ABC News: 8 Places to Retire Abroad and Save Big

AlterEgo

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ABC News: 8 Places to Retire Abroad and Save Big

Aug 30, 2014, 6:28 AM ET
By Christine DiGangi, Credit.com

People dream of different things when considering retirement: relaxation, affordability, traveling or trying new things. For those who want to combine as many of those ideals as possible, retiring abroad can be an appealing option.

If moving to a different country sounds exciting but expensive, that's understandable, because picking a new place to live is going to require more savings and planning than merely staying put after you stop working. Still, affordable retirement abroad is within reach, and while everyone's lifestyle preferences differ, there are some basic guidelines you can follow when looking into your best options for retiring outside the U.S.

In its latest edition, the Overseas Retirement Letter released its 2014 Retire Overseas Index, scoring foreign locales on 12 criteria crucial to retirees' relocation decisions: climate, cost of living, crime, English speaking, entertainment, environmental conditions, the existing expat community, healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, residency requirements and taxes.

Of all the areas researched, cost of living seemed to be the most challenging to assess, according to the report written by the newsletter publisher. Your monthly budget depends heavily on how you want to live — that goes for any lifestyle, not just retirement. Living like a tourist, no matter where you are, is more expensive than living like a local, the publisher pointed out.

To try and provide some sense of cost-of-living rankings, the researchers created budgets for various cities based on the following typical expenses:

Rent for an unfurnished, midrange, one-bedroom apartment
Gas
Cable
Basic groceries for a couple
Internet
Electricity
Landline phone
Water
Entertainment
They described the entertainment budget as going out to eat twice a week, getting drinks at a local bar twice a week and two shows at a movie theater each month. Within the parameters listed above, here are the eight cheapest places to retire abroad (with the monthly budget in U.S. dollars):

8. Samana, Dominican Republic ($1,155)

7. George Town, Malaysia ($1,070)

6. Istanbul, Turkey ($1,045)

5. Granada, Nicaragua ($1,040)

4. Cuenca, Ecuador ($1,010)

3. Chiang Mai, Thailand ($920)

2. Dumaguete, Philippines ($910)

1. Nha Trang, Vietnam ($680)

There's more to the cost of retirement than a monthly budget, especially when living abroad, which is why the index considered things like healthcare, infrastructure and residency requirements when determining the overall best retirement destinations.

When trying to include as many aspects as possible of retiring abroad, the Overseas Retirement Letter put The Algarve, Portugal at the top of its list of 21 great locations for expat retirees. The Algarve has "one of the most stable climates in the world," the report says, and it's the most affordable location of those researched in continental Europe. It's relatively easy to establish residency (with a relatively small income requirement, in comparison to other locations researched), and residents say the infrastructure is good — because who wants to retire somewhere things don't work.

If you're getting excited about the possibility of retiring abroad, take a moment to consider your present situation: Without sufficient planning and savings, reaching your retirement goals will be extremely difficult. Even if you are working to tackle debt, that shouldn't replace your savings priorities, because failing to save now will likely mean debt later on in life.

Work to maintain a strong credit standing and adequate amount of savings so your future plans aren't derailed by emergencies or unexpected expenses, because the more stable your finances are leading up to retirement, the more likely it is you can achieve your goals after your time in the workforce is done.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/places-retire-abroad-save-big/story?id=25174991
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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They described the entertainment budget as going out to eat twice a week, getting drinks at a local bar twice a week and two shows at a movie theater each month. Within the parameters listed above, here are the eight cheapest places to retire abroad (with the monthly budget in U.S. dollars):
8. Samana, Dominican Republic ($1,155)

that cannot be right. going to a movie theater would require a trip to SD, no? that's some money spent right there, even if you combine it with "going out to eat". plato del dia or quipe and empanada from a food cart. ;)
 

Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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Wow! Talk about a misinformed piece.. ( thanks for posting though).. $1,050.. I guess they are talking about living in a run down rental complex, with degenerate neighbors..
 

Contango

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Last time I was offered an all expenses paid trip to Viet Nam I turned them down. Now one can live there for half what it costs in the DR?

And the beauty of Asian Women, so much better than the way overrated DR Chica...
 

donP

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To try and provide some sense of cost-of-living rankings, the researchers created budgets for various cities based on the following typical expenses:
Rent for an unfurnished, midrange, one-bedroom apartment
Gas
Cable
Basic groceries for a couple
Internet
Electricity
Landline phone
Water
Entertainment
They described the entertainment budget as going out to eat twice a week, getting drinks at a local bar twice a week and two shows at a movie theater each month. Within the parameters listed above, here are the eight cheapest places to retire abroad (with the monthly budget in U.S. dollars):

8. Samana, Dominican Republic ($1,155)

Typical misinformation of a slobby journalist.

