Opinions on places in the world for Americans to retire to cheaply

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m interested in ideas of where an American might move for a retirement visa and presumably spend the rest of my life. I’m going to be a bit vague on personal details, but I’m only about 40 and so I realize I’m not exactly retirement age, it would be hard to practice my job in other countries. There are language/cultural issues and licensure issues that would make things complicated. From my understanding, retirement visas tend to be easier to get than ones that allow you to work. There are a couple of potentially practical routes for me to continue working in a first world country, but those are outside the scope of this thread. I want to see what the rest of my options are. But I’m willing to live modestly and not work if that seems like the best option.

I may want to move relatively quickly because I think there’s going to be a flood of Americans trying to get the fuck out of here in the near future and I’m concerned immigration programs will hit their limits and it will become slower or harder to retire to one of these countries.

I have a guaranteed passive income of around 25k per year for life which has COLA adjustments from a source that foreign governments would recognize as stable, and a modest savings in the 200k range. Not that much, but it can go a long way in some poorer parts of the world. Many retirement visa programs have requirements in that range or less.

I speak English and enough Spanish to get around when I’m travelling. I’m willing to learn, but I feel like it’s about 5x more difficult to learn languages than it was when I was younger. I’m confident that I could improve my Spanish, but learning a very foreign language like an Asian tonal language (for example) might be pretty tough.

I’m a straight white male. I don’t love the idea of living in a place where not being those things is a problem, but it presents no special problems in terms of finding a place that would accept people like me, so it’s worth mentioning. I’m healthy with no criminal history or any sort of record that is likely to impact anything.

I’m willing to try to adapt to a culture and fit in. I’m not going to be one of those asshole ex-pats that expects everyone to cater to them. That said, if there are places with big expat communities, that would probably ease the transition and help me socially and would be a plus, as well as places where speaking English is common. It would be a plus to live somewhere that had a sense of community and third places that we lack so much these days in the US. Places where people can go and be social. I’m going to need to make friends.

I’m willing to live modestly. A small apartment in a relatively inexpensive area is fine. Even a small guest house on someone else’s property, which seems like a more common arrangement in some parts of the world. I would prefer somewhere with decent enough infrastructure that I have reliable power and internet (even if it’s slower than what you can get in the first world). I would also like to not absolutely dread every interaction with (corrupt) police but I may be forced to accept that. I would like to go somewhere that eating out is cheap as that’s one of my favorite activities. I plan to own a car, so somewhere friendly to that would be a plus but not mandatory.

Climate and natural environment is important to me. Temperate is best without extreme hot and cold. I want to be more active and spend more time outdoors doing things like hiking and swimming. I strongly prefer to live near the water – either the ocean or large lakes.

Health care will become a significant issue if I’m going to live the rest of my life there. I don’t know how it works as an American ex-pat retiree. Since you don’t have a job, I’m guessing you don’t benefit from the public health services in places that have them, and have to arrange private payment, but I need to learn more about this. Obviously high quality healthcare is a plus, but affordability is a factor too.

A place with a stable government, that’s welcoming to outsiders, and is friendly and has a sense of community would be obvious plusses.

Minuses would be high expense, cultures that reject foreigners, places that would be more negatively impacted by climate change, places where the government and police are corrupt, unreliable, and dangerous. Places where crime is high.

Options I’ve been looking at but are no means exhaustive and I’m still interested to hear new ideas:

Spain: So far this is my top option. I haven’t looked too deeply into if I can qualify for a visa with my income/savings. They require proof of around $30k USD income, but the guides say that if you’re short of that you can make up for it with proof of savings. It’s a very stable country with good rule of law, has a lot of beautiful coast line, very good weather, I can speak the language. Pricier than developing countries. Not sure they’re welcoming to foreign retirees – there’s a significant British expat presence there which is a plus in terms of having some English speaking people there, but I get the impression a lot of the Spaniards have grown to hate them. I like some of the places along the Med coast west of Barcelona.

Portugal: Seems a bit like a cheaper Spain. Requirements for income are lower, cost of living is cheaper, they seem to be more permissive/welcoming of retirees, but a bit of a poorer country. Plenty of coast line although the climate and coast are not quite as nice as Spain. I don’t know too much about this one yet.

Central America and Caribbean: there are a few options here and I don’t know enough yet to have a good feel for the plusses and minuses. Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama all seem to be decent enough options. Maybe the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. They can be cheap and be near the ocean with natural beauty. They do have areas with a significant amount of American expats. They’re cheaper than the previous options. It’s a closer flight to come back to the US to visit people, but I’m willing to make a fresh start anyway. It’s probably unfair for me to group them like this as each has its own merits and drawbacks that I’d like to learn.

