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Home Lifestyle

7 Continents, 1 Decision: Where To Retire Overseas?

Asia, Europe, And The Americas Face Off

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
May 28, 2023
in Lifestyle
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Elderly couple sitting on the wall facing the beach

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The world is alive with opportunity.

Specifically, in the context of the conversation we carry on in these dispatches, the world is alive with opportunity for an interesting, rich, full, adventure-filled, and sometimes very affordable retirement in a place that is welcoming, beautiful, friendly, and engaging.

That’s our starting point…

The way of looking at the world that, with the help of hundreds of far-flung correspondents, colleagues, expats, and experts across the globe, I work to share with you.

Of course, in truth, retiring overseas isn’t for everyone…

Who Should Live Overseas?

To make a success of this, you need:

  • An open mind…
  • A spirit of adventure…
  • A good sense of humor…

I’d say that, because you’re reading this right now, you likely boast those attributes and are, indeed, a good candidate for making a success of the kind of move you must be considering… precisely because you’re considering it.

You—like your hundreds of thousands of fellow Live And Invest Overseas readers—are looking for something new, something better, something bigger, something different, something other.

One question to be asking yourself as you’re reading along is… how different?

How outside your comfort zone are you interested in going?

More on this in a minute.

Another critical starting-point question, of course, is to do with budgets. How much does it cost to retire overseas… and can you actually afford to follow through on the dream life you’re imagining?

The short answer to that question is: Yes. You can afford to retire overseas… even on a very, very modest budget.

The specific answer, though (to state the obvious), is that it depends on the size of your nest egg… and where in the world you’re considering spending it.

The question isn’t really how much does it cost to retire overseas?

The question is how much money do you have to retire?

Once you know the size of your retirement nest egg, then you can figure out where that nest egg will buy you the retirement you want.

Though I’d suggest that’s not the way to approach this… at least that’s not the way to begin to approach this. That’s backwards.

Start by thinking through the life you want.

Imagine your ideal lifestyle. Then look at the numbers in that context. Where will the budget you’ve got buy you the lifestyle you’re looking for?

In these dispatches, I give a lot of virtual ink to Latin America. That’s because it’s nearby to North America (where most of our readers currently reside) and because it can be cheap and sunny (two things most would-be expats and retirees abroad actively seek).

But there’s a world beyond these Americas that can also offer good weather and a low cost of living… plus, in some cases, some things you won’t find here.

Asia

Asia boasts a number of the most cost-friendly places anywhere to call home right now. Pockets of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, for example, can be absurdly cheap.

Living on this side of the planet, you’d also have access to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches…

Best places to retire in Indonesia. Image of beach with clear blue sea
Image Source: iStock/Nuture

Your life would be full of the exotic, the unexpected, and the adventuresome.

That is to say, the culture shock would be significant. For some, this reality is thrilling and invigorating… for others, intimidating, even terrifying.

Used to be that foreign retirees in Asia didn’t legalize their status.

Historically—in some cases because it seemed easier and in others because formal residency programs weren’t an option—expats in this part of the world have relied on the “border run” approach. They’d leave the country where they were living briefly, then return with a renewed tourist visa.

However, today, more and more countries in the region are cracking down on the practice (which, in fact, can be as or more expensive than obtaining legal residency)… and, as well, more formal legal residency options are available…

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Meaning the border-run lifestyle is no longer necessary in Asia.

Still there’s the practical downside of geography.

Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc., are literally on the other side of the world. You’re not hopping back and forth between your new home in Asia and your old one in North America for grandchildren’s birthdays, for example.

That’s why it can make sense to approach Asia not as a full-time choice but, instead, to create a retire-overseas plan that allows you to enjoy the benefits of Asia (super cheap and super exotic) part-time.

How about a couple months in Da Nang, Vietnam, or Chiang Rai, Thailand, where your retirement budget would stretch far indeed, followed by a few months in Tuscany, say, or the south of France?

Villefranche sur Mer, Cote d Azur, France. Villefranche sur Mer, Cote d Azur, France.
Alamy/travelstock44

Europe

Which brings us to Europe. Most would-be retirees abroad dismiss Europe as too expensive, but, as we work hard to show you, this isn’t necessarily the case.

Sure, a retiree on a modest budget probably can’t afford Paris or Florence, but have you considered southwestern France, where life is quintessentially French but, as well, surprisingly affordable, or Pisa, about an hour from Michelangelo’s hometown but dramatically less costly?

One of the big advantages of Europe, compared with other regional retire-overseas options, is the opportunity it affords for what might be referred to as “high culture.”

Every country in the world has culture, no question… but not everywhere has world-class museums, opera, and live theater, for example. If you’re interested in a life that includes cultural offerings of that variety, you should be looking to the Continent.

Which is not to say it’s impossible to enjoy an old-world Continental lifestyle anywhere else.

The Americas

Some cities in South America offer a fair imitation—Buenos Aires, for example, and Medellín, Colombia, to name two. Both are cities of open-air cafés, classic-style museums and theaters, art galleries, and antique shops.

And both, you’ll note, are in South America, not Central America. The differences between these two regions, even between Panama and Colombia, next-door neighbors, can be striking.

I’m speaking generally and could name exceptions to every point, but, again, generally speaking, South America offers what I’d call more polished options, a good place to look if what you want is culture on the cheap.

Central America, by contrast, is, everywhere, rough around the edges. These are small, developing countries with non-existent budgets for things like art museums.

Making for a way of life that is, for some, charming. Romantics (like me) in Central America focus on the potential for what could be rather than the reality of what sometimes is.

Others find Central America frustrating, disappointing, even appalling.

On the other hand, this sun-blessed region can be but a quick plane hop away and a user-friendly place to establish foreign residency…

Pluses and minuses… give and take.

Here’s how I’d shorthand the pros and cons of your big-picture options for where to think about reinventing your life and chasing adventure overseas…

The Americas

PROS

  • Accessible
  • Affordable
  • Great weather
  • Lack of regulation

CONS

  • Unreliable infrastructure
  • Mañana mentality
  • Lack of regulation

Europe

PROS

  • Developed infrastructure
  • Culture
  • World’s best health care
  • Overall quality of life
CONS

  • Language
  • Cost of living
  • Weather and length of day
  • Bureaucracy

Asia

PROS

  • Cost of living
  • Beautiful beaches
  • Exotic lifestyle
CONS

  • Distance from North America
  • Language
  • Exotic lifestyle

Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord signature
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

Tags: 'Argentina''Colombia''France''Italy''retirement''Thailand'AmericaAsiaEuropemove overseasPanamaPortugalretire abroadretire overseas
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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