10 best countries to retire - any been there?

[Retch The Grate]

Just a few different observations on Thailand given the above comments.

My friend Lek, when she isn't dating a "well off by poor Thai standards" western guy, makes money by assembling gold jewelry. She hates the work because it is really hard on her vision, but that's what she has access to with her educational background. You know those tiny tiny gold chains? Those are the ones she links together before they get plated over to look seamless, I had always assumed a machine made them these days, but no. She vastly prefers dating somebody who is happy to support her. I think she's broken up with her latest English boyfriend sadly, that had been going for a number of years and I was kind of hoping it would work out long term for her.

My uncle's wife is a lot younger than him (she's in her late 30s now I think, maybe early 40s and he's in his 70s), but is well educated (she has an MBA) and as far as I can tell she's been super happy with getting married to him and she's a lovely part of our family. They are raising several kids they adopted from other relatives, have a great home and a fun lifestyle with a lot of adventure and activities.

All our family friends in Thailand are lovely people. My parents have been the local "parents" for kids over in Boston for college for multiple different families and given how important that kind of thing is culturally, we've got deep connections now.

Thailand is definitely a place I've thought about going to do something crazy like starting a game development studio on a beach. You need to generate a lot less revenue in Thailand to support a comfortable standard of living.

 

[audreyh1]

Spain is the only one I’d seriously consider. Portugal maybe, but I’d visit first.

Hmmm - I guess that wealth tax on worldwide assets knocks Spain out of consideration.

 

[sunsnow]

We are currently living in Portugal, and love it. We live on the coast not far from Lisbon, a short walk to the beach, or to the central business district of our town. People are friendly, and I can walk anywhere at any hour without fear of crime. Most locals speak English, and no one seems put out that we don’t (yet) speak Portuguese. Where we live the climate is mild, similar to Northern CA. We chose Portugal for the quality of life, not the lower COL — although that has been a very pleasant bonus. Mexico is great, but the crime and general governmental dysfunction ruled it out for us. Spain’s wealth tax was also a deal killer. Malaysia had great food and a vibrant cultural mix, when we visited a few years ago, but its climate is extremely hot, its government seems to have a serious corruption problem, and it has been having a major crime wave over the past decade. I have not visited the rest of the countries on the list.

 

[NYEXPAT]

We are currently living in Portugal, and love it. We live on the coast not far from Lisbon, a short walk to the beach, or to the central business district of our town. People are friendly, and I can walk anywhere at any hour without fear of crime. Most locals speak English, and no one seems put out that we don’t (yet) speak Portuguese. Where we live the climate is mild, similar to Northern CA. We chose Portugal for the quality of life, not the lower COL — although that has been a very pleasant bonus. Mexico is great, but the crime and general governmental dysfunction ruled it out for us. Spain’s wealth tax was also a deal killer. Malaysia had great food and a vibrant cultural mix, when we visited a few years ago, but its climate is extremely hot, its government seems to have a serious corruption problem, and it has been having a major crime wave over the past decade. I have not visited the rest of the countries on the list.

Sorry for stealing your post!

We are currently living in Peru, and love it. We live on the coast not far from central Lima, a short walk to the beach, or to the central business district of Miraflores (Wealthy district and center for tourists). People are friendly, and I can walk anywhere at any hour without fear of crime. Most educated locals speak English, and no one seems put out that I don’t (yet) speak much Spanish. Where we live the climate is mild, similar to San Diego CA. I chose Lima for the quality of life, not the lower COL — although that has been a very pleasant bonus. The shots below with the exception of one were all taken from/or within three blocks of my apartment.

 

[mexexpat]

I currently live in Mexico. We first visited in 2007 and in 2008 we bought a home here (Lake Chapala). We had to return to US in 2013 to care for my FIL. After he died and my husband settled his estate we returned to MX and bought another home. We also own a home in a funky beach town in FL, but are spending 90% of our time here (we fly to FL every 60 days for a week to re-start our medigap policy for emergencies here).

We are not here for economic reasons....we are lucky that we had successful careers that rewarded us with a large pension (me) and large savings/retirement funds (my DH, who owned his own business).

We are here because we like it! The people, the lifestyle, the weather, the architecture. YMMV.

 

[kcowan]

We are here because we like it! The people, the lifestyle, the weather, the architecture. YMMV.

We own in PV since 2007 and spend 6 months there. We escape north because the heat gets oppressive in the summers. This year we are flying to San Miguel de Allende for a few weeks to stay with friends then driving to PV with them. They go to SMA to avoid the PV heat too. We are always anticipating the return to our many friends and events in the fall.

 

[explanade]

How reliable is the infrastructure in Mexico? Any frequent brownouts?

How expensive to air condition in summer?

Do you go see doctors there or fly back to US?

 

[AllDone]

We're planning on moving to Spain for a couple of years, just for adventure, once our frail, elderly dogs have shuffled off to the Rainbow Bridge. Portugal makes more sense from a tax standpoint, but we have friends in Spain and we just like it. My husband has Italian citizenship and that's another option, but less appealing for reasons that we can't quite articulate.