I’m most concerned here about the effects of climate change. A lot of those places are borderline too hot to live now, and in 10 or 20 years that might be a dangerous situation. I’m also not confident that their governments won’t collapse in the face of the destructive effects of climate change. There’s a lot going for them, but that’s very much a concern.

Southeast Asia: I’ve heard Thailand is a good place for American retirees. It’s very cheap, beautiful, has areas where English speaking is common, and is generally friendly towards Americans. The language barrier would be very difficult as I think I’d have a difficult time with Thai. I’m not sure how common it is to speak English outside of the tourist areas. Great food is a nice plus. I know very little about the options in Asia.

South America? When I was travelling in the Caribbean I met a guy who was moving (from the Dominican Republic) to Ecuador and basically spent the entire dinner singing its praises while telling me how much worse the DR had become since he’d moved there 20 years ago. But I know basically nothing about living in South America.

I’m looking for any sort of opinion anyone would like to share. If you live in a place that might be a good option, tell me what life is like there. If you’ve travelled extensively, by all means, compare the cultures and other factors of the various places. If you’ve researched ex-pat retirement yourself, let me know what you’ve found. Thanks.

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I should add the ease/difficulty and length of getting a residence visa should be a consideration.

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‘Portugal’ was the word ringing in my ears on reading your post, before I saw that you’d explored that. For Europe it’s on the cheaper side, and has a flourishing tourist scene, so finding english speakers won’t be much of a problem. Weather is a positive, great beaches and the food is lovely.

You mentioned Thailand - it’s certainly cheap with a large expat population, brutally hot and humid all year round though - the mosquitos would drive me mad.

Spain is popular with tourists and second home owners across Europe, and as such, is not particularly cheap.

4

Consider the Philippines, it checks a lot of your boxes. They speak English there and it is for the most part a Christian based culture with most people being catholic. They share many old school American values with family being the most important, and the crime rate is low compared to the US as guns are strictly controlled and drug use is not tolerated. The police are no more corrupt there than in many other parts of the world, including the US. While much of the countryside is third world, the cities are first world with many American products available.

I will be moving there in May myself as a retiree. You can live there for up to three years without a special visa by paying a small feed for visa extensions, after that you need to leave the country for one day and come back, the process starts all over again for three years. If you marry a Filipina you get a visa that last for the marriage, or you can get long term visa by paying a $20K fee and fullfilling the proper paperwork. Mine will cost $10K since I am of retirement age, if you are a US veteran you can get one for less than $2K and they have a VA hospital in Manila.

At forty you will have many ladies looking to be with you. The insurance could be an issue if you have health problems, but expat insurance is available and not that expensive for a health male in his forties. You can also hop a flight to Thailand if you require world class medical care.

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I’m an expat American in Europe. I don’t have much to add beyond what’s already discussed, except for this:

I can confirm firsthand that the brain gets slow with age. I am actively pursuing naturalization in my adopted country, which requires formal language acquisition (there’s a test and everything). In my mid 50s, trying to learn a new language has been like pounding screws into concrete with my forehead. I’m doing it, though, because I’m motivated.

However, you say you already know some basic Spanish, which means you’ve probably cleared the hard part, the basic grounding in structure and grammar. So now you just need to build vocabulary. If that’s true, then you’re further along than you think you are.

Good luck.

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In Cape Town, South Africa, you would be upper middle class - if that 25K is without taxes to be paid in the US?

That $200K is way more than enough (like, double) to buy a nice 3 bedroom house in my neighbourhood. Not American-style suburban, but city living. Leaving you half your savings still, and you could buy a new small car for $10K, Fit solar+batteries to that house as well for another $10K, leaving you $80K in savings and with a house, a car and energy security.

And at $25K/year net, you’d be living an upper-middle class income - that’s about R450K, and essential monthly living expenses here break down to:

Utilities & Rates : R 5,000 (varies by area)
Groceries: R 8,000 (comfortable for one person)
Internet & Cellular: R 2,000
Car Running Costs (Fuel, Insurance, Maintenance): R 6,000 (at the high end)
Medical Aid (Health Insurance): R 5,000 (we have state medicine even an ex-pat could access, but private healthcare is very advisable. Our private healthcare is world-class. Just ask the medical tourists)

That’s R26K/month on essentials. Leaving you R11.5K/month for entertainment, eating out, travel, or more savings.

As a single person, with that kind of income, you would be living very well indeed. And could, in theory, still work here with a digital nomad visa if you didn’t want to go the early retirement route.

English is spoken by just about everyone, absolutely no need to learn a different language. Being a straight White male is not a problem here. There’s a small expat community in Cape Town (well, a small American one, lots of expat Europeans though)

Eating out is relatively cheap here, depending on what you’re into. If you drink wine, it’s ridiculously cheap here, too.

