Foo - Cheap Places to Retire

Don't ask me how, but I posted this in the Religion forum. Anyway, I thought it was worth a new thread.

I've taken many solo trips thru Mexico, by van and motorcycle. My Spanish is 'learn as you go along' but I have more fun when I travel alone; I meet more Mexicans and we laugh as we struggle with our language issues. My general rule is 'the cheaper the food, the better it tastes.' One of the problems I have when I travel there with my fellow Americans, is that the ONLY places they want to eat are the ones designed for American tourists.

I've been thinking of retiring there, but I ought to give Costa Rica a look.

One of my plans is to convert a cargo trailer into an RV so it does not look like an RV*, throw in a bicycle and head off South exploring. Dunno if I could get as far as Costa Rica, but I would be on the lookout for a sleepy old fishing village relatively not infected with the American tourist disease. Bahia de Los Angeles in Baja Norte is a candidate, but I'd like to check out Oaxaca area and points South.

*Check out my friend Randy Vining's 'Stealth RV' http://cheaprvliving.com/StealthCargoTrailer.html

BTW, there are lots of magazines and websites devoted to this topic. 90% of them are actually commercial ventures devoted to pushing real estate. It's hard to get unbiased information from someone who isn't trying to get you to lay down a small fortune for some American style luxury condo or estate. I'm looking for a place I can blend in with the locals and sit back and waste away in Margaritaville.

Now that I've wasted my life away, I don't know what I'll do when I retire.

*Check out my friend Randy Vining's 'Stealth RV' http://cheaprvliving.com/StealthCargoTrailer.html
some of his pages are fascinating. Cooking w/ a solar oven?

My son visited Thailand a couple of times this past year while on a ship with the Marine Corps. He said it is unbelievably cheap, and there are lots of retired Americans there. He really liked it there--he was on Phuket. You have to wonder about the health care in a place like that, though.

I want to check out Costa Rica, but I don't think I'd want to live in a foreign country more than a year or two. I may not be able to retire for at least 15 years, anyway, even though I am almost 57. In fact I am just now starting a bachelor's degree.

*Check out my friend Randy Vining's 'Stealth RV' http://cheaprvliving.com/StealthCargoTrailer.html

That is just so neat!

I have friends who are full-time RVers and also avid cyclists. They winter in Yuma, AZ, which is cheap if you know how to do cheap, but not cheap if you want a fancy place. You can boondock on the BLM lands for $180 for 6 months in that area. Or rent a space with hookups in the old part of Foothills for your travel trailer for less than $200 a month. Two really good bike clubs there. I like Yuma, (in winter only! Summers are brutal!) I've wintered there myself, but rented a mobile home. Kayaking and hiking are good there, too.

Here is a young couple who sold everything but what they could carry on touring bikes. They have a nice website with beautiful photos and many fun adventures: http://pathlesspedaled.com/

Yeah, I was just reflecting with a friend on how you can live really cheaply, even in the U.S., but if you want just a bit of luxury the costs start to skyrocket.

Also, I really like Randy's idea. A big motorhome would be be cool, but among other problems, you'd have a tough time getting into some of the great places I've been able to camp by motorcycle, not to mention having another giant motorhome 10 feet away.

My son visited Thailand a couple of times this past year while on a ship with the Marine Corps. He said it is unbelievably cheap, and there are lots of retired Americans there. He really liked it there--he was on Phuket. You have to wonder about the health care in a place like that, though.

I need to checkout Thailand. I've been too cheap to go there. My brother visited 30 years ago and loved it. Re: health care, I thought there were many Americans who went there for surgery because it is so much cheaper than the States and high quality.

My daughter's house. Haven't told her yet though.

My daughter's house. Haven't told her yet though.

:) That's my backup plan. My girlfriend is 14 years younger. She lives with me and pays a fraction of the costs. Later we're reversing that. I'm sure I can trust her. :twitchy:

Now that I've wasted my life away, I don't know what I'll do when I retire.

I do. I'm going to continue to waste it. Worked so far.

There's always a cardboard box under the freeway overpass.

uhhh, go find your own box. Now get out from under my overpass.

I plan on buying a small sailing boat and fishing and drinking a lot of coffee. Probably have a small pottery studio on dry land somewhere, and do a few art festivals from time to time to raise a little cash....and that's actually not too far off in the future.

I was a fan of the guy that went up to Alaska (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke) and built his own log cabin.

I was a fan of the guy that went up to Alaska (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke) and built his own log cabin.


But you reeeeeeally need to know what you're doing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless)

You could try Somalia. It's equatorial, lots of shoreline. I'll bet you could pick up a place on the beach for a song. It would be pretty low cost of living, for as long as you did end up living.

On second thought, maybe that's a little extreme.

I hear its pretty cheap to retire at the Fed. Penetentiary.

I'm still 30/40/never years from retirement, but I've been looking at Belize lately. English speaking, part of the dominion (probably wicked easy to get there for Canadians), mostly cheap and not touristy - if you live like a native Belize and not with tourists. Or, you can go all out and buy an island off the coast and live like a king (and pay for it...)

