Panama, Honduras, Vietnam, Argentina, Thailand? Where to retire?

[newyorklady]

Oh, and southern Indians seem to be more relaxed about things, many are christian so they don't have that whole caste thing going on. So maybe what I said only holds true for parts of India, as it is such a big and diverse country

 

[wildcat]

OK I don't know too much about the country but have you researched Chile? I have never heard anyone mention it before, maybe for good reason or maybe due to it being a road less traveled.

 

[newyorklady]

heard good things. don't know much yet though.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Chile, anyone?

FYI, a fellow I know set up this web sitte:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dchappell/chile/

Dave might respond to intelligent questions about Chile, too.

This web site is also interesting, if a little behind:

http://www.chipsites.com/

Cheers!

Ed

 

[Cool Dood]

I think it's very hard or impossible for a foreigner to own property or live permanently in India, but I'm not completely sure. Other than that, it sounds like parts of it would make for a very nice inexpensive retirement spot.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Seriously why not India?

I worked on an extended assignment in India a while back. I have zero interest in returning and cannot imagine why a westerner would want to move there. I have the same feelings about New York City.

 

[mikew]

I don't know too much but I have heard of backpackers living semi-premantly in Goa. But my impression is you would have to seriously like the culture to live in India.

I think where the Japanese retire in Asia is a good indication of where is good.
Tops tier is Australia and New Zealand, then Malaysia, Thailand, Phillipines (possibly in that order). I don't think India or China is on the radar

Mike

 

[newyorklady]

I worked on an extended assignment in India a while back.  I have zero interest in returning and cannot imagine why a westerner would want to move there.  I have the same feelings about New York City.

Yeah, well, that is why I want a home abroad somewhere cheaper, more laid back and did I mention cheaper?  I really have to like the culture of where I am going, and not a huge fan of India.  And it is getting much more expensive to live there.  Gotta keep a foothold in New York though for now, home is home and not ready to completely drop out yet.  But maybe down the road...

 

[newyorklady]

Oops, did the quote thing wrong before.  And anyone know about New Zealand? 

(Moderator edit: Fixed the quote; the "/quote" had an extra space at the end and the software kept adding to it in an attempt to fix the problem.)

 

[WanderALot]

Not too keen on India. If you aren't Indian they can be very racist- to both blacks and whites, but not to chinese for some reason.

Indians seem to treat whites/blacks/asians with a great deal curiousity, but I don't know if I would call it racist. I do agree about the beggars/shopkeepers etc, they automatically assume that you have money so they hound you or try to rip you off. I didn't get the impression about intermarriage being a problem either, but like you said, it's a big country, with plenty of conservative parts.

The Indian government has also issued a mandate to stop the practice of charging foreigners different rates than locals to get into tourist sites.

I don't think I could retire there either, it's a little too much sensory overload, but I will definitely visit frequently once I retire.

Oops, did the quote thing wrong before. And anyone know about New Zealand?

I absolutely LOVED New Zealand! The landscape of the country is stunning and there is such a variety of things to do. I also thought that it was very cheap, but this was in 1999. People are really friendly. About the only negative that I can think of is that it's far away from everywhere if you want to travel.

 

[Helen]

This thread really has me thinking.  In my early future years of ER, I really want to travel abroad.

My first thoughts are about safety.  Being female is one thing, but I am gay and have a partner.

It's not like we hold hand while having sex in public ( only because we've been together for 18 years  ), but I guess before traveling to different cultures I should do some research.  It would really suck to plan and save for early retirement only to be burned at the stake a few months into the reward phase.

Not that being gay alone puts people at risk.  I keep hearing that chewing gum in some cultures can have some dire consequences.

-helen

 

[haha]

This thread really has me thinking. In my early future years of ER, I really want to travel abroad.

My first thoughts are about safety. Being female is one thing, but I am gay and have a partner.

It's not like we hold hand while having sex in public ( only because we've been together for 18 years ), but I guess before traveling to different cultures I should do some research. It would really suck to plan and save for early retirement only to be burned at the stake a few months into the reward phase.

Not that being gay alone puts people at risk. I keep hearing that chewing gum in some cultures can have some dire consequences.

-helen

Helen, are you acquainted with the writing of Florence King? She is a conservative Lesbian novelist/essayist who writes regularly for the National Review. She has been one of my favorite writers since I first found her work in the 70s. She tackles the situation you are writing about in a beautiful but painful book called "Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady." She gets into hot water, right here in the good old USA, in fact at Ole Miss where she was a graduate assistant. This was a while ago, but I imagine many places in the world today are less tolerant than Oxford MS was 30 years ago.