Corruption here (at least in Cape Town) is fairly limited, not pervasive at all levels as it is in other parts of Africa.

Life in Cape Town is amazing. Depending on what you’re into, there’s outdoors, culture, food and drink, great people. Southern California/Mediterranean weather. And lots of other amazing places a few hours drive away.

Only downsides are - every other country is way, way far away. And drought has been a problem in the past. So was power, although that’s greatly improved, and like I said above, solar and batteries are ubiquitous, so can be fitted at a reasonable cost to allay the effects. Oh, and our seawater is also California-cold. But you can easily find a heated pool for the swimming, and save the sea for the surfing.

Of course, you’ve probably heard about crime being a problem, and poverty. Those aren’t really things that are going to affect someone living a middle-class life in the city and driving everywhere. Other than the ubiquitous panhandlers.

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As a general comment: Focus on whether the culture appeals to you. Spend some vacation time in candidate countries before making a decision.

I’m an American retired in Chiang Mai and I love it here. Heat and smoke pollution are problems, but these should be less of a problem if you live near an ocean beach. Many speak English (though these days Apps to translate speech are common among young Asian travelers); and I think conversational Thai is rather easy to learn.

Unfortunately you must be 50 or older for retirement visa; and by now other ways to get permanency may be expensive and/or difficult. (I don’t know; I’m well past the 50-year threshold myself! :slight_smile: )

Yes. Or take a taxi instead of a plane if you’re already here!

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@MrDibble makes an excellent case for South Africa and the Cape Province is at the very top of my bucket list.

I’ve lived abroad twice for extended periods and I want to address this specifically.

One would think so, but I find it not to be quite that simple. The people I had met, when I decided to move to Spain, all spoke English with varying proficiency. They all had tertiary education and I (wrongly at that time) assumed that people with more than primary education spoke some English. Not so.

People with menial jobs in the service industry had little education and spoke only as much English as was needed to serve food and present the check. But I was surprised to find that the English spoken even by people with a higher education was spotty. The reason? Spanish is a very big language. It makes sense to translate literature for uni, becuae the market is big and can afford a translation1.

After about nine months I gave up. While staying as a tourist and not knowing the language was fine, actually living was not. This is where expats tend to come together, but they do not speak the language so they are not helping. I found that most of them used more time complaining about the locals not speaking English, then it would’ve taken them to garner at least enough Spanish to make living there functional.

What prompted me was when I went to the local police station to report what was a bit more than fender bender, but not enoough to try to call the police to the site. In the reception there was a huge sign in English: IF YOU DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH; YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE AND PAY FOR YOUR OWN INTERPRETER.

And that’s the thing.
Your normal access road blocked by some work? How long will it last? Why is it there?
You utilities bill is way higher than normal. Why? Is there some water leaking somewhere that you haven’t noticed? And good look trying to communicate with the fontanero.
Fire trucks come blaring through your village. Do you need to pay notice?
You can always find nation and international news in English. Local? No.

And all of this is just small, minor daily things that will keep adding up. Once you know the language, you can start making friends who are interesting (and not the grumpy expats sitting at the local bar complaining), you’re going to appreciate culture, comprehend local history, start enjoying the local sports, find restaurants that don’t serve horrible touristy food (which is the same wherever in the world you go, with pizza, pasta and burgers always available).

I know you said you’re willing to learn the language, and you’re right in that it takes a much larger effort with age. I was in my 30’s and it was a steep climb. And as someone who’s been teaching immigrants their second (or third, fourth) language, I can firmly say that from the other POV, i.e. as native speaker, the elder struggle.

I would never consider it, since the weather is too much like the misery I currently live in, but have you considered Ireland?

ETA: Do very thorough research on cost of living. When you’re a tourist, you never see the local taxes, utilities, fees. It may look very affordable when you’re sitting in the local bodega, but the first electricity bill may come as a very nasty surprise.

1 This is the reason most Scandinavians and Dutch speak English so well. With way over 50 per cent of the population going to tertiary education, and comparatively small languages, we have to learn English, because many text books are never translated.

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I read an article a few months ago (cannot find it) about a couple who moved from San Francisco to southern France as expats. They had been experienced travelers and were familiar with the city they moved to, and spoke “some” French, so they thought it was all figured out. As you point out, the experience of travelers can be quite different from residents of any city. They had difficulty with the language and communication regarding mundane things like getting insurance, at the post office, getting something delivered, car maintenance, getting a repair person for their sink, finding a doctor and dentist, etc. Quality of the food and produce at the market the locals used was not as good as what showed at the markets in the tourist towns, and was more expensive than expected. They also had difficulties in meeting people and making friends, as most of the locals and expats already there had tight-nit cliques that were hard to penetrate. Eating meals at local restaurants was more expensive than they expected. Their expat dream became an exhausing and expensive nightmare, and they ultimately admitted defeat and returned to San Francisco after about a year and a half.

