Retirement location

Hmmm... I dream of retiring to Toledo, Spain. I've been there a couple of times and love the place. Don't know whether my pension will be able to pull it, but then, I at least want to go there more often.

Sorry, Frank, but it won't fit your criteria in terms of language. And it's a bit on the cool side during the winter months.
 
This is a nice thread ... Thanks for starting it...

A few random thoughts from places I visited recently through work (I live in Philly)

How about Paris? Plenty to do and see, and certainly Photograph.....

UK -- very diverse. From big (but expensive) cities such as London, to wonderfully scenic places such as the Lake District (North) to Cornwall (South West).

Ireland? Dublin -- very friendly and relaxed feel to the place. Modern city, but easy to push out to the quieter areas.....

I was also recently in Portugal and thought it was was very nice..... Everyone I met was very friendly and the vibe was relaxed.....

From a US perspective at the moment (but who knows the future) Europe looks attractive from a cost perspective relative to recent years (i.e. changes in $/euro) .....
 
kbg32 said:
Cal,

I found the same politeness in Texas. But at night, after work, these were the same people who covered themselves in bedsheets burning crosses on other peoples lawns......
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Keith,

I don't have to go to any far away place to have to face predudice and racism. Had more than my fair share of dealings growing up. Plenty of Civil Rights violations today right here in New York. Pretty easy to see how certain peoples are treated.

I think my class gets me out of a lot of situations now. Wealth and afluence buys one privilege. When I was poor I had less privilege. Wherever you go there are good people and bad people.

Always had people who could not accept me. This is nothing new.

Cal
 
If you can deal with the high heat and humidity, as well as constant traffic jams and seasonal storms, I would highly recommend the Philippines.

English is just about universally spoken (hence the preponderance of call centers), people are friendly and expats/foreign retirees are common -- in fact, there are entire communities wherein expats live and where services cater to their needs.

If you plan to be an active retiree, there are places for diving, caving, etc... And you'll have more than enough photo ops to last a lifetime, regardless of what type of photography you like -- street, landscape, sports, etc... It's also no more than a 2-4 hour flight to a lot of other places to visit in Asia, such as Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc...

Certainly there are a lot of other nice places in the world, but if you want to stretch your CAD, you should put the Philippines at the top or near the top of your list.

Now, I'm biased -- I was born and raised there, but immigrated to the US in my teens. I just came back from a visit, and I can tell you that my USD went a loooooong way in the Philippines.

Bottom line -- if you have enough money to retire (i.e., you do NOT need to generate ongoing income), then I would highly recommend the Philippines.

-Keith
 
kbg32 said:
Roger,

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Post–World War II baby boom were between the years 1946 and 1964.

Cheers,

Keith
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Dear Keith,

Yeah, right.

The "baby boom" was originally regarded as being driven by couples (re)uniting after WW2.

Anyone who thinks it was still the "baby boom" in 1964 is grabbing a convenient label instead of stopping to think.

Cheers,

R.
 
mfogiel said:
I have been discussing the same topic with my Canadian friend yesterday, although he has also a EU passport. I would heartily recommend the Mediterranean. Depending on what languages you speak, there is a lot of good choices. Malta ( very warm, low taxes for retirees, English spoken, fairly cheap), Portugal ( 10 year tax exemption for retirees - not sure if this applies for non EU citizens, very cheap, nice expat community in the south), Spain, still cheap, Italy, somewhat more expensive, but extremely beautiful and best food in the world (very friendly people), France, best overall balance between civilisation and joy de vivre, but more expensive, particularly Cote d'Azur. I have missed out some other places to think about: Croatia, Greece, Cyprus. Once you spend a winter around the Mediterranean, you will not want to go back to your freezer.
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Damnably expensive booze; limited & expensive cuisine; quite expensive houses; small island it's quite expensive to leave; unbelievably hot in summer (I remember 100 degrees on the roof at midnight). I love it; there's probably more to photograph there than anywhere else in the world ( http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/pst malta.html ). I lived there for 4 years as a boy; my brother is a Maltese citizen by birth. But I think that like Bermuda (where I also lived for over 2 years) it would pall quite rapidly as a retirement destination.

