places to retire cheaply

[TMNT]

australia has a great overall standard of living, yes we pay for it, highwages, high rents, high taxes on alcohol and cigarettes etc. etc.

iguess you could earn all your money here and go and spend it in some less expesnive country

ive heard a few people say "earn in the west, spend in the east"
which makes sense

I wouldnt mind retiring in australia, if I could afford to go out, drink, eat, holiday etc. etc.

but id probably need $2k per week, and I wouldnt mind a nice car, so on $2k per week, I probably couldnt affford the car I want.......and its not a ferrari either

 

[dex]

Funny how people view Australia as nirvana...i migrated here only because of hubby's job...my brother could have migrated thru family ties but would not even consider it....too boring...too slow compared to what's happening in Asia at this moment....truly, unless you have spent considerable time living in another country,short "touristy" trips is not enough to give a fair judgement....

Well said Virgo.
I think a lot of people who want to retire in Australia have only done short touristy trips o'seas. Asia is dynamic and fast paced so probably wouldn't suit people who want to play lawn bowls every Sunday.

 

[dex]

Can you provide links to this? My understanding is that Thailand has a huge problem around alcohol related violence, especially domestic violence.

Thais like to get drunk (mao sanook) and it's usually when they're singing videoke but you never here reports about them king hitting a stranger from behind after leaving a nightclub at 4am.

 

[MTR]

Hiya

I would not retire fully overseas as my children will be working and living in Australia...but i envisage spending 4-6 months travelling, volunteering and semi-retiring in South East Asia...

I do have the luxury of accomodation in Singapore though which i will use as a base for the region....

Funny how people view Australia as nirvana...i migrated here only because of hubby's job...my brother could have migrated thru family ties but would not even consider it....too boring...too slow compared to what's happening in Asia at this moment....truly, unless you have spent considerable time living in another country,short "touristy" trips is not enough to give a fair judgement....

Nirvana, just bloody great place to live, seems others think the same Lets see if it will be 4 years in a row.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/28/australia-best-place-live-work

 

[dex]

Dex

Throw in the mix of not understanding the language, different culture and away from friends and family ....mmmmm......sounds like it could get pretty lonely and depressing, not my idea of paradise.

IMO ....I consider anyone living in Australia has won lotto, have a think about that one.

Cheers
MTR

I debunked all of this in post #57
IMO I'm lucky to be born in Australia because it gives me the option to live in another country. Our birthright and the country we're born in is our only true "luck".

 

[virgo]

living overseas

Hiya

Also i think it depends on each individual person.....look around your own social circle for example.......do you have any friends at all from different races or do you stick to your own race? Be honest

that might give you some inkling on how comfortable you may adapt to another different culture.......

 

[jackbak]

Thais like to get drunk (mao sanook) and it's usually when they're singing videoke but you never here reports about them king hitting a stranger from behind after leaving a nightclub at 4am.

Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and anyway, you would only hear about it if you lived in that country. A lot of crimes like this tend to go unreported in developing countries where the public is worried about bigger things (a punch in a nightclub may seem irrelevant when there's hundreds of people who are being injured and killed in the current political street protests, or where millions live below the poverty line). Crimes like these can also be 'bribed' away in certain circumstances.

Australians have the luxury of living in one of the safest places in the world, where a fatal car accident can make the main news bulletins, this doesn't happen in many places around the world. Only reason we are hearing about it here is because our media execs have decided to focus on this of late.

 

[MTR]

Hiya

Also i think it depends on each individual person.....look around your own social circle for example.......do you have any friends at all from different races or do you stick to your own race? Be honest

that might give you some inkling on how comfortable you may adapt to another different culture.......

This must be a loaded question, I would expect majority associate or are friends with someone who is not Australian, we are a multi cultural society.

Also, don't think this is at all relevant.

 

[dex]

australia has a great overall standard of living, yes we pay for it, highwages, high rents, high taxes on alcohol and cigarettes etc. etc.

iguess you could earn all your money here and go and spend it in some less expesnive country

ive heard a few people say "earn in the west, spend in the east"
which makes sense

I wouldnt mind retiring in australia, if I could afford to go out, drink, eat, holiday etc. etc.

but id probably need $2k per week, and I wouldnt mind a nice car, so on $2k per week, I probably couldnt affford the car I want.......and its not a ferrari either

Earn in the west, spend in the east is an old maxim which has served many people well. It's like compounding on steroids when you look at the lifestyle you can afford vs staying in Oz and the time involved.

