Retiring to South and Central America

Dangerous. Not worth it. Enjoy having your organs collected and sold on the black market. Enjoy poor living conditions, and a host of diseases and parasites.

Thanks for that very constructive and well informed contribution R1 🙄

I live in Brazil, which is great for me because my husband is Brazilian, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who has no legal status or family connections here,

Most of the best places to move to have mountainous regions where the heat is not oppressive - Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia. Uruguay is fabulous in many ways, but it's a long flight to the US. Nicaragua is up and coming as a retirement spot but unstable politically (though probably the cheapest). Both Ecuador and Panama use the US Dollar as their national currency, so you would not be subject to daily currency rate fluctuations if you moved there.

There are a lot of advantages to living in Belize - the national language is English, the currency is pegged 2 to 1 to the US Dollar and in some ways, the society is very "Americanized" (For example everybody watches US television, even local NY news channels.) It's also easy to get a mortgage in Belize (if you have good credit). But in Belize, the thing to do is live on one of the many offshore Cayes inside the barrier reef,

Outside of that, much of the country is a hellhole - especially Belize City.

Chile is the most developed of those countries you mention, OP. Sadly they don't have gay marriage yet, but I think they will in just a few years.

Chile is the most developed of those countries you mention, OP. Sadly they don't have gay marriage yet, but I think they will in just a few years.

R1 doesn’t have a clue.

Uruguay has the most stable government and good infrastructure. Check out International Living for good more.

Uruguay has the best football team out of all 4.

Panama has a bottomless supply of Panama hats.

I hope that made your choice easier for you, OP :).

Move to a third world country and all the issues that go with it? No Thanks

TY everyone. I'm really liking what I've heard of Uruguay - legal SS marriage, legal weed, little beach towns, only 4 million people in the whole country. It seems like a laid back surfer-hippyish vibe.

I'm already in the third world R9 so for me it would be a step up. S America at least is generally moving forward rather than backwards like the USA and UK.

R8 which country has the best pinga though?

If you're retiring to a country - go with the country that has the best private or public medicine (depending on your budget).

Because, as an older gent who may need a lot of medical attention soon, you don't want to be stuck in some country that has liberal marriage laws but a Penicillin drug shortage.

[quote] Rio Times, 9 May 2019: Medicine shortage threatens 2 million patients in Brazil

[quote]which country has the best pinga though

Well if you're retiring there, pinga might not be your foremost consideration. Unless you're free-basing Levitra.

You'll die.

Almost all the American retirees in Central America are middle class or lower middle class republicans who love Trump and hate the country they're in, but have to stay because it's all they can afford. They live on SS or pensions and end up drinking too much, playing endless hours of bridge, and talking about how if Trump were running this country (whichever one it is they're in), it would be so much better.

I don't know anything about South American country retirees but regarding the Central American ones -- trust me. Don't do it.

Belize

Costa Rica seems very popular. Otherwise I would say Uruguay.

[quote]Move to a third world country and all the issues that go with it?

Oh, honey, America IS turning into a third world banana republic.

Do not try moving to Costa Rica if you are HIV+. The country has such a poor record on HIV that many Costa Ricans with HIV have been granted asylum in the US.

You won't be dragged out of your home and beaten to death, as in Jamaica, but you will find great resistance at every turn, up to and including the delivery of medical care.

Belize is HORRIBLY anti-gay, I can’t believe that hasn’t been brought up here yet

Belize has a fairly high crime rate too. I think some Americans were murdered there a few years ago and lots of tourists report being burgled.

[quote]Panama has a bottomless supply of Panama hats.

But which one has a bottomless supply of bottoms?

Would you really want to move to country you’ve never lived in and know no one there?

Remember, Medicare doesn’t work there

Move to Guam, you will be happy there

R24. Guam is infested with TREE SNAKES

Uruguay and Chile only if you're white, catholic and conservative, dear OP.

Consider Medellin, Colombia

Medicare doesn't need to work for some.

I don't know if Chile is going to be the paradise you think it is, op. Unless you like skiing.

Anyway, this is a depressing doc on Chile and suicides by poor people. I've read other articles that indigenous looking people get discriminated against. Called maid and things like that. I don't like that. I like the countries closer to the equator where white people are fewer. The southern cone region is a little more snooty and different from the laid backness of the equator.