 

[mexexpat]

Answers in blue.

How reliable is the infrastructure in Mexico? Any frequent brownouts?

We live in Centro Ajijic and rarely power outages or brownouts. But it can vary widely by location.

How expensive to air condition in summer?

Houses here have no central heat or air conditioning...not needed! May can be hot (will hit 90, but low humidity) but once the summer rains start in early June, we rarely hit 80 for the rest of the summer. Most rains come at night with sunny days.

Do you go see doctors there or fly back to US?

Both. We own a home in US but use it rarely, however we do plan our regular medical appointments for the US since we have Medicare. We have had medical issues here in MX and our care has been great and inexpensive (we pay out of pocket). Doctors still make house calls. We are about 1 hour from downtown Guadalajara which is where most of MX's medical schools are; that is where we go for specialists if needed.

Health care here is fast....example: Went to my village doctor one morning (speaks English) for leg pain. He wanted to rule out blood clots. He himself called a lab in Guad that has latest doppler ultrasound, got me an appointment for 90 minutes later. I take a taxi and have it done...and it is the radiologist that does the test, not a technician (same for stress test and ultrasound my DH had with a cardiologist...the doctor does the test him/herself). I wait 40 minutes for the written report and film, take a taxi back to my village doctor. He sees me almost immediately...good news, no blood clots. All this before lunchtime!

Cost of doppler ultrasound was equiv. 140 USD. I could have filed a claim with my medigap policy but didn't bother. When my DH had some tests here after chest pains (turned out to be nothing), I did file with US insurance and they paid promptly (that was bill for equiv. 500 USD). Oh, another thing....when your appointment is over, you pay the doctor directly. Regular office visits run 300 pesos (15 bucks).

 

[97guns]

From our experience it really depends on where you go in Thailand. We do not bother with Bangkok, Phuket, Pataya, or even Ko Samui. We tend to stick to Lanta and the small islands such as Ngai or Libong. Even in Lanta we are down island, not by the ferry dock.

We had to come into Bangkok today for a visa interview and the traffic around the US Embassy is horrendous, literally takes 1/2 hour to move 1 mile, we missed the street to our hotel and it took 1 1/2 hours to circle back to it, not a city I’d like to live in

 

[BigNick]

Spain is the only one I’d seriously consider. Portugal maybe, but I’d visit first.

Hmmm - I guess that wealth tax on worldwide assets knocks Spain out of consideration.

Spanish wealth tax for a couple with 3 million Euros in worldwide assets including a main residence worth 600K Euros would be about 5000 Euros per year, varying a little depending on which region you live in.

Additionally, for people with substantial assets but modest income, there is a limit such that the amount of wealth plus income tax you pay can't exceed a certain percentage of your income. So if you are living exclusively on cash withdrawals, and your money is in growth assets that don't pay dividends or interest, that amount could go down to as low as 1000 Euros.

 

[kcowan]

How reliable is the infrastructure in Mexico? Any frequent brownouts?

How expensive to air condition in summer?

Do you go see doctors there or fly back to US?

Brownouts happen daily because the wall power varies from 150V to 90V based on demand. Power bars keep the electronics OK but running a toaster or dryer can vary by time of day.

The cost of running AC seems high because everything else is 50% lower than NOTB whereas AC is comparable. But we only use it in October and May. Gas is comparable. Propane is cheap. Water is almost free. Property taxes are cheap. Car insurance is comparable. Overall, we spend about 40% less than NOTB. We have an 1800 sq.ft. condo and 2 cars. We could spend much less by shopping more locally than at Costco. But we love Costco meat and imported cheese. All dairy, fruits and vegetables are local. The only processed food we buy is pizza.

We use the medical system regularly because we carry out-of-country medical insurance. I have had cardiologist visits and worn a 24-hour halter, had a bone fracture reset, hospitalized for a spider bite, had my retina sealed with a laser, been treated for bronchitis. I am not really that sick. This is a ten-year summary!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Brownouts happen daily because the wall power varies from 150V to 90V based on demand. Power bars keep the electronics OK but running a toaster or dryer can vary by time of day.

The cost of running AC seems high because everything else is 50% lower than NOTB whereas AC is comparable. But we only use it in October and May. Gas is comparable. Propane is cheap. Water is almost free. Property taxes are cheap. Car insurance is comparable. Overall, we spend about 40% less than NOTB. We have an 1800 sq.ft. condo and 2 cars. We could spend much less by shopping more locally than at Costco. But we love Costco meat and imported cheese. All dairy, fruits and vegetables are local. The only processed food we buy is pizza.

We use the medical system regularly because we carry out-of-country medical insurance. I have had cardiologist visits and worn a 24-hour halter, had a bone fracture reset, hospitalized for a spider bite, had my retina sealed with a laser, been treated for bronchitis. I am not really that sick. This is a ten-year summary!

That "was" in PV Right?

 

[kcowan]

Answers in blue.

