Living not in the US - NOT POLITICAL

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by AdamW

A lot of people are recommending Portugal, and it is one of the most affordable places I've ever been. That being said outside of Lisbon, especially away from any major metropolitan city, English is not spoken at all. Just my observation. Your mileage may differ.

Fairly true of southern Spain as well.

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by Malum

Lived my entire life in Los Angeles and Orange County . Moved to the desert 5 years ago and absolutely love it here . Hiking right out my front door and mountains behind my house where my wife and I own a cabin , 50 minutes away . 2 hours to L.A. 2 hours to San Diego . We have no desire to leave .

My sister and BIL just bought a place in Palm Desert, how do you handle the summer heat there?

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by dmash

I completely understand. And besides it already being silly to break things up into ‘third world’ and ‘second world’ (laughable) it is 100% a fear mongering post. Private hospitals I've been to in Thailand had brand new, FAR superior equipment to a lot of facilities I've been in the US, not to mention the doctors had great bedside manner and actually seemed *super* concerned over even miniscule problems. Last thing they want on their watch is a wrong diagnosis on a foreigner. and even if you want to dock things like their public hospitals, well guess what, it's practically free, sans insurance, so that option doesn't even exist in the US.

If one has this type of prejudice against other countries' healthcare systems in the first place, go ahead and never leave. Because that type of mentality will never be comfortable living outside their familiar setting. Quite frankly I feel a lot of people comment on 'living abroad' when never doing more than simply having an extended vacation somewhere and are incredibly biased towards their home country (US) being superior in every aspect. US isn’t the greatest in the world like we used to be, this is a simple fact. I say this as an individual born and raised in the US, not an outsider.

https://www.americashealthrankings.o...-other-nations

"Compared with other developed and many developing nations, the United States continues to rank at or near the bottom in indicators of mortality and life expectancy while continuing to exceed other countries in health spending [1]."

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Of all the nonsense I've seen here over the years, that was close to the top.

Grady says he's happy living in Albuquerque. But apparently he should live his life in sadness and shame because he doesn't live somewhere more expensive... yeah, that makes sense. Spend money to solve a non-existent problem, in exchange for internet prestige

People either 'get' New Mexico or they don't, either they think there's nothing here or they think it's the last unspoiled place. A whole lot of celebrities who could live anywhere settle here. YMMV

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by FTX I

You're right. I speak portuguese so I can easily retire there but for those who only speak english I think the big cities are the best option.

Everyone in Europe secretly speaks English when no Brits, Aussies or Americans are around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cwWgxbqah0

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Everyone in Europe secretly speaks English when no Brits, Aussies or Americans are around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cwWgxbqah0

lol I stand corrected.

I've been around but I can't speak for the whole country of course and the example of my late family members is not enough. When you have young people around you will most definitely have english available but some places are a bit older than average in general. Portugal is magnificent. Beautiful, organized, full of history. it's a wonderful place.

[Malum]

Originally Posted by Paul7

My sister and BIL just bought a place in Palm Desert, how do you handle the summer heat there?

i worried about that prior to our move . I love the summers , I am either in AC or the pool . Do night hikes or early morning bike rides .

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by Malum

i worried about that prior to our move . I love the summers , I am either in AC or the pool . Do night hikes or early morning bike rides .

Thanks, I will pass that on to them. Living in NM, we get some of that summer heat but not as much, I find the older I get the more that dry heat is kind of good.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by Paul7

People either 'get' New Mexico or they don't, either they think there's nothing here or they think it's the last unspoiled place. A whole lot of celebrities who could live anywhere settle here. YMMV

I lived in Durango, Colorado for about 9 years and had the chance to explore northern NM extensively. The area around Santa Fe is one of my favorite places in the world and I could easily live there after the kids are gone.

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

I lived in Durango, Colorado for about 9 years and had the chance to explore northern NM extensively. The area around Santa Fe is one of my favorite places in the world and I could easily live there after the kids are gone.

