# Where in the world can you retire young with a million? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058 "2012-09-08T01:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/21 "2012-09-10T20:04:50Z")
There was a highly influential study done on safe withdrawal rates from a portfolio, called the Trinity Study. This showed that historically a 50/50 stocks/bonds portfolio would sustain a 4% withdrawal rate for 30 years. This did allow for inflation - the amount withdrawn in year 2 would be increased to allow for inflation. Hence with $1m, the first year withdrawal would be $40,000. If inflation were 3% the first year, then year 2 withdrawal would be $41,200. The OP mentions a couple in their 30s, who would therefore need the portfolio to last longer than 30 years. This would reduce the safe withdrawal rate to something like 3.5% Note: “Safe” means what would have been safe looking at historical returns. There is no guarantee that it would be safe in the future. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/22 "2012-09-10T20:23:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The flaw in your plan is inflation. 20 or 30K right now for someone in their 30’s might be the equivalent of 5K a year when they are in their 70’s or older. That isn’t livable. You also have other severe factors working against you. Because you aren’t working during most of your adult years, you won’t be entitled to much Social Security when you are older. Assuming that $1 million is all you will ever have outside of safe investments, that is not nearly enough to try this anywhere in the U.S. for someone that young. It also isn’t easy to get even 2% or 3% safely today to provide that $20 or 30K. You may not have much of anything to live on from investment income for long periods especially in the beginning and all of those hits to your principal compound the issue negatively in the long-term. I took inflation into account, though I didn’t explicitly say so. The reason you’re only living on 20-30k (instead of, say, 30-50k). is so that you can maintain the relative value of principal. With a $1 million portfolio that needs to last perhaps 70 years, you’re going to have the bulk of it invested in stocks or other high-risk equities because you know that the average return will be something like 6-8%. Even if your portfolio had to go through 1929, your equities investments will have recovered within 20 years. You’ll keep some of it in bonds both because it improves the overall return of the portfolio, and because that way you can always live off of bonds while the equities recover from any temporary setbacks. Amarone has done a good job of putting some numbers and a proper name to what I’m talking about. As for Social Security… you’re right that it won’t be very high, but the beauty of Social Security is that you can qualify with just 10 years of participation (and $4400 each year). A 30-year old probably has that already. So… since we’ve already established that you can surviving on an inflation-adjusted amount for life, Social Security is just a cherry on top. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/23 "2012-09-10T20:49:33Z")
Sri Lanka. Tropical beaches, Buddhist culture, ruins, Indian food, tea culture, gemstones, fresh seafood… Your US$ should buy you the amenities you seek! And you’d be really well located for lots of interesting travel, too! Yeah, that’s where I’d go! ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/24 "2012-09-10T21:00:32Z")
I would take my $1 million and retire in the Philippines right now and sign an agreement never to work again…easily. It would be a bit harder to do in Manila because houses and utilities are not quite as cheap proportionately to everything else (food etc) to American prices, but still feasible. Once you leave the big cities and go into the countryside you could live an AMAZING life for that much, beachfront property and household help, eating lavishly every day etc. English is very common but the quality of english spoken varies widely. Personally I would NEVER have any household help except maybe gardeners or something, I don’t like people in my house snooping, but I guess some people like it. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/25 "2012-09-11T01:23:27Z")
One thing that’s not really been addressed so far is the high likelihood that as you get older, your wants and more importantly, perhaps, your needs, may change. In other words, you may find yourself genuinely needing more money than you ever thought you’d require. Speaking as a former young man, I know that I would not have considered that one day I might want to have more than overturned crates for my chairs and tables. More seriously, the want, or need, of a good bed and mattress is a better example of what I’m getting at - chances are your 30 year-old back is more forgiving than it will be at 60. Likewise, shoes. And, to talk about furniture again, if you’re even moderately unlucky, you may find that a comfortable chair (or sofa) become more than a matter of comfort! And, of course, there’s transportation - I walked everywhere at 30. Now, not so much. Let’s just say that I didn’t choose to become more sedentary. So, a car may become essentially an essential. Other health issues, while ‘unexpected’, actually become so prevalent as one ages that they should, in fact, almost _be expected_ - think cataracts, hip arthritis, etc. And that leads to one more point about living out your days on some sunny, sandy beach - if you get seriously sick, or injured at, say, age 60, without family or much in the way of truly good friends nearby, you may very much lament not having more bucks at your disposal. None of which to say is that the idea of taking off to Costa Rica or Thailand isn’t a good one, or isn’t even one I still consider (now that I do have some bucks! ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/26 "2012-09-11T01:39:26Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > One thing that’s not really been addressed so far is the high likelihood that as you get older, your wants and more importantly, perhaps, your needs, may change. In other words, you may find yourself genuinely needing more money than you ever thought you’d require. > > Speaking as a former young man, I know that I would not have considered that one day I might want to have more than overturned crates for my chairs and tables. > > More seriously, the want, or need, of a good bed and mattress is a better example of what I’m getting at - chances are your 30 year-old back is more forgiving than it will be at 60. Likewise, shoes. And, to talk about furniture again, if you’re even moderately unlucky, you may find that a comfortable chair (or sofa) become more than a matter of comfort! > > And, of course, there’s transportation - I walked everywhere at 30. Now, not so much. Let’s just say that I didn’t choose to become more sedentary. So, a car may become essentially an essential. > > Other health issues, while ‘unexpected’, actually become so prevalent as one ages that they should, in fact, almost _be expected_ - think cataracts, hip arthritis, etc. And that leads to one more point about living out your days on some sunny, sandy beach - if you get seriously sick, or injured at, say, age 60, without family or much in the way of truly good friends nearby, you may very much lament not having more bucks at your disposal. > > None of which to say is that the idea of taking off to Costa Rica or Thailand isn’t a good one, or isn’t even one I still consider (now that I do have some bucks! ;)) All true. The missing element here is quality of life expectation. It doesn’t take much money to survive in the literal sense. Even homeless people in the U.S don’t often starve to death after all. You could buy a multiple bedroom house and have renters to supply some extra income to stretch those dollars, live as modestly as possible, and make it but it wouldn’t be a good quality of life in the U.S. for just $1 million anywhere spread out over 40 - 50 years. If you have any additional needs or people you need to support like kids, it becomes even harder. In short, you have to map out expectations for life quality and see what you can get in various locations worldwide for those dollars. I am starting with a budget of about 3 - 5 times that per person in Costa Rica and the low end is still making me nervous but expectations are much higher than basic survival. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/27 "2012-09-11T02:14:26Z")
There’s a Cracked Article about why the idea of running off to another country is a bad one. > **[6 Reasons Your Plans to Move Abroad Might Not Work Out](https://www.cracked.com/article_19363_6-reasons-your-plans-to-move-abroad-might-not-work-out.html)** > > Every month or so, you probably know of someone who just gets fed up with America and wants to leave. Make sure you show them this first. They make excellent points. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/28 "2012-09-12T01:37:36Z")
> [@Chickenwrangler](#): > > Thailand > > It’s got everything for a young lad with money. > > Though once you get into the swing of things the money may not last as long as you hoped! I knew a guy who figured he had enough money to live comfortably in Thailand for 20 years. His mistake was he settled in Pattaya. He was broke in two years. But he sure had a smile on his face when he left back for the US. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/29 "2012-09-12T22:09:57Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Sri Lanka. > > Tropical beaches, Buddhist culture, ruins, Indian food, tea culture, gemstones, fresh seafood… > > Your US$ should buy you the amenities you seek! And you’d be really well located for lots of interesting travel, too! > Yeah, that’s where I’d go! What about the terrorism? The Tamil Tigers? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/30 "2012-09-12T22:51:02Z")
The LTTE has been defeated. > **[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | Aftermath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_tigers#Aftermath)** > > With the end of the hostilities, 11,664 LTTE members, including 595 child soldiers surrendered to the Sri Lankan military. Approximately 150 hardcore LTTE cadres and 1,000 mid-level cadres escaped to India. The government took action to rehabilitate the surrendered cadres under a National Action Plan for the Re-integration of Ex-combatants while allegations of torture, rape, and murder were reported by international human rights bodies. They were divided into three categories; hard ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/31 "2012-09-13T03:11:42Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > What about the terrorism? The Tamil Tigers? > [@rogerbox](#): > > The LTTE has been defeated. > > [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_tigers#Aftermath) Plus even when the war was on, it was largely limited to a small area of the Northeast. ---
**Author:** ![JMLVT68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@JMLVT68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JMLVT68)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/32 "2012-09-13T17:57:46Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Suppose that I stipulated that I wanted it English speaking. And with modern health care. I don’t mind paying local taxes towards that. Oh, and have a decent climate and good music. I would move to Barbados but for the health care and the music. Wonderful people there. Uh, what? Health care maybe is an issue, but IIRC Barbados has great music (based on two visits over 20 years ago), maybe not just the kind of music you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058/33 "2012-09-13T18:38:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Kiyoshi View Post > What about the terrorism? The Tamil Tigers? I waited years to go there, for this very reason. I would be home, saving money to go to Asia for 6-8mnths, I would watch as things calmed there, then, just before we’d head off, it would all flame up again! Three times this happened to me! Grrr…it was very frustrating. But these days, the two sides are in dialogue with each other. Which is not to say that the path has been easy or without some violence, and will likely continue to be. But that violence wouldn’t really be directed at me. There is always the chance of being blown up in a train station bombing, or some such, of course. But from where I sit that kind of thing happens everywhere. I have a fair bit of experience traveling in the third world and am pretty confident I could settle in seamlessly. Hammock and an ocean view, truly, my needs are few!😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-can-you-retire-young-with-a-million/634058.md?page=1)