Thoughts on my game plan for ER?

[asia2020]

Interesting thread, I realize I'm a bit late to the party but FWIW I think you've got a plan and a vision and you should go for it, it makes sense to me to enjoy FI/ER overseas while you're young and where the COL is low, you can enjoy the finer things in life at half the cost, and perhaps move back to the US in your later years when other considerations take priority like medicare. I've lived a few years in SE Asia and been all over the region recently, some of the comments here on Philippines are mildly inflammatory and perhaps dated, I would seriously consider moving to any of those countries as soon as I'm ready to pull the trigger hopefully closer to 45-47.

The reason I actually replied to your post here is that you seemed focused on the tax advantages of the host nation you select, have you considered Malaysia? I'm considering MM2H visa there, one of the benefits is a zero tax liability as long as you reside under the MM2H visa, definitely a perk but for me it's more about the other benefits including a decent standard of living and healthcare, good schools (I have kids), everyone speaks English, low COL, and it's an excellent base from which to explore Asia ... cheap flights everywhere in the region! Also been to Philippines and I like it very much, but it's more like Jakarta in that it rates high for hospitality - wonderful people have lots of good will but the place can be a bit disorganized - the country still has lots of catching up to do. On the flip side you can live like a king for the equivalent of minimum wage back home. So in conclusion I would prefer the idea of using KL as a base to travel and explore from, there are some amazing places to see in Asia. Good luck!

 

[bad_LNIP]

As far as moving back to the states, I don't know if that is in the cards. I would have a huge incentive to not come back to the states in the form of zero taxes. I realize I am speaking 20+ years in the future, so who knows how things will play out, but once I punch out, I am not really planning on coming back for more than 30 days at a time, unless there is some compelling reason to do so.

I have VA health care for life and they have a VA hospital in Manila and an overseas program, so it won't be health care or medicare that brings me back.

I lived in S. Korea for a year, so I am generally familiar with Asia, not as much as I would like to be. There are a lot of spots over there I need to see including Malaysia, singapore, Japan, and many more.

I have heard of the MM2H program, although I need to look into it more. I think it would easily take a year to hit all the Asian spots that I like, and Malaysia as a base of operations sounds like a good idea. Thanks!