I want to check out Costa Rica, but I don't think I'd want to live in a foreign country more than a year or two. I may not be able to retire for at least 15 years, anyway, even though I am almost 57. In fact I am just now starting a bachelor's degree.

We went to Costa Rica a couple years ago, loved it. Everywhere we turned, there was stacks of literature that looked like a huge weird secondary market of gringos selling real estate to other gringos. Seemed Amway-ish, get in on RE, then suck in other people behind you to prop up the values. Not sure that's a game I'd want to get sucked into. I know there are other folks here more knowledgeable than I on the feasibility of any of those various schemes.

You could try Somalia. It's equatorial, lots of shoreline. I'll bet you could pick up a place on the beach for a song. It would be pretty low cost of living, for as long as you did end up living.

Or Afghanistan. It's landlocked, but I read an estimate that it's only like $10k/yr to maintain a militia of 100 which should meet security needs if you don't go into empire-building mode. Probably susceptible to having them bought out from under you though.

My advice for anyone who wishes to retire to a third world country, don't do it because it is cheaper, do it because you want to live in a third world country. In the mountains and off the beaten track, it is still cheap, beach, expensive, around cities, expensive. And if you are addicted to stuff from the USA (like cottage cheese for example), you are going to pay through the nose.

This guy moved his life into a van, with his cat, and tells all about it:
http://tosimplify.blogspot.com/

I'll bet Northeastern Brazil is pretty cheap.

My son visited Thailand a couple of times this past year while on a ship with the Marine Corps. He said it is unbelievably cheap, and there are lots of retired Americans there. He really liked it there--he was on Phuket. You have to wonder about the health care in a place like that, though.

I want to check out Costa Rica, but I don't think I'd want to live in a foreign country more than a year or two. I may not be able to retire for at least 15 years, anyway, even though I am almost 57. In fact I am just now starting a bachelor's degree.


can't go wrong with a place named "Phuket!"

IMHO, a good place to retire should be like this:

* Little or no property taxes.
* Low population density.
* Not too cold most of the time.
* NOT a city.
* Have Electicity, water, phone, cable TV and Internet services.
* A good store(s) withing an hour travel time.

But that's just me.

My advice for anyone who wishes to retire to a third world country, don't do it because it is cheaper, do it because you want to live in a third world country. In the mountains and off the beaten track, it is still cheap, beach, expensive, around cities, expensive. And if you are addicted to stuff from the USA (like cottage cheese for example), you are going to pay through the nose.

This is good advice. I've found many places in Mexico, off the beaten track, where you could live for next to nothing, if you wanted to live there and live the rural, simple life.

OK I want to take this little farther since I am actively looking for someplace to retire... here are my criteria:

In the USA
Doesn't get too hot/humid (I would prefer cool and dry)
Is fairly conservative politically (better for seniors)
Is safe (again better for seniors)
lots of small villages and towns. You know I can live there and walk or ride a bike everywhere.
Good recreation close by
* * *

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?

OK I want to take this little farther since I am actively looking for someplace to retire... here are my criteria:

In the USA
Doesn't get too hot/humid (I would prefer cool and dry)
Is fairly conservative politically (better for seniors)
Is safe (again better for seniors)
lots of small villages and towns. You know I can live there and walk or ride a bike everywhere.
Good recreation close by
* * *

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?
Irvine!!

Irvine!!

Good lord - that's the devil's playground! I...WILL...NEVER...LIVE...IN...IRVINE... unless of course you are speaking of Irvine, TX- nope I won't live there either!

If Irvine, CA isn't conservative enough for you, good luck. I would never want to live around a bunch of ignorant bigots like Sarah Palin who cloak themselves in the banner of 'Onward Christian Soldiers.'

Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company as Twain said.

If Irvine, CA isn't conservative enough for you, good luck. I would never want to live around a bunch of ignorant bigots like Sarah Palin who cloak themselves in the banner of 'Onward Christian Soldiers.'

Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company as Twain said.

You just have to learn to block out the drum beats.

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?
My parents are just outside Knoxville and very happy with it. No prior connections to the area, they just did their research.

My son visited Thailand a couple of times this past year while on a ship with the Marine Corps. He said it is unbelievably cheap, and there are lots of retired Americans there. He really liked it there--he was on Phuket. You have to wonder about the health care in a place like that, though.

I want to check out Costa Rica, but I don't think I'd want to live in a foreign country more than a year or two. I may not be able to retire for at least 15 years, anyway, even though I am almost 57. In fact I am just now starting a bachelor's degree.

How is that city(Phuket) pronounced?
I think I heard it mentioned at work.

OK I want to take this little farther since I am actively looking for someplace to retire... here are my criteria:

In the USA
Doesn't get too hot/humid (I would prefer cool and dry)
Is fairly conservative politically (better for seniors)
Is safe (again better for seniors)
lots of small villages and towns. You know I can live there and walk or ride a bike everywhere.
Good recreation close by
* * *

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?I wouldn't call Eugene a conservative leaning town, it's the most liberal leaning place I've lived, I like it that way. But from what I can see the seniors are very well cared for here, can't imagine that a liberal community would be less responsive to the needs of seniors, I'd actually think it would be the other way around as stingy and mean spirited as conservatives are and all.