I recall their learnings being that their lack of connections, either by family or business, was the biggest weakness - they had no one to go to to help sort-out the boring, mundane, daily living stuff, so everything fell to them, and mistakes were made. It was very isolating, which is opposite what they expected.

Anyway, this is not to dissuade the OP if they are determined, but just to balance the ideal I think a lot of Americans have in their heads right now of just ditching the US for some quiet little town in another country and living off savings - it will not be that easy. Having money helps, but I think one needs to have some connections, and spend some time where they are thinking of moving before making any decisions.

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That is not dependent on the United States, I assume.

I’ve actually heard that their government is kind of right wing and corrupt as well. Is that the case? I assume they aren’t still summarily executing people for drug related offenses.

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Well they did take out the mayor of a city (and his family) for heading up criminal drug organization. Not that it concerns me. So yes, don’t go there if you use drugs, they will not treat you nicely.

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Portugal has ramped up Golden Visa processing. If you have the money it is a good choice.

If you have to do it the slow way I am not sure. My ex-BiL researched this a lot and decided Portugal is the best for him (and he really does his research…smart guy but also wealthy so that doubtlessly makes it easier for him and not the rest of us).

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He’s referring to the extrajudicial murder squads under former President Rodrigo Duterte:

Rodrigo Duterte is no longer President but his daughter ran for Vice President along side Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for President, although they’ve since had a massive falling out:

Even notwithstanding the conflicts with mainland China and Xi (who both Duterte père et fille tacitly support against national interests) there is clearly substantial corruption at a national scale.

Stranger

14

I understand that Belize, a country on the coast of Central America, is popular with American ex-pats, especially those who might be considered upper middle class or higher. The official language is English. However, I’ve heard that violent crime is an issue there, just as it is in parts of this country, so further research would be recommended.

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This place. This place is an expat mecca of sorts:

I spent a month in Belize about 10-ish years ago. Lots of it is quite gritty, which has some appeal to me, but … ain’t for everybody.

A lesser version of Ambergris Caye is:

And a lesser version of Placencia is …

16

To avoid most all of the problems of living as an expat, you might look into the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Croix is the least expensive at this point, and residency is determined by you paying rent and/or owning a place and paying local taxes. I spent six months on St. Thomas and it’s really a laid-back part of the Caribbean, with gorgeous beaches, clear water for divers, etc. Float plane travel is available between islands, as is regular wheeled commercial flights.

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I’m very early on in the exploration phase of any of these, so any info is worth a mention. Portugal does look like a good option. Does anyone familiar with both places have a cultural, English-speaking, and cost of living comparisons between Portugal and Spain? I get the impression English is more spoken in Portugal and is relatively uncommon in Spain. But spain has the advantage of having an easy language to learn.

That’s definitely another place worth consideration. How’s the infrastructure there? Can you count on reliable power? Internet? Only in some places?

Thanks for bringing this to attention. I hadn’t even considered South Africa, I never see it mentioned as an ex-pat option for Americans and I hardly know anything about it. It does check some good boxes - low cost of living, English friendly, good climate, and near the ocean. But man is it far from everything. It may just be my western-centric views but I never really consider travel to Africa. I’m sure there are plenty of things worth seeing down there, though, but for the places I’d traditionally think about visiting it’s about a 10-18 hour flight to anywhere. Thank you very much though for the cost breakdowns.

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There are nearly as many Americans here as in Portugal.

There is that. It’s the major downside, IMO. He says, typing from Malaysia…

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It varies on how stable the infrastructure will be, just like anywhere else you would go. Being single and bringing in $25k a year plus savings you would be upper class. A few hours a month without power is normal, not often a full day unless a major storm hits. Internet can be iffy at times, many people use Starlink for dependable internet at a reasonable cost. But there are other decent providers.

If you live and eat like a local you could do very well. Use fans for cooling at night and some AC during the heat of the day and your electric bill would be reasonable. Oh, and women will be all over you.

20

You can look up cost of living comparisons, such as here. Looks like Portugal is, on average, 5% cheaper.

As for language (and COL) it’s really going to depend where you move to. Tourist towns and the capitals will have many more english speakers than more remote areas in both places. Of course, that also means they’ll be more expensive.

Advantage of both is that they’re politically stable, liberal, western democracies. So there’s that. You’ll need to embrace football (soccer) to really fit in though!