Cheers,

R.
 
conyon said:
This is a nice thread ... Thanks for starting it...

A few random thoughts from places I visited recently through work (I live in Philly)

How about Paris? Plenty to do and see, and certainly Photograph.....

UK -- very diverse. From big (but expensive) cities such as London, to wonderfully scenic places such as the Lake District (North) to Cornwall (South West).

Ireland? Dublin -- very friendly and relaxed feel to the place. Modern city, but easy to push out to the quieter areas.....

I was also recently in Portugal and thought it was was very nice..... Everyone I met was very friendly and the vibe was relaxed.....

From a US perspective at the moment (but who knows the future) Europe looks attractive from a cost perspective relative to recent years (i.e. changes in $/euro) .....
Click to expand...
Too many bloody English. One of the poorest parts of the UK in terms of income; one of the most expensive for houses, because of Londoners selling their overpriced houses and then retiring there (or worse, buying second homes). I would not be surprised to see Mebyon Kernow ( https://www.mebyonkernow.org/ )grow greatly before the 2020 elections. Until recently I'd have said that Cornwall would do better as part of the UK, but give English levels of arrogance (they think everywhere is England and should be ruled by the English) and xenophobia, I begin to wonder.

Guess where I was born? And start counting patronizing, stupid English comments very shortly.

Oh: and on limited acquaintance the Lake District is even less welcoming than Cornwall, and we don't like incomers or tourists much. The main reason so many Londoners survive in Cornwall is because they have hides like rhinoceroses, but smaller brains.

Cheers,

R.
 
I have a friend who retired in Portugal about 45 minutes outside of Lisbon. He bought a three bedroom condo that is a great value. He is Polish and we worked together for many years in New York.

Last time I talked with him he stated that he wish that he had downsized like I did (I moved from a row house in Queens where we had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full basement, and a backyard to a 650 square foot 1 bedroom apartment in Madhattan) where we literally got rid of 2/3rds of our possessions. We justified this difficult process to simplify our lives in preperation for retirement.

My friend Andrez discovered that he kept and shipped too many things he really didn't need, and selling them from where he was living proved to be difficult. Three sets of dinnerware was one example when he only needed one. Selling locally these items was like giving them away because he would not get fair value. Ebaying items would have been easier when in the U.S. and he felt he would of had a better market. Oh-well.

The climate in Portugal and surroundings seemed lovely at first, but then Andrez and his wife began feeling isolated. This is a man with a PhD who speaks German, Polish and English.

Anyways I'm about a decade away from full retirement like FrankS, but I've already downsized. Glad I did. I had all these things I collected over the decades that would be great or useful if I had a farm in Vermont. I saved clothes to wear to do oil changes on cars, but I no longer own a car. Had car parts, stain glass windows I found in the garbage, and all these aircraft parts from when I downsized the aerospace company I once worked at.

Getting rid of things proved to be difficult. Even getting rid of furniture by donating it to the Salvation Army required a month long delay because they are short staffed. This was right after Hurricane Irene when many were in need of help. We helped many many people who were less fortunate than us, and it was very liberating not only helping others, but also freeing ourselves from burdens we were carrying around for decades that no longer served any purpose.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Randy,

Portland is a very cool city. Bike friendly, good mass transit, and has progressive thinking people.

Last winter was the tale of two Portlands: in Portland Maine the coldest winter on record; in Portland Oregon the warmist winter on record. Bonus is that Seattle is not that far away if you need a bigger city.

Also consider water supply which is becoming a scarce commodidy. The only parts of the U.S. that have a sustainable water supply is basically the North west and the northeast. Canadian water by treaty feeds California where half our produce comes from. In Texas and California there are severe drought conditions. In places like Arizona the water supply is being depleted.

For me coming from New York many places will have about half the cost of living. I looked into Savannah GA. a very pretty city. Went in August to see what it was like during the most humid time. The air is clean and I actually think the smog and pollution in NYC in hot weather is a lot worse and is more oppressive. As long as you are in the shade it isn't so bad because the air moves and it is not stagnant and close like in New York. The bad about Savannah is crime. We were told not to be out after dark. In Savannah I loved the southern manners, and I wish we had that polite way of the south in New York.

