Retiring early... Geographic arbitrage

Vil_Riker

Vil_Riker

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Jun 22, 2022
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Recently have been quite a few posts about retiring early, retiring and moving abroad, etc.

This has started really bugging me, in a nice way. In the last couple of years I have lost a lot of family members, some were in their early 70-s, some were younger. Seemingly healthy people just died suddenly - cancer or cardiac reasons. If I am to follow their life expectancy, I don't have much time left either. I am fully inoculated (just like they were) so I think I'm a high risk for "unexplained excess death" statistic.

The sad thing is that I can't retire in the US. My monthly income from unburdened funds is enough to pay for rent but not enough for food and utilities. And I'm not even talking about health insurance. Even the junkiest plan on the exchange will be unaffordable to use.

I've been looking into doing this abroad. I can live fairly decently in Mexico or South East Asia - Thailand, Malaysia or Vietnam. I just don't imagine making that leap.

Have any of our BITOGers contemplated this, or actually made the leap?
 
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What are unburdened funds? Cancers and cardiac arrest happens with or with out inoculations and wouldn't consider inoculations necessarily a life extender in the later years. I am 71 reaching the end of the rope so to say every day is a surprise when I wake up.
 
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Very attached to living right here in the good ole USA, especially the south. However, my wife and I both have talked semi-seriously about becoming ex-pats if this country takes a dump and relocate to the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
 
shortyb said:
Very attached to living right here in the good ole USA, especially the south. However, my wife and I both have talked semi-seriously about becoming ex-pats if this country takes a dump and relocate to the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
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Have you run the numbers?

My motivation is not the country taking a dump. I just don't want to work all my life and then just croak one day, or worse yet, go through a chronic cancer case and suffer a horrible death. I haven't had a vacation in like 6 years. It's always work-work-work and for what?
 
Vil_Riker said:
Recently have been quite a few posts about retiring early, retiring and moving abroad, etc.

This has started really bugging me, in a nice way. In the last couple of years I have lost a lot of family members, some were in their early 70-s, some were younger. Seemingly healthy people just died suddenly - cancer or cardiac reasons. If I am to follow their life expectancy, I don't have much time left either. I am fully inoculated (just like they were) so I think I'm a high risk for "unexplained excess death" statistic.

The sad thing is that I can't retire in the US. My monthly income from unburdened funds is enough to pay for rent but not enough for food and utilities. And I'm not even talking about health insurance. Even the junkiest plan on the exchange will be unaffordable to use.

I've been looking into doing this abroad. I can live fairly decently in Mexico or South East Asia - Thailand, Malaysia or Vietnam. I just don't imagine making that leap.

Have any of our BITOGers contemplated this, or actually made the leap?
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My wife from Asia, her sister is moving back there for retirement. Not the countries you mentioned. though, she has family there.
I subscribe to a few Facebook threads on life there. I find Thailand very attractive. It would be at the top of my list.

My wife from an upscale area of the Philippines, her family and notable her friends have an incredible lifestyle there. Im talking house staff, drivers etc. But they are doctors, foundation organizations, CEOs of even companies you may do business with here.
Some of the nicest shopping malls in the world, or certainly better than here However, you're limited to areas and islands because much of the country is very poor. Still there are nice places to live that are very affordable and the people there called the most friendly in the world. Philippines is nice as everyone speaks English and everything is written in English.

Ok, Thailand it would be for me. One other place, never looked into it and maybe not cheap anymore is Costa Rica
Here is the catch though. How will you get medical care? Many who do move there, pay for their care right out of pocket because it is so inexpensive. Same in Costa Rica. You dont go to the pubic medical facilities. You go to the expats facilities which are really good and not expensive compared to here but you still need the funds.
Your only option that I know if you cant afford care would be to fly to the USA and get medical care under medicare.

Oh, I just saw you are talking about 10 years. Gosh wish I was 49 *LOL* You have time but yeah, good time to start considering options.
 
Are people that are dying in their 70s truly healthy? I know genetics plays a huge part and of course sometimes disease sets in regardless of life choices, but dying in your 70s seems exceptionally young to me. Makes me wonder how one would define "healthy" for this age range. That being said, I'm with you that having to work (at least full-time) well into your final years is not appealing.
 