I had 2 choices.
1. Continue working and investing for another 18 years so I could retire in my 60's and live in Oz.
2. Pull the pin and retire while I was in my 40's and have a better lifestyle living overseas.

I chose #2 because I wanted to start ticking things off my bucket list while I was young enough to still participate and enjoy them. I didn't want to be an old frail man in my 60's - 70's before I could start living like a king.

Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and anyway, you would only hear about it if you lived in that country. A lot of crimes like this tend to go unreported in developing countries where the public is worried about bigger things (a punch in a nightclub may seem irrelevant when there's hundreds of people who are being injured and killed in the current political street protests, or where millions live below the poverty line). Crimes like these can also be 'bribed' away in certain circumstances.

Australians have the luxury of living in one of the safest places in the world, where a fatal car accident can make the main news bulletins, this doesn't happen in many places around the world. Only reason we are hearing about it here is because our media execs have decided to focus on this of late.

You make some good points Jack. I guess I'm trying to say that drunk Australians seem to enjoy gratuitous violence more than Asian nationalities. Damage to public or private property like vandalism is also very rare in Asia. Property and people are more respected in Asia.

You're right that crimes can be bribed in SEA. I know a 16yo in Thailand who was with a gang of 5 kids when they stabbed 2 other kids over a game of pool. One of them died. All of them were arrested but the 16yo decided to take the charges on condition the parents of the others paid his family a total of 1.5m baht (AU$50k). All the parents had a meeting and decided he would take responsibility for the crime and only he would be charged. Three of the other kids came from well off families and had plans of going to university but couldn't if they were in prison. The cops were also paid a bit and were happy because they could make a conviction. Win-win for everyone except the victims and their families.

 

[b simpson]

Can you provide links to this? My understanding is that Thailand has a huge problem around alcohol related violence, especially domestic violence.

I have no links and can't comment about domestic violence however I wouldn't be surprised if Thailand has a high rate unfortunately.

I'm talking about going to a very busy tourist area and not having to be worried about violence at the pub. That is very common in Australia, especially WA, George street sydney, Western Sydney and other places. I have never felt threatened in Thailand.

The sheer numbers of people drinking in Thailand tourist places is huge and there are so little incidents. I heard a theory that the reduced sexual tension is the reason. That explains the high amount of violence in places such as Karratha where the men out number the women by such a huge amount. I have personally experienced that. My understanding is unmarried sex is not as shameful to Buddhist as it is to Christians but that is a whole different thread...

In Thailand and other Asian countries the biggest harm for Aussies is probably caused by pissed bogans riding motorbikes. Most of them probably don't even have a licence...

I guess I'm trying to say that drunk Australians seem to enjoy gratuitous violence more than Asian nationalities.

That's my experience also. In Australia violence is a much, my di$k is bigger than yours. In Asia violence is usually caused for a specific reason. Don't give anyone a reason and you should be fine.

 

[flightcrank]

but id probably need $2k per week, and I wouldnt mind a nice car, so on $2k per week, I probably couldnt affford the car I want.......and its not a ferrari either

equity mate. other people pay the loan off for you with rental income.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Six months and I'm out of here. Can't wait. The plan is to travel permanently. My business is 100% internet based, so I can do it from anywhere I want.

No wife or kids to hold me back, my decision to never settle down has been the second best decision I ever made. The best decision was/is permanent travel.

 

[TMNT]

equity mate. other people pay the loan off for you with rental income.

agree, but you have to wait a few years for growth before your rental income far outweighs your loan repayments, which also need to include unexpected maintenance etc.

no point being retired on say $1000 per week, and then saying oops, this week, I had a big maintenance issue, im living off $500 for this week

not a good way to retire in my eyes

Six months and I'm out of here. Can't wait. The plan is to travel permanently. My business is 100% internet based, so I can do it from anywhere I want.

No wife or kids to hold me back, my decision to never settle down has been the second best decision I ever made. The best decision was/is permanent travel.

just curious, how old are you now?

 

[investor2009]

Nice Mr. Fab!

