Best Country to Retire To

[Bigdawg]

It’s a Louisiana thing, I have to file a Non-Resident return and pay Louisiana taxes on my SERP retirement income which is paid and reported on a W2. A few years after I started receiving my SERP payments my ex-employer contacted me to say that the IRS have told them that I should also be paying payroll taxes (FICA and Medicare) on that SERP income, which I now do.

When we moved to England a few years back I updated my address in England with Vanguard but made the mistake of putting our daughter’s address as a correspondence address. Vanguard allows this and it is clear on their website that your street address is where you reside. The year after I made my first Roth conversion while living here Vanguard must have sent a copy of my 1099-R to the California department of revenue who came after me for State taxes. I had to prove that I didn’t reside in California that year, and that Vanguard was not a Californian company.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/serp.asp

The bolded sounds weird to me. I thought only earned income from a job was reported via W-2 and all other income (pension, etc...) was reported via 1099. Weird that Louisiana does it different. Maybe some other states do also.

For much of our military careers we were stationed in CA. We were actual residents (drivers license) for a couple of years. We left CA for MD in 2009 (orders) but kept the house. CA of course was trying to get us to pay income tax. Nope. Just property there CA. Was easy to prove we weren't there.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

It’s USA. People dream of coming here.

 

[martyp]

It’s USA. People dream of coming here.

Americans love to say this. However, this is a thread about countries to retire to. Financially secure foreigners are not clamoring to retire in the US. Plenty of desperately poor people are trying to come to the US. Plenty of people that want to get a top notch education, start a good job/career, and make good money and save for retirement want to come to the US. But once retired, the US is nothing special for retirees. There are many other retirement destinations that are attractive for Americans to retire to. Sadly, there is a cohort of Americans, with limited income, for which the US is just way too expensive to live a good life.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

My answer is USA, but that's not very adventuresome.

Me too.

 

[Fermion]

Sadly, there is a cohort of Americans, with limited income, for which the US is just way to expensive to live a good life.

It really isn't. There are plenty of areas in the USA that are almost as cheap as these AMAZING cheap places to retire around the world that appear in these articles. I am constantly finding many additional benefits for those with limited income, such as subsidized internet, electricity, and of course, practically free health care of similar quality to what a rich person gets.

I mean, yes, maybe the little island in the south pacific where your housekeeping is only $40 a month has a top of the line MRI, but what if it doesn't? You are flying.

 

[martyp]

It really isn't. There are plenty of areas in the USA that are almost as cheap as these AMAZING cheap places to retire around the world that appear in these articles. I am constantly finding many additional benefits for those with limited income, such as subsidized internet, electricity, and of course, practically free health care of similar quality to what a rich person gets.

I mean, yes, maybe the little island in the south pacific where your housekeeping is only $40 a month has a top of the line MRI, but what if it doesn't? You are flying.

Well sure . . . moving overseas or anywhere is not about one thing but some countries have a very favorable exchange rate and this is a big part of the decision. I definitely wouldn’t recommend that someone move overseas just because it appears to be less expensive. You should like the place you are going to for its beauty, people, and culture. As I said, America is nothing special for retirees. America can be nice but so are lots of other places.

 

[Gumby]

In general, you should live where you want to live because you like it there, not just because it's cheap. Cheap places are often cheap for good reason.

 

[Fermion]

You should like the place you are going to for its beauty, people, and culture. As I said, America is nothing special for retirees. America can be nice but so are lots of other places.

You say America is nothing special but have you ever been to Devil's Tower, or the Badlands, or the painted canyons, or had a pod of killer whales swim under your sailboat in the Puget sound, eaten fresh lobster while watching the boats come in at Stonington Harbor, hiked in the blue ridge mountains, sailed on the Great lakes, watched the leaves turn in New England in the fall.

I would need five lifetimes of retiring to see and do everything there is in the USA.

 

[martyp]

I don’t know about 5 lifetimes but I lived in the US for 60 years and actually have experienced most of those exact things. BTW, my trip rafting down the Grand Canyon is still one of my best experiences. The rest of the world though is pretty interesting as well. Some of us equally value international travel. Stay where you want to stay. Go where you want to go. Balance the pros & cons and settle in a place good for you. I strongly believe that the considerations are significantly different for retirees. We have made our money and are now figuring out how to occupy our available time. I had enough of the US and chose to live in Thailand. It is just the next phase in my life. I still visit the US but I no longer want to live there.

