I found out that a friend of mine’s parents have been retired in Mexico for years now as US expats. Supposedly the housing and living expenses are affordable, taxes are low, and the healthcare is reasonably good. I have no idea if any of these things are true, and obviously this is not for everyone, but according to him they are very happy there. Good weather, nice people, and so on.
I wonder, where are other popular international places to retire? Asia? Africa? Western Europe sounds more expensive. I doubt that I would really want to retire away from family, but the idea has a certain charm.
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According to the recently published list of most to least expensive cities to live in…. Asunci?n Paraguay is the cheapest in the world of those surveyed. Moscow is the most expensive.
My co-worker told me about people retiring in Belize “while living on a little as $450 a month.” More info is at http://www.belizeretire.com.
We have been considering spending some retirement months in Mexico. One thing to consider is buying vs. renting. Foreigners cannot purchase a home within a certain amount of miles from the coast. There are ways around this but we figure renting is easier and cheaper in the long run. First of all, we only want to spend 3-4 months down there. And renting gives us the flexibility to explore different parts of Mexico.
Mexico is a good alternative. Or you could always move to Arizona.
Parts of Mexico reminds me of china, where corruption is rampant and quality of services are much more to be desired.
Of course it helps alot if you are good in Mexican Spanish.
It depends what “retirement” means for each individual.
Personally, moving to Mexico sounds horrible. I would want to be living in a urban environment, where everything is convenient and I wouldn’t have to drive. Mexico City just doesn’t seem like a place one would want to retire.
I personally would choose Hong Kong. A vibrant world class city that is clean and exciting. Best of all is the fact that there are NO capital gains taxes, interest tax, sales tax, inheritance tax, the list goes on. If one were to be retired and living off of investment income, I can’t think of a better place to go.
People have been retiring in Mexico (and other offshore locations) for decades. There are entire American Ex Pat communities there. More recent destinations include Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras (among others).
If I could talk my wife into it, I’d retire today… 🙂 When you can buy a beachfront home for $50K and have a maid for $200 a month it doesn’t take much money (by American standards) to live very well. Of course the risk is that some of these locations are less politically stable than you might like and there is a good chance that inflation will be higher as others realize how inexpensive property is.
I’ve got some family that did the same thing. They went to Mexico to retire, bought a little house on the beach somewhere, and thought it was great… for about a year.
After a year, they got tired of the beach, and generally tired of Mexico, so now they’re back in town.
It’s definitely not for everyone.
-Grant
If you can deal with the 20+ hour flights home once a year (if you even want to go back), you can’t do any better than Thailand for retirement. Thailand has pretty simple retirement visa available to anyone over 50 years old, and renews yearly with minimal hassles.
Bangkok besides having incredibly inexpensive, top quality hospitals and cheap food, has inexpensive apartments and condos – most of them fully furnished (and I’m not talking 1970’s green shag carpet!) Most people can live comfortably on $1500 a month – more and you can live like a king.
Bangkok has it’s issues (Pollution, noise and opressive heat, but hey that’s why god created hospitals, earplugs and air conditioning) 😉
There are other places such as Chiang Mai in the north that offer some stunning mountain views, more temprate climate, even lower costs without the pollution.
I wouldn’t live anywhere else!
An expat from Virginia
My inlaws retired to Mexico for several years … and just returned to the States last month. They lived in a pretty nice expat community, but still had issues with being targets for theft. I don’t even know how many times they were robbed in the years they were there. [They stopped telling the kids after awhile when it would happen because it only upset them.] And then there were the illnesses. FIL got amoebas several times, and not long after they flew up to visit our first baby when she was three months old, they called to let us know that they might have exposed her to typhoid. Ooops!
So, yes, all of those good things are true about retiring to Mexico … but there are some negatives, as well.
Lol…where I live in CA, I’m practically already living in Mexico. From what I see, retiring there would be the last thing I’d want to do.
Any countries without the pain-in-the-ass immigration process like the US.
Jonathan,
This is very common. Check out the
http://www.retiringinmalaysia.com/main.html
Many people from the UK are taking up on this offer.
I’ve heard this too. I am originally from Los Angeles, and all my famliy except me still live there. Anyway, “word on the street” is because the real estate in Cali is so obnoxious, couples are retiring by selling their $184354576516 billion dollar home and getting nice places in Baja California, Mexico. Beach front property! The twist here is that only recently did the Mexican government allow for foreigners to invest there (I’m not sure if this means buy property or develop property). So there is a current fervor of Americans doing this. Maybe someone can fill in some details here??
Hmm… did not know about all that stuff in Hong Kong. What DO they tax? Earned income only?
Miller – I agree, after looking at some of the housing prices down in nice areas of mexico, a nice house could still cost $100-$150k. My friend’s family is from CA, and it seems like they are the target audience for this type of thing.
Sell your $800,000 home, get one the same size in Mexico + retire forever w/ maid!
Earned income is one, property tax is another.
Here’s a good article about it:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3793
I think the idea of retiring in Mexico won’t fly, unless you love the culture so much and speak their language. If you want to live like a rich Mexican, you need to prepare to become one.
Ive been around a lot of places in Central America and a lot of people retire there. Belize and Costa Rica are big favorite, as is the Antigua area of Guatamala.
A lot of people also retire to SouthEast Asia…lots of expats there.
Central America is a good place. Prices are getting a lot more expensive lately though. Costa Rica is cheaper than Belize but Nicoragua is dirt cheap.
Hong Kong has one of the best tax systems in the world: No sales tax, no capital gain tax, minimal income tax.