Just back from Chile, which seemed to be both a third world and a first world country. Homeless people dotting the streets below the skyscrapers of Santiago, people living in handmade-looking clay-block houses out in the hinterlands.

But it did seem like a better place to be poor than the US, if you're poor in the US you'll probably spend your whole life one step away from homelessness, in Chile apparently you can be dirt-poor and still have a shabby little house in the sticks to call your own. I spent much of my time outside the cities thinking "The US needs more substandard housing!", we need to stop building McMansions and put up cheap little places that the working poor can actually own!

I don’t get moving to any of these as an American - though is you’re already in the Third World it makes sense.

The idea of leaving great medical care (which you finally get for relatively little once you’re 65) and a lot of things we take for granted to sit and drink far away from everything and everybody you have grown accustomed to your whole life in the stage of your life where you just want to keep things going is illogical.

I've traveled in South America a little and really like Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Ecuador. We've thought about retiring to Ecuador or getting an apartment in Buenos Aires for part of the year. There are many ex-pats in Ecuador. Cuenca and Cotacachi both have large American populations. They are both mountain cities/towns with more moderate weather. We were looking in the Same area (Casa Blanca). It is in the Northern Province of Esmeraldas and sometimes considered dangerous. Same (Casa Blanca) is a gated community on the beach where lots of white houses hang off the cliff's edge. You can buy a condo for as little as $75k or a large modern 5br for around $400k. A couple years ago, getting permanent VISA status was pretty easy but that may have changed. Also, medical care was government sponsored are relatively modern.

There are mountain towns in the US - as well as tropical towns - where you can get a nice house for less than $300k. I don’t get the attraction to underdeveloped countries. You can live cheaply - and well - in a first world country with all the amenities, safety and health care.

Argentina is far in advance of both Chile and Uruguay.

Try Mendoza in Argentina. BA is exciting, but it is pricey.

[quote] Panama has a bottomless supply of Panama hats.

Fun fact: Panama hats are actually from Ecuador.

As per the OP, I plan to retire in Latin America. Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Peru are my current considerations. If in Ecuador, it would be the tiny, charming towns of Mindo and around the Baños area. Retirement is a long ways away for me, so who knows, anything can change..

I agree with R31. Ideally it would be fun to have a second home in another country but to move permanently to a place that - maybe - you are unfamiliar with, don't really speak the language and have no friends seems odd. I do plan to travel a lot during my retirement and spend a couple of months of winter in more mild climates but would probably always have a place on the east coast of the US.

[quote]The idea of leaving great medical care (which you finally get for relatively little once you’re 65)

It’s not that cheap. My step-mother needed extensive dental work and it was cheaper for her to fly to Mexico, stay in a hotel and have it done there. There’s a reason medical tourism is booming.

Knew a gay man who retired early to Costa Rica. Said most locals were very poor, living on rice & beans & potatoes with a little chicken, but overall far happier than in The States. Fresh fruit like mangoes was out of this world. Overall living such as rent and domestics were cheap.

However all of the ex-pats quickly got bored with the lack of variety in food, with the one Italian restaurant being the most popular hangout. Amazon and anything imported was way overpriced due to shipping costs.

Worse huge bugs were everywhere and nothing killed them. Creatures in the toilet weren't a joke. Worse during the rainy season.

Still he was a surfer and loved trips to the mountains so was very happy.

[quote][R24]. Guam is infested with TREE SNAKES

So then don't live in a tree house. Problem SOLVED.

Good example R39. There’s more to life than a big house in an exotic location - which ends up not seeming that exotic after a year or so. Get a moderate house in an affordable area of the US and live frugally. Standard of living is higher. People forget life is about more than what money can buy - friends, family, community and health will likely make you happier than an ocean view in old age.

R39, that rings true. Costa Rican food is pretty dreary. It doesn't help that a lot of tourists go expecting something similar to Mexican food.

R40, Latin American countries tend to have a high happiness quotient. I don't know that I would say the same about the overmedicated States. The current trajectory here does not seem promising.

You have to be bohemian to do it. You are not going to have the fast conveniences of America, but you might get more satisfaction in your relationships with people, which often go more pleasantly.

I'm way too spoiled to live in a Third World country, and as you get older, those creature comforts you're used to become more and more important.

