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

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Mr B

You want to try driving in Bali, Hahahaha

I did last year....Kuta was absolutely nuts. I was absolutely against renting a motorbike in Bali, but my FEARLESS GF insisted. I think my manhood was even put in question if i didn't relent.

We obviously survived but I wouldn't recommend it. We loved Bali.....countryside is beautiful, food was good and the people were super friendly.

Cheap too. One of my mates lives super cheap off the grid in Lombok. Surfing, drinking beer and cavorting with his 24 year old GF. Bastid!

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Oz and NZ are way cool, but both are painfully expensive. $200K would only be a down payment on a median priced home (right around $1M! in more populated areas of both countries).

True that.

Hey it looks like you've been doing some traveling. Weren't you living up in the mountains of Guatemala somewhere?....Volcan was it?

[Saleen411]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Malaysia. Malaysia My Second home sounds like a pretty good deal......cheap housing, food and medical. Looks like $200k would go a long way there.

Kota Kinabalu Malaysia on Borneo looks nice. We're gonna check it out soon for the fun of it.....visit the orangutans whilst in the neighborhood.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Vietnam in a heartbeat for us if only we could get the boat in.



If we decide to go land based again I reckon it'll be top of our short list.

We had a boat built there in 2018. Seawind cat. Toured for a week. Everything was super cheap. Except our boat being built.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by daletournier

69 cents and heading south ..grrrrr.

When i left Australia in 2011 on my last boat we were $1.10 to the usd, over the last 8 years ive lost 40% of my purchasing power.

I thought Id never buy a boat in Australia again but I actually flew home and purchased my current boat 2.5 years ago because this lack of purchasing power actually made it cheaper to buy at home. It saved me approx 50k, and was already imported.

$1-07 when I bought my boat in 2011, It took 8 grand straight off the price I paid,
Saved me in import fees too,
It was half the price I could get a similar boat here for,

My RV I imported from the USA two years later, I saved nearly 20 grand with the costs involved, Freight, Conversion to OZ RHD, Electrics, Gas, Import fees,
Etc Etc,
I used to import my Bike tyres from the USA, Saved me $150-00 a set,
Not any more, I now just break even,

Exchange rate now, GRRRRRR,

Cheers, Brian,

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Malaysia. Malaysia My Second home sounds like a pretty good deal......cheap housing, food and medical. Looks like $200k would go a long way there.

Kota Kinabalu Malaysia on Borneo looks nice. We're gonna check it out soon for the fun of it.....visit the orangutans whilst in the neighborhood.

Ja. If we accept that "retirement" is for many people the phase before dying by age-related conditions and that a person expends more than 50% of their medical expenses in the several months before dying of age-related conditions, then Malaysia is pretty close to Number 1.

That's because Malaysia has at least 10 hospitals accredited by Joint Commission Incorporated. And those hospitals deliver JCI-accredited care at a cost/benefit ratio that is quite favourable.

And if you're unclear on the importance of Joint Commission accreditation, read this note from the American College of Surgeons: https://www.facs.org/education/patie...-accreditation

Then read, for example, this web page claiming to identify the top 5 retirement locations by healthcare: https://internationalliving.com/coun...althcare-world

Of course, I must note that as far as I know, none of those JCI-rated hospitals are in Kota Kinabulu, in Sabah (North Borneo). So KK might look nice, but when you want top quality medical care at a good price point, it may not be your best choice.

One is in Sarawak (in Kuching). All the others are in west Malaysia, meaning in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor.

Dinnae take my word (or that of International Living) for it. See for yourself at: https://www.jointcommissioninternati...ital%20Program

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Ja. If we accept that "retirement" is for many people the phase before dying by age-related conditions and that a person expends more than 50% of their medical expenses in the several months before dying of age-related conditions, then Malaysia is pretty close to Number 1.

That's because Malaysia has at least 10 hospitals accredited by Joint Commission Incorporated. And those hospitals deliver JCI-accredited care at a cost/benefit ratio that is quite favourable.

And if you're unclear on the importance of Joint Commission accreditation, read this note from the American College of Surgeons: https://www.facs.org/education/patie...-accreditation

Then read, for example, this web page claiming to identify the top 5 retirement locations by healthcare: https://internationalliving.com/coun...althcare-world

Of course, I must note that as far as I know, none of those JCI-rated hospitals are in Kota Kinabulu, in Sabah (North Borneo). So KK might look nice, but when you want top quality medical care at a good price point, it may not be your best choice.

One is in Sarawak (in Kuching). All the others are in west Malaysia, meaning in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor.

