Long Term International Travel questions.

[ScottS]

I am currently 59, and unfortunately will not be able to retire till I'm about 63 ~ 65. My current situation and what I expect to be my situation at that time is that I will not be a homeowner. It will also be just myself, and I do not have a permanent retirement location selected at this time. I currently live in Mississippi, but have no desire or pressing need to retire here.


I have noticed in cruising AirBnB listings for various European cities that a decent monthly rental in a major city isn't significantly more than apartment rental + expenses in most U.S. cities. This has led me to consider the possibility of extended international travel. This would be a month or two at a location or country, and possibility several years or more on continuous travel throughout the world. Being in my early to mid 60's I hope to be in decent health enough to be able to enjoy the experience, before this amount of travel would be too taxing.


I'm still very early into exploring this, and there are already concerns that I know I need to address. These are:


1. Access to money while traveling. How to get it, and how to protect it.


2. Healthcare coverage , and access to prescription refills. f this occurs after I turn 65, then my primary coverage would be Medicare. If before 65, my options would likely be : (1) Possible Cobra insurance if I retire at 63.5 and elect it for the 18 month period till 65, (2) I do have classification 8C coverage through V.A. that I have never used, or (3) possible ACA health insurance depending on what my be available under the law at that time. Also, what additional coverage might I need to cover myself in the other countries, and is it available for such an extended period of time?


3. Communications. Where to find what devices and carriers would across multiple countries, and what is available for those where what I have doesn't work.



4. The "Unknowns". This is the catch-all for those things I simply don't know enough to ask about at this time. Feel free to add as you see fit.



So, any ideas oh wise persons?

 

[Oz investor]

New rules on carrying powders for international travellers

https://the-riotact.com/new-rules-on-carrying-powders-for-international-travellers/253365

Canberra Airport has advised that new rules for the carrying of powders on international flights came into force from 30 June 2018, as part of Federal Government airport security precautions.

International travellers will face extra requirements when passing through screening points.

A Canberra Airport spokesperson said travellers would need to remove powders from their carry-on baggage at the international screening point in the international terminal only, and place their items in a tray for further screening.

“If you are planning to take a trip, please check the Department of Home Affairs TravelSECURE website: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/travelsecure to better understand these new regulations,” it said

Inorganic powders such as sand, salt, talcum powder and some types of make-up will be restricted to volumes less than 350ml per passenger in the aircraft cabin on departing flights. Travellers cannot tip powders out to fall under the 350ml/gm threshold as the restriction is calculated on total container volume.

There is no quantity restriction for organic powders such as food products, therapeutic and medical products (travelling with a medical certificate is suggested), powdered baby formula, coffee and sugar.

“These new rules are for international travellers only. The majority of our guests are domestic passengers who will not need to remove powders at the domestic screening point,” the Canberra Airport spokesperson said.

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my suggestion ... avoid Insanity Island

most be too much imported 'nose candy ' coming into the national capital

will be great news for the local bikies gangs ( who make a lot of it locally )

 

[Bamaman]

Time is limited in the EU to 90 days out of 180 days. That means you cannot stay there without a Visa, and Visa's are very hard to get. Most retirees are not college students. See Wikipedia and the Schengen Agreement. They don't want to have foreigners sponging off their healthcare and running up real estate prices higher than they already are.

It doesn't sound as if you are an experienced international traveler or you would know most travelers get their funds through ATMs for cash and use credit cards otherwise. And banking and financial management can be done via the internet.

As far as communications, there are internet plans available internationally from companies like T Mobile which is the official cell company for many European countries. Most people have access to Wifi and the internet worldwide.

Healthcare is something you need to consider carefully, and plenty of info should be found in Google about the subject. It would be hard to discuss here.

But whatever you do, take a few international trips between now and retirement time to see what interests you. Being a modern day nomad is not something done cold turkey.

 

[Oz investor]

the last time i was in the EU and UK was 1990 ,

the Irish were renovating London train stations ,

and the Moroccans were revolting .. OOPS !! i mean rioting in Paris

it was midwinter , the French were arrogant , the Swiss friendly , the Italians were their normal selves , and almost took a security job in London .

not a totally unpleasant trip , but i really liked the 3 day stopover in Hong Kong on the way back

but realistically my flying days are over ( unless it is an emergency helicopter flight )

these days couch-surfing is as adventurous as i get ( home is too far away from a decent hospital )

maybe after 2022 i can catch a Greyhound at travel interstate , again ( look at the economy and for an extra property or two ) , i can travel light and frugal and with no definite plans for months ( and have done in the past .. circa 2012 was awesome for stock investing ideas)

nomad with be a little generous though

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

A few ideas since we just got back from several months at airbnb's in Europe. Rent places with wifi for your comms at home. We used a tmobile one plan for our cell phones and had good connectivitiy everywhere we went throughout Spain, France, GErmany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, England and Scotland. No extra charges for anything and if needed you can hotspot from phone to laptop or tablet. Money: local currency widely available at ATMs. Use an ATM card. KNow that you will gegt whacked with ATM fees even though youre bank may say they will refund them. It is possible with proper planning to need very little local currency as lots of places take credit if you look around. Make sure you cards have a chip a 4 digit PIN code and no international transaction fee. how to keep money safe? same way you do at home. Don't flash it about, keep your wallet in your front pocket, and in heavily pickpocketed areas keep it inside your coat or in your front pocket with your hand on it until you can move away.

