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| Acknowledgments | vii | ||||
| Note to Readers | viii | ||||
| PART I: YOUR PRIMER FOR DREAMS | |||||
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2 | (5) | |||
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7 | (8) | |||
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15 | (4) | |||
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19 | (8) | |||
| PART II: DREAM DESTINATIONS | |||||
| English Spoken Here | |||||
|
27 | (14) | |||
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41 | (14) | |||
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55 | (16) | |||
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71 | (15) | |||
|
86 | (14) | |||
| Stretching Your Budget | |||||
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100 | (10) | |||
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110 | (15) | |||
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125 | (16) | |||
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141 | (17) | |||
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158 | (15) | |||
| Cultural High Points | |||||
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173 | (20) | |||
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193 | (17) | |||
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210 | (16) | |||
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226 | (21) | |||
| Island Hopping | |||||
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247 | (12) | |||
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259 | (12) | |||
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271 | (15) | |||
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286 | (12) | |||
| Exotic and Entrepreneurial | |||||
|
298 | (14) | |||
|
312 | (15) | |||
|
327 | (5) | |||
| Index | 332 |
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Chapter One
The Challenge and Joy
of Retiring Overseas
We need a new word for "retirement." That term was created in an era that assumed retirees would be aged, decrepit, and too tired to do much but sit on the porch swing when the decades of work were done.
That's not true anymore.
Contemporary retirees are healthier, more active, better educated, and often retire earlier than the traditional age of sixty-five. The old concept of retirement doesn't work with the many years of active life we still have before us. What will we do with our free time now that we have so much of it? Many of us count the years ahead of us and discover that we won't be content with repeating the daily round of eighteen holes until we reach that final hole in the ground.
We're revitalizing and reinventing ourselves with a second life overseas. You can too.
An empty nest and the freedom from a nine-to-five grind provide the ideal opportunity to live in another country, immerse yourself in a new culture, meet fascinating people, and travel from an overseas base.
Retiring overseas takes you into new territory filled with life-enhancing experiences. You learn firsthand about the world by living in it. You meet new friends and neighbors and learn about their lifestyles. Most of all, living in a different culture encourages you to keep learning, to see things with fresh eyes, and to stay youthful in spirit.
DREAMS ARE MADE FOR DOING
People who retire overseas are like you and me. Many of us never imagined that we'd enjoy living abroad, but the idea evolved. My husband and I laugh when we think back to the retirement plans we made years ago during a job transfer to Atlanta. We specifically chose a home in a golf course community, with a practical ground-level master bedroom. How ideal, we thought, for those golden retirement years when we'd have time for rounds and rounds of golf but wouldn't want to climb stairs. This would be our last house.
Then we chose to retire early and realized that we had a lot of years left to explore, but already knew the back nine by heart. We decided to live overseas for five months to travel and investigate different cultures, which we had never had time to do when working.
Five months is now five years and counting. Our home in France serves as a base for immersion in French life and travel near and far. We can reach Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany by car within six hours. A slightly longer drive takes us to Portugal, eastern and northern Europe, or across the channel to England or Ireland by ferry. Each foray whets our appetite for more. Each trip leads to another country we'd like to know better and to new friends in other regions who invite us to share their world. On and on we go, creating memories more thrilling than any we dreamed of when we bought that so-called retirement house.
WE'RE FAR FROM ALONE
Our experience is mirrored by other American retirees in countries around the globe. More than 3.3 million Americans live abroad. The big mystery is how many more there are. No one counts Americans living abroad. The U.S. census doesn't cover Americans living overseas, and the U.S. State Department admits they have no idea how many Americans live in foreign countries--especially retirees.
We do know that almost four hundred thousand Social Security checks are sent overseas, but even that is just the tip of the croissant. This figure counts only those checks that are directly mailed outside the United States. The fact is that the vast majority of American retirees have their checks automatically deposited in their U.S. bank accounts. The same is true of pensions and interest from investments. In addition, most American retirees overseas have ties to the States in the form of family and friends. They may return to the States regularly for visits or split their time between the United States and overseas.
Simply put, American retirees overseas are hard to pin down. They're free spirits. Unfettered by a job, they're free to pick up and go as the whim strikes, and it's hard to count a moving target.
WHY DO RETIREES VENTURE OVERSEAS?
The reasons people give for spending time abroad are varied, but most of them can be boiled down to familiar refrains. First, many retirees move overseas to fulfill a lifetime desire to travel. After all those years of being hemmed in with a set number of vacation weeks, the retiree can make their vacation last year-round, and their destination becomes the world.
Many people choose to retire in countries where the cost of living is less than in the United States, thus improving their standard of living. Some people are financially well-off, but appreciate living in a less materialistic society, where art and culture are valued more than the nameplate on a car.
Tranquility and a slower pace of life draw many people overseas. Lower crime levels are part of that tranquility. The most popular countries outside the United States--and we're not counting Baltic war zones--are gun shy. With fewer loose cannons floating about, some retirees feel more content. Others choose countries based on their heritage or, if they worked abroad, they retire to an area they enjoyed at that time.
