Can I retire in a low COL country with $500K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can if you live their equivalent of a middle class lifestyle rather than the American version.

When I was in Georgia, I saw a very lovely lifestyle. Amazing food, beautiful cities and countryside, lots of religious events, etc. However, even MC professionals often drive beaters or didn’t have a car at all. Women had few articles of clothing because it was so expensive. It was not uncommon for a woman to repeat an outfit twice in the same week. MC US lifestyle looks luxurious there.

A former coworker retired young (55) and went to Mexico. Culturally everything was fine, but she was blowing through her savings at an alarming rate because she was trying to live like her friends in the US. She had to come back to the US and is now working FT at 68.

It’s weird you think not having a car (in a country with excellent public transportation) or wearing the same outfit twice a week is a sign of poverty.
Only in the US people are shamed if they wear the same stuff more often than some queen B diva thinks is ok.
It’s also ok to wear the same blouse or shirt twice, shocker, I know. And no, it doesn’t mean one stinks

I agree, this was such a strange post. I am happy I didn’t grow up with this constant need to impress others with wasteful spending habits. That said, it seems a bit sad to move to far-away countries, without friends or family and retire all alone. I wouldn’t want to do it.

[Anonymous]

It would depend where you did it. We have family in Mexico and plan to go back after we retire. But you will need private insurance. It is not to expensive. Private hospitals are equivalent to American hospitals at least in large urban areas.

However, 500,000 would not last long in places like Mexico City or Monterey. You would most likely have to live some place more rural.

Also locals price gouge foreigners on rent. Wherever you move, I would suggest learning the language. You have enough time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Portugal? Very beautiful. Affordable. No wars.

They’ve gotten far too many Americans now and have really tightened up
the Golden Visa and raised the buy-in costs. If you’re wealthy enough, though, doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Thailand
St Kitts & Nevis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

[Anonymous]

India

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out the leanfire and expatfire subs on reddit. $500k would be extremely lean, but if you let it compound for a few more years, it's possible.

Possible, maybe. A good idea? Probably not. Living one unexpected expense away from bankruptcy hardly seems like a recipe for a rewarding and comfortable retirement.

Spend less, save more.

What if I’d rather live large in a third world country than live frugally in America?

The Baltics are not third world. Living on countryside is extremely cheap.

unless something drastically changes here in the US, medical care alone could wipe OP out, and the cost of medical care isn't that much cheaper in rural areas. Rather, it's harder to get medical care in rural areas.

You kidding us all, right?!

? no, why would you say that. Medical care in the US is stupidly expensive, and a large % of Americans struggle with medical bill.


https://spendmenot.com/blog/medical-bankruptcy-statistics/

Almost 60% of US adults have had medical debt at some point in their life.
70% of Americans with medical bills had to cut their food expenses to avoid bankruptcy.
Two-thirds of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills.
20% of medical bankruptcy filers are in the 55+ age group.
Almost half of those who filed for medical bankruptcy cite hospital bills as their most considerable expense.

You know that medicare doesn't cover everything, right? My parents are on a fixed income of $2000/month in CA, and they still pay premiums for their medicare. I've had to pay for some of their medical bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

I believe it. If rent is covered you could also live on half the amount that my aunt needs, an hour outside of Vienna. It’s very doable. But OP would have to speak German in order to participate socially. She can get by with English but if 5 friends get to gather and they all speak German, I doubt they would all want to switch to English just to accommodate the OP. Since most people would t want to learn German, it’s not an option for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

I believe it. If rent is covered you could also live on half the amount that my aunt needs, an hour outside of Vienna. It’s very doable. But OP would have to speak German in order to participate socially. She can get by with English but if 5 friends get to gather and they all speak German, I doubt they would all want to switch to English just to accommodate the OP. Since most people would t want to learn German, it’s not an option for them.

^ get together

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out the leanfire and expatfire subs on reddit. $500k would be extremely lean, but if you let it compound for a few more years, it's possible.

Possible, maybe. A good idea? Probably not. Living one unexpected expense away from bankruptcy hardly seems like a recipe for a rewarding and comfortable retirement.

Spend less, save more.

What if I’d rather live large in a third world country than live frugally in America?

