Comments on: Road to Retirement Overseas – One man´s odyssey

By: J.Jill Fairchilde

J.Jill Fairchilde — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:57:44 +0000

Dear Joseph,

You could not have described the things I’m looking for better than you did. Your search and the resulting article are very heartening as well as excellent.

If you would be so kind , I’d so appreciate it if you would contact me so that I may ask more questions.

Thank you for all your effort and research saving me so much time.

Cheers!
J.Jill Fairchilde
Carlsbad, CA

By: Andree

Andree — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:20:44 +0000

The best and most prety island in the world i think Bali… its realy perfect atmosphere there with tropical weather.
for you the retirement.. its been so nice..coz the economic really comperative for 1 US $ exchange for IDR 9.000,-, everything foir you so cheap…you can rent a nice viula with $ 10.000 US/Year and that with swiming pool. for normal small house just $4 500 US/year.
food for once package diner just $ 3 US
imagine with 1 botle Beer here just $ 10.000 us. its really nice for retirement no gangster and very full smiley people around here.
and the best think Indonesian goverment give to you special visa for retirement. I am working for a American people in Bali now being Personal asistant.. so if you need more info and help for retirement in Bali please send me email.

Andree
firstindoimage@yahoo.co.id

By: Tim Singleton

Tim Singleton — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:28:34 +0000

I would like to see a follow up article addressing some of the concerns voiced here. No place is perfect, I know, but some of the concerns voiced in the responses are troubling.

The first response was interesting, but then again I am of the opinion that if you want to live like you want, you cannot do it while working as an employee…you have to start a business and drive it hard. too many Americans have been sold the pipe dream of their being entitled to a good job and happiness. You ain’t. The only thing you are entitled to is the right to try and fail. If you try and succeed, you are entitled to keep your success. Instead, what we have is some BS idea that all are entitled to a good job and that those who succeed outside the norm are not entitled to keep the fruits of that success.

Yeah…before I go off…I would hope you would do a follow up article to this because I enjoyed the article and the responses.

Tim

By: Susan Beverley

Susan Beverley — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:28:33 +0000

Write to me Tony and I can put you in direct contact

Susan Beverley – Editor

By: Tony Kastens

Tony Kastens — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:45:06 +0000

I would like to communicate with Joseph Brandon if at all possible. I am planning travel into Argentina and/or Uruguay in January 2010 and would sincerely appreciate the ability to communicate directly with him. Would this be possible? Please email me accordingly. Thank you.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:50:02 +0000

Yes, Argentina does sound good at first. Unfortunately, there are some very good reasons the Argentine standard of living has been gradually losing ground for the last century: its corrupt and incompetent populist politicians. My criticism of your article is that you did an excellent job of observing the physical while neglecting to analyze the socio-political over time in any depth. Remember that only 8 years ago the Argentinians repudiated their foreign debt, then went back to the debt-holders with a “take it or leave it” offer which effectively robbed them of half of their investments. Now that they are the pariahs of the world debt markets, they are currently trying to appease the IMF and the Paris Club by “having mercy” on those poor debt-holders who didn’t accept their ridiculous offer by coming up with one that is even worse, so bthey can get back to their bad old ways of borrowing beyond their means. Today, indeed, Argentina is currently cheap – but that is because it has very little new foreign investment and because locals have so little confidence in the government and the economy that they send their excess funds out of the country every chance they get. So please don’t bring your life savings to Argentina!! Just a few months ago the cynical current Government decided to nationalize the entire pensions fund system of the country so they could rape its investments. If you go back in history, you will see that Argentina regularly swings from being one of the cheapest countries in the world to one of the most expensive – depending on whether it is in bust or boom mode. Not so long ago, w henn Argentina capriciously and disastrously decided to declare war on the United Kingdom and attack the Falklands, all British holdings in Argentina were faced with nationalizatilon (which never came about, thankfully). With every successive major political mistake, Argentina declines a little more. The current classic is: the government doesn’t have enough money to meet its budget , so it taxes the best thing it has going for you – its agricultural exports – and destroys them. If you really want to go live in Argentina, wait another year: they are now well on the way to defaulting on their foreign debt once again, and everything is going to be a lot cheaper in 2011.

