www.CostaRicaTicas.com :: View topic - Need advice on retirement

Hey guys,

I currently live and work in Thailand. Obviously the P4P scene is awesome over hear but recently the Thai government is making it harder on retirees here and being closer geographically to the US would be beneficial. My timeframe to retire is 2 years and I will have about 6k USD per month as a budget in retirement.

I am thinking of taking a 3 week recon trip to Latin and South America to scope things out. I have been to San Jose many times but find the daytime very boring. I currently live on the beach. Can I get some recommendations from the board on good places to retire that still have some P4P action. I am more of a GFE sugar daddy type rather than short time bar guy.

Right now I am thinking of Jacko CR, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. Obviously, other issues like cost of living and healthcare are important. Also, would like to maybe own a small business or do consulting work. Thailand has very draconian laws about any type of work without a work permit.

Lastly, any other good forums to hook up with expats in these other countries for advice? If anybody wants any on Asia I am happy to return the favor.

Thanks!

First, on Thailand, we had a coup steal yards ago and now the generals have been elected to run the country. They are cracking down on foreigner businesses, rehires below a certain level of income, and mountains of paperwork for travel, residency, and visas. All of this is running of western retirees in favor of Indian and Chinese tourists. The collective effect is bars are closing, girls are going to work overseas, and I worry about the future of this place.

Also, after being here for three years with 2 to 3 to go I am less enthused with being 30 hours away from the US. Have some good buddies getting ready to retire I would like to be able to visit and have them be able to easily visit me.

Lastly, I think I can easily clear any financial hurdles of any country. Therefore looking for the right lifestyle, weather, possible women opportunities, proximity to other expats, etc life balance.

...Colombia is probably the most tax un-friendly of your short list depending on how exposed your retirement income is. Pensions are fully taxable as regular income. Check out this site: https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2 ... tax.html...

Author:	JKBrown_US [ Thu Sep 12, 2019 6:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Need advice on retirement
Hey guys, I currently live and work in Thailand. Obviously the P4P scene is awesome over hear but recently the Thai government is making it harder on retirees here and being closer geographically to the US would be beneficial. My timeframe to retire is 2 years and I will have about 6k USD per month as a budget in retirement. I am thinking of taking a 3 week recon trip to Latin and South America to scope things out. I have been to San Jose many times but find the daytime very boring. I currently live on the beach. Can I get some recommendations from the board on good places to retire that still have some P4P action. I am more of a GFE sugar daddy type rather than short time bar guy. Right now I am thinking of Jacko CR, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. Obviously, other issues like cost of living and healthcare are important. Also, would like to maybe own a small business or do consulting work. Thailand has very draconian laws about any type of work without a work permit. Lastly, any other good forums to hook up with expats in these other countries for advice? If anybody wants any on Asia I am happy to return the favor. Thanks!

Author:	Boynton [ Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:24 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
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Author:	JKBrown_US [ Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:48 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
Thank you. No pension, will be living on investment income located in US accounts. Eventually will collect SS so that may be taxed. What is your opinion of the lady situation in all of these countries? Also, with Medicaid as a back up how is the healthcare and can you get insurance? Thanks for the help!