The Baltics are not third world. Living on countryside is extremely cheap.

unless something drastically changes here in the US, medical care alone could wipe OP out, and the cost of medical care isn't that much cheaper in rural areas. Rather, it's harder to get medical care in rural areas.

You kidding us all, right?!

? no, why would you say that. Medical care in the US is stupidly expensive, and a large % of Americans struggle with medical bill.


https://spendmenot.com/blog/medical-bankruptcy-statistics/

Almost 60% of US adults have had medical debt at some point in their life.
70% of Americans with medical bills had to cut their food expenses to avoid bankruptcy.
Two-thirds of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills.
20% of medical bankruptcy filers are in the 55+ age group.
Almost half of those who filed for medical bankruptcy cite hospital bills as their most considerable expense.

You know that medicare doesn't cover everything, right? My parents are on a fixed income of $2000/month in CA, and they still pay premiums for their medicare. I've had to pay for some of their medical bills.

^correction: my parents live off of $1300/month. And they live in a large suburb with access to a lot of different docs and hospitals.

If you live in cheapo rural areas, good luck finding doctors and hospitals nearby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

NHS is a mess indeed, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Portugal? Very beautiful. Affordable. No wars.

And overrun by American expats (who are resented by the locals), so no longer so affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

NHS is a mess indeed, though.

it really depends on where you live, but even so, at least they can get some care. If you tell a Brit that they will have the same healthcare system as we do in the US they would riot.

Ours is also a mess given how many people have to choose between food and medicine, and go bankrupt due to medical bills.

If you have wonderful insurance from the fed as a retiree, then lucky you. The vast majority of us do not work for the feds, and we are on our own for healthcare. I pay private for mine, and it sucks, and it's expensive. My DC went to an urgent care in the UK, and they charged us all of $0. Also had to take DC to a doctor in Spain, and got some rx drug - all of $35, including the drug, which costs $70 here in the US. To see the doctor, I would pay $105.

So, don't tell me that our system is not broken. OP definitely would go bankrupt in the US at $500K in retirement if OP had serious health issues in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stayed in a town in Mexico that was popular with American retirees for about a month learning Spanish. I made friends with a few. They were very cheap when it came to getting lunch and things like that. So my perception is that they don’t even have a middle class lifestyle in this low cost country. For me it would not be worth it

I’ve spent a lot of time in Latin America, and by and large North American expats (USA and Canada) are weirdos, outcasts and nobodies who couldn’t make it up north and moved to Latin America basically to exploit the locals and engage in sex tourism. Most don’t even bother to learn Spanish, and yes they’re cheap AF. It’s all rather depressing and disgusting. I cannot stand them, and frankly they embarrass me.

Wow. I've lived and travelled in Latin America and none of the above has been my experience. I think you must run in a very different crowd than I do. Rest assured, there is more than one expat crowd.

I'm betting our experiences are different because when you "lived and traveled" in Latin America your crowd was the expat crowd and not the local crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how much money I will have when I retire. But my aunt is retired in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, definitely 1st world. Healthcare is excellent. She lives on €2200 per month pension and wants for nothing. Cultural amenities are boundless and subsidized. That’s how it’s done.

Which country?

Austria. You might not like it but cities are multicultural, international and affordable.

My IL is retired in the UK and lives on the equivalent of $1300 per month. Not central London, obviously, but not in a rural town, either.

When you retire, other than rent/mortgage, the next biggest expense will be healthcare, and US healthcare is the most expensive in the developed world.

NHS is a mess indeed, though.

it really depends on where you live, but even so, at least they can get some care. If you tell a Brit that they will have the same healthcare system as we do in the US they would riot.

Ours is also a mess given how many people have to choose between food and medicine, and go bankrupt due to medical bills.

If you have wonderful insurance from the fed as a retiree, then lucky you. The vast majority of us do not work for the feds, and we are on our own for healthcare. I pay private for mine, and it sucks, and it's expensive. My DC went to an urgent care in the UK, and they charged us all of $0. Also had to take DC to a doctor in Spain, and got some rx drug - all of $35, including the drug, which costs $70 here in the US. To see the doctor, I would pay $105.

So, don't tell me that our system is not broken. OP definitely would go bankrupt in the US at $500K in retirement if OP had serious health issues in retirement.

Yikes. Most people don't even have 500k for retirement in the US.