongly I felt the most unsafe and on edge most of the time living and moving around in Cape Town and Rio De Janerio. Guatemala is the most manageable in terms of security of the 3rd World Countries I have lived. Plus Guatemalans almost without exception like Gringos.

Guatemala is much less expensive than Costa Rica. Has excellent inexpensive food, excellent dirt cheap healthcare, and if you live anywhere above 5000 ft elevation you don't heating or air conditioning. Any product or service with a large labor component Guatemala for most would be a bit more expensive than Mexico, Thailand or the Philippines. But it all depends what you value, what you spend your money on, and how native you end up going. An understandable thing that happens(but ought to be avoided if possible), is a lot of expats try to recreate where they came from / what they had back home. Depending on the place that can be expensive to point that it would have been better to stay home if money was part of the motivation for moving.

Other than Rio Dulce being an excellent hurricane hole Guatemala is not a great base for sailing because there is no sailing to speak of on the west coasts(because of conditions and it is a long way to go anywhere interesting / different), and from the east coast you are so far west you have to fight the prevailing winds to go other than north to Belize or Mexico.

[a64pilot]

Having travelled pretty extensively in the back country of a lot of Central American countries, I will say that Costa Rica was the find 20 yrs ago, but now it’s almost another exit off of the Interstate, Americans are everywhere and they bring US prices with them of course.
It’s the same way Florida went decades ago, Fl used to be cheap, then all the people started coming down from up North and brought those prices with them.
There are still places in Fl that aren’t overly expensive, but they are in the Panhandle, but you can’t get good bagels and lox like you can at every store in S Fl either, and a NJ accent will stick out too.

[KTP]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Having visited Costa Rica last February, I'm not sure I would retire there. Food /grocerys and fuel prices are the same as the United States. I will say that the food there especially the fruit is a higher quality than in the US.

While you can buy a house for $60k, most Gringos will spend $150k. What is cheap there is labor, as is taxis and buses. From a cost-of-living standpoint I would not call it a bargain.

It is a very lovely country and the tica's are very nice.

We visited Costa Rica a few years ago. Loved it but the grocery stores were not nearly the quality of USA. The meat dept was very sketchy with condensation all over the "cooler" which was only keeping the meat at like 50 F. Produce was also very poor condition with bugs and wilting. Fruit was good.

We did buy some steaks and cooked them until shoe leather consistency on a grill just in case lol.