International Living

[rosebud5]

Been reading about retiree's buying property outside the US to include all the pro's and con's about it. Costa Rica, Panama, etc.

Anybody else give it a look?

 

[isisdave]

Yes. First rule is similar to TUG's: Try it before you buy it. Real estate is EASY to buy and much harder to sell. Rent at least six months first.

Rule #2 is you have to speak the language, or be willing to learn it fast, or you will not be happy, and will probably be taken advantage of.

And for me, rule #3 is: the medical system may be iffy, and at it's best it is not World Class.

There are many websites and dozens of books on this subject. The ones I like about Costa Rica are arcr.net and amcostarica.com . But I think Costa Rica is losing out to Panama, as CR becomes wealthier, prices rise, and drug cartels move in. Some people like Nicaragua.

 

[normab]

Have been on the website among others, have actually visited Panama, and have read alot. Based on our family situation, DH and I don't think we would ever buy property in a foreign country, despite some of the attractive incentives especially in Panama. We might, however, rent for a while at some point and who knows where that would lead.

I agree that you need to be willing to learn the language. Hablas espanol?

One discussion we had--we have concerns about the direction health care in our retirement--(What will happen in our gap years? What is the future of Medicare? Will the government start to limit what procedures will be covered?) Due to the unknown future, we have discussed the possibility of having medical or dental procedures in other countries, where the doctors are US trained, and it would cost significantly less than here in the US. (There are other countries that have state-of-the-art medical care.)

The future holds lots of unknowns, so we never say never. Depending on your situation, it could work for you. There are certainly plenty of ex-pats who are very happy.

Norma

 

[puppymommo]

This is something I think alot about. Probably not buying property, though.

Sometimes I think I'd like to spend a year or so living in various different countries, perhaps teaching English part time. Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, India. Perhaps Eastern European countries, South America??? The world is so big and retirement (especially active retirement) is so short!

 

[am1]

International Living is worse than timeshare salesmen.

American citizens have less incentive to move to low tax countries. A lot of banks will not touch US citizens because of all the extra paperwork and risk.

Not sure why people always want to knock non-US medical care. At the top I would agree the US is great..