Retirement location

Arizona is popular with Canadians. There are many areas to consider...we even get a smattering of snow in the high country for those who get homesick.

Marshall
 
faris said:
Seems, for the majority at least on this forum, the world consists of North America and Europe. For retirement or otherwise.

Guess it is this forum's view of the rest of the world.

Interesting to say the least.
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I live in Asia, and have lived here for sime time, it is an interesting place to work, but it is not an attractive place for retirement, at least in my opinion. Here in Japan, outside the cities the cost of living is surprisingly low, and the social and medical infrastructure is great for the retired. But at the moment, moving to Japan is a very bureaucratic process with mininum income and education requirements, not to mention a rather strong language barrier.

I have also been to North Africa and the Middle East. I don't recommend North Africa, for obvious reasons. I have never been to a more hospitable place than the middle east, nowhere else have I met people who are more generous or polite. But the climate and scenery are not to my liking, and my wife and daughter would not be as comfortable there as I might be.

As an English-speaking forum, most people will be from North America, Europe, and Australia, and they will recommend places they are familiar with. But I would love to hear the merits of other places, if there are any you would recommend.
 
I dream of ending up on the West coast of Scotland - somewhere not overwhelmingly touristy but still near the hills and islands and connected by public transport perhaps Oban.

New Zealand would also be high up on my ideal list - perhaps Christchurch.
 
In no particular order:

Morocco, Turkey, Malaysia and Phillipines ( humidity is a downside ).
I am retired in my own country. But having lived across North America and Europe, I made my decision.

As we grow older, certain issues are commonly important. Security, healthcare and to a big extent the language. And local culture can be an obstacle. For me my decision is the right one.

I have the freedom to escape the heat during the summer months anywhere I choose. In winters I have my home.

Retiring in a foreign country is a big disadvantage for me ( I do not have any tax to pay in my home country, advanced healthcare is free, more secure than anywhere else I have been ).

And I have the luxury to travel across the world. But nothing better than home to return to...family, friends, home.
 
I have lived in Asia (lived in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia; with regular travel to the rest) over the course of the last 17+ years. I have spend most of that time being of the opinion I planned to retire in South East Asia. I am now at the point where, as much I love certain aspects of the region, the associated issues have started to outweigh the perceived benefits.

The usual countries that would be considered in SEA would be Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia (possibly Vietnam and even Cambodia). All of them have a degree of personal safety concerns, especially depending on what you do and where in the countries you are traveling. Both Philippines and Thailand have gun issues with Philippines certainly ahead in that domain. A number of years ago I started collecting articles of strange reported deaths of foreigners in Thailand (I've since stopped doing it) but the numbers I was seeing, I viewed as a worrying trend where authorities prefer to sweep it under the carpet rather than investigate.

Manila in the Philippines, Jakarta in Indonesia and KL in Malaysia (there are other cities in these countries as well) can be dangerous in certain areas at certain times. Also one of the biggest differences to consider would be the view and understanding you get of these countries from regularly visiting them versus actually living there - the experiences are not the same.

Corruption is a huge problem and the extent of it and how it would affect you as a foreigner living there probably is beyond what most consider - the extend and frequency does vary across these countries. For example, laws/rules exist that no one in the country seems to know about until you happen to find yourself in breach of them; property rights can sometimes be difficult to defend; lawyers (the entire legal system) in general cannot be trusted - lawyers can/will play both sides of a case for money (called selling the case); police are probably a group you want to avoid (even as a genuine victim), judges are often easily bought off.

Many people do retire to these (and other) countries and fortunately don't have too many issues but the potential is always there. I have seen a number of these issues first hand and know others who have been caught up and experienced similar. Due to this, I am now making an informed decision that Asia is not where I intend to retire...
 
Hi,

It's interesting that no one has mentioned the availability of film, labs and technicians in the target retirement countries...

Totally changing the subject I can't help noticing that there are many countries with a lot of ex-pats living there and ignoring the inhabitants of the country.

A couple of years ago, when abroad, we gave a lift into town to a neighbour and discovered car parks, open markets and so on that we didn't know about. Mentioning them later I was amazed that (British) people had lived there for years and didn't know about them.