I've run into a few people who are thinking of moving to Santa Fe from Denver, less congestion, milder winters but still the southernmost part of the Rockies. And we have a Rolex AD in Albuquerque.

I've always enjoyed visits to Durango.

[KBM]

Great thread. Amazing to see how often Portugal is mentioned. I have family there and recently became a citizen. The thought of moving to Portugal when it's time to retire has definitely crossed my mind.

[GB-man]

My wife’s family is Portuguese and my father in law is always telling us we will be inheriting some house in the countryside there yada yada yada. I always tell him to keep it lol I don’t speak port. Sounds like I’m a damn fool.

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by GB-man

My wife’s family is Portuguese and my father in law is always telling us we will be inheriting some house in the countryside there yada yada yada. I always tell him to keep it lol I don’t speak port. Sounds like I’m a damn fool.

I’ll take it!

[jatco]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I’ll take it!

You beat me to it...

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by jatco

You beat me to it...

We’ll move in to the place together Thomas... do you like to play Canasta?

[jatco]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

We’ll move in to the place together Thomas... do you like to play Canasta?

Sounds like a hellofa idea..
Thats one game I haven't played yet..Always willing to learn tho...

[It's Hedley]

Originally Posted by Goin2drt

All - I do not want to turn this into a political thread so leave that out.

My wife and I got to talking yesterday about the possibility of leaving the US and moving, living and retiring in a different country. I knew that this forum has a lot of folks from different countries so I thought I would ask your thoughts.

Key topics and must haves would be (listed below) and does your country provide this or are you educated on where you think this would exist.

1. No extreme weather. Can have all the seasons but nothing crazy extreme.
2. Good and AFFORDABLE healthcare.
3. Can get away with speaking English. Wife is bilingual in Spanish, I am not.
4. Fairly easy access to airports to leave and have folks come to visit that would not cost a fortune.
5. Retirement friendly from a financial standpoint. Basically cost of living is affordable. This also is subjective I know but lets say we will put a number on it. You could live nicely on an income of $5K a month US dollars.
6. Safe. I know this is relative but you get what I mean.
7. Things to do/explore. Culture if you will. Things to keep you busy.
8. No socialism, communism etc. Want a free democracy.

We "googled" best countries to retire in and many interesting countries came up so I thought I would ask here. Why not.

My wife and I have been researching this for years and will retire either summer 2022 or 2023 (me 56/she 52). Our top landing spots are Spain (Valencia), Portugal (Algarve), Italy (Sicily), Thailand (Hua Hin) or Maylaysia (Penang). Ideally, we would split time between the Euro country and SE Asia country, but that might be a stretch. I am waiting until after tax season to talk to an international tax accountant/attorney to really put our plan to paper. It is all about protecting your assets, having a budget and sticking to it.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[watchbobby]

Originally Posted by RyanJ

Actually, Canada is my plan B. I was married to a Canadian so that should make me an honorable Canadian.

I know what a looney and a tooney are, have visited Tim Hortons, and eaten poutine.

I do really like Canada!

Welcome to the Loonie Tunes!

Canada is a nice place to visit, but- they're not particurarly friendly towards Americans (gun obsession and all that; they may like your money but not you). It's cold. They have the same crime issues we have in the States, mostly without the guns, but they don't want you to know about it. And I'm pretty sure that transitioning there takes a lot of paperwork, since the US is not part of the British commonwealth.

However, they do speak English (eh?) and you're going to feel pretty much like you're home while at the same time visiting a foreign country. So go for it if you're ready.

[TheVTCGuy]

Last time I was in Europe, I was in Amsterdam and talking with a bunch of locals in a bar, very nice and friendly people by the way. I asked what they thought of Americans. They said Americans were so narrow minded, an example was everybody only spoke one language, English. In Holland everyone spoke at least two, Dutch and English, and many spoke several.