R44 It depends on what you call creature comforts. While we were in Ecuador, we had Netflix, US satellite TV, there was an "American" market in the little town and a mall about 25 miles away. In parts of the midwest, people have to drive two hours to the nearest mall. Granted there wasn't fast food on every corner but we had everything we needed for a luxury vacation.

The southern cone is a safe choice.

R44 Then don't- The three countries that make up the southern cone are developed countries with a high HDI and GDP.

Be careful if you are an immigrant to Chile.

R32 according to this site you can get Ecuadorean permanent residency for a $25000 investment in real estate.

Ecuador sounds appealing in many respects: climate, cost of living, friendly people, but the high crime rate puts me off (as that's my main reason for emigrating).

Panama also offers PR for a very low investment - can't remember the exact amount - and has some lovely temperate mountainous regions.

Argentina's chaotic economy makes me a bit chary, although the Mercosur countries just signed a huge trade agreement with the EU which should bode well for their future.

Re Chile: I think it depends very much on where you go. Santiago sounds hot and polluted and not for me, but Valparaiso and the Lakes District seem picturesque and easy-going.

I've no desire to live in Bolsanaro's Brazil and the crime and dysfunction would make it at best a lateral move.

Also considering The Philippines which is dirt cheap and actively recruits Western retirees.

Anyone have the scoop on living in Uruguay? It seems a bit upscale, chill/politically stable. I have a ton of family in Peru so would rather not live there. Argentinians I have met are a bit snooty imho so that's off the table (no offense).

We are considering Mexico as well but not one of the beach towns.

San Miguel R51? Seems like it is now way over discovered. Oaxaca is nice I've heard.

R52, Oaxaca City is very nice. Perhaps my favorite in all of Mexico. Great food, safe, wonderful art scene.

R52, Oaxaca City is very nice. Perhaps my favorite in all of Mexico. Great food, safe, wonderful art scene.

I’ve heard great things about Merida, as well. Vibrant gay and arts scene, can buy a colonial casa for cheap. Humidity supposedly horrible though.

Merida does seem nice but yeah the tropical climate would be a bitch.

Really R10? Have you seen what's going on in Brazil and Venezuela? Between the two of them they are more than half the continent!

R57 Have you seen what's going on in the United States?

I e been hearing a lot about Merida too. Looks pretty and cheap. But the reality is you are stuck in a poor town in Mexico. I’ll take my 1BR in a vibrant American city and visit a few times a year.

Yes but you can live like a king and be a kidnapping target!! ^^

OP, I assume you're familiar with International Living magazine? They have tons of information on all this - they're always going on about Ecuador in particular.

I used to dream of retiring in Eastern Europe. About 20 years ago I came very close to buying a dilapidated manor in Czech Republic and restoring it into a home and boutique hotel. It was SO cheap — less than $500,000 — but the cost to restore it would have been four times that. Plus it was in a village and I didn’t feel comfortable being the only gay in town.

I still think about what could have been, but as I get older (50) I appreciate the comforts and modern conveniences of living in the US. Current political climate and administration notwithstanding.

All these places sound interesting but I would go crazy if I were stuck in them and couldn't get away for at least half the year.

Ecuador is great -- it helps that they use the $USD as currency and just legalized gay marriage this year via constitutional court ruling.

Retirees seem to flock to the Vilcabamba area (which is lovely) but has reached sort of a saturation point. Much lovelier is Mindo up to the northeast of Quito. Baños is beautiful as well, but it's more of an adventure sports/trekking base.

I would love to recommend Peru as it's my favorite country in South America and the one I'm most familiar with. It has a low cost of living, affordable properties, and a straightforward retirement visa process. But even for Latin American standards, there's quite a bit of government bureaucracy and it's a less modern country outside of the big cities. Still, tons of expats make it work in the Cuzco and Arequipa areas -- you would just need patience and to be able to live simple, quieter life.

Even I've heard about Ecuador attracting American retirees (there may have been an article about it in the WSJ) and it seems like a good idea for people who want to completely change their lives and who speak at least some Spanish.

For those of you who've lived there--do the expat communities become very incestuous very quickly? As in you very quickly get to know all the other Americans and it's like living in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business? Which can be good if you're sick and you need help, but can also be suffocating?

Or do people pretty much not bother with each other and there's no "American club" where everyone plays golf, swims and sees each other?