Yes the medical specialists give us their cell phone numbers and they make house calls. Much better than NOTB. My PCP recommend an MRI. I dropped into their lab and they apologized that the tech was not there so made an appointment for the next day at 11am. NOTB the wait is 3 months, where we paid to have it done for spouse the next day.

Cost for an office visit has gone up to 350 pesos in PV. 500 pesos for specialists.

 

[bmcgonig]

Yes the medical specialists give us their cell phone numbers and they make house calls. Much better than NOTB. My PCP recommend an MRI. I dropped into their lab and they apologized that the tech was not there so made an appointment for the next day at 11am. NOTB the wait is 3 months, where we paid to have it done for spouse the next day.

Cost for an office visit has gone up to 350 pesos in PV. 500 pesos for specialists.

When I look at property advertised on PVR they seem mostly to be priced in dollars. Do they fluctuate with the value of the peso ?

 

[mexexpat]

Here at Lake Chapala, most (but not all) homes are listed in USD since the MLS here is a group of mostly gringo realtors. This is true in many expat areas in MX. Though when the deed is recorded it is recorded in pesos at the exchange rate as of the date of settlement.

 

[F4mandolin]

I moved permanently back to the UK (N Yorkshire) 3+ years ago. About 17 years total in the UK in various places, 10 years in Germany and 5 in Okinawa Japan. I prefer it here in crappy weather England, although since the beginning of May we have had stupidly good/dry weather....crazy. I've had pretty good luck with health care here, although if you want something done and it isn't important you might wait quite a while unless you go private health. If sun (and being able to see it) is your priority this isn't the place for you. I grew up in SW Washington, so it doesn't bother me.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

UK is OK. But prefer Devon and Cornwall. However 1600 / 1700 hours of sunlight out of >4500 a year makes Jack a dull boy. Especially if Jack is used to 2800 - 3000 +.

 

[Totoro]

My big hangup about the UK too. So much to love about it, but oh dear where is the sun?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

The best thing about the UK is it's proximity to the EU and the ease of traveling between them. That may be getting more difficult in the future. Oh and of course those lovely character homes in the South East. My Canadian wife of 30 years needs to apply for a visa to stay there, and it is not guaranteed, and will cost $5000 for the privilege.

You gotta admit being able to drive to the South of France and stay there for a while is really nice.

 

[braumeister]

My big hangup about the UK too. So much to love about it, but oh dear where is the sun?

I think people can get accustomed to anything. I keep reading about parts of Scandinavia that have the highest per capita consumption of antidepressants, yet always come out on top in surveys of the happiest populations. They are expensive places to live with climates that can hardly be considered favorable, but most wouldn't consider leaving.

 

[TomandFlora]

I am currently in the Czech Republic. I would say this is the best country in central Europe. Budapest being a close second. Most of our travels gave been in Asia, which we prefer (8 months at a time). I have been to all the listed countries, no a huge fan of central America

 

[TomandFlora]

Northern Thailand and central Philippines our choice as far as living. 1. 5 k to $2k a month is a good living long term

 

[CaliKid]

Sorry for stealing your post!

We are currently living in Peru, and love it. We live on the coast not far from central Lima, a short walk to the beach, or to the central business district of Miraflores (Wealthy district and center for tourists). People are friendly, and I can walk anywhere at any hour without fear of crime. Most educated locals speak English, and no one seems put out that I don’t (yet) speak much Spanish. Where we live the climate is mild, similar to San Diego CA. I chose Lima for the quality of life, not the lower COL — although that has been a very pleasant bonus. The shots below with the exception of one were all taken from/or within three blocks of my apartment.

We are currently living in Portugal, and love it. We live on the coast not far from Lisbon, a short walk to the beach, or to the central business district of our town. People are friendly, and I can walk anywhere at any hour without fear of crime. Most locals speak English, and no one seems put out that we don’t (yet) speak Portuguese. Where we live the climate is mild, similar to Northern CA. We chose Portugal for the quality of life, not the lower COL — although that has been a very pleasant bonus. Mexico is great, but the crime and general governmental dysfunction ruled it out for us. Spain’s wealth tax was also a deal killer. Malaysia had great food and a vibrant cultural mix, when we visited a few years ago, but its climate is extremely hot, its government seems to have a serious corruption problem, and it has been having a major crime wave over the past decade. I have not visited the rest of the countries on the list.

Both Portugal and Peru sound great to me. Sunsnow- How far from Lisbon are you? NYEXPAT- Are you in Lima or in the 'burbs?

 

[F4mandolin]

UK is OK. But prefer Devon and Cornwall. However 1600 / 1700 hours of sunlight out of >4500 a year makes Jack a dull boy. Especially if Jack is used to 2800 - 3000 +.

Can't argue too much with that one, especially after the wet winter we just had.....and the bunch of times the golf courses were closed because of it. Just a little bit drier and I'd be fine. I've tried living in nice weather for 5 years (Okinawa)....just too boring for me. We've had hardly any rain since the beginning of May.....most people are begging for a few days or rain now.