 

[Sunset]

A few ideas since we just got back from several months at airbnb's in Europe. Rent places with wifi for your comms at home. We used a tmobile one plan for our cell phones and had good connectivitiy everywhere we went throughout Spain, France, GErmany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, England and Scotland. No extra charges for anything and if needed you can hotspot from phone to laptop or tablet. Money: local currency widely available at ATMs. Use an ATM card. KNow that you will gegt whacked with ATM fees even though youre bank may say they will refund them. It is possible with proper planning to need very little local currency as lots of places take credit if you look around. Make sure you cards have a chip a 4 digit PIN code and no international transaction fee. how to keep money safe? same way you do at home. Don't flash it about, keep your wallet in your front pocket, and in heavily pickpocketed areas keep it inside your coat or in your front pocket with your hand on it until you can move away.

+1
Just to add for OP - you can get ATM cards that have no ATM fees (example Schwab checking) It worked great for us, just go to an ATM, find English button or stick in the card and find English button, and continue like at home, except it's foreign money that comes out.

You can get Year long travel insurance (not health insurance) but they will often limit your 'trips' outside the US to a couple of months, and then you have to return for a day.

As for money being safe, in real pickpocket areas, make use of wallets that go under your clothing, and always leave an extra credit card and ATM card at hotel so you won't have everything stolen at once.

 

[Nemo2]

As for money being safe, in real pickpocket areas, make use of wallets that go under your clothing, and always leave an extra credit card and ATM card at hotel so you won't have everything stolen at once.

Or, as I've noted previously, if you look like someone (as I do) who might hit the pickpockets up for 'spare change', they'll avoid you like the plague.

 

[brett]

We traveled for six-seven months. Europe, Africa, US, and Costa Rica.

-we did obtain travel medical insurance. We have universal healthcare but of course it is meaningless in other countries. It took some time to find the right policy and the right carrier since this time frame is not common. We did finad a great carrier and were able to reduce the premium by, as I recall, 30 percent by going with a 3 or 5K deductable. It did not cover prescriptions of course. The other plus is that we were able to extend the time (by email) by a week or so because we came home slightly later than anticipated. This was actually the most challenging aspect of our arrangements. Took some shopping, lots of calls, etc.

-money. No issue. We travel with multiple credit cards and debit cards. We use a credit card that does not charge an add on fee for FX or for cash advances. We maintained a credit balance on the card so that when we did a cash advance there we no additional fees (our bank tacks on 2.5-3 percent extra on foreign cash withdrawals)

-internet was our friend. We bought an ipad. Best investment we make-still using it. We did not take our cell phones.

--we moved as much personal business as possible to email, few remaining items were sent to our son's address.

Would we do it again. Absolutely. Grounded for a little while now but are considering one-two month rentals in France, perhaps Spain to use as a base.

This is not as difficult as it appears. One other item...we only traveled with 21 in carry on rollers. This made travel so much easier.

 

[Freedom56]

We spend anywhere from 2-4 months per year in Europe. We usually break it into two trips. We have a home in Switzerland. It's very nice there but extremely expensive. We are headed there in a few weeks. I can answer some of your questions.

Access to money. We had a bank account in Europe (Switzerland) but had to close it back in 2013 after the banks did not want to deal with US citizens any longer. We have a Citibank Global currency account where we hold Euros, Swiss Francs, and Canadian dollars. They waived the monthly fees ($8 month) because of our other Citibank accounts and balances. We use our ATM card (Cirrus and Maestro network) to access cash or make payments abroad. We also keep some cash at home in those currencies so we don't leave for our travel without some foreign currency. Use a money belt an only carry the credit/debit cards you plan to use.

Healthcare Coverage. We are covered by a PPO/EPO plan that covers emergency care out of state and country. Walk in care is out of pocket but it is really not that expensive compared to the US. You need to check with your insurance company to find which facilities are considered "in network" for emergency care. If you need prescription drugs, you will need to get a doctor in the country you are visiting to re-write your prescription. You can get that done at most walk-in clinics. This is not that much of a problem just take your US doctor prescription with you or buy enough to cover your trip. We don't have any chronic health issues and require only preventive and emergency (if ever required) care.

Communications. Our local plans work internationally but are subject to roaming charges. We have an unlocked phone and purchased a SIM card from a French telecom company (Orange) for local calls. We are on a no-contract pre-paid plan that we refill as we need. We also use our Ooma app on our phones and can make international calls using Wifi using our home phone plan which does not incur any additional fees. We also use Skype to communicate when Wifi is available.

Auto Insurance. Make sure that your policy covers you for international driving. Driving a car gets you better access for travel and shopping if you live in rural or suburban areas.

The unknowns. I assume that you have traveled to Europe and have an idea of where you want to stay. Check with visa rules for the maximum duration of stays. The large cities in Western Europe can be expensive. Small towns and villages are much lower in cost. That being said, I would say some large cities such as London England, Nice France, Montreux Switzerland, Amsterdam Holland, Copenhagen Denmark, Munich Germany, and others are fabulous places to stay. Remember, like anywhere, you get what you pay for. Install an EasyJet app on your phone when you get there for air travel deals within Europe and short distances from continental Europe. It's far better than taking the train.


Good Luck!