For those who prefer a more urban experience, one can live a lifestyle in Barranco and Miraflores, Lima (pictured below) that is comparable to Santa Monica for a fraction of the cost. But you would be in a bubble, as the rest of Lima is not-as-nice.

R65, Vilcabamba is a main hub for retirees in Ecuador. It's a very small town with a hippie feel, so I imagine that after any extended period of time there, everybody knows each other. Cuenca is a better option if you want to avoid that small-town feel -- it's a larger colonial city with more people and more amenities. FWIW, I studied abroad for months in Ecuador years back when I was in college, so I can't firsthand vouch for what retirement living is like there.

Seems odd - in retirement I want to be more comfortable not less. Which seems to be true for most older people. Moving to an underdeveloped foreign country with totally different language, customs and everything else seems more for 20-somethings. Does anyone really have a good long term experience with retiring abroad - especially to Central or South America?

R62 that is a dream of mine as well. I'd love to open an Inn in Italy or France but I only really speak English. Plus it's hard work.

R62 speaks the truth. It’s a fantasy - grow up and realize that moving to a foreign country for an exotic adventure at 60+ is a bad idea.

Funny how this thread mirrors the travel threads.

DLMAB members are completely baffled as to why anyone would want to leave the Flyoverstan and other more adventurous DLers have either BTDT or are curious to try it.

R67, you can have access to comfort, medical and dental care, domestic help, transportation service, and amenities in many parts of Latin America. Money talks there, as it does here. In many cases, people with a limited American income/savings may enjoy a higher quality of life due to comparative costs of living.

Regarding Spanish, if you're an English speaker, it's one of the easier languages to learn, IMO -- and I'm not a native speaker.

I think the questions and concerns that some people have are fair and valid. It's definitely not a move for everyone. You need to have patience and be able to adjust to a slower, more laidback pace of life. Traveling there on extended stays would be ideal to see how the day-to-day living fits for you.

I was friends with a couple who used to live in Rosarito and work in San Ysidro. They seemed to like their setup but I have no clue if that's changed with border commute times or not.

I like the idea of Merida or elsewhere in the Yucatan, like Playa del Carmen. PdC would be nice as you are not too far from an international airport. There are always plenty of tourists coming and going so you wouldn't feel isolated and there's always fresh faces around. And if you ever need to feel like you are in America, just go to Cancun for a day...it feels more like the US than some of the Mexican neighborhoods in the southwestern US!

I vacationed at an AirBnD that was in the resort town of Same, Ecuador. The house was located in a gated area called Casa Blanca. We were there during the "off season" but as its on the equator, weather doesn't change much. It was 85 and sunny pretty much every day with occasional thunderstorms. The house we rented was on a hill overlooking the ocean. Beautiful views. The housekeeper/cook took us shopping to the "American" store in town. Things were a little expensive but it was obvious that there was a pretty large ex-pat community. Saw several women in the store shopping. We were basically the only two on the beach for the entire week. There was a little restaurant and a nine-hole golf course supposedly designed by Jack Nicholas. There is a larger town about 25 miles away. Esmeraldas. It seemed a little dangerous but maybe chaotic is a better word. We spoke with a retired doctor who had built a house up the coast a bit. He was selling it for $185k. Three bedroom with a pool and ocean views. We were tempted but it just wasn't our style. He said he loved living there but had some type of health concern that was forcing him back to the US for treatment. He told us that he would ride with his neighbor once a week to the larger town to go shopping at the large supermarket. They would also stop by the WalMart for additional shopping. Seemed like a pretty good life to me.

Yeah Cancun will make Americans feel right at home. Especially if you’re from Chicago.

"If you want to see foreign place, just go to EPCOT"

Or an outlet mall in southern California.

Coast to coast smegma.

R73, I'll have to check out Merida.

Guanajuato, Cueravaca, Oaxaca City -- those are my fave cities in Mexico. Lovely climates, charming.

[quote[the comforts and modern conveniences of living in the US

I swear, some of you seem to think that everyone outside the United States is still using outhouses and doing their laundry on an old washboard. What kind of modern conveniences do you think they lack?

If you 60 and want to have an adventure...why not? It really just depends on the person. Plus if you have some $$ you can live very well elsewhere.