Most of all, people who retire overseas are not just leaving their life in the States, they're driven by a desire to explore the world and do more with their life while they have the opportunity. They want to investigate a culture thoroughly, rather than just as part of a tourist pack.
HOW LONG WILL YOU STAY?
More retirees than I can count began their adventure overseas by planning a relatively short stay of under six months. Like us, many of them are surprised that they enjoy the lifestyle so much, and their return date to the States somehow keeps getting extended. They go back to visit family and friends, but also discover that more often family and friends come to them.
Some retirees consider their overseas stay a sabbatical or long sojourn based on a specific time frame of several months or a year. Others live at their second home abroad in the same way that some people in the States live at a summer cottage or winter ski condo, staying for a specific season or several months on a regular basis.
Some people retire overseas fully intending to live in their chosen destination for the rest of their lives. Many of these people either worked or lived abroad when younger and knew they always wanted to return there. They relish the adventure or the lifestyle and the concept of being "old" eludes them. "Perhaps I'll go back [to the States] when I'm old," said seventy-six-year-old Mary. To most people, that's always much later.
THE POSSIBLE DREAM
Dreaming of a destination for retirement overseas creates the joy of anticipation. The world opens up to you. Explore the possibilities and, hopefully, you'll fulfill a dream by selecting one--or more--places that you would enjoy exploring in person.
In this book you'll discover twenty countries worthy of consideration. Each offers a different reason for retiring there; whether it's low costs or lush landscapes, charming villages or hospitable people. They won't all be your cup of tea. If you don't like overcast skies, don't move to Great Britain. If you can't stand the heat, don't plan on Greece in August.
The decision is entirely subjective, which is good or we might all end up on the same end of the planet. The possibilities, however, are as varied as the world. Chances are, you'll find more than one intriguing haven that fits your idea of paradise, whether it comes complete with palm trees, ski slopes, or big-city lights. You may even want to try more than one location in a country, or several different countries. It's not unknown for retirees to try out different locales, renting for a month, six months, a year, or as long as the spirit moves them.
This book is your primer for dreaming. Use it to imagine the lifestyle you might enjoy in a far-off destination. Each chapter in Part II provides an overview of the ambiance and the vital facts of daily life that retirees are most interested in, including that country's culture, climate, access to health care, costs, and housing. Once you've narrowed your choices, it's time to broaden your knowledge. Start reading more extensively on your destination. (Some reading recommendations are listed at the back of each chapter and in the Sources-at-a-Glance section in Chapter 25.) Talk to friends and acquaintances who have lived or traveled extensively in your chosen country. If possible, visit the location and talk to people who live there before you pack everything for the long term.
Mostly, don't worry. Just remember to plan well, keep your options open, and take the plunge. If worse comes to worst, you can always turn around and come back. However, you probably won't want to. You may, like many of us, discover that a worldwide retirement is a rejuvenating experience that puts more vigor into your after-work life.
It definitely beats sitting home with a gold watch.
Chapter Two
Where in the World Will You Go?
Afunny thing happened as I was researching destinations for living overseas: I wanted to live in all of them. The more I learned about a country, the more fascinating it seemed. Each time I concentrated on one country, that's where I wanted to live. Each new culture was exciting in its own way. Each destination offered some intriguing reason to participate in it more fully. Of course, reality set in and my husband and I chose one country, France, as our base, and we make side trips to all the enticing destinations we can manage. What's down the road is anyone's guess.
Where in the world will your dream take you?
You may already have a dream location in mind. It could be a place you've felt drawn to for years based on its hospitable people, charming stone villages, or sun-dappled beaches. Perhaps it's a place you visited on a vacation, where the thought crossed your mind, "Wow, wouldn't it be great to live here!" If you've already chosen your destination, you have a head start. Go ahead and review that locale as a possible retirement spot. Chances are you'll find that it's easier than you thought to make the dream of living there come true.
Bear in mind, however, that attributes that charm you during a one-week vacation may not meet your needs for a long-term stay or retirement. The beach area with nothing more than palm trees and tourist cottages may seem a welcome respite from the work-a-day grind for a short visit, but would you be happy living there if it required an hour's drive to a movie theater or a good doctor? When selecting a specific location for retirement, consider the various factors that make that spot practical for daily living. If you still love it, go for it.
AMBIANCE
The ideal amenities for a footloose and fancy-free vacation spot can make the same place a nightmare for the retiree. Resort areas are built for the temporary visitor, replete with beaches or ski slopes, hotels, and restaurants. But does the area also have a good infrastructure for residents? If you don't want your shopping limited to plastic palm trees, then be sure that there are good shopping facilities for food and the various necessities that a household requires at a reasonable distance.
DESTINATION CHECK-LIST
Each person has different goals in selecting a dream destination overseas. What's essential for you may be irrelevant to someone else. Reflect on the aspects of life abroad that are most important to you, and then review potential destinations while keeping these factors in mind. The most essential factors in making your decision include:
ambiance
climate
culture
language
leisure activities
cost of living
financial regulations
health care
transportation
study/work availability
Excerpted from The Grown-Up's Guide to Retiring Abroad by Rosanne Knorr. Copyright © 2001 by Rosanne Knorr. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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