Ha

 

[newyorklady]

As a gay person you do have to be careful. There are some areas of the world that are great for homosexuals, such as Ibiza, Spain. But that is more of a young gay man, or a straight young party animal type of place. You should look into the laws of the coutry and also the social acceptance. Keep in mind that in America for example, it is easy being gay in NYC, San Fran, and many other places but not so easy in parts of the mid-west and the south. Good luck, as you have two strikes against you. The gay thing and the woman thing. But then again, at least you don't have to deal with having a husband. I would imagine that hippy type of communities might be a good start, there are many all over the world.

 

[Sam]

4) Thailand and Vietnam, safety?  Is Thailand already expensive and is Vietnam a good alternative?

NYlady,

I'm Vietnamese by birth, so my opinion might be biased.  I think VN is safe, just as safe as in the US.  The Vietnamese are friendly, and hospitable.  The cost of living is very reasonable.  For $200,000, you won't have a problem finding a nice beach house in numerous cities on the coast.  Half of VN's perimeter is on water.

A few cons:
1)  Outside of the tourists' areas, very few people speak english.  It helps to learn basic Vietnamese, or French, or Chinese.
2)  Political discussion is a no-no.  Keep your opinion to yourself.
3)  VN is developing, but is still very poor.  So petty crimes do exist.  Serious crime is rare.

Good luck.

 

[newyorklady]

Vietnam sounds interesting. I love the food, especially the sandwiches. Love the people, the ones I know who came to America are all very nice. Are there still hard feelings over there about the war? As you stated I wouldn't speak politics but is there still an unspoken resentment? thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Cool Dood]

If I were Vietnamese, I'd have more hard feelings over the "blood debt" paid to the victorious commies and its countless dead, rather than the Americans, but that's just me.

(And I still would avoid talking politics in Vietnam!)

 

[Sam]

Are there still hard feelings over there about the war?  As you stated I wouldn't speak politics but is there still an unspoken resentment?  thanks for your thoughts.

1)  Hard feelings about the war:  This is a complicated question.  But the overall answer is no.  I believe that most people in VN understand the difference between Americans and the US foreign policy.  I have never seen or even heard of an American citizen being discriminated because of the interference of the US in the Vietnam war.  But a bad behaving, loud, and showy person (American or not) will not receive any respect.

2)  Political discussion:  My apology for not being clear.  What I meant is to avoid discussing Vietnamese politics.  That is don't make any comment on how the CURRENT GOVERMENT is running the country.  They don't take criticism (however construtive) well.  No surprise, right?

 

[Brat]

2)  Political discussion:  My apology for not being clear.  What I meant is to avoid discussing Vietnamese politics.  That is don't make any comment on how the CURRENT GOVERMENT is running the country.  They don't take criticism (however construtive) well.  No surprise, right?

No different than our current leadership .

 

[Cool Dood]

Well I seem to hear "Bush is a Nazi" a lot more frequently than "Nong Duc Manh is a Nazi"...

Not that either is constructive...

 

[Cool Dood]

Also, shouldn't we have had a few "Vietnamese Dong" jokes by now?

 

[Sam]

Cool Dood,

Sounds like you're quite familiar VN. Where and how did you learn about VN? Just curious.

Sam

 

[Helen]

Helen, are you acquainted with the writing of Florence King? She is a conservative Lesbian novelist/essayist who writes regularly for the National Review. She has been one of my favorite writers since I first found her work in the 70s. She tackles the situation you are writing about in a beautiful but painful book called "Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady." She gets into hot water, right here in the good old USA, in fact at Ole Miss where she was a graduate assistant. This was a while ago, but I imagine many places in the world today are less tolerant than Oxford MS was 30 years ago.

Ha

No, but thank you, I will check out her books.

As a gay person you do have to be careful. There are some areas of the world that are great for homosexuals, such as Ibiza, Spain. But that is more of a young gay man, or a straight young party animal type of place. You should look into the laws of the coutry and also the social acceptance. Keep in mind that in America for example, it is easy being gay in NYC, San Fran, and many other places but not so easy in parts of the mid-west and the south. Good luck, as you have two strikes against you. The gay thing and the woman thing. But then again, at least you don't have to deal with having a husband. I would imagine that hippy type of communities might be a good start, there are many all over the world.

Thank you for your input.  I'm really glad for this thread.  I've grown so comfortable with being gay that I hadn't really thought about the implications of traveling abroad with my partner.

But then again, at least you don't have to deal with having a husband.

Actually the real benefit is not having inlaws !

-helen

 

[Cool Dood]

Sam, it's all public information

But seriously, I'm not all that familiar with it, I've just read a litte bit about it and that's it. It sounds like a really interesting and beautiful country, but I hardly know anything about it.

 

[youbet]

No different than our current leadership .

Or the prior leadership. Or the ones before that. Or the ones before that........

 

[Sam]

But seriously, I'm not all that familiar with it, I've just read a litte bit about it and that's it. It sounds like a really interesting and beautiful country, but I hardly know anything about it.

That's quite humble of you, Cool Dood.  Most 24 years old don't even know where VN is on the world map, let alone "Nong Duc Manh".

Sam