 

[Fermion]

I can agree with that. "The best country to retire to" is probably unique to every individual, which makes these articles quite silly.

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour"

W. Blake

 

[NextInLine]

You say America is nothing special but have you ever been to Devil's Tower, or the Badlands, or the painted canyons, or had a pod of killer whales swim under your sailboat in the Puget sound, eaten fresh lobster while watching the boats come in at Stonington Harbor, hiked in the blue ridge mountains, sailed on the Great lakes, watched the leaves turn in New England in the fall.

I would need five lifetimes of retiring to see and do everything there is in the USA.

My hardcore fishing friends envy to the fact that I catch key west lobster, Alaska king salmon and Washington DC near record size snakehead fish in a span of 30 days. No where else in the world one could do that.

 

[meleana]

My answer is USA, but that's not very adventuresome.

I second that.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

In general, you should live where you want to live because you like it there, not just because it's cheap. Cheap places are often cheap for good reason.

+100 - Especially in America.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My hardcore fishing friends envy to the fact that I catch key west lobster, Alaska king salmon and Washington DC near record size snakehead fish in a span of 30 days. No where else in the world one could do that.

Err ..... or you can just buy them. Assuming you do not like fishing of course. Fishing is like watching paint dry for me.

 

[Fermion]

+100 - Especially in America.

That is changing though. Some of the most expensive places here in Washington state are also the ones with the highest crime.

In the cheap place we live in Washington state we were walking by the police station and noticed one of their patrol SUV was running with nobody in it and the door unlocked. I immediately thought "that car would be gone in Seattle"

 

[Teacher Terry]

It really isn't. There are plenty of areas in the USA that are almost as cheap as these AMAZING cheap places to retire around the world that appear in these articles. I am constantly finding many additional benefits for those with limited income, such as subsidized internet, electricity, and of course, practically free health care of similar quality to what a rich person gets.

I mean, yes, maybe the little island in the south pacific where your housekeeping is only $40 a month has a top of the line MRI, but what if it doesn't? You are flying.

Yes I totally agree with you. If I was really poor I’d move to Wichita Kansas as it’s a big city that’s really cheap. I have lived there twice and still have family there. My 45 year old small condo in Reno is worth more than my relative’s much younger, bigger, nicer house. Gas and groceries are also much cheaper. I’m sure there’s many places like this.

 

[Midpack]

I’m not moving so no skin in the game, but a golf buddy of mine is divorcing his third wife, and tells me he’s moving to Nashville, Italy or Portugal I have read Portugal is a real bargain for Americans, though I still believe you usually get what pay for…

 

[brett]

Retirees do not retire outside of their country only because of cost of living.

I know of a number who have moved for family reasons, because they married someone from another country, and one for reasons of personal safety. Or simply because they wanted to return to their country of birth.

SIL recently retired to Valencia, Spain. They have a house in town and a beach home by the sea. The move had zero to do with COL. It just came down to personal preferences on where to live in their retirement years. She speaks Spanish fluently so there are no language issues.

Those who make this decision do so based upon their own criteria....not the criteria that others seem to assume.

 

[Major Tom]

The personal connections I have with family and friends in the SF Bay Area are very important to me; more so as I live alone. If moved, I'd be moving on my own, so I'd miss these personal relationships greatly. Sure, I could find a cheaper place to live, with many interesting and different things to do, but my quality of life would suffer if I couldn't share them with the people who are important to me.

For this reason, the best place for me to spend my retirement years in, is where I am right now.

 

[NextInLine]

Err ..... or you can just buy them. Assuming you do not like fishing of course. Fishing is like watching paint dry for me.

I love fishing. It is my thing. I take 2 weeks off every year just to fish. The exhilaration of free diving and pulling a lobster out of a hole. Few years ago I spotted a huge snakehead and after a couple missed I caught it. It was 0.5 lbs less than a world record back then. Adrenaline flush lasted for 30 minutes. Looking back, it was a silly thought, but at that moment, I was so pleased that I said to myself that I can die now as a satisfied man.