I heard Costa Rico is the place to go. The American retirement areas are separate from the poor natives. I have wondered about this.

I’d also like a place that uses Euros or other European currency. Not to be greedy.

[quote]The American retirement areas are separate from the poor natives.

Chances are high you will end up in a gated community in any of these countries, for your safety.

I retired to Guatemala and was kidnapped twice the first year and murdered the second.

No joke. Some guy in my town did retire to Central America and was murdered soon afterward.

[quote] What kind of modern conveniences do you think they lack?

1. People who don't drive like maniacs

2. Dependable utilities and garbage pickup

3. Trustworthy government and policing

R86, depending on where you live, you may lack #1, and it's not much of a stretch to say we are currently lacking elements of #3.

R86, depending on where you live, you may lack #1, and it's not much of a stretch to say we are currently lacking elements of #3.

Costa Rica is stable, reasonably well-governed and has less inequity and crime than other countries. It's also more expensive. Central America is popular with right wing fundies pushing their religion and politics. Brazil has some of this, plus you can't stay more than 6 mos/year unless you're a citizen, which is not easy for people from the US. Older expats in US Central America appear to be depressed retirees who complain a lot---their counterparts in SE Asia (where I lived for awhile) are fat, depressed looking Germans. The absence of tehse characters is a sign that some place is desirable to live/visit.

R86, we have that here.

[quote]What kind of modern conveniences do you think they lack?

Some may think not having crappy fast food places on every corner is backward.

R86, we have that here.

[quote]What kind of modern conveniences do you think they lack?

Some may think not having crappy fast food places on every corner is backward.

My partners cousin retired to Mexico, he lived in a upscale gated community. One of the locals he befriended put something in he drink that knocked him out. When he woke up the next day he discovered that his house had been stripped of everything that could be carried away.

What about Puerto Rico. They have problems right now, but at least it is in the USA where Medicare is accepted.

A friend of my co-worker went to Florida and he was shot by a local.

R1 is hilarious. Like anywhere in the US is paradise, we live in dystopia, dipshit.

R93 that’s where my partner and I are planning to retire; best of both worlds, kinda. Was there in February and most of San Juan has recovered, and that’s where we’d want to live anyway. We drove to some of the smaller towns along the coast and they were a little too primitive.

It’s still not cheap compared to other Caribbean / Central and South America countries, more equivalent to Miami housing prices. But you could never get me to step foot in Florida.

R85 and R92 are the reality. Not the majority experience but a much higher risk than most of the retiree options in US. I have yet to meet someone who lived there for a while who didn’t come back. It’s a fantasy.

Americans getting kidnapped/killed abroad is extremely rare and not at all common. You typically have to be somebody special and politically connected to get targeted for ransom.

More likely is somebody getting pickpocketed if they're not careful, but that can happen here too.

I hear Dominican Republic is safe!

Yes, retire to Mexico. You'll love it there. Simply love it!

R100, I think it's pretty easy and somewhat misleading to pull up horrific news articles about many locations in the world and extrapolate that as being typical of an entire country.

One could probably do that here in the US with sensationalistic news about meth violence, Florida tabloid news, etc.

Sure it's easy. And the result can be true, too. Polution control standards in the US and polution control standards in Mexico are... discrepant.

Pollution. Typing on my phone, sorry.

There are a lot of quality of life issues that we take for granted that you only appreciate when they’re gone. The idea of buying a place in a foreign country under the delusion of retiring there and living your old age immobile and dependent on strangers with subpar health care is insane.

[quote] The idea of buying a place in a foreign country under the delusion of retiring there and living your old age immobile and dependent on strangers with subpar health care is insane.

And yet many people actually do just this and they're completely happy with this setup.

THis kind of move only makes sense if you have friends or family who do it, too. Starting over in a new country makes no sense.

The only reason that I'd retire to South America, is if I had to get the fuck out of the US. Which is entirely possible, given the current political situation.

Still, if I had to start over again at my age, I'd much rather go to Australia.

I'd only retire to another country if I thought I didn't save enough to retire in the US. I agree with others about concerns where you fall ill with a serious illness and require medical specialists or become disabled in your later years.

My cousin just bought a cute house in a small CT town. Newly renovated 3 bedrooms for $200k. Yearly property tax around $3000. Mild climate, great community and 20min to nice beaches and beautiful towns like Old Saybrook. You can take a train to NYC if you get bored. I would rather move to a small, cheap US town than an poor, unknown South American country.

