Questions on relocating to SE Asia

[KingB]

You don't have to eat balut every day to get your protein, but I've been quite happy here on Filipino food... both from neighborhood potlucks and from restaurants.

I think this relates to this recent thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/using-out-of-date-eggs-question-56879.html

 

[Lancelot]

I never minded the food in the Philippines. My favorites are Pork Adobo and Pancit Canton.

 

[GregLee]

I just asked my wife what she thought of the Filipino food she'd had here in Hawaii, and she just wrinkled up her nose -- not good. I don't have any strong impression, myself, one way or the other. Though I've eaten often in homes where the hostess was Filipina, now I think back, the food has only rarely been ethnic Filipino. More typically, Chinese.

 

[Pete44]

I know that some of you on this forum have, or are considering relocating to SE Asia (Thailand, Phillipines, etc) upon retirement.

I have a couple of questions, as I am also considering relocation to a cheaper country in retirement, and SE Asia is relatively close to my home country.

1. Did you sell your house before moving, or have you kept your house and rented it out? Selling one's house seems very final, on the other hand selling means you dont need to maintain it, so I can see pros/cons to both. I imagine selling also means one can retire earlier?

2. How long did it take to plan and make the move, from the initial thought seeded that this is what you want to do, to actually achieving it.

3. Is anyone doing the 6 months living in SE Asia and 6 months living in their home country (or similar ratio of time)? I assume this means keeping a home in your home country. How long did this delay retirement, by doing it this way? Is this better than just living full time in SE Asia, to maintain contact with family/friends?

4. For those that sold up and relocated permanently to SE Asia, how many working years do you estimate you cut from your working life by doing this, ie by how many years did you bring forward retirement.

5. Lastly, for those that have made the move, do you have any regrets or would you have done anything differently if you could have your time again prior to the move? Also, which country did you find to be the best for you in SE Asia?

Thanking you in advance

Filipino food is pretty bad. Make your own the grocery stores have everything. The thing that got me about the Phils was the amount of guns everywhere. Manilla is bad news. The rest of the country just gives me a high level of paranoia.

After visiting the Philippines and Malaysia I settled in Thailand because it was simply the best combination of all the things I was looking for; low cost, social life and the beaches.

1. I sold my home. It's was my nest egg. I live off the interest on investment in bonds. For me that monthly expenses with a great lifestyle is around $2000/mo. More since I bought a car, before I just drove a motorbike. The car sits there and gets used a couple of times a week.

2. It took about 3 months to sell the house and sell everything I had. Arrived with a large suitcase and a guitar. I owned a four bedroom home. I've been very hesitant to buy anything that I would have to move but I recently moved to the other side of town and I can't believe the amount of crap I've accumulated in two years.

3. One word: Skype

4. I retired at 59. Should have done it a year earlier when my house was worth more.

5. Thailand. Cambodia is interesting, cheaper but a step down in the third world. Wouldn't have done anything differently but I had visited Thailand 6-8 times before I made the move. Living a rockstar life. Plenty of friends and fun. I stay on a schedule of swimming and walking. Try not to get loaded every night. Have a beautiful 24 year old girlfriend in a stable relationship for a year.

Time to make the move, buddy.

 

[Ozziedreamer]

Time to make the move, buddy.

Pete, thanks for the info. You are livin' the dream...