Retirement

What bothers me about retiring in China is the lack of the good life. Yeah, it's cheap, but it's also dirty, noisy, and frankly, aside from various bits of work I do, uninteresting. More importantly, there's what seems to me a relentless brutalisation. There are a lot of ways in which this country, the people, and the environment are forgiving - it's easy to get a job, simple to be here - but I think this is more a product of happenstance than design. In fact, I think as time goes by and the actual designs become clearer... well, I don't know. I don't know which side will win out. I don't know what historical circumstance would support the better sides of the nation becoming the true character of the nation.

I might be overstating.

Hi piglet, I have sent you a PM about an immediate position lasting until end of January with good salary. If you don't get the message please let me know.

The Top 10 Countries for Global Expats

The list of popular expat destinations has long included Northern Europe and Switzerland, known for their happiness, famed healthcare programs, and exceptional quality of life.

These countries still retain some of the top spots, but this year the top expat destination belongs to a country in the opposite hemisphere: Ecuador.

The 2014 InterNations Expat Insider survey states that this South American country is becoming a hub for expats looking to take advantage of the financial benefits they can reap there.

Ecuador came in first on the personal finance and cost of living indexes, and it also ranks the highest of all surveyed countries for ease of making friends. About 82% of expats also said they find it easy to settle down and feel at home in Ecuador. The country also ranks first for personal happiness, and 42% of expats living there say the plan to stay “possibly forever.”...


Hmmm... to go from not knowing Chinese to not knowing Spanish....


The new expat fav destination list, possibly mostly for rich people:

1   Ecuador
2   Luxembourg
3   Mexico
4   Switzerland
5   U.S.
6   Singapore
7   Spain
8   Philippines
9   Australia
10   Hong Kong


And lastly, from the article:

For American expats, the top three countries they move to are Germany, Italy and China, and one-third of them are working, with 47% working in a manager-type role.

So I've started ruminating on this again. I think it's probably Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines for me. Kinda pissed off about that, to be honest. I'm sure it'll be great and all, and I'm not sure I'd actually want to retire in China, but what's with the no permanent residence, China? You know why I won't invest here? Because of that, you idiots. And the fact investment here is wildly unpredictable. But if I had some kind of promise, I'd work harder to make something more predictable. As it is, I've started sending what money I have elsewhere. Yeah, China, you took my youth (well, my middle age), but I'm taking my money.

I am in the states working on course work.  However, I am currently searching for a position for my return to China.  I plan on possibly teaching in China for 2 to 3 years and then bailing out for good.  I surely don't want to retire in China nor invest in anything in China.  No too long ago, I had dinner with a member of the board of directors at my last school.  He was telling me I should buy a house in China as an investment towards retirement.  I just laughed.  He asked why I was laughing.  I told him I would continue to invest in my retirement portfolio in the U.S. instead of buying an over priced place in China.  After he asked me a few questions about my investments, he stopped with that buy a house shit with me as an investment.

.

We have had one of these threads before.I agree that money is not everything.We are already retired.We came back to Israel after China and found it sooo expensive here.WE can't afford to eat out,go drinking etc whenever we want as we could in China.Here we have to pay more for the car (didn't have one in China) and we don't enjoy it at all.Despite the fact that here we have better theatre,movie choices,shows etc,it doesn't help because I am essentially unemployable (too old) or offered a risible amount per hour.Private lessons are drying up because with the economic situation people are not doing them.The gym is expensive too,so I am getting fat.
So we started investigating Panama, Mexico,Costa Rica or Ecuador.Panama has jobs but not available before you arrive.None of those will offer me a deal even close to what we had in China.So granted you get better internet,but CR is overrrun with Americans,Mexico is reportedly dangerous and Ecuador gets cold.I am not a beach person,so Philippines doesnt' appeal to me and I heard the food is crappy.So we are thinking go back to China till I can't work any more and then think some more.I am currently 57. That gives me 3 more years or so to look for another destination.

My university just hired a 61 year old with no prior teaching experience.

The purchase price of housing is the one thing that worries me.  Then again, the louder I hear Chinese people say "There's NO bubble in house prices." the more it sounds like 2007 in the USA.

I just hope I can scrape up enough cash to be ready if (when) the bubble pops.

The purchase price of housing is the one thing that worries me.  Then again, the louder I hear Chinese people say "There's NO bubble in house prices." the more it sounds like 2007 in the USA.

I just hope I can scrape up enough cash to be ready if (when) the bubble pops.