I see tge positives to your situation. We've the dogs to look after and luckily my Wife has an adventurous personality so we're very similar in that way

 

[cimbom]

Six months and I'm out of here. Can't wait. The plan is to travel permanently.

I'd love to do this as well. I'd be happy with about 50k after-tax/year I think.

As an aside, I've read that some retirees in the US are on cruises almost permanently as it's a bit cheaper than buying a unit in one of those retirement village places.

 

[jackbak]

I'm talking about going to a very busy tourist area and not having to be worried about violence at the pub. That is very common in Australia, especially WA, George street sydney, Western Sydney and other places. I have never felt threatened in Thailand.

Don't mean to sound condescending but I think you're confusing your experiences with fact. Just because you feel threatened in parts of Sydney doesn't mean they're any worse than parts of Thailand. Violence among young drunk men is not unique to Australia, it's been around ever since young drunk men existed! You feel more threatened in Sydney because you've got caught up in the current hype, the chances of you actually being harmed if you're minding your own business are pretty slim - just like in other parts of the world.

I've taken many overseas guests to these so called dangerous spots in Melbourne and none of them have ever said to me they feel threatened or unsafe, it's usually the opposite.

The sheer numbers of people drinking in Thailand tourist places is huge and there are so little incidents. I heard a theory that the reduced sexual tension is the reason. That explains the high amount of violence in places such as Karratha where the men out number the women by such a huge amount. I have personally experienced that. My understanding is unmarried sex is not as shameful to Buddhist as it is to Christians but that is a whole different thread...

What makes you think there are relatively few violent incidences in Thai tourist areas? Google gangs/drugs/violence/sexual assault against tourists in Thailand and you'll start top scratch the surface of what can happen over there. As I said earlier you don't hear about a lot of the crimes in Thailand because either a) you don't live there, b) a lot of it goes unreported, c) it just doesn't make the mainstream news because there are bigger news stories over there, or d) you simply don't read/watch Thai news very often.

Not trying to put anyone off Thailand, I love the place, or trying to say that drunken violence is at an acceptable level in Australia, just pointing out that it happens everywhere.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

I'd love to do this as well. I'd be happy with about 50k after-tax/year I think.

For two people, maybe. But one person can live on Aussie dollars for a fraction of this (15K, depending where you are) at a very high standard of living. If you can/are prepared to live simply, it's can be even less.

Luckily for me, as long as I have the basics (food, clothing, shelter and internet - for the business -) then I'm happy. In the process of selling everything now. I have a big stack of books to sell and will put the list up on here soon. 90% of them will be selling for a $1.

 

[cimbom]

Of course but I'd prefer a bit of flexibility in terms of destinations. Places like New York, Paris, etc would be more expensive whereas other places would be cheaper. I think 50k would allow for some variety.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

My plan is to spend most of my time in cheaper countries (going to South America first, fly in to somewhere on the West Coast, travel down that side, get to the tip of Argentina and go up the East side) then up through Central America, spending about three months at a time in each country (more if I really like it in any given place).

Probably spend a bit of time in NY, SF (the only two cities in the U.S. I really have any interest in visiting), go visit friends that live in various areas of the U.S., but not spend a great amount of time there. Probably Canada, too. After that, I have no idea. Eastern Europe maybe. As far as European cities, you could base yourself in the East somewhere and go to other places (London, Paris, Rome, etc.) for a few weeks at a time.

 

[ellejay]

I love hearing these travel plans. We've just reached the point of earning $32k after tax pa from rentals and also have a cheap little house in an idyllic spot in the country to live in mortgage free. I'm thinking grow some veggies to save money, live simply and pick up some locum work for part of the year to pay for any luxuries and property upkeep. I can often get locums in amazing parts of Aus, NZ, and UK so a working holiday will allow some travel without eating into basic income. Very exciting! I often read on forums that people are aiming for $100k passive income blah blah so great to hear people don't need that much to live where they want and to have adventures.

For two people, maybe. But one person can live on Aussie dollars for a fraction of this (15K, depending where you are) at a very high standard of living. If you can/are prepared to live simply, it's can be even less.

Luckily for me, as long as I have the basics (food, clothing, shelter and internet - for the business -) then I'm happy. In the process of selling everything now. I have a big stack of books to sell and will put the list up on here soon. 90% of them will be selling for a $1.