So I started speaking Spanish.

[Paul7]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Last time I was in Europe, I was in Amsterdam and talking with a bunch of locals in a bar, very nice and friendly people by the way. I asked what they thought of Americans. They said Americans were so narrow minded, an example was everybody only spoke one language, English. In Holland everyone spoke at least two, Dutch and English, and many spoke several.

If not for Americans, they'd be speaking German.

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by Paul7

If not for Americans, they'd be speaking German.

Indeed. Or Russian. How soon they forget.

[Mountains]

Chile would have my vote.

Getting your taxes in order would be critical as the US still requires its citizens to file tax returns even if tax resident elsewhere. The US tax system also (effectively) precludes investing in many tax-efficient assets in the host country. After many years of paying taxes twice and having complicated and costly-to-prepare reporting, my wife finally decided to rescind her US citizenship. Our lives were simplified overnight.

[Uggi]

Originally Posted by Paul7

If not for Americans, they'd be speaking German.

Oh dear.

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by Uggi

Oh dear.

UK may be too. UK was just surviving, not pushing back or making inroads. I'm pretty sure if you look at the twentieth century, USA dominated discoveries in transistors, microchips, PCs, ethernet, space, air. Not dismissing the struggle or tenacity or a Malta I believe. Other countries have obviously made great contributions, but the UK did not defeat the Nazi threat nor the USSR, and I doubt they could have on their own. Whereas the USA might have been able to on their own and was inarguably a turning point in terms of the power of that war.

Not to mention marshall plan and soft power. When the USA was behind we quickly caught up. It seems interesting to me how many across the globe are so dismissive of the US, but perhaps particularly the UK.

[Uggi]

Originally Posted by breitlings

UK may be too. UK was just surviving, not pushing back or making inroads. I'm pretty sure if you look at the twentieth century, USA dominated discoveries in transistors, microchips, PCs, ethernet, space, air. Not dismissing the struggle or tenacity or a Malta I believe. Other countries have obviously made great contributions, but the UK did not defeat the Nazi threat nor the USSR, and I doubt they could have on their own. Whereas the USA might have been able to on their own and was inarguably a turning point in terms of the power of that war.

Not to mention marshall plan and soft power. When the USA was behind we quickly caught up. It seems interesting to me how many across the globe are so dismissive of the US, but perhaps particularly the UK.

Political posts are against the rules I think.

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by Uggi

Political posts are against the rules I think.

That's not what that rule refers to; it means rooting for a political party or politician. (Please correct me mods if I am wrong). But it sounds to me that you do not have a logical refutation.

[FTX I]

.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by Paul7

If not for Americans, they'd be speaking German.

Originally Posted by HHIslander

Indeed. Or Russian. How soon they forget.

Being Dutch I can assure you that lots of people in Amsterdam live on their own planet and are not representative of our country. You see the same attitude in big cities everywhere.

Every year in the Netherlands we have a nation wide memorial on 4th May whereby the complete country comes to a stand still when remembering the fallen.
It is really a very sacred moment. Primary school classes are involved to keep the memory alive.

We have not forgotten and never will.
As with any good friend no harm in making jokes about stereotypes imho

[Uggi]

Originally Posted by breitlings

That's not what that rule refers to; it means rooting for a political party or politician. (Please correct me mods if I am wrong). But it sounds to me that you do not have a logical refutation.

Maybe. Anyway I'm not your enemy in any sense, trust me. I love baked beans!

[breitlings]

I didn’t mean any offense. The US owes a lot to the UK. I think many here appreciate that. There are a lot of range rovers with LS swaps, if you will.

If you can get to New Orleans, they have very solid food. Perhaps not the best in the world but never claimed the US is perfect or the best at everything. And I certainly don’t mean to imply that. I often think what we could do, humanity, if we work together and remove roadblocks to innovation (which I don’t count IP protection as one).