Quality of Retirement Life in Foreign Countries
February 3, 2010 by Mr. GoTo
Filed under Places to Retire
Although I am curious about U.S. expat retirement life in foreign countries, it’s not something I have a strong interest in. There is plenty of diversity to experience in the U.S.. On the other hand, some foreign countries can offer a substantially lower cost of retirement living. But how do folks rate the quality of life in some of these foreign countries?
Another resource for evaluating quality of retirement life in a foreign country is the book “Retirement Without Borders.” I have not read the book yet but this interview of the author is intriguing. I particularly find it interesting how much the author – who lives in Mexico and the U.S. – now favors renting over owning. It does make sense, even though inexpensive real estate is a prime attraction of many foreign retirement destinations. If you can have a home base here in the states, retirement living in a foreign country can be like taking really long vacations. If you don’t like the your experience and are renting rather than buying, you just leave and try another destination. That seems like the ideal compromise.
Relying on quality of life assessments of foreign countries by others is a risky proposition. I’m sure there are plenty of folks who think I’m crazy to be critical of France as a place to live, for example. So try it yourself, but don’t overlook the practical issues. I’m not the kind of person who can tolerate a bureaucracy where it takes weeks or months just to get Internet access. Others may not care.
Now back to my retirement dreaming ….
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In considering where to retire if choosing a foreign country, the language of that country might be a top consideration. For that organization to choose France is quite puzzling. My first experience in France was a taxi-driver who took me around in circles traveling from the airport to my hotel. He knew exactly what he was doing in taking advantage of my situation. It happened to me again going from the hotel to a restaurant later on my trip, but this time I called him on it and managed to get a person at the restaurant to reprimand him (I ended up not having to pay for the taxi ride).
A place to consider moving where they speak English, and the cost of living is low, would be the Philippines. Almost everyone speaks English in the Philippines. Having traveled there 8 times, I can vouch for the kindness of the people.
Below are the current monthly expenses you would incur living there:
$50 – $100 Maid/cook (live in)
$200 Full time driver
$100 – $200 food
Utilities will vary as it is hot there and you’ll need air conditioning
$200 – $500 month rent (a $500 a month place would be considered very nice) = for $1,000 a month you could have a 4 bedroom house with maids quarters and drivers quarters = most places have a room for the help (and yes, help is common in the Philippines)
Misc.
$10 – One hour massage
$10 – golf instructor for the entire round of golf or lessons
$4 caddy for entire round of golf
Clothing: Very cheap in the Philippines; $1 for a t-shirt, less than $100 for a suit, everything is inexpensive. I’d stay away from buying dress shoes there though.
When I golfed at Tagaytay Highlands on the weekdays, I was the only person golfing on the entire course at times. The wealthy would come for the weekend.
There is a website called http://www.livinginthephilippines.com talking about many ex-pats living in Cebu, one of the many Islands in the Philippines. I’ve been to Cebu and it is nice. The Makati area of Luzon, near the capital of Manila is a very nice area too. Tagaytay has nicer weather and some really good views. It’s the tourist area and place where wealthy people from the city go to cool off during the hot summers.
The Philippines is 90% Catholic. The last two presidents who the citizens didn’t like, the local Bishop got rid of. Religion may rule over politics there, but the corruption still occurs. At least in the Philippines, they all know that’s how business is conducted.
The news you hear about some problems in the Philippines are centered in the Mindanao/Basilan area, many hours and islands south of Cebu and the capital city of Manila on Luzon Island. The problems are with some radical Muslims, the Abu Sayyaf, who are upset with the local people over the settlement of their land many years ago. The U.S. Army is there to help logistically (they are not allowed to engage in combat) and for the most part, things are under control, but every once in a while there are killings just as there are killings in some bad areas of Los Angeles. But there are also some bombings as well. Of course I would never travel there and the good news is, they don’t travel either as the sea prevents them from taking their terror elsewhere. There may be some who try and take the terror elsewhere, but we have that in the U.S. too.
There are 7,000 Islands in the Philippines. One could buy their own Island for about $350,000.
U.S. Dollars are welcome in many places. There are money exchange places everywhere if needed. The local currency is called the Peso and it has held up well against the U.S. Dollar the last 10 years.
One’s social security check can go a long way in the Philippines. Take a vacation and see for yourself how nice it is. But bring and umbrella! It does rain a lot in the Philippines…which makes you appreciate the sunny days all the more.