Posted on 11/08/2012 1:34:19 PM PST by Javeth
[the necessary discussion on FR will be “bolt or revolt”.]
There might be a third way, which is to do some of both. I now have an Internet business,so I could theoretically live anywhere and still be involved here politically.
If I had your choices and family on the continent I would have a home in finland, visit and shoot in Germany, and have a smmer place on an island in Greece.
It would be difficult to get into Finland, I imagine, and I suspect they are clannish.
It was YOUR rationalle ...
Ping
I like Slovakia, small country, smack dab in the middle of Europe, fairly Conservative. And of course pretty much hate Communists from their time in the former Communist Czechoslovakia.
I'm surprised that your friend didn't choose Buzios or Fernando Noronha. It's better to live near the beach if you ate independently wealthy.
That is the funniest thing I’ve heard on an otherwise miserable day, but sadly true as well.
My suggestion would be this....decide on a couple places and then go and live there for at least 3-6 months before you actually decide to leave permanently. There is so much of a difference between here and anyplace else you have to actually experience it nobody can adequately explain it to you
S. America and Mexico once had quite an attraction but the drug and kidnapping business has made these areas unattractive to me. I took a summer session at the Tech in Monterrey and visited Mexico a dozen times but quit going in the 1990s. It’s just too dangerous.
I’m a retired oil company sales rep and have found the Missouri Ozarks very much to my liking. Low taxes, deer, turkey, great fishing, four seasons (altho summer can be hot and humid.) Lake of the Ozarks was built in 1930 and has attracted a large community of retirees like me.
Check www.funlake.com.
Ah, yes, reminds me of the time I was in Patagonia.../wcfields
Great to hear you got that impression about Chile, too. I think sometimes that country might be the ideal place to work, reside, invest and retire in. Seems to have a well-balanced combination of a hard-working, capitalist culture with friendly people, great climate, that old-fashioned European character and unbeatable natural beauty. I was stationed for a brief while in Malaga many years ago, and remember enough basic Spanish that I could probably build upon it.
I’ve visited Santiago before though not Valparaiso, sounds like something worth looking into. That’s in Central-North Chile, correct?
I’m a long time lurker but decided to log in when I saw this post, mainly because of the danger it poses to both the OP and any others who might be thinking the same thing.
Without commenting on your reasons for wanting to retire abroad, you should realize that for tax purposes, it doesn’t matter. You are an American citizen. It doesn’t matter where you are living, you are still subject to US taxation, regardless of whether a tax treaty is in place with your chosen country or not.
For retirement accounts, such as 401K and IRA or other securities, it’s all considered ordinary taxable income the moment you start drawing on it. Income you earn from business you are doing in that country might have some tax exclusions for you under the Foreign Earned Income code. You are still required to file a 1040 and failure to do so can result in a $10,000 fine.
The other option is to renounce your citizenship, but this poses its own financial problems. At the time of such a renouncement, you would be required to add up the value of all your assets (retirement, checking, savings accounts, homes, cars, artwork, etc.) and pay a lump tax on the value of them all. It’s called an Exit Tax and it was enacted to discourage the kind of thing you seem to be wanting to do.
Hope this helps and I strongly advise speaking to both a lawyer and a competent accountant before making any major decisions.
Bump for later
Great plan.
I think you’ll see the best and brightest in the medical field will set up offshore clinics in the Caribbean.
So wealthy Americans can get beyond Obamacare, with a short plane ride from Florida.
That’s an area I’m watching closely.
later
I’d consider Ireland. My favorite place is northern Italy, near Switzerland. Plenty of small town living. Food can’t be beat.
I’m researching Panama. There are several programs for retirees, people who are economically self-supporting, and a new program for friendly countries- they need English-speaking people to work! That last program is quick, and less red-tape.
Good information. So one CAN leave after paying an exit tax - it might be a small price to pay for a nice climate, low cost of living and to be free of Obamaphone lady.
Yeah, that’s why I haven’t visited Mexico itself yet even though I’ve been a few other places in the Americas, every time I read the headlines about the cartels the place makes me nervous. OTOH I’ve always gotten the impression that Chile and Argentinian Patagonia for ex. are socially and culturally (and of coures geographically) a world away from Mexico. The Chileans especially seem to have been among the friendliest and happiest people I met, hard-working but also able to take nice vacations, relax and enjoy other’s company. I also found this appealing balance of qualities in the Germans to my surprise, though of course Germany’s nowhere near Chile as far as the natural beauty of the countryside and beaches.
As far as Mexico goes, I have known a few people who’ve worked or retired there, and in at least a brief aside in a casual conversation a few months ago, seemed like they loved it wherever they’d settled in, spoke enough Spanish to get along nicely and had great friendships with both the locals and fellow expats. I should have asked more about the details then, but I’m guessing they must have been in one of the nice communities that are maybe more concentrated in the Yucatan or Acapulco. I know precious little about Mexico other than it’s divvied up into a variety of different states that don’t particularly like or get along with each other, seems they have very different senses of identity and maybe different cultures too. Maybe the work/retirement destinations are just a world apart in terms of safety and quality compared to the cartel-controlled regions?
I discovered San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful town in the Eastern part of the State of Guanajuato.
I never heard of it before I went there, but found out it has the largest community of ex-pat Americans in the world.
About 13,000 Americans year around and 20,000 in Winter.
Since it is in the Central Highlands plateau it never goes below 62 degrees or above 82 degrees.
That's where I am going in 15 years.
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