I would not touch real estate in China right now with a mile long stick..... more than ever, it's ready to burst. For the last 3 months, the party has sustained the stock market. money is being siphoned out of the country at record speed... just not worth it unless u can buy cheap in tier 4 cities and sell within the month.

I come back to this thread about once a year and here I am again. I recently discovered how cheap (relatively speaking) a retirement visa is in Thailand and have started thinking I'll be 50 soon enough why not? Looking into Thailand a bit more it seems like healthcare is better there but internet might be iffy. So I have a retirement wish list. I want:

a beach and/or a city I can explore by bicycle.
at the very least, 1Mbps internet, but I'd prefer 50.
restaurants, street food, variety

Don't give a damn about nightlife and don't need fellow farang, and don't want neighbours. Would like supermarkets. Will leave the country if there are pigeons.

I'm thinking I might have to start visiting some countries. Thailand probably. Malaysia maybe. Vietnam if I have to. Indonesia might be okay. Cambodia?

I just don't think in the end I'm going to be able to return to the homeland, and if I do have to see out my years in China, then I'll consider that a failure of some kind. The pollution and the neighbours are murderous irritants I can cope with while I still have the strength to create countermeasures, but to be an old man swallowed up by this shit would be a grim end. So I'mma have to find some way to go elsewhere.


/staying positive

... but to be an old man swallowed up by this shit would be a grim end.

I hear you.  I left China.  Never really want to live there again.  Currently in Korea but my place of work was caught off guard by the scandals and shipping economy.  I decided to jump ship and have recently accepted a gig in Saigon.  Looking forward to it. 

The other question I have is when the doddering does start, what then? The expat life I lead does depend on a certain fund of strength. Curable failings of strength are mostly manageable. But what happens when regimes of daily medicines start to be needed? When regular checkups and doctor consultations become vital to the management of daily life? What happens when I can't skate past difficulties any more?

I have been thinking about all of that too.  As a result, I have been working towards acquiring advanced degrees and other enhancers.  Already paying off and should continue to do so.  Also been managing to keep individual retirement investments going back in the states.  Still lots of unknowns and uncertainty. 

as time goes by, we all think about these things, especially if our significant other is not a local.

Going back to my days of studying finance, common wisdom says that before considering retirement, you have to start considering equity. What assets do you own that can be converted to cash if needed? housing, diamonds, gold, whatever...

Where is your cash flow coming from in retirement if you've been away for decades and not part of the social security system? money for food, medicine, life etc? you better have a stash in the bank account and preferably a couple of investments that can return a nice interest rate to allow you to survive.

What good is a retirement visa in Thailand if you have to sustained income?

a bunch of things to think about

Yeah, savings and/or investments are going to be the key.

That said, if I did have enough money to retire to the homeland, I don't think I would. Assuming one is not on the run from the law, living this long as an expat says something about lifestyle preferences. I for one love Australia and all, but living there feels like a chore. I might change my mind as I get older, but I have lived in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne already, and visited a few other capitals, and while the air is so clean it's almost harsh in its purity... eh, I don't know. But yeah, if I did have enough money to retire to the homeland, I'd live large in South East Asia instead. Big house, no neighbours, a beach nearby, be discovered one morning by the housekeeper and what do I even care by then, dump my carcass under a tree. This is my fantasy.

I've been thinking about retirement too. I have absolutely no desire to return to Canada.

At one time Thailand looked like a distinct possibility (I was spending four months a year there). However, I've become disgusted with the country - corruption, sleaze, inflation and Chinese tour groups (nothing against the Chinese... but when they are in a tour group it's mayhem). Safety standards are non-existent; and you take your life in your hands every time you are on the roads - absolute carnage - it doesn't matter if you're driving or not (you can't control the other idiot). Besides, the vast majority of Thais don't like foreigners (tourists are fooled by the 'smiles') and LOS does not mean Land of Smiles, it means Land of Scams. Paradise lost.

Now, I'm looking at the Cambodian Riviera (Sihanoukville) and will go there to check it out this summer. I've been to Kep (nice, but too small) and Kampot (a little bigger, but caters to the young 'backpacker' foreigner). In Cambodia, things are much less expensive than Thailand - i.e. no tax on alcohol & tobacco. While Cambodia has many of the same problems as Thailand, in general the Khmer people are more accepting of foreigners; and, the visa situation is much simpler (less bureaucracy and none of the 'requirements'). I'm going to look at buying a condo, but I think there's a 'bubble' and renting is a better/safer option... a nice little one-bedroom, one bath bungalow with a (shared) pool close to the beach can be had for $400-$500 per month. If you don't want a pool, a nice apartment or condo can be had for 1/2 - 2/3 of that.