[quote] What kind of modern conveniences do you think they lack?

[quote]1. People who don't drive like maniacs

[quote]2. Dependable utilities and garbage pickup

[quote]3. Trustworthy government and policing

Adding to r86

4. Reliable electricity, without worry about unexpected outages

5. Functioning and reliable WiFi for iPads/laptops/desktops

r110 Isn't #4 covered by #2?

CT doesn't really have mild weather. It's not North Carolina.

North Carolina is pretty miserable--hot and humid in summer---gloomy and damp in winter. Rainy in Spring. Often affected by the backend of tropical storms in Fall. Bad comparison, not to mention the kudzu and strip malls.

CT has cold winters, but spring, summer and fall are mild IMO compared to hot and humid states in the south. It is also a lot cheaper to live in the south (housing, tax, insurance, food etc.) but also miserable with the heat, bugs and Trump lovers.

If you don't know how to speak Spanish at an intermediate level, I think that retiring to a Spanish-speaking nation would be difficult. It is much harder for the olds to learn a new languages due to age-related memory slow down.

I speak Spanish fairly well ( I lived in Bolivia and Mexico years ago when I worked for Save the Children) and would consider Costa Rica - there are some great towns with a lot of expats. These are not the cheapest places to live, but to be near lovely rainforest and beautiful beaches - for me, it sure beats retiring to somewhere cheap in the US (ie not close to a beach and lovely nature). Look at Atenas for example.

I know San Miguel de Allende fairly well. It is expensive and the crime rate has been rising in the past decade.

Ecuador is a reasonable option but I don't think medical care is nearly as good as nice areas in Costa Rica or Mexico. Cuencas is the Ecuadorian San Miguel de Allende. There is a whole area in the city by the river with new development condos (with security) built for expats.

Beware of small conservative countries in SA. Uruguay for example. You will have great trouble there if you don't speak Spanish. People may be superficially friendly but they will never invite you to their homes. One of my favorite places, Sevilla, is the same. You may live there for years before being invited to a home of a Sevillano.

Be prepared to wait in long lines for any services such as banking, any government-related services, etc.

R92 I'm not knocking your spouse's cousin. But that sounds more like it was a simple security code setup - not a gated community. Most of the ex-pat communities are like this as crime isn't high in them. Getting roofied and robbed in your own home is more commonly a crime involving strangers, not a crime of acquaintanceship.

[quote]4. Reliable electricity, without worry about unexpected outages. 5. Functioning and reliable WiFi for iPads/laptops/desktops

What makes you think other countries lack reliable electricity and functioning WiFi? I imagine they're pretty common in middle-class areas of South America. We're not talking about Iraq.

FYI, having been in the ER and then hospitalized in Costa Rica for three days, I can tell you that the medical care there is excellent. They even set up a bed in my room so that my husband could sleep there. And no apparent problem being a gay couple. The doctor who came to my hotel to treat me actually rode in the ambulance with me for the 3+ hours ride (on mostly dirt roads) from Monteverde to San Jose.

R116 my partners cousin thought they were partners/close friends but apparently this guy had ulterior motives for getting close to him.

R117 because I have personally experienced unexpected electricity outages in Mexico. I personally have experienced intermittent or nonexistent WiFi coverage in other countries. (Haven’t been to any SA countries)

You, on the other hand, “imagine” reliable, uninterrupted electricity/utility service to be common in SA. What do you base that opinion on?

Which points out the wisdom of someone's tip, above, to spend some real length of time in a country or area before making plans to move there.

R106

Those of you going on about how dumb it is to leave the safety and excellent medical care of the US must be blissfully unaware of our current rankings worldwide in those areas:

#14 for murder rate (worse than any of the countries we're discussing except for Mexico and Brazil)

#37 for healthcare (worse than Colombia, Chile, and Costa Rica)

So maybe do a little research before assuming that the US still leads the world in these areas, because it doesn't.

No one said that the US "leads the world," only that it's better than a lot of these third world countries.