If it's 10 years left to 59.5, and you're worried about your 70's, then I think--just my opinion--that you are better off using the next 5-ish years for heavy savings. And working. With the goal of, saving enough to pay for 55-59.5 out of pocket, then switching to using 401k/Roth/etc funds after 59.5. Again, just my opinion--but 70 is a long ways off for you.

I get that it bugs you, and we all need to sleep well at night. But I think you are better off staying the course, saving in tax advantaged accounts--while switching towards non-advantaged accounts with an eye towards FIRE. You might want to peruse various other forums that are dedicated towards FIRE and get information there also.
 
shortyb said:
Very attached to living right here in the good ole USA, especially the south. However, my wife and I both have talked semi-seriously about becoming ex-pats if this country takes a dump and relocate to the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Click to expand...
This is true for my wife and I. Even though she still works from home, will retire in a few years. I am retired.
I think because of the Florida bad press people think things are expensive all over. NOT true.
The Carolinas are a steal in many places, plus you have world class health care and world class medicare to pay for it all. Though the OP wants to retire before he can get Medicare.
Then the gulf states of Alabama and even the Florida border there. But as far as I am concerned SC and NC is the place

18 years ago we moved off Long Island, NY OMG am I so glad. Let me tell you, I am not a person to move around, it was gut wrenching for me to pull the trigger move from the place I grew up in and spent most of my life. Life long friends left behind.

Best decision of our lives and kids lives. First 16 years near Lake Murray SC outside of Columbia SC. Big new 5 BR house at the time, half the price of the tiny home we sold in NY. Kids now grown, off on their own, families. Wife and I down sized to a 3 br with home office, brand new in a golf resort community in NC.

Gosh the cost of living here is so reasonable and the lifestyle wonderful for the cost.
 
JoelB said:
Can you minimize your expenses by relocating in the US? Can you feasibly buy something that you can pay off? Renting into retirement always squeezes the funds.
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I've simplified my life as much as I can. I ran the numbers and renting is cheaper than owning a paid off house. I.e. investing the proceeds from the house sale and using the returns to pay rent. I live in a high property tax locality and after owning the house, maintaining it, etc. and the sale I actually lost money compared to if I had invested the money and used dividends (and now interest) to pay rent. With mortgage, it becomes even more lossy...

Sold the house, got rid of the mortgage debt and can sleep much better now (no worries about the weather, an appliance crapping out, etc.).
 
Obviously a big subject for me.

When I learned about the "healthy life expectancy" charts (the age above which health is poor), That path led to retirement this past May, at 60.

Looking back at my posts, it is clear I was digesting the information with accuracy and applying it to my situation.

Some helpful thoughts:

1) By age 65, one out of four of a mature man's male friends have died.
2) By age 63, half of all mature American men have had a major health crisis.
3) Mature American men are on average 73.xx years old when they die.
4) Favorable female statistics skew the averages, and paint an inaccurate rosy picture for men.

Be honest and ACCURATELY assess yourself, what is your healthy life expectancy? Mine is behind me.


I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid failure), MCTD (autoimmune anti RNP antibodies, nasty like Lupus), Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency (fatal if not treated daily) and other more minor issues such as Mitochondrial Dysfunction. The lifespan I want and hope for is not what I am planning for.


https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/i...ho-ghe-hale-healthy-life-expectancy-at-age-60
 
wpod said:
The country is some what dumped already. Our politicians some what bankrupted us and stole our liberties and justice for all.
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Yes, but my threshold is not getting shot on the street. The place I live the chances of that are slim.

As you see, I have very low expectations :ROFLMAO:
 
tbm5690 said:
Are people that are dying in their 70s truly healthy? I know genetics plays a huge part and of course sometimes disease sets in regardless of life choices, but dying in your 70s seems exceptionally young to me. Makes me wonder how one would define "healthy" for this age range. That being said, I'm with you that having to work (at least full-time) well into your final years is not appealing.
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Well, the average male in the USA lives until 78

Here is the table Social Security uses.
Choose your current age and add the "life expectancy" number to your age.
Example, If you are currently 47 years old, Social Security calculates a death at 77.
If you live until age 67 the SS table gives you a life until almost 83 if you make it to 83 it is possible that you make it to 90
Fascinating table =

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html
 
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