It seems total immersion is not something that is practised. And a lot of people had lived there for years and still spoke English all the time and couldn't see the point of learning the local language. I often wondered what they did when the usual official forms came through the letter box.

Just my 2d worth.

Regards, David
 
FrankS said:
Sounds like the plan, Jon!

Suggestions here give me ideas of where to visit, a different place every winter until medically/physically it can't be done anymore.

Thank you all!
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Frank, didn't any place strike your fancy while making your retirement motorcycle journey around the states?
 
gb hill said:
Frank, didn't any place strike your fancy while making your retirement motorcycle journey around the states?
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Yes! I liked the southwest. Maybe just because it is so different from where I live. (Temperate arboreal)

On a different note, I think I'd find it difficult to live in a politically red state. I am quite politically opinionated and biased. (Facebook friends can attest to that.)

Southwestern Colorado might be perfect.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear David,

Because they're bloody rare EVERYWHERE. I doubt it would make much difference whether I lived in rural Cornwall instead of rural France.

Cheers,

R
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Gosh, Roger, I must be lucky.

I live in the sticks and just have to drive north into a small nearby town to have a choice of three one hour labs and even more charity shops for cameras from 50p. And driving south or east for the same distance (about 5 miles) I can do more or less the same.

I've had no problems doing that in the France or Germany that I know well, although there's no charity shops but the French car boot sales compensate.

I guess our friends in Germany are used to Leica prices, the price of second-hand ones and "as new" old M series empty boxes was a shock when I looked. The quality/price of some of the second-hand cameras was a bigger shock. I've seen better in the UK for a fiver but never 500 Euros... OTOH, Germany still has serious camera shops with a wide range of film etc, just like Skears in Northampton. Again I must be lucky there and they do repairs on the premises and you can talk to the technician.

Regards, David
 
David Hughes said:
Gosh, Roger, I must be lucky.

I live in the sticks and just have to drive north into a small nearby town to have a choice of three one hour labs and even more charity shops for cameras from 50p. And driving south or east for the same distance (about 5 miles) I can do more or less the same.

I've had no problems doing that in the France or Germany that I know well, although there's no charity shops but the French car boot sales compensate.

I guess our friends in Germany are used to Leica prices, the price of second-hand ones and "as new" old M series empty boxes was a shock when I looked. The quality/price of some of the second-hand cameras was a bigger shock. I've seen better in the UK for a fiver but never 500 Euros... OTOH, Germany still has serious camera shops with a wide range of film etc, just like Skears in Northampton. Again I must be lucky there and they do repairs on the premises and you can talk to the technician.

Regards, David
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Dear David,

Well, yes, it's about half an hour's drive to either Loudun or Thouars, and I can get film processed in either -- but as it takes less than the one hour round trip to do it myself... The only one-hour lab is silly expensive too. In Cornwall it would be the same. But 20 years ago every piddly little chemists shop and supermarket had a one-hour lab. It's a question, I guess, of what you call "bloody rare", and perhaps I overstated the decline.

Yesterday at a vide-grenier I saw a Leica R4 with motor and 50 Summicron, all original receipts (Maison du Leica in Paris), at 250€: call it £200 or $300.

Cheers,

R.
 
reading therough these 7 pages is a revelation: everybody wants to move AWAY from where he spent most of his life. The ones on the south want more north, the ones on the north want more south, and the ones in the middle...well those want to move to Thailand, or Fiji, or something. 😀

nowhere's good enufff...
 
high desert of new mexico (can't beat the weather); north georgia mountains (you will get some winter there, but less than 2 hours from atlanta; paradise for motorcyclists); anywhere from fairhope, alabama, east to pensacola, florida (pensacola and fairhope have lovely, fun downtowns) ...
 
Pherdinand said:
... everybody wants to move AWAY from where he spent most of his life...
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I noticed that too. I was one of the few stating I'm planning on retiring where I'm living at the moment (London).

Actually, there's lots of retired people in London. One recent trend has been for retired couples to sell the large family house in the country and buy a smaller property in London (probably for the same money but at least lower upkeep) to enjoy all the free museums, concerts and other events. Plus doctors, hospitals, chemists, etc all on the doorstep via free (for the over 60's) public transport - no need to maintain a car.
 
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