John L
Banned
Posts: 12
Joined: May 2015
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
I am also planning my retirement at this moment. I am focusing on Medellin Colombia. I have been traveling there for the last 4 years. Here are my list of positives:
1. Very nice weather, year round. it gets a little warm in the afternoon but other that that its almost perfect.
2. Its a beautiful country. Very scenic and diverse.
3. The people are warm and welcoming.
4. The women are mostly very beautiful, dress beautifully, sweet, polite, feminine and sexy as hell!
5. Its a modern, progressive city. Low cost mass transit and taxis are cheap. The streets are normally very clean and well kept. Decent infrastructure in the city proper.
6. Low cost of living. You can live "gringo style" in a modern high rise with all the amenities including maid service, 24 hour security, food and entertainment, etc. for under $35K per year.
7. Great place to party and have fun.
Now, here are the negatives:
1. Although it is generally safe, you could be the victim of crime, especially if you are a light skinned gringo. You will be OK, if you listen to people, stay out of bad areas, taxi it at night, etc.. Its probably as dangerous as Washington DC, Detroit or Chicago.
2. The people dont always tell the truth and can rip you off if you are too trusting. As charming as Colombians are, lock up your shit and be careful who you associate with. If you try to pick up women in bars, you could be drugged.
3. I am not sure I would want to raise a family there, especially female children. Its a very sexual culture and she could get knocked up young. Also the education system is not that great. If you can afford private school, you will be good.
PM me for more info.
|
|
| 08-07-2015 10:24 AM |
|
The following 5 users Like John L's post:5 users Like John L's post
samsamsam, WanderingSoul, iknowexactly, PeruLover12, Onto
|
Que enspastic
True Player
    
Posts: 2,051
Joined: Jun 2013
Reputation: 30
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
I second Australia as a family raising super power. As much as I bash it as a place for single men in their 20s, my upbringing was probably top 0.01% in the world.
I had :
1) A nature reserve with colourful birds outside my backyard where I played with other kids from the street
2) Clean, pristine beaches and parks
3) A very high trust society which placed a premium on being 'a good bloke' and 'a good mate', low corruption
4) Cheap and regular access to biking, tennis, athletics, rowing, Australian Rules football, beach volleyball, any sport I wished to play. A heavy emphasis on being physically active. Benefits (social skills, mental health, physical well being)
5) Heavy exposure to debating as an intellectual pursuit
6) Extremely low crime environment
7) High value placed on live music and theatre
8) Leadership programmes at school
9) School camps out in stunning wilderness (Cross Cut Mountains on Great Australian Dividing Range, Squeaky Beach on Wilson's Promontory, Anglesea down Great Ocean Rd)
10) Anti-drug environment
11) Strong expectation at school that I would go onto a top 50 university worldwide
12) Expectation that I would travel Asia / Europe and would be 'weird' if I didn't
13) 90% of society considered middle class
14) Non-violent, zero exposure to knife or gun crime
15) Healthy food, fruit and vegetables, quality ingredients.
When I started travelling it dawned on me just how good I had it. I have travelled to maybe 20-25 countries and yet to stumble across a place that I would consider a place as suited as Australia to raising kids.
Retirement - I'd pick Thailand or Spain
|
|
| 08-08-2015 01:46 PM |
|
The following 1 user Likes Que enspastic's post:1 user Likes Que enspastic's post
Gopnik
|
lavidaloca
True Player
    
Posts: 1,511
Joined: Apr 2010
Reputation: 36
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
(08-07-2015 03:58 PM)bjjay Wrote: how come cuba is expensive? I read they earn 25 dollars per month.
You can't own property. You rent by the room. If you require two plus rooms minimum you will pay in Havana is pretty much 750 CUC per month. (About 800 USD)
The cheapest rental you'll get in Havana is $450 / month and that won't be easy to get in a good area.
Cheapest new vehicle is 92k. A 4 year old audi a4 that was used as a rental car sells for 45-70k USD. (Minimum 100,000 km on it)
Many places charge higher covers for foreigners.
Because there is not much of an economy you have to pay for absolutely everything.
