Monday, February 2, 2009

Retire Somewhere Other Than Florida

By: Steven Muller

More than 150 years ago a popular phrase urged Americans with unlimited financial prospects, "Go west, young man, and grow up with the country." Today it's more like, "Go south, old man and you may outlive your money in Mexico -- or Costa Rica." Retirement abroad used to be the purview of the well-to-do -- a luxurious reward of exotic locations, expanded horizons, prolonged travels and a life without schedules. These days it's a matter of survival, or at least a rather drastic financial maneuver to make a dwindling nest egg last longer.

"It used to be divided between having an adventure and being able to go someplace affordable," says Rosanne Knorr, author of "The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home: Making a New Life Abroad." "But I'm getting more and more questions about where are the most affordable countries you can go," she says.

In Central and South America, the cost of living is one-third to two-thirds what it is in the U.S., says Barry Golson, editor in chief of ForbesTravel.com, who with his wife, Thia, authored the upcoming "Retirement Without Borders."

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1 comment:

  1. This is a very interesting post. I didn't know that times we getting so bad that people feel they need to resort to moving to Mexico or South America. However, I do find it interesting that the living expenses are only 1/3-2/3 because that means that a person could basically triple their retirement. So if a person only has $300,000 saved up, if they were willing to move overseas this could be like $900,000 with the adjusted cost of living. I would definitely look at this move as being drastic, but people must do what they have to do in order to survive today.

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