Dinnae take my word (or that of International Living) for it. See for yourself at: https://www.jointcommissioninternati...ital%20Program

You're absolutely right about the importance of good medical in retirement.

Malaysia sounds good as does Thailand.

We just got back from spending a couple of weeks exploring in Thailand. Sadly, every time I go there i'm more bummed about the changes due to massive numbers of tourists. sigh

Patong Bay had TWO cruise ships anchored.....never seen one there before. To say that Patong was ridiculously busy is an understatement.

South to Karon and Kata beach didn't impress us either. Lots of construction going on in Kata. Koh Samui didn't do much for us....water was polluted behind our hotel ( Le Meridian) We passed on Krabi.

The search continues....

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Very likely the ice they put in their drinks.. folk are paranoid about the water ther drink but it seems ice never gets a second thought..
Main source of Bombay Belly..

We had a crew member almost DIE in Dehli after drinking a soda that was packed in ice. Poor buggar was seriously ill in hospital for a long time.

Turned out that the seller of the soda stole his ice from the local mortuary.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Malaysia. Malaysia My Second home sounds like a pretty good deal......cheap housing, food and medical. Looks like $200k would go a long way there.

Kota Kinabalu Malaysia on Borneo looks nice. We're gonna check it out soon for the fun of it.....visit the orangutans whilst in the neighborhood.

KK is a great place, spent several weeks there a few year back.
Good marina as well.
Downside to Malaysia is adult beverages are not cheap at all though Labuan is a duty free island as is Langkawi and I believe a section of Johor Bahru is as well.

What Alan said is right, medical in eastern Malaysia is not as good, whereas Penang on peninsular Malaysia has several outstanding hospitals and Penang's food is sensational.

Of interest and its been a while since I checked, the MM2H entry fee if buying property is considerably lower on the Sabah,Sarawak, Borneo side compared to the peninsular side.

[Alan Mighty]

The Financial Services Agency of Japan reckons that a couple aged 65 years (and with a Japanese pension) would need ¥30 million (about US$280K) to live out 30 years. See newspaper story: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0na/002000c

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

True that.

Hey it looks like you've been doing some traveling. Weren't you living up in the mountains of Guatemala somewhere?....Volcan was it?

I have a hard time staying in one place for too long...I based out of Rio Dulce, Guatemala for many years and travelled all over Guate (and the rest of C.A.). Guate is amazing. We then moved to Panama (Volcán at 4,500', beautiful).

Writing this from the Azores after completing the last leg of NYC-Bermuda-Azores on a Lagoon 38. The Azores are awesome! If I were looking for another home base venue, the Azores would rank high on my list.

Right now waiting on flight to Porto, Portugal where wife and I will start a month of travel in Portugal.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

The Financial Services Agency of Japan reckons that a couple aged 65 years (and with a Japanese pension) would need ¥30 million (about US$280K) to live out 30 years. See newspaper story: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0na/002000c

But what is the pension amount?

That's like saying you could live in the Hamptons in a mansion with only $200k...just ignore the $200million lottery win.

It's a pointless analysis.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

KK is a great place, spent several weeks there a few year back.
Good marina as well.
Downside to Malaysia is adult beverages are not cheap at all though Labuan is a duty free island as is Langkawi and I believe a section of Johor Bahru is as well.

What Alan said is right, medical in eastern Malaysia is not as good, whereas Penang on peninsular Malaysia has several outstanding hospitals and Penang's food is sensational.

Of interest and its been a while since I checked, the MM2H entry fee if buying property is considerably lower on the Sabah,Sarawak, Borneo side compared to the peninsular side.

I had the boat in KK for 3 mths several years back,i really enjoyed it. The other bonus from a boating perspective is its a easy run to Palawan Phillipines.

One of the best experiences ive ever had was when a heard of Pigmy elephants blocked the river we were in while they were crossing,absoluely incredible.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Downside to Malaysia is adult beverages are not cheap at all though Labuan is a duty free island as is Langkawi and I believe a section of Johor Bahru is as well.

A fair and accurate comment, Simi 60!

I look upon the higher price (and other restrictions on the sale) of alcohol in MY as a positive, not a negative.

To understand what I mean, just compare the traffic accident and fatality rates in Malaysia and Thailand.

That's underlined by a news story from Penang (which we used as a base for several years while happily cruising up and down the Malacca Strait) today, concerning a roadside food-hawker (a Malay woman selling nasi lemak) being taken out by a drunk driver:

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malay...r-mows/1763550

[Scatterling]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Capetown was a great city and quite affordable.

Also the 15th most dangerous city in the world according to Wikipedia.