Who is thinking of retiring in another country?

[bpp]

On a submarine it's called a "galley", and it serves 120 meals four times a day...

Aw, c'mon Nords, the galley on the USS Bowfin was bigger than that, and you served on big-@ssed boomers, right?

 

[Nords]

Aw, c'mon Nords, the galley on the USS Bowfin was bigger than that, and you served on big-@ssed boomers, right?

OK, I'm exaggerating. Maybe a submarine galley would need two of those if we had to feed the spooks or the SEALs in addition to the crew. Of course for the SEALs it wouldn't be necessary to actually cook the food and there wouldn't be anything to clean up...

USS JAMES MONROE (SSBN 622 BLUE) 1984-86 & USS NEW YORK CITY (SSN 696) 1989-1992.

You would think that the bigger the submarine, the bigger the galley. Convection ovens & microwaves were better on NYC and the galley was actually bigger & better laid out. (Yes, I did spend plenty of time in both of them!) Of course everything's bigger on a Trident boomer because they just didn't know what to do with all the leftover space.

 

[bpp]

The one shown is a bit drastic, but their popularity is probably due to the increasing number of older buildings chopped into ever-smaller studio condos, esp. in the city centers.
Just saw one listed in Rome for 194 s.f. (that is not a typo.. 18m2) for €160,000 ($203,000).. oh, AND it needs complete restructuring. Even elsewhere, though, people just tend to live in smaller quarters.. saving on heat, materials, taxes, etc. Single-family houses are a small minority of housing units.

18 m^2 = 5.5 tsubo, or 11 tatami mats. That's one tiny studio!

I imagine it can't beat Japan, though.. right bpp?

One might think, but, no, actually. Maybe right after the war, but nowadays, even Tokyo apartments are somewhat more spacious than that.

I imagine you had a lot more of a culture shock than I did, and that you probably had to jettison a lot more American "stuff". Got any pix of the place you live in, or something similar?

I lost a lot of books on the way here, which is my biggest regret. As far as kitchen goes, comparing to yours, maybe about the same floor space, but a bit more counter space.

I note you have a big black dog sleeping in your entryway, whereas ours sleeps on the livingroom sofa. Just another one of those differences that makes the world go around, I suppose.

 

[Jane_Doe]

Sheryl-

Thanks for the info on the school. I think DH and I will be doing that once we are done working! If you end up doing it - please report back, as will I ..........

Jane

 

[Arif]

One thing I forgot to mention. Before you move or even visit you have to be REAL clear on what you can afford to give up and what you can't. I had someone visit me a few months ago with the intention of moving here. When he got here his list of things he wouldn't tolerate started getting huge. He didn't like the city, wife needed daily moccas (sp), couldn't find clothes to fit despite the prices of $1-$5, didn't like people selling stuff on the streets, and on and on. After that experience I decided to never play host to someone moving here again. I'll point them in the right direction but that's it.
Most places aren't like the US. In some cases that's good and in others it is not. Only way to decide is to see for yourself and be honest with what you can put up with and what you can't BEFORE you get there. Could save you a lot of money on a trip down there.

 

[modhatter]

Arif,

Do you like it there? What is the weather like where you are? Do you have AC? If so, how high are your elec. bills?

Also wondered about property taxes. I know you are building now, but do you know what your taxes will be when you finish your house?

Do you get homesick much? What do you miss most, and what don't you miss?

 

[ladelfina]

bpp.. yes that is at the very smallest end. I was just flabbergasted at the price, but some people need/want to be in the city center at any cost. A typical apartment is 80-100mq; "large" is 120mq and up. In my small town, there are 22 current listings for apt.s for sale, only 3 of which are over 120mq.; the biggest is 500mq (price over $2mill -- that's what you'd pay for 120mq in central Rome).

Average price in my town = €2382/mq according to the RE listing site; in Rome center that figure goes to €8887/mq.

I have a lot of theories about why RE is so expensive here; the two main ones are restrictions on building (keeping lots of agricultural land) and, more important, lack of confidence in other investment opportunities (not unfounded).

 

[rs0460a]

In answer to the original question:

No, I'll stay right here (in the NE US). It seems that the "country" is changing, right around me with the influx of many new "cultures".

- Ron

 

[Arif]

Do you like it there? What is the weather like where you are? Do you have AC? If so, how high are your elec. bills?

I love it here. The alternative would be to work full time for a few more years in the US. Instead we decided to go part time and enjoy life. Sure we had to sacrifice a little but what we gave up doesn't compare to what we gained.

Also wondered about property taxes. I know you are building now, but do you know what your taxes will be when you finish your house?[qoute]
There is no property taxes on new construction for 20 years. You pay taxes on the land only during that time. If you bought a home that was built in 2000 then you would have 14 years left on the exemption. I think last time I checked the tax rate was 1.5% but hard to say what it would be when we are finally required to pay them in 20 years.

[qoute]Do you get homesick much? What do you miss most, and what don't you miss?

I was actually born here but moved to the US when I was five. I lived in the states for 28 years and returned to Panama last year. I have plenty of family here so not really homesick. I travel back to the US about 5 times a year and my wife spent 30 days visiting family so can't really say we are homesick. THe flight from Panama to Atlanta is 4 hours nonstop so that makes it nice if we have to go back. Even with all that traveling it is still cheaper to live here and the quality of life is better for us.

 

[neo]

Is there some source of unbiased info, book or other publication, on real estate in different countries? I mean an overview, info comparing markets, legal complications, risks, etc.?

