For all those interested in international living

[Orchidflower]

If you have satellite or cable, there is a show on HGTV (the home shows) called International Living, I think it is. Anyway, they show houses and costs of different countries for those of us who want to live in another country. For instance, I saw townhomes and cottages in Spain today, prices are given and repair prices, closing costs and caveats are often thrown in. Worth your time if you want to buy a home internationally, I would think. FYI only.

 

[dave-cirk]

Hi, I turned 60 right now, I spend last 30 years in Israel, I have academic degree in technical sciences, but my pension plan does not allow me to
to keep living standard I am used to. I love tennis, bridge, travelling in wild nature, down hill skiing. Same concerning my wife. We would like to move to another country, where the cost of living is less expensive and where I can find community with similar situation and interests. It could be in Sri-Lanka, India, S. America for instance. I would appreciate if somebody could advise me, or heard about this type of retirement.

 

[Orchidflower]

I think that show is called "House Hunting International" now. I really must keep a pen and paper next to the tv.

***dave-cirk: Put international living into the search function here. There has been MUCH written by board members on living abroad, and some good suggestions made.

 

[GoodSense]

I saw a couple of episodes -- one of Costa Rica (?) and one of Hong Kong. HK real estate prices were so ridiculous. Costa Rica was nice, in comparison. Without understanding the context of the location, it's a bit hard to imagine myself living there (transportation, retail options, restaurants, social networks, etc.). But an entertaining show nonetheless.

 

[Rich]

An excellent site, written mostly for our diplomatic service folks, is Tales from a Small Planet:

talesmag.com / plea.shtml

It lists many, many nations and people (almost all from our State Dept) who have actually lived in these places write up what normal life is like for extended periods of time. It's an eye opener. Since they are not trying to sell you anything all the romantic nonesense is gone and just the facts of everyday existence are laid out.

Well worth checking out if you're interested in being an expat.

Rich

 

[Bree]

Considering Asia?

I've lived in China for 5 of the past 6 years, and though I wouldn't necessarily recommend Shanghai where I currently live, if you are willing to get over the language barrier I would suggest Xiamen (island city - beautiful) or Dali (Very laid back on the foot of a mountain - 20 degrees year-round temperature).

The US dollar has declined against the Chinese Yuan from about 1:8 ratio to about 1:7.2 but it's still extremely affordable to live here.

Even in Shanghai - the most expensive city aside from HK (but I don't consider Hong Kong to be Part of 'real China') - for our modest apartment of 2 people we need about $2,000 USD per month.

If you lived in one of the above mentioned cities then prices would be about half.

Best Wishes.

 

[lhamo]

I've lived in China for 5 of the past 6 years, and though I wouldn't necessarily recommend Shanghai where I currently live, if you are willing to get over the language barrier I would suggest Xiamen (island city - beautiful) or Dali (Very laid back on the foot of a mountain - 20 degrees year-round temperature).

The US dollar has declined against the Chinese Yuan from about 1:8 ratio to about 1:7.2 but it's still extremely affordable to live here.

Even in Shanghai - the most expensive city aside from HK (but I don't consider Hong Kong to be Part of 'real China') - for our modest apartment of 2 people we need about $2,000 USD per month.

If you lived in one of the above mentioned cities then prices would be about half.

Best Wishes.

We have a large, 200+ sq m, 4 br/2 bth apartment in a not-too-remote neighborhood of Beijing and pay about $1150/month at current exchange rates. Our slightly-smaller apartment in a much nicer complex (one of the best) in a city in the southwest part of China was only $550/month. Even though housing prices are going up here, you can still get decent housing for much less than in the US.

The challenge of living in smaller cities in China is really the language/cultural barrier. Once you get outside of Beijing and Shanghai, there are very few places where you can get stuff done using English, and it is also much harder to find household help that will have enough English to do things on your behalf. Do not underestimate the challenges of getting medical care -- any medical care, not necessarily competent medical care -- in a smaller city if you do not speak Chinese. Even if you do, it is a challenge and you are constantly running up against different conceptions about what appropriate care is (I've lost count of the number of times I have had to firmly and repeatedly refuse a doctor's well-intentioned suggestion that my kids' minor colds be treated with IV antibiotics...).

I don't mean to be down on China -- there are a lot of good things about living here. But it is a challenge even for those of us with fluent Chinese, married to local people. I can't imagine making the choice to move here permanently if you didn't have the language skills to make it work. Maybe in 20 years, but not now. And 20 years from now, if the yuan keeps gaining value on the dollar like it has been the last few years, we may be moving back to the US to find a cheaper cost of living!

lhamo

 

[dave-cirk]

moving to far east

Looks like China is not best retirement destination for for non speaking
Chinise folk. I am looking for a unit-studio or one bed room apt. in a holiday(resort) vilage, with retired community from US or western countries. I know there are some in Bulgaria. I have been travelling in
Sri Lanka- it is very nice place to leave, but I do not know if there are
this type of communities in Sri Lanka.

 

[billman]

take a look at Oman, everyone speaks English and property is cheap and you get a residence visa once you buy. There currency is pegged to the dollar and has extremely modern infrastructure along with a very very clean country.

Billman