Retire Abroad

[Godfree]

I just retired to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Has anyone retired abroad? Like to hear your experiences, adjustments...

[Surewhitey]

We're going to Playa Del Carmen next week. No experience yet. Sorry. Friends just moved to China... Here's their first email to us:

Wow! This is a STRANGE PLACE!!! It reminds me of Mexico is many ways, but without the beach and the Maitai's:/ Lots of street vendors and markets...a little dirtier than mexico, depending on what part of town we're in...and just an OVERWHELMING amount of peeps!!!!! The kids are taking really good care of us We keep joking like WE are the kids now, and they are the parents. It's true, they have to show us how to do everything, and we have so many questions all the time! Elise took us downtown to buy some electronics a couple of days ago, and then she had to go to work from there, so we had to get back home on the subway and the bus system BY OURSELVES!!...I said What kind of a parent are you?!...but we made it home just fine Every thing is a challenge...It's like we are camping all the time. They really don't have the same products over here, and if we find them in a special store, they are super expensive because they are foreign..so we are still learning what to buy, and trying to change our way of doing things. We have a lot to learn. On another note, we are going to a party at a friend's house tonight Lots of special friends, and school grads from all sorts of places working so hard. Have my first english student to tudor!!!! not because I found her though, b/c Jason is giving her to me...but she speaks some english !! so that will help a lot. We've been busy everyday with activities, so much to tell...this is our first day to stay home and do laundry,and cook and stuff.

[Sweetpea007]

I own a condo in Switzerland. Spend 2 or 3 months there, rest of the year cruising the high seas and at "home" in Boston. I have really serious "re-entry" problems lately coming back to the U.S. I'll continue this schedule as long as I'm able! I've "thought about" permanent relocation to Switzerland, but haven't taken any action, yet.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surewhitey Have my first english student to tudor!!!!

I hope she starts with Henry VII, not Henry VIII...

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I hope she starts with Henry VII, not Henry VIII...

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surewhitey We're going to Playa Del Carmen next week. No experience yet. Sorry. ....

Permanent move?

[check6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea007 I own a condo in Switzerland. Spend 2 or 3 months there, rest of the year cruising the high seas and at "home" in Boston. I have really serious "re-entry" problems lately coming back to the U.S. I'll continue this schedule as long as I'm able! I've "thought about" permanent relocation to Switzerland, but haven't taken any action, yet.

Where in Switzerland? I really envy you. I have visited the Wengen/Interlaken area at least 15 times over the years and wished I had purchased something when the dollar was better against the Swiss Franc.

[Surewhitey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Permanent move?

Yeah, permanent as you can make a "stable for now" kind of country. We're going to do some volunteering down there (and a little fun), meet some new friends & have a room for our friends of our past to visit.

We've been "researching" and planning for 5+ years; finally got the kahunas to finally do it. Leaving corp jobs was a little unnerving as we've been there all our adult lives. Hope to share the experiences and maybe encourage others not to be afraid of ER...

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surewhitey Yeah, permanent as you can make a "stable for now" kind of country. We're going to do some volunteering down there (and a little fun), meet some new friends & have a room for our friends of our past to visit. We've been "researching" and planning for 5+ years; finally got the kahunas to finally do it. Leaving corp jobs was a little unnerving as we've been there all our adult lives. Hope to share the experiences and maybe encourage others not to be afraid of ER...

Good for you.

I will be interested in hearing about your experiences.

[Surewhitey]

We'll be here...telling for those who would want to hear.

[KingB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godfree I just retired to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Has anyone retired abroad? Like to hear your experiences, adjustments...

Chiang Mai, Thailand is mentioned in the link below:

Retirement costs in 13 countries - 1 - international living - MSN Money

Quote:

It is possible to make a move overseas on a strict and fixed budget of less than $1,000 per month. You could live on this budget easily in Thailand, by paring back allowances for household help, entertainment and travel. You could also manage a comfortable, interesting life on a very modest nest egg in parts of Panama (outside Panama City), parts of Ecuador and in Medellin, again by scaling back on nonessentials and renting an apartment outside the central and expat-popular neighborhoods used for the budget calculations above.

[obgyn65]

Please let us know more about your volunteering activities when you have the time to write. Thank you, Surewhitey.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surewhitey We're going to do some volunteering down there (and a little fun)

[CoolChange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surewhitey We're going to Playa Del Carmen next week....

I am heading that direction in about five minutes; only staying a bit over a week on this trip; but, that area could become a semi-permanent base for me in the next few years.

[leoyai]

Been living in Udon Thani ,Thailand for 5 years.
Living on $1000US$/month in Thailand is possible but would not be much of a retirement life.
You would probably have to live in one room, walk or take public transport all the time, which doesn't always go where and when you want,eat a lot of rice and noodles, with not many nights out on the town.
If you want girlfriend/companion and want to travel around, see some beaches and do some active things like Scuba ,fishing or golfing, etc. it is cheap here but certainly not free! You would need to bump it up to around $2000/month, for which you could get a small bungalow,with good Sattelite TV and internet,and a motorbike which gives so much more freedom.
Also, since 2002 the US dollar has gone from over 40 Baht to around 31 baht today.
In the five years I have been here permanently, the dollar has lost around 20%. That's a huge difference if you are on fixed income and many of the guys I know here and really feeling it.
Also there seems to be a lot of inflation here now although the govt. says it is only running at 4% annual rate.
All in all it's a good place to retire but probably not for everyone. I spent most of my working life overseas so I was quite well prepared for an expat retirement.
Best to come and stay for a couple of months first before making any irreversible decisions like selling all your stuff and getting on plane.

[kcowan]

We spend 7 months in PV, 4 months in Vancouver and 1 month in Europe. So far so good.

[nun]

I'll be retiring to the UK to take advantage of the free at point of service health care. If I ER in the US I will have a $400/month health insurance bill for a policy with a high deductible and who knows how much the cost will increase. In the UK I wont have to worry about that as much and as my income requirements are quite low my tax bill will be less than in the US as the UK has a bigger standard deduction.

How are expat retirees dealing with taxes. Do you do them yourselves or hire a professional. Navigating the interaction between US and your foreign country of residence can be very complicated, particularly when it comes to retirement accounts.

[kcowan]

I would get an accountant in the UK who is familiar with the US taxes. At least until you can find a tax program that does it for you.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

nun,

If you are a US citizen, you will have to file in both countries. A pain.

I have a cross-border accountant to deal with my foreign taxes first and then my US filing. I have to pay him twice at about $500 apiece. A pain, but I want someone to talk to the feds when they call.