However, though there’re lots of beaches there, it’s just too crowded everywhere. Of course, it’s still a great place if you can afford a house there in one of the less populated districts.
but housing properties in Hong Kong are very expensive.
I’m with you, I would probably not want to move so far away from everything familiar. However, among the folks I know, Costa Rica is mucho popular as a retirement spot.
I would disagree on a couple of things?
Electricity and gasoline (owned by Comision Federal de Electricidad and Pemex, respectively) are a lot more expensive than in the United States, as they are both run by the government and there’s no competition to drive more efficiencies into the marketplace.
Some healthcare might be cheaper (ie, physicians, dentists) but when it comes down to specialists, I think prices are comparable if not more expensive, and needless to say, you don?t get access to the best service in the world.
Other than that, things like housing and other services (such as food, having a maid) are a lot cheaper. It?d be a matter of calculating how much money you are able to retire with monthly, and taking it from there.
Is it cheaper than the US? In some aspects. Is quality of life better? Not necessarily.
Did someone mention Hong Kong being “clean”? Nothing could be further from the truth. If you can see the other side of the harbor, you’re lucky. The air is among the most polluted of all urban areas on earth.
Nightly Business Report aired an investigative report the other day. A US family was leaving due to the declining health of their kids. They had horrible asthma problems & took an extensive regimen of drugs to cope with it. I saw the photos myself and was floored with how bad they looked. Worse than Mexico City, if that can be believed.
So we’re outsourcing our retirees, are we? Interesting. More evidence that an overweighted allocation of international assets is warranted.
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico is a popular place lately for people thinking of retiring to Mexico. Real estate is still very reasonably priced and the cost of living is definitely lower than the US. But the best reason to move here is the culture. A lot of the local expats are semi-retired, finding the economic opportunities just too good to pass up.
And I beg to differ with Rob, above. Electricity may be a little more expensive here. We run one or two air conditioners all day every day in our office and pay about $350 a month for electricity (that also includes lights and computers and phones). Where we live and only run the AC occasionally, the bill is *much* less. But gas? The gas at Pemex is much cheaper now than in the US. We just got back from a roadtrip in the US and Mexico. We drive an SUV. In the States, it now costs more than $70 US to fill it. In Mexico, it has consistently cost about $50 US for the last few years. And we love not having to wonder if we’re getting the lowest price in town. Every station has gas at the same price. There are men in green suits who pump your gas, check your oil, wash your window and check your tires. We tip them about 50 cents US.
Your mileage may vary, of course!
I was in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and I noticed that there were many retired Americans.
My parents are retiring to the Yucatan in Mexico. Mexico recently opened up a lot of beach front property for purchase and are investing a lot of funds into the Progreso area. It’s creating a mini retirement boom in the area. My parents are blogging about their adventures here: YucatanGringos.com.
Good Day All
We are the parents of Zoskoda above (some nick name! )- Yes we plan on retiring to the yucatan_ Merida Is a beautiful large city full of wonderful people-and a few not so wonderful_ but heck you can’t get everything in any city you would like to have. Mexico is for those who are willing to do with a little less than ya might find in most US citys for a slower laid back life style…Always remember the USA is only couple hours flight if you feel the need for remembering why you made this move..I believe we will enjoy this move and may see alot more of our kids..
AnyWay best of everything to all and above all please be happy…
My husband and I were interested in retiring in Mexico. We live in southern Ca and have noticed over the years the people who move down there and buy beachfront property will build these retirement homes only to have someone come along and claim the property. There have been articles in the Orange County Register interviewing these poor people. They think they can fight it and end up spending even more money and end up losing everything. I am not trying to sound negative but would be wary of building, why not just rent something. These people spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and thought they were going prevail. My husband absolutely refuses to even look down there after these stories were published. I hope it works out for you and maybe it is a blessing that you didn’t build on your lot.
Sincerely
Sandy McGowan
Yes, a few people bought without understanding how things work in Mexico and they lost what they THOUGHT they had purchased. But if you look into it closely you’ll find out they didn’t do their homework. We know all about eijido land (land given to the citizens after the Revolution) and the government has provisions for privatizing that land and allowing the citizens to sell off part of it, which is happening successfully all over Mexico. Mexico has laws and lawyers and government agencies, and thousands of “gringos” are buying, building and happily owning property all over the country.
Your husband is losing out on a great opportunity and experience by thinking that one newspaper story indicates what is going on everywhere within Mexico. The press, especially in Southern California (we’re from there too), delights in painting a picture of Mexico as a land of lawless, drug-crazed criminals. Reality is much different, as those of us who live here know.
Living in Mexico isn’t for everyone, and if you feel afraid or doubtful, it’s probably not the place for you.
Retiring anywhere In Latin America is easy! You simply have to have a decent attitude, but unfortunately most Americans don’t. You have to want to know the local people some but unfortunately most Americans don’t.
I am 58 and can hardly wait to get out of the US. Unlike most Americans, I have traveled already throughout Latin America. Any place in Latin America will be OK for my retirement, and unlike most Americans I already know and love the people there. I don;t hate them because they speak Spanish. It is as simple as that.
i have furnish aparment for rent… mazatlan beach front, swimmingpool, private and secure. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, kitchen, terraza-palapa.
a great place to live and retire.
osuna_04@yahoo.com.mx
My new book looks at Americans and Canadians in Mexico who’ve chosen to avoid the big expat colonies in San Miguel de Allende and Lake Chapala. What they’ve found is both diverse and surprising. The book is called Into the Heart of Mexico: Expatriates Find Themselves Off the Beaten Path. There’s a sample on my website:
http://www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/intotheheartofmexico.html