Samana = Saman? peninsula or Saman? de Santa Barbara?
Movie theater? There is no movie theater...
Water? No drinking water from a tap.
Gas? Petrol, gasoline or LPG? For the latter I paid 3,080 pesos for a 28 gallon tank.
Electricity? Per hour or what? :laugh:
Going out to eat in Saman? Town? I even avoid the Chinese restaurant nowadays. :chinese:

OMG, why do they not leave their fingers off the keyboard?

donP
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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ABC News: 8 Places to Retire Abroad and Save Big

Aug 30, 2014, 6:28 AM ET
By Christine DiGangi, Credit.com

People dream of different things when considering retirement: relaxation, affordability, traveling or trying new things. For those who want to combine as many of those ideals as possible, retiring abroad can be an appealing option.

If moving to a different country sounds exciting but expensive, that's understandable, because picking a new place to live is going to require more savings and planning than merely staying put after you stop working. Still, affordable retirement abroad is within reach, and while everyone's lifestyle preferences differ, there are some basic guidelines you can follow when looking into your best options for retiring outside the U.S.

In its latest edition, the Overseas Retirement Letter released its 2014 Retire Overseas Index, scoring foreign locales on 12 criteria crucial to retirees' relocation decisions: climate, cost of living, crime, English speaking, entertainment, environmental conditions, the existing expat community, healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, residency requirements and taxes.

Of all the areas researched, cost of living seemed to be the most challenging to assess, according to the report written by the newsletter publisher. Your monthly budget depends heavily on how you want to live ? that goes for any lifestyle, not just retirement. Living like a tourist, no matter where you are, is more expensive than living like a local, the publisher pointed out.

To try and provide some sense of cost-of-living rankings, the researchers created budgets for various cities based on the following typical expenses:

Rent for an unfurnished, midrange, one-bedroom apartment
Gas
Cable
Basic groceries for a couple
Internet
Electricity
Landline phone
Water
Entertainment
They described the entertainment budget as going out to eat twice a week, getting drinks at a local bar twice a week and two shows at a movie theater each month. Within the parameters listed above, here are the eight cheapest places to retire abroad (with the monthly budget in U.S. dollars):

8. Samana, Dominican Republic ($1,155)

7. George Town, Malaysia ($1,070)

6. Istanbul, Turkey ($1,045)

5. Granada, Nicaragua ($1,040)

4. Cuenca, Ecuador ($1,010)

3. Chiang Mai, Thailand ($920)

2. Dumaguete, Philippines ($910)

1. Nha Trang, Vietnam ($680)

There's more to the cost of retirement than a monthly budget, especially when living abroad, which is why the index considered things like healthcare, infrastructure and residency requirements when determining the overall best retirement destinations.

When trying to include as many aspects as possible of retiring abroad, the Overseas Retirement Letter put The Algarve, Portugal at the top of its list of 21 great locations for expat retirees. The Algarve has "one of the most stable climates in the world," the report says, and it's the most affordable location of those researched in continental Europe. It's relatively easy to establish residency (with a relatively small income requirement, in comparison to other locations researched), and residents say the infrastructure is good ? because who wants to retire somewhere things don't work.

If you're getting excited about the possibility of retiring abroad, take a moment to consider your present situation: Without sufficient planning and savings, reaching your retirement goals will be extremely difficult. Even if you are working to tackle debt, that shouldn't replace your savings priorities, because failing to save now will likely mean debt later on in life.

Work to maintain a strong credit standing and adequate amount of savings so your future plans aren't derailed by emergencies or unexpected expenses, because the more stable your finances are leading up to retirement, the more likely it is you can achieve your goals after your time in the workforce is done.

8 Places to Retire Abroad and Save Big - ABC News

Interesting. I have always believed that the two things the DR had over those other places, especially if your from North America, is the easy excessability to get here and leave and also a much better climate. Also the Samana Peninsula has beaches and scenery equivilent to Hawaii and the Pacific.
 

mountainannie

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easy "excessibility" a Freudian slip.. over "accessibility" Don P has it right. Las Terrenas is probably the most expensive town in the country. But International Living must have rep now working there since they are a real estate company, not journalists.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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That's how these articles are put together - they send the list to a local contact and take their word for it.
 

mountainannie

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That's how these articles are put together - they send the list to a local contact and take their word for it.

It seems that their main income stream is their $50 a year subscriptions for the four color glossy magazine .. https://www.ilbookstore.com/home.php. They generate a lot of publicity for themselves by sending out this sort of free web content which is picked up and used as content by various news sites. They fill up with 500 word snapshots from the ground written by anyone, and pay $75 per piece with photo.

They have two target audiences is Americans who will be living on $2500 or less and those with enough money to have a second home. Right now, they seem to be pushing the under $2500 mark.

DR1ers who live here might consider sending in their stories.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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Didn't he claim to live on less than US$500?

yes, but he was single and did not rent. should he want to share the misery and add rent to his expenses he could have reached a 1000 dollars, perhaps.

let me just add that we possibly live close this budget but we do not pay rent, our entertainment stands at about zero and miesposo drives all expenses covered business car. so we are talking thousand bucks for basic bills and groceries only.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i secretly know he was onto something with his simple lifestyle and environment friendly ideas. the time will come when alternative energy sources will no longer be "alternative" and will become "regular and standard". yet his stubbornness and fanaticism always brought the worst in me, making me long for a v12 aston martin db9 in le mans race...