By: Denise

Denise — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:36:21 +0000

Thanks for your article, it got me thinking of our future plans! Once you hit 40, you do tend to start thinking of the ideal place to live as you get older. Definitely not retire, as I agree with you, most of us baby boomers are not rocking chair types.

We have been searching the globe to find the right place to eventually move to, one that is safe, has a low cost of living and where we can speak English and not feel like foreigners, plus most of the points you mention in your article. Somehow I am not sure we will ever find utopia.
We have lived in many different countries in the world and to find the perfect balance of needs and wants is almost improbable. I will most certainly be looking at Chile, Uruguay and Argentina in the near future.

My business tends to also only look at the cost of living of the city/country, but perhaps we should include in our country information the remarks you have highlighted and more specifically what else the country has to offer. Perhaps as a person wanting to move, retire or expatriate to another country all the other obvious niceties should also be included and not just what you are going to earn $ for $.

You have me thinking, thanks!

By: Carson

Carson — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:31:30 +0000

Every time I hear about on of these places like Argentina, I start looking for real estate and the first thing I find is that the international community of opportunist real estate hustlers seem to have already arrived and are busy carving up all the swamp land to peddle to the unsuspecting gringos who are due in on the next plane.

All the supposedly great deals are actually little shacks with little if anything in the way of modern comforts that North Americans and Europeans are accustomed too; or if such amenities are available the price of the homes really isn’t that attractive after all.

Another thing which must be taken into account is that in most of these places mortgage loans are either unavailable or they come with extremely high interest rates, and often only then if you have enough money to make a huge down payment. If you aren’t already wealthy you will have an extremely hard time of it in most places because you are generally going to be restricted from working at all; or if you do work you will find the wages to be…..well…….Third World.

If you have a boatload of money and can afford whatever kind of home you want to buy anyway, and you aren’t concerned about how you are going to support yourself; and you have plenty of time and disposable income to allow yourself the opportunity to travel and take advantage of investment opportunities elsewhere in the world, then you may well find all of this “expat” lifestyle BS to your liking.

But if you are the average poor bastard who has been taxed to death in your home country and have been working your ass off for 30 or 40 years and have little to show for it as a result; and you now find yourself unable to afford retirement, unable to afford health care, and unable to afford leisure time activities you are not going to find Shangra-La in very many of these places. In fact you are much more likely to find yourself living like the rest of the peasant class than you are to find yourself living like a King.

By: andrew

andrew — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:09:09 +0000

I found this information very interesting and I am looking forward to more posts!

By: Susan Beverley

Susan Beverley — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:21:38 +0000

Yes, you can get by. You would have to hire the services of a relocation agent or a translator/interpreter but they are plentiful and reasonably priced.

Susan Beverley – Editor

By: Miles Mayne

Miles Mayne — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:50:22 +0000

Great article and I love it . I have retired and was considering buying a small vine yard in the Mendoza that would keep me busy and generate some additional income.

My only concern is how easy would it be for me to live and do business in Mendoza, without knowing any Spanish? Can you get by knowing only English ?

Thanks to let me know.

Miles

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:24:22 +0000

Joseph,
What a great article! I understand why you would be reluctant to publish it. Mendoza is definitely a destination for my next trip, and possibly next home. Muchas Gracias.

By: Cesar and Sol Martinez

Cesar and Sol Martinez — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:19:57 +0000

We loved your article, we been reading a little about Uruguay and the info we got about the taxes it was good for us, we are concern about what you said ” that you found some tax issues that concerned you” it made us a little nervous we see that you really made your homework.

Can you please share that info with us?

We thank you so very much for writing this article and for bean so honest with ALL YOU INFORMATION.

We are making plans to spend a couple of weeks in Argentina, maybe we can make up our minds
between Uruguay and Argentina

Thank you again, we hope to hear from you

Siceraly, The Martinez Family

By: khalid nazar

khalid nazar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:27:51 +0000

I really like what you wrote and considering to settle there after my retirement, but anxious know that how could I get the resident permit because I am an indian citizen….