It would be nice to find a small island somewhere.
Where you can live cheap and enjoy the
golden years of all the decades of your hard labor.
... oh, to dream
h/t to RB
It would be nice to find a small island somewhere.
Where you can live cheap and enjoy the
golden years of all the decades of your hard labor.
... oh, to dream
h/t to RB
Did the big move 5 years ago to a landlocked country in S.A. (one of 2 LOL)
ReplyDeleteLand is super cheap. A good quality brick house will run ya around 30 to 40 thou US.
Outside the main cities land goes for about 10-15 thou a hectare. Got 15 different kinds of fruit trees on the properry that produce 1 or 2 times per year
Weather is always nice, if you like hot.. People are pretty nice. Food is cheap and mostly non GMO.
It's pretty free and non Govt controlled so far. Most people don't wear motorcycle helmets and 5 guys in the back of a pickup is the norm lol.
It's like the US in the 50's.
Good times.
Not a single regret!!!
Erm… can you be armed there?
DeleteGenerally the answer is no. Especially as an expat
DeleteIf you get your "green card" called a cedula which is one above permanent resident. Yes you can legally purchase and in some cases carry as well.
DeleteRemember you're not guaranteed a long or even medium length retirement. My dad retired at 63 and was dead at 64. I retired early. I was in my mid 50s. My wife is considerably younger than me who had a good career approved. I saw the handwriting on the wall with the company I worked for and when a package was offered 30 years ago I raised my hand and took one step forward. I've never regretted it.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to read good news, especially when good things happen to good people.
DeleteI took my SS at 62, like Blogsbunny said there are no guarantees. I remembered a guy talking about his wife waiting for her max SS amount, she passed away a month before that.. From time to time I'm reminded that not too long ago you worked until you couldn't or you died behind the plow or at your place on the assembly line
ReplyDeleteI was in an RV and ended up workcamping for a year & half after I retired, seems "going to work" is a tough habit to break. I forced myself to not work for 6 months and it turned out that I enjoyed it.
I looked at Ecuador, got on an email list with folks doing that, cheap to live but the talk was about good places to hire guards and what was the best thing to put on the top of your compound wall to keep people out. That was some years back...
It's your life, if you enjoying what you're doing no reason that I can see to stop because being happy is where it's at. But if you've had enough, give it some serious thought...
FWIW I've lived on islands for about 11 years total, (3 different times and 2 different islands) and for me island fever is real. I may not want to go anywhere but I KNOW I can't, it bothered me .
Good luck!
That island certainly beats the feces & needle filled sidewalks. At least you have a lawn.
ReplyDeleteAfter receiving my new NH property tax bill, retirement is unlikely in the near future. Or at least in NH. I am not eager to move to Florida or leave the country though it might be attractive to some. "St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store"
ReplyDeletehttps://robertbryce.substack.com/p/bone-chilling
ReplyDeleteWe looked and found a decent place in the US. Flyover country.
ReplyDeleteOur search criteria were: not near a major city, not near an interstate or US highway, less than 50 miles from good medical services, sufficient rain and water for agriculture, local resources and professional services, enough decent people to support the community, and a mid-century ranch on .25 to .5 acres. We rejected Texas for the property tax rates, though otherwise it was high on the list. We looked in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida. We actually found what we wanted here in Indiana, and are happy here. It took us using multiple search sites to get all the info we needed, but it was worth it.
John in Indy (now in Indiana more generally)
Not retired yet - I've made a living doing something I'd have done for free most of my life. Biblical span rapidly approaching. I'm planning to pack it all in at 70 and move to rural Alberta
ReplyDeleteI currently live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. 13 years. We have been completely flooded by hurricanes twice and had two wildfires that burned the sawgrass swamp that partially surrounds us. Lost four cars in the first flooding. Even with all that and the no see ums we still wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I can see water from every window and my deck overlooks the Gulf. My house is on 30 foot stilts. It is like living in a tree house.
ReplyDeleteI did it two years ago,wife still works.we make more money now!
ReplyDeleteThe inflation bonus From ss put us back to both our wages. In my age bracket wouldn’t help me to wait.
I had everything paid off by age 45 so I was in good shape to transition from career to retail in my early 50's. People say I'm retired but I'm just doing what I want instead of what I have to these days. Retirement is just getting up when you want and saying no to what you don't want. Life is good.
ReplyDeleteNot with todays drivers and criminals
ReplyDeleteI went into semi-retirement back in 2014. I turned 62 this year and dropped my papers for SS. I am selling my ATL Georgian house and picking up an all brick ranch in rural south GA.
ReplyDeleteYou is smart to do that, you is.
DeleteCongrats!
DeleteWe sold the house and bought a 36 foot sailing catamaran in Queensland. We now have all 2000+ islands of the Great Barrier Reef to choose from. Just spent 5 months slow cruise from Gladstone to Townsville and back.
ReplyDeleteAnd the cool thing is, you can get a Starlink and enjoy speedy Internet. Not sure of the coverage in Australia, but worth looking at!
DeleteKeith Richards owns a Caribbean island, just sayin. He might be a good King if'n you can talk him out of a citizenship.
ReplyDelete132 days until I "soft" retire. I plan on coming back part time to do little shit that nobody has time for on the regular schedule. 2 pensions, SS, IRA, and 401(k) so we should be good.
ReplyDeleteThe wife and I started our SS two years ago at age 62. We have the same disposable income now as when we were working! No more SS and Medicare taxes, no more saving for retirement, and no more expenses that come from having a full time job! We haven't even touched our retirement savings yet.
ReplyDeleteThe hard part of retirement is you do without and save for so long that it's hard to start spending. I don't mean wasting money, I mean buying a rib-eye instead of ground beef, buying a book or a new shirt just because you want it. I figure those dollars I saved are not dollars, they are my certificates of performance; I exchanged them for my time, my sweat, my muscle, and my brain power. Now I'm going to trade them for what I want, when I want, before they and I expire.
As a side note, the wife and I are going to move from the Detroit, MI area to the Fort Wayne, IN area for the same reasons John in Indy stated. John, if you read this, can you tell me what area you moved to? Thank you.
A tent? I'd be happy for a cardboard refrigerator box!
ReplyDeleteI just turned 62 a few days ago, I want to retire, have saved much but the medical insurance would bleed my savings quickly. I'm sticking out for 2 more years then buying the last years insurance before I can get on Medicare. I can't see saving my whole life for insurance to eat it up overnight.
ReplyDeleteOver 7 years, The last year in An RV. More to come
ReplyDeleteRetired at 66, four years ago. I ain't hurtin', THAT'S for sure!
ReplyDelete