My grandmother is not doing very well back in America. She lives off of social security, so you can imagine she's barely getting by. My sister and I have decided to move her overseas she that she can actually afford to live a a fraction of the price. I live overseas, and it only makes sense that she lives close to me where I can keep an eye on her and we both can have some privacy. She has about $1200 usd a month to live on in the sates. After bills, she has nothing at the end of the month. In a 3rd world country she can get by with half that amount and have 2 caretakers with her at all times. Sounds like a good deal to me. What are your thoughts?
I currently live in Latin America, and it's relatively common to see people from overseas who have retired here. Your grandmother might hardly get by in the States with her retirement money, but here she could live very comfortably and even end up saving money if she wanted to. I think it is quite sad to see elderly people, who have worked hard all their lives, being reduced to still struggling at a time when they should be sitting back and taking it easy.
Sounds like a great idea. In some third world countries the cost of living is really low. So if a retiree doesn't mind living amongst strangers s/he hasn't known all his/her life, willing to learn a new language and so on, retiring overseas can be a great way to not only save money but live 'The Good Life' if you so desire. The following countries are listed on many sites as the best places to live in when you retire are: Panama Nicaragua Ecuador And . . . Mexico [but it's too dangerous].
Yes, I have a several friends in Central and South America and while they are not of retirement age yet, they say that there are many retired people living down there. Cold weather seems to be hard on older people as a whole. Many countries are not equipped with good medical care at a fraction of the cost. Some countries are not that expensive to fly back home if a Dr. visit was needed. And many have westernized grocery stores where they can find the type of foods they are used to without having to learn the new language right away. With all these things in mind, I would not feel afraid to help an older loved one re-locate if it was something they wanted to do. Plus you would have a really fun place to go and visit!
Living in a developing world is relative cheap. With your one month expenses, you can stay in the countries like India and Nepal for couple of months. You can buy lunch just for $2, you can stay in a hotel for $5. I am from Nepal and I have met many people from American and Europe who are living in the country because they can manage their life with so little money.
That is a very good deal, I have considered moving overseas well before I retire. I want to live a better life style, and I don't support many things that are happening here in America. I love how other nation have lower prices for just about everything we have out here. In France I heard they pay like half what we pay per megabyte for internet access. I don't know if that's true but I like it. Plus I can get a home in some countries for a third of what I'll pay in America. If I buy a 1200 sq ft home in America for $150K, I can take that money to another country and get a home 1.5x times the size. for the same amount. Life style and way of life is better over seas.
Whoa! In which side of America your grandmother live? San Francisco? New York? In Miami, Florida, some rent flats are pretty cheap. Anyway, Latinoamerica is a pretty hit or miss recommendation. These countries have unstable political/social/economical conditions quite typical from third world countries, and the better options out there (Chile and Uruguay) are also expensive too (although not as expensive as living in San Francisco ). You can check out also some Asian countries, like malaysa,Singapore, Thailand, Laos, etc..
I have also heard about how much cheaper it is to live elsewhere than in the United States, and I think that it might work out to be a good thing, but one of the drawbacks is having to leave your family. Even though all of my kids are long since grown up and gone, I can still see them sometimes, and if we moved to another country, then that would probably never happen. Also, there are some pretty bad storms that happen in other countries, or earthquakes, and most of those countries have very little resources to help people when a disaster strikes, that is why America always has to send help to these countries in emergency situations. Some places here are much cheaper than other areas to find a home and live in, so moving to one of those areas is also a reasonable possibility. I have heard of some areas, small towns, where manufacturing has shut down, and people left because there were no jobs, and the houses sit empty, and can be purchased almost for free.
