We've been doing our due diligence for living abroad when we retire. While we will always keep our American citizenship, there is something to be said for spending time in another country. We've traveled a good bit on long vacays enough to know where we'd like to spend more of our time in the not-too-distant future as we're counting down to 18 months and popping smoke.
While it's true you can live comfortably in a foreign country on less than some places in the U.S., you have to be careful and not get sucked in by the glossy content of magazines like International Living, etc. While they offer a good start for learning the basics, they tend to hit the high notes and underplay the negatives.
But here's where our minds are in considering expat living:
COST OF LIVING / HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE:
We've found parts of Europe offer a lot of bang for the buck in terms of low, reasonable costs of living and quality of amenities. We like France, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Portugal. But our top 3 are France, Portugal, and Italy. We loved Turkey and the cost of living is insanely cheap there but with Erdoğan in power leaning more towards fundamentalism, we're going to pass for the time being. Sure each area has it's issues as far as bureaucracy and quirks, but these are mere tradeoffs for what you get in return. Now if you insist on living, shopping, dining in the main historic centers /tourist areas, you'll pay a lot more but if you go a few blocks off the main attractions, menu prices, hotel and apt.rents drop exponentially. We know a guy who went to a Portuguese restaurant and paid 19.50 Euro for a bottle of wine. Our Portuguese waiters who liked us told us to avoid paying prices like that and that if the house wine is Portuguese, it's usually as good if not better than the pricier labels. It's true...we get a liter jar of Vino Tinto for less than 3 Euros from the Duoro valley at this seaside restaurant in Porto and it was some of the best wine we've ever had. And going to nieghborhood taverns you're eating and drinking for less than 20 Euros a couple and it's really, really great!
GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORTATION:
Got to say the public transportation and affordability of same is really, really great. High speed trains, public bus & metros --- in many places you'll never need a car, which is good 'cuz fuel costs are high. But we've crisscrossed the continent by train and low-cost flights (RyanAir, EasyJet, etc.) and it's amazing how connected you can be at a low cost. BTW -- France has some of the best highways I've ever driven and the main highways most people drive speed limit due to radar all along the routes. I was amazed that the big trucks were the slowest on the road as they are hightly regulated.
HOUSING / RENTS :
We've found some amazing values for apartments, houses, hotels, AirBnB's, etc. in some really great places. We scored a large BR above Harry's Bar in Rome along the Via Veneto which is high-dollar area and we kept pinching ourselves at the luck. Amalfi coast hotels on shoulder season are awesome long-term and I need not say more.
HEALTHCARE ACCESS:
So France, Portugal, Italy have very high healthcare ratings according to the WHO and we've had to use medical services on a couple of occasions.. couldn't be more pleased. Plus I needed a prescription filled that cost me almost $1K in the states and in Spain it was less than 30 Euros for the same equivalent. Crazy huh? I've discovered different insurance options that are less costly than U.S. and would allow me excellent care at private care facilities. If we get a long-term visa, many countries allow you to get on the national health system with a few exceptions.
FOOD --- "Enough said...it's fresh, cheap, and really good. Plus the EU prohibits a lot of the chemicals and pesticides we use in the U.S. We've shopped the local markets and the trick is you only buy what you plan on eating in the next couple of days 'cuz they don't use sprays to keep food on the shelf long.
WATER --- probably more highly regulated than in the U.S.
SAFETY & CRIME -- Portugal is the safest country in the world, very low violence and gun violence is pratically 'nil. We felt safe at all hours thanks to a good police and military patrol in public areas. Sure there are parts of Rome, Paris, Lisbon that I'd never dare going in but that's the same to be said of NYC, L.A., Dallas-Ft Worth, New Orleans, or Tampa. Be smart and you're good. Now you'll need to be smart about pickpockets and street hustlers but that's true in any huge touristy area. We generally keep things under coats and in front when we venture out and a little street-smarts goes a long way. But in general, we've not experienced anything. We do know of people who've gotten ripped off but in every instance they say they weren't paying attention or left a bag on a back of a chair when they got up to go to the restroom or something like that.
CULTURE -- again..no need to explain.
POLITICAL STABILITY:
This can be highly subjective but in general France and Portugal are our favs with Portugal being more level headed about how the government responds.
PEOPLE: Portugal is the friendliest place we've been with Italy a close second. France... in the southern region much more friendly than Paris or major northern areas. Spain is good but big cities are typical big cities. Had great experiences in Naples which we were concerned about but mostly good experiences.
SO WHAT NOW?
We are winding down our careers, looking at long-term tourist visas. Sure there are residency visas and other programs but they each have pros & cons, etc. Portugal has a really attraction NHR (Non Habitual Residency) visa where you're taxed at 10% for 10 yrs but thanks to tax treaty with U.S. you'll likely pay nothing after paying U.S. taxes first depending on your tax situation. (there's a lot to unwind there and I won't get into to it).
The longterm visa will likely be for France for 1yr and allows us to travel all through Europe. You can renew each year. There's other ways to avoid the hassle like doing the "Schengen Hop" on a regular tourist visa but there's a longer story than we have time here for, just google it if interested.
AT THE END OF THE DAY:
We'll always be Americans and return off and on to the mother country...but if we find something that's too awesome to turn down...(like buying a small apartment or house overseas as our base)... we'll be renting. Sure you can do the 1 Euro homes in Italy and if that's your thing, more power to you. I'm just not that brave (anymore).
We've never had language barriers that couldn't be overcome with a little practice and Google Translate....... it's a great big beautiful world and when you spend time away from your comfort zone and give up the routine of American life, you'll discover some really interesting things about yourself.
P.S. BUT ---- if you can't live without super convenience and need instant customer service, and you need the Super WalMart around the corner (yet they do have some things like that though) ...you may need some conditioning. I recommend taking tours and guided excursions if you're not comfortable doing your own itinerary. That's how we started years ago and we've since gone on our own and have had many more pluses than minuses.