Public transit system is lousy. You will end up using lots of taxis. Late at night from the clubs taxis will almost universally charge you 10 CUC even if it's less than 5km.
Internet is expensive and you can't have it in your house. (2.25 / hour)
All people except Canadians and Permanent residents can only stay 2 months before leaving the country and have to pay to renew their visa after 1 month.
It all adds up.
(This post was last modified: 08-08-2015 02:44 PM by lavidaloca.)
|
|
| 08-08-2015 02:43 PM |
|
The following 3 users Like lavidaloca's post:3 users Like lavidaloca's post
PeruLover12, Dantes, zoom
|
Troubled Joe
Male Feminist
Posts: 4
Joined: Sep 2014
Reputation: 2
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
(08-09-2015 03:36 AM)bjjay Wrote: 1. How safe is Spain for foreigners? what is the crime rate of the country?
2. Do I need a good level of Spanish?
3. What areas in Spain should I check? thought about the islands.
4. By the way, is Gibraltar a good option?
1. Very safe
2. Absolutely. Most Spanish people suck at English
3. It depends on your taste, do some research, there's many nice regions
4. Gibraltar belongs to Britain. Idk much about it, but climate-wise it should be nice
|
|
| 08-09-2015 04:34 AM |
|
|
262
Banned
Posts: 1,778
Joined: Dec 2014
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
(08-07-2015 06:15 AM)iknowexactly Wrote: If you've never lived in the second or third world, you should do extended visits before you plan on moving somewhere permanently .
This. I'm doing this now. I'd even argue between first world countries, you'd want to "try before you buy."
bjjay, you can read and ask all you want, but you won't know for sure, and you won't know for yourself, until you try these places out. As you can see from some of the responses here, even guys who have been to the same places have had different experiences, likely because they're different people.
Also, the last thing anyone wants is for you to commit to somewhere based solely on what you read online. Don't be the guy blames the Internet for his problems.
The reason I say the above bjjay is that I'm pretty sure you're South Asian. "Give me a custom solution so I don't have to read the forums myself" unfortunately is a common South Asian attitude. Take it from someone who can pass as South Asian.
Also, don't say, "I'm asking because I can't afford to try before I buy." If you're not willing to put in this effort, you don't deserve the results.
|
|
| 08-09-2015 05:17 AM |
|
|
NewMeta
Wingman
Posts: 635
Joined: Aug 2015
Reputation: 26
|
RE: choosing location for long term/retirement
Funny you mention Gibraltar since I was born and raised there till I was 18.
It's a great place to raise a family but there are issues, I'll give you pros and cons:
Pros:
1. Seasonal weather, rarely gets colder than 10 degrees in the winter and warm summers over 30 degrees.
2. English speaking, we speak Spanish as well but English is our first language .
3. Good community of people that looks out for each other, with a good educational system to boot (they currently cover locals student loans when we go to university).
4. Conservative mentality, no feminism, raised catholics, so generally people are friendly and the girls are stunning (I've always rated the girls there really highly in terms of looks, however they can be abit over entitled at times).
Cons:
1. Population of 30,000. That's nothing. After living there a year you will know so many people that walking down the street will end up in a handful of conversations alone. Your mistakes will follow you so its easy to build a bad reputation, don't fuck up.
2. The system is built heavily around looking after locals, foreigners have a hard time getting jobs outside of English owned companies and you won't be eligible to apply for affordable housing and various educational benefits such as the aforementioned cover of student loans .
3. High rent and housing is in a shortage. If you move there you will have to rent or buy a place in Spain near the border almost guarenteed. Generally a studio apartment itself is near 1k in rent a month (no joke). A shared house will still be around 700-800 pounds a month.
4. Life is boring there, there is a reason I never moved back. There isn't a lot of infrastructure for niche to slightly popular hobbies and sports. It's mainly stuff like football, basketball, rowing, running, climbing and racket sports.
If you want to know more pm me.
|
|
| 08-09-2015 08:05 AM |
|
The following 1 user Likes NewMeta's post:1 user Likes NewMeta's post
Gopnik
|