Agree R109. There are some relatively affordable, nice places to live in the US with access to all the American luxuries that we take for granted. Like the beautiful small towns of CT. The South has some cheap towns but as a life-long northeastern era I just can’t deal with the Christian, Trumper, poorly educated general population. Some exceptions but in generally the West or Northeast would be my choice. Would never disrupt my life to move to Central or South America

R119. That’s horrible. I’m sorry this happened. What an awful breach of trust.

Just don't be a journalist and you'll be fine.

Perhaps it is still safer than El Paso.

Chile is collapsed with immigrants, especially from Haiti and Venezuela and it's having effects on the economy of the country. High chilean unemployment. Everybody wants to enter Chile because the state offers many benefits but it is starting to become a burden. Chileans are angry, because they feel immigrants want everything easy instead of choosing countries like Argentina, Bolivia or Paraguay where the state doesn't offer much but at least there's plenty of room for immigrants.

But in your case I guess you could easily retire in Chile given that you won't be a burden for the state.

My husband saw an obituary in the newspaper of a former coworker. He went to the funeral and found that the guy died after - I'm not making this up - cutting the inside of his mouth on a tortilla chip in a restaurant. He and his wife were in Costa Rica looking to buy a place to retire when it happened. I asked my husband "Are you sure he didn't die of a tooth abscess? That seems more likely." He said no, he spoke to the mans wife and she said the cut got infected, he went to the hospital but got progressively worse and his wife got him a flight to America but he died before they could get him on the plane. She told my husband "The infection just got ahead of the doctors. They did what they could but it happened so fast that he died."

It's one of the strangest deaths I've ever heard - death by corn chip.

My sister in law is supposedly moving to Panama, but I don't see it happening. She is the ugliest of ugly Americans. I stopped going out to dinner with her years ago because she's one of those people who immediately starts complaining when she walks into a restaurant. "No. I don't want to sit here, I want to sit THERE. I want to look out the window and not be so close to the kitchen. This wine list sucks, the wines are all shitty and overpriced! I want my fish cut very thin and sautéed lightly, but CRISP on both sides. Make sure to tell the chef. No! Take it back! It's not crisp enough! Didn't you tell the chef what I said? I said crisp on both sides. Tell him to do it again. It's very simple, I do it myself all the time. CRISP ON BOTH SIDES!"

They wanted to move to Sicily but Italy wouldn't let them (good move, Italy!). Neither one has dual US/EU citizenship. She lived in South Africa for a few years with one of her husbands and thought she was a cool ex-pat. That husband dumped her ass. Ever since then, she's wanted to be an ex-pat again. She's the cheapest ass bitch I've ever come across in my life and my father was very, very cheap.....so I know cheap asses.

Nice places to visit IMHO, but have you considered Portugal or Spain? I had a friend who thought of moving to Chile after retirement; he changed his mind after a few visits. For awhile, he was awfully depressed at his disappointment. He is a well- traveled American, but a bit entitled and accustomed to certain creature comforts. (especially wine, food, and dry-cleaning, and dog chow delivered) R61 Funny, he always had [italic] International Living [/italic/] on his coffee table, and would get rather excited about showing me some of the properties in the adverts. He's very happy in Portugal now. One does need more money there. He often would joke that he was down to his last M. Too many ex-wives and children initially caused him to think Portugal would be no cheaper to live, but he claims to be ahead of the game now. Buenos Suerte OP.

Spain is a very good retirement location. You would be joining hundreds of thousands of Brits who have retired along the Costa del Sol. The city government of Malaga has a special department dedicated to the needs of foreign retirees, as they infuse much needed cash into the local economy.

Currently to get a non-lucrative resident visa in Spain, you need to have about $30,000 liquid cash to meet the financial requirements. You can purchase health insurance for $100-200/month.

I am thinking of retiring to Seville. I speak Spanish fluently. From my visits there and talking to expats, though, I do understand that it takes YEARS to cultivate friendships with Spaniards. They are very insular and while superficially friendly, will rarely invite foreigners to visit their homes. But there are always many expats to befriend.

I'm looking at this very diverse suburb of Toronto.

Toronto is first and foremost very cold in winter ( I have visited in winter). And it is expensive.

Cold + expensive - no es bueno!

I have an American friend who has Portuguese citizenship whose parents inherited 2 properties there from their parents.

Lucky

I’m thinking of it, because, “why not?”

Toronto is boring--more important than the cold.

Can you afford an Art Deco or Art Nouveau town house in Montevideo?