Cal
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Cal, our visit to Portland was part of a "last" family trip before our eldest (Catherine) started college. The main motivation - honestly - is that she and I are both fans of 'Portlandia'. One evening we were trying to find a restaurant and got lost. We asked a passerby for help, they recruited some one else, and within a few minutes the sidewalk had a crowd of people all trying to help us find the place! It could have been a scene straight out of the show. My wife liked it so much she has already talked about it as a retirement destination. (Myself, I'm not sure I feel like 'learning' a new place. )

Regarding Savannah, I have heard nice things, not that it's a hotbed of crime. Perhaps that's overstated? I can't picture anyone telling you that you can't go out at night!

Randy
 
Wow, this is great! I spent the afternoon in my garage wrenching on a motorcycle, and when I come in, there are 50 responses. Thank you all so much! Good information. This is the beginning of my research on where to spend winters.
 
The sister in law and her husband have made a few trips to Ecuador in the past two years.
They love it down there and are considering spending the winters there. Cost of living is cheap, the communities have plenty of expatriates and they feel safe. And apparently the hospitals are excellent too.

Hopefully, we get an invite next winter.

Harry.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Peter,

And in others they're still silly cheap: 40,000€ -- call it $45,000 US -- for a village house in the next village, 3 minutes from the café-bar, butcher, and the best baker's for miles around. Under 2 miles/3 km from the nearest doctor's surgery, under 10 miles/about 15 km to the nearest hospital...

Portugal is delightful but I do find the language shomewat tortuoshly shlurred. I realize that none of this is much use to Frank but I'm hoping he won't mind if we broaden it out for the benefit of anyone else contemplating the same sort of thing.

Cheers,

R.
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Wow, that is silly cheap!

I have lived in Brazil and in Portugal (a long time ago) and I have often thought of moving back to Portugal, which of the two would seem to me to be the better retirement location. I would really like to be immersed in the language and culture again. As Roger pointed out, I would need to sort out medical coverage before making such a move.

I only spoke Portuguese in those countries when I lived there, but I understand that way more Brazilians and Portuguese now speak English, as well.

- Murray
 
CMur12 said:
Wow, that is silly cheap!
- Murray
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No, a lot of the rest of the first world is "silly expensive"! 🙂

I have heard that properties in Bulgaria are exceedingly cheap but suspect that would be inland where the winters can be snowy, probably not such a bargain on the warmer Black Sea coast. There is a growing Anglophile expat community there.
 
Albuquerque, New Mexico Mild winters, low humidity in summer and lots of sun. You can drive there and also meets your criteria for English. Well a form of English. 🙂

Also the Austin idea sounds good. Lots going on down there with music, movies, South X South West. A mix of urban and country with a little hippie throw in (Eyore's Birthday party each year).
 
I'm planning to spend my retirement between London and Mallorca.

London is a wonderful city for retired people - lots of free museums, cultural activities, social events, parks etc etc etc.

Mallorca is sea, sunshine, the Med good life (I'm talking NE Mallorca here, not Magaluf)

Fortunately, I have a house in both. Only problem at the moment is that I'm working so much of the time that I don't get to see enough of London apart from the City, and I only get to Mallorca for two or three weeks of the year.

I'm so looking forward to retirement, but I think it's at least 12-15 years away - neither of my choices are going to be cheap...
 
FrankS said:
RFF members live all around the globe and some travel extensively, so I'd like to ask this knowledgable group about retirement locations.

Living in Canada is great except for the winter months. No longer being tied to a job opens the possibility of living elsewhere during these unpleasant months. I'm looking for ideas for low-key places to escape to. Criteria that locations must meet are: personal safety, inexpensive cost of living, and laid back/casual/relaxed atmosphere accepting of "retired snowbirds".

Any ideas?
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Look no further..FIJI 🙂
All your requirements are fulfilled...at the moment i spend about 4 months of the year there, but hopefully and finally, this year some time it will become permanent....we could start the fiji RFF club 😀
 
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