 

[modhatter]

International Living magazine has some reports available, but you have to subscribe to the magazine to access them. They have one on Taxes (all kinds) imposed by the country, information on residency, and most of the articles on each country give you a current run down on real estate, with links sometimes to realtors so you can look for yourself.

 

[Kitty]

I have often thought about retiring in a foreign country, at least for a while just for the adventure. I have visited Mexico and there are some very nice places there and, according to my sources, the cost of living is still reasonable if you stay out of the Glitzy Gringo Gultch sort of places.

Right now I have my hands full with my current retirement location and won't move for a few years.

IMHO, to many Americans are to xenophobic to even think about living in another country. A lot of Americans I have met in foreign countries want the place to be like DisneyLand where they can go to their hotel and have all the U.S. amenities at their finger tips and they want it cheap. They complain about things being not like home....duh.

Kitty

 

[ladelfina]

Ha ha.. Kitty, that is so true.. My favorite 'Ugly American' story (personally witnessed): on a London bus circa 1983, a middle-aged blonde American lady screaming to the bus driver as if he were deaf... "Do you take MONEY?? You know... MUHNNNNEYYY??!?" Waving American dollar bills at him..

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Ha ha.. Kitty, that is so true.. My favorite 'Ugly American' story (personally witnessed): on a London bus circa 1983, a middle-aged blonde American lady screaming to the bus driver as if he were deaf... "Do you take MONEY?? You know... MUHNNNNEYYY??!?" Waving American dollar bills at him..

I was on a cruise boat in Montego Bay, Jamaica with a bunch of tourists.
Beautiful night. Nice moon. Guy next to me finishes his beer and throws
the bottle in the water. He was gently admonished by the Captain's
wife. The problem with "Ugly Americans" is that most of them are right here
in the USA, IMHO.

JG

 

[kcowan]

... The problem with "Ugly Americans" is that most of them are right here
in the USA, IMHO.
JG

We were on a Mediterranean Cruise and had arranged to meet our walking tour guide near the train station in Rome. Imagine our embarassment when we had to keep asking where is the nearest McDonalds (the guide had suggested)! There were three of them!

The myth continues to live on...

 

[WRBT]

Sam -

Can an American citizen move to Vietnam without having a job or being in college? My wife and love visiting Vietnam, our dream location to live would be Hoi An... but it doesn't seem to have the ease of immigration that Thailand (visa runs, retirement visa) or Cambodia (easy bribe for 1 yr visa) have.

I lived in Bangkok for two years when young and my wife and I have our sites on Chiang Mai but maaaan would I love to be able to pull off a move to central Vietnam.

 

[Sam]

WRBT,

I believe you can. I think you have to prove financial ability (proof that you have certain income, or certain amount of money in the bank). The amount is very insignificant in US standard. I read those a while ago, but never paid any attention to because I don't plan to do it that way.

AFA visa is concerned, I believe the current limit is 6 months, and easily extended to 1 year for a very small fee ($25?) and absolutely no bribe.

I have no plan to become a "resident" of VN. I don't trust the goverment that much yet at this time. Hopefully things will change by the time I retire. For now, I plan to play tourist, staying up to a year, get out and get back in.

Sorry, that's all I know. May be Van can help you more.

 

[Sam]

BTW, Hoi An is nice, but too touristy for me. You might consider Danang, which is close by. More metropolitan, less tourism.

 

[Van]

Hi Sam & WRBT,

Sam is right on about the visa situation. One can get a 6 mos. visa and can renew 2 additional times before you need to do a visa run outside the country. This means 18 mos. at a time. We plan to use this approach (no financial proof neccessary). Besides, a visit to neighbor Singapore, Phuket or a shopping trip to Hong Kong every 18 mos. is a very nice diversion indeed.

 

[WRBT]

That's excellent news guys, thanks.

Are no requirements for job/study to get an apartment or anything?

I don't mind the tourists in Hoi An, because it carries with it the inevitable Western things we (especially my wife) might miss with an extended stay.

Been thru Danang before, in fact once he even accidentally when the only flight we could get out of Siem Reap Cambodia was going to Danang. I've not been there long enough to really form an opinion on the lifestyle though.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Sam]

Are no requirements for job/study to get an apartment or anything?

Yes, money . Seriously, no, just rent it as you would a hotel room.

 

[bdk]

Sam and Van - do you read the Vietnamese press, e.g. ngoisao.net? I do spend a few minutes on that website every day, and I have to confess that the articles there don't give me any "warm fuzzies" about retiring in VN... Between the corruption, pollution and crime stories, I wonder how long we'd last.

I left Sg in 1980, and returned once in 1992. I loved it when I went back, but I am not sure I can stand more than a month or two at a stretch.

 

[Cool Dood]

I'd go in a minute if I were Vietnamese or had little difficulty with the combination of permanent residency, language, etc.

 

[Van]

Hi Bdk,

I do look at both Ngoi Sao and VNExpress. I agree that it can get depressing at times. However, in all fairness, often my friends from abroad believe that all we have in the US are guns and sex. This is based on what they have seen in the news headlines, movies, etc... We all know that it is far from the truth.

Saigon is definitely not for me based on the reasons that you cited. However, a slower pace on the beach in Mui Ne makes sense.

 

[Sam]

Hello Bdk,

Van said it. The press needs to sell newspapers. I seldom watch the local news here in Houston, but when I do, I have a hard time believing they are talking about my town.

Could it be because you were still too young when you left?

Sam