"If you could emigrate, where would you go?"
 

I would like to relocate to a country that has a stable government, but is not strategically aligned with the current US political policies. A Country where transferring of funds will not be too complicated. I have been considering New Zealand, but since I have only traveled North & South America and Caribbean. I have no experience regarding the rest of the Globe. I speak English and some Spanish, I enjoy painting, hiking, surfing, music, arts and ethnic foods. I would like to live in or close to a major metropolitan area. And I plan on visiting and experiencing several locations before I make a decision. I had a liver transplant last yr and will have to return to the US once a yr for a medical evaluation. So I also need to be close to a modern Medical Facility. PLEASE HELP with any comments or suggestions.
THANKS........

I'd go for Thailand; there's Bangkok, of course, but lots of expats are going for Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket as well. Pattaya has the seedy-nightlife reputation, but it has decent medical facilities of its own and is closest to world-class ones in Bangkok, as well as having very low costs. Bangkok also is something of an LCC hub for sidetrips, and RTs to Singapore are especially cheap.

Costa Rica also is getting traffic, but I don't have much knowledge there.

I tend to favor countries that might be considered the better-off third world ones over the first-world. The demand more adapting, but you get more bang for the buck - especially if your nest egg is a little pinched. Some of the savings in a place like Thailand is due to lower costs from cheaper labor, but a surprising amount is due to greater efficiencies in areas like housing and transportation. For example, in Bangkok and Pattaya it's eminently do-able to function without a car. Your transportation costs might be a tenth of U.S. levels, your health care might be a third, and housing might be a third to half. You can do very well on $20K-30K a year. IMO the places where retirees in the U.S. get a raw deal are health care (a disaster), housing (structurally too high, and you've probably got too much house) and transportation (you drive a lot less, but you've still got high entry level fixed costs from that). Drive those three way down and you can start looking at retiring earlier and earlier.

I've got a soft spot for Europe, Germany and France being preferred. I like the climate, the seasons, the availibility of public transportation, the food, the blending of history with modernity, the orderliness (more in Germany), and the ability to shift to a different culture in the time of a train or relatively short car ride.

The downside is the cost of living.

I've heard that Barcelona spain is quite nice. A possible alternative is Portugal. Not sure about the cost of living these days, but they used to be much lower.. I'm guessing that the Euro has erased some but not all of the cost of living advantages.

I've not been, so take my views with a grain of salt.

_m

I'm developing a real jones for the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. The foreign real estate ownership rules are a bear, but I don't think it's too difficult to become a dual national. Within five years... :)

Costa Rica
 

My wife and I decided that if we ever moved out of the US, the west coast of Costa Rica was the place for us. People are friendly, they don't spend money on an army, weather is delightful, and the beauty of the land is hard to beat.

- Alan

I have spent time in Costa Rica on two different occations, actually bought 7
hectares of land there in 95", I agree it is a beautiful country, and the people
are very friendly. When I was diagnosed with the liver problem, was when we
sold the land, primarily because the potential healthcare problems I might face.
I have several friends who have been living there for almost a decade. Its a
hot spot for expatriated Yanks, But even living in San Jose I don't think I could
get the Med treatment i might need quickly. Otherwise it would be my FIRST choice, great waves too.

i m in indonesia now but would like to return to thailand, specifically kanchanaburi area, or malaysia, round taiping

Castro says Cuba's health care system is second to none. I think the rest of the infrastructure is falling apart, though. I think you'd have to give up your US citizenship and leaving might be a problem. :(

I agree with the posters about Costa Rica, I very much enjoyed my time there [west coast, just north of Montezuma]. Although, from what I understand, foreign national land-ownership laws have changed quite a bit.

There have been many articles published over the years about the financial benefits of retiring in Central America; Panama being one of the bright points as well. I recall seeing figures that indicated that for somewhere around 30k you could buy a 4 bedroom house, and keep staff... for a yearly cost around 5k-8k. Mmind you this was probably USA Today bunk.

I'm relatively young (early 30s) but have been giving consideration to Central American reitrement in the future. I'd be very interested to know if anyone else has knowledge of the related details.

Oh, yeah, they can do complex medical operations in perfect cleanliness, but can't maintain a road or keep a phone system running.

Makes perfect sense to me! :D

I'd go to Chile. A stable, first world economy, safe (probably amongst the safest places in the Americas), living is affordable (though no longer cheap), literacy at about 96%, and decent, honest people. Police you can't bribe (well you can try, but then you'll be the one locked up). Food isn't exciting, but it is good, and a "weekend in Buenos Aires" is an easy getaway.

Subic City.... ^

How about Belize?

Or get this... Isla Mujeres which is a small island right off the coast of Cancun. Talk about easy access to and from the mainland US, with all those Cancun tourist flights.

Spain or Japan. But I'm of the opinion that no matter where you live, its just a place. It all gets old, and everything always seems more appealing when you've not been livin there for years.