 

[Koolau]

I wish Keith Cowan (kcowan) would check in. He seems to have a good handle on the expat life, splitting his time between Mexico and Canada. He also spends a lot of time in the USA as well. I always like to read of his adventures and how he manages.

For me, I chose the best of both "worlds." I'm an "expat" in Hawaii. I don't think there is another state that would "seem" more expat than Hawaii - yet is part of the USA. I've heard that "Hawaii is the USA but it's not America."

I obviously didn't choose Hawaii for it's money saving life style. I chose it as more or less my "last adventure." I spent 60 years, never having lived more than 10 miles from where I was born. The past 16 years, I've spent adopting (and being adopted) by a whole different culture - yet with the same basic laws and language as my native state/country. I also spend a fair amount of time in my native state. It's truly the best of both worlds.

I would agree that Hawaii has its challenges - especially economic - but that's part of the adventure. We have found "hacks" that make it possible to thrive here, economically, and otherwise. For instance, everyone says Hawaii is very friendly. And, on the surface, it is. For a big city, for instance, Honolulu is the the most traffic friendly city I've driven. For the most part, if you signal that you wish to change lanes, people will allow you do do so, rather than pulling up to block you like Chicago or most mainland big cities. Here, we say "Drive with Aloha" and, for the most part, we mean it.

Still, underneath, local people have been burned too often by getting close to mainland "expats" who leave after an average of two years. We've seen this ourselves. Our next door neighbors change on a rotating 2-year basis as they come and then return to the mainland - almost like clock work. We're the only "expats" we've known that have stayed.

To get around the issue of acceptance, we have found a welcoming church in which we fit right in and are accepted. Most - not all - of our friends are centered there. We have found some very close friends who are actually Hawaiian (at least "hapa" - half.) We have learned so much from them about Island living and Island culture. I'm sure they are part of the reasons we have stayed. We feel welcomed indeed by such local friends.

A change as big as moving 5000 miles (even within the USA) has indeed been an adventure. It's clearly not for everyone, but seems to w*rk well for us. I don't think I'd be tempted to be adventurous enough to go true expat. I'm so glad some folks here have been so successful being expats. It makes for great adventure stories for the rest of us. Thanks to all for sharing over the years.

 

[Badger]

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled all over the world and to every state in the continental US except Idaho and Montana. I find that some areas of the US are not much different than moving to another country.

 

[Gumby]

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled all over the world and to every state in the continental US except Idaho and Montana. I find that some areas of the US is not much different than moving to another country.

When I travel to visit my family, who all live in the state I left almost 47 years ago, I often feel like I need a passport.

 

[braumeister]

When I travel to visit my family, who all live in the state I left almost 47 years ago, I often feel like I need a passport.

And don't forget your shots.

 

[NoEZmoney]

We've looked at Mexico. Belize, Costa Rica, and Ecuador for part-time expat living but have decided to pass on these countries. We loved many things about them and got to know people who live in each but there are enough negatives and too many concessions /adjustments.

Costa Rica has become more expensive and narco activity has increased in areas. Ecuador is not as stable as it once was and narco gangs have gotten bolder of late, seizing control of a live TV broadcast this past week.

Mexico has its cartels and corruption. And US State Dept has always warned about Belize as being one of the more dangerous countries in western hemisphere.
We've been to all but Ecuador so we did our share of due-diligence.

We've found France to be our part time Expat spot as it has a pretty simple long-stay visa program for retirees and has a reciprocal tax treaty with US. We can also get on French healthcare system for lower cost than Medicare and France's healthcare is rated #1 in world by WHO.

We've been to most of France and are considering SW regions ranging from Dordogne to Occitanie as rents are good and so is infrastructure and transportation.

We've never been hassled while in France except once on a Paris subway when I push back a pickpocket's hand trying to unzip a shoulder bag. But we've been hassled by street thugs in Costa Rica and Mexico in broad daylight in common areas. I've yelled "Policia! Policia!" on 2 occasions while waiting for busses.

But smaller towns and cities in France have been no issues and we've managed on basic French language skills. We stay in the communities as gated expat communities are not our thing.

YMMV