Author:	Boynton [ Thu Sep 12, 2019 8:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
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Author:	BlueDevil [ Fri Sep 13, 2019 7:31 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
JKBrown_US wrote: Hey guys, I currently live and work in Thailand. Obviously the P4P scene is awesome over hear but recently the Thai government is making it harder on retirees here and being closer geographically to the US would be beneficial. My timeframe to retire is 2 years and I will have about 6k USD per month as a budget in retirement. I am thinking of taking a 3 week recon trip to Latin and South America to scope things out. I have been to San Jose many times but find the daytime very boring. I currently live on the beach. Can I get some recommendations from the board on good places to retire that still have some P4P action. I am more of a GFE sugar daddy type rather than short time bar guy. Right now I am thinking of Jacko CR, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. Obviously, other issues like cost of living and healthcare are important. Also, would like to maybe own a small business or do consulting work. Thailand has very draconian laws about any type of work without a work permit. Lastly, any other good forums to hook up with expats in these other countries for advice? If anybody wants any on Asia I am happy to return the favor. Thanks! What has happened in Thailand to make it tougher on retirees? That seems to be a trend among countries that initially tout "retirement havens." Costa Rica used to be the place to go in retirement, now it is not as retiree-friendly as it once was. When I first moved to Colombia, although there were no incentives for retirees like in CR or Panama, healthcare was readily available and you could pretty much stay under the radar with respect to taxes. In 2014, that all changed... foreign residents have to declare and may be subject to taxation. Ecuador still seems to be a viable option with its low cost of living and retiree-friendly attitude. A big downside to Ecuador is its rather mediocre healthcare. Uruguay is a nice place to retire, but it's not cheap to live there. Good luck and enjoy the search.

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Author:	JKBrown_US [ Sat Sep 14, 2019 4:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
First, on Thailand, we had a coup steal yards ago and now the generals have been elected to run the country. They are cracking down on foreigner businesses, rehires below a certain level of income, and mountains of paperwork for travel, residency, and visas. All of this is running of western retirees in favor of Indian and Chinese tourists. The collective effect is bars are closing, girls are going to work overseas, and I worry about the future of this place. Also, after being here for three years with 2 to 3 to go I am less enthused with being 30 hours away from the US. Have some good buddies getting ready to retire I would like to be able to visit and have them be able to easily visit me. Lastly, I think I can easily clear any financial hurdles of any country. Therefore looking for the right lifestyle, weather, possible women opportunities, proximity to other expats, etc life balance.

Author:	BlueDevil [ Sat Sep 14, 2019 7:20 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
JKBrown_US wrote: First, on Thailand, we had a coup steal yards ago and now the generals have been elected to run the country. They are cracking down on foreigner businesses, rehires below a certain level of income, and mountains of paperwork for travel, residency, and visas. All of this is running of western retirees in favor of Indian and Chinese tourists. The collective effect is bars are closing, girls are going to work overseas, and I worry about the future of this place. Also, after being here for three years with 2 to 3 to go I am less enthused with being 30 hours away from the US. Have some good buddies getting ready to retire I would like to be able to visit and have them be able to easily visit me. Lastly, I think I can easily clear any financial hurdles of any country. Therefore looking for the right lifestyle, weather, possible women opportunities, proximity to other expats, etc life balance. What you described in Thailand is a downside of living in many of these so-called third-world countries. Colombia came close to electing a socialist ex-guerrilla leader as president last year. If he won, I would have been gone quickly because it would have been miserable to live here. Colombia does not have the large ex-pat communities that Mexico, CR and Panama have... but the small ex-pat communities are growing slowly. But if being around fellow countrymen is important to you, you may want to look in those countries. Climate-wise, Colombia is enjoyed best from the higher elevations where the weather is usually mild and cool. The cities are a novelty of sorts at first, but after living there for while, the congestion, pollution and crime get kind of old after awhile.

Author:	Skosh [ Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:12 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
Boynton wrote: ...Colombia is probably the most tax un-friendly of your short list depending on how exposed your retirement income is. Pensions are fully taxable as regular income. Check out this site: https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2 ... tax.html... Thank you very much for that link. That was the most complete explanation of the current tax situation in Colombia that I've read to date. I love it there and from the standpoint of cost of living, quality of life, value for your money, climate, the chica scene, and proximity to the US, it's hard to beat. But the punitive tax system for foreigners is a big negative and really puts a damper on all of those positive attributes. I'm seriously thinking 6 months there and 6 months in the US might be the way to go, at least for me. But obviously would need to look into the details a lot more as the time gets closer. Thanks again for the link.

Author:	Boynton [ Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Need advice on retirement
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