The climate here is fantastic once you get use to the rain. I wouldn't call it exactly a cheap place to live, housing is expensive, taxes are low (no sales tax). Great town for walking or cycling, just the right size and few traffic hassles.

I wouldn't call Eugene a conservative leaning town, it's the most liberal leaning place I've lived, I like it that way. But from what I can see the seniors are very well cared for here, can't imagine that a liberal community would be less responsive to the needs of seniors, I'd actually think it would be the other way around as stingy and mean spirited as conservatives are and all.

The climate here is fantastic once you get use to the rain. I wouldn't call it exactly a cheap place to live, housing is expensive, taxes are low (no sales tax). Great town for walking or cycling, just the right size and few traffic hassles.

Too many Ducks.

I've been thinking about retirement. I would add to the list a good hospital nearby. At some point, you'll need it.

I am new to this, and haven't been to most of the places that have been discussed. In a couple years we are planning on driving around the country; and see what looks nice.

I wonder if the recent cold in the South is part of some new weather trend.

OK I want to take this little farther since I am actively looking for someplace to retire... here are my criteria:

In the USA
Doesn't get too hot/humid (I would prefer cool and dry)
Is fairly conservative politically (better for seniors)
Is safe (again better for seniors)
lots of small villages and towns. You know I can live there and walk or ride a bike everywhere.
Good recreation close by
* * *

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?

Port Townsend WA

Port Townsend WA+1 Port Townsend is a beautiful little town with loads of character (and a fantastic bakery). Also, from Pamestique's list, Corvallis, OR would be a better fit than Eugene (smaller, safer and more conservative).

OK I want to take this little farther since I am actively looking for someplace to retire... here are my criteria:

In the USA
Doesn't get too hot/humid (I would prefer cool and dry)
Is fairly conservative politically (better for seniors)
Is safe (again better for seniors)
lots of small villages and towns. You know I can live there and walk or ride a bike everywhere.
Good recreation close by
* * *

So far choices are Eugene OR and St. George UT. Maybe Nashville, TN or close by. Any place else?

:lol: as clueless as ever.

How is that city(Phuket) pronounced?
I think I heard it mentioned at work.

foo ket.

Good lord - that's the devil's playground! I...WILL...NEVER...LIVE...IN...IRVINE... unless of course you are speaking of Irvine, TX- nope I won't live there either!Newport Beach!!

I've been thinking about retirement. I would add to the list a good hospital nearby. At some point, you'll need it.

I am new to this, and haven't been to most of the places that have been discussed. In a couple years we are planning on driving around the country; and see what looks nice.

I wonder if the recent cold in the South is part of some new weather trend.

There are two minds of the hospital thing. Those who live the longest in Costa Rica are those the farthest from the hospitals, in fact they are some of the longest lived people on the planet. For a few people, access to a hospital makes a real difference - positive and negative. Positive that if you really need surgery or medicine, yeah, it is important. It is also true that more than a few people end up sick because they went to the hospital. We isolate animals to keep them from spreading disease, but cram all people together in a waiting room. :eek: More cost effective, but definitely not better.

And being near a hospital means that they can attempt to save you when you are really too far gone. Two to three months later, you still die, but a lot poorer.

There are two minds of the hospital thing. Those who live the longest in Costa Rica are those the farthest from the hospitals, in fact they are some of the longest lived people on the planet. For a few people, access to a hospital makes a real difference - positive and negative. Positive that if you really need surgery or medicine, yeah, it is important. It is also true that more than a few people end up sick because they went to the hospital. We isolate animals to keep them from spreading disease, but cram all people together in a waiting room. :eek: More cost effective, but definitely not better.

And being near a hospital means that they can attempt to save you when you are really too far gone. Two to three months later, you still die, but a lot poorer.

Have yuo ever read 'I Will Fear No Evil' by Heinlein? Just asking because it involves getting to the hospital and being 'saved'. Perhaps even worse if you are really really rich and great efforts are made to keep you alive. (The story starts, but does not end there).

(I'd have thought you would have gotten into making yuor own cottage cheese by now).

My advice for anyone who wishes to retire to a third world country, don't do it because it is cheaper, do it because you want to live in a third world country. In the mountains and off the beaten track, it is still cheap, beach, expensive, around cities, expensive. And if you are addicted to stuff from the USA (like cottage cheese for example), you are going to pay through the nose.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I speak some Spanish, have about 26 college credits in it, in fact. But as anyone knows who has studied a foreign language seriously, you have to speak it with the natives, a lot, to get good at it. One of my lifetime goals is to become basically fluent in Spanish. And if I lived in Costa Rica I would want to live where there are fewer expats. My daughter did her study abroad there a couple summers ago in Puntarenas, which, as she said, is a real town where real people live. When I asked her if we could live on her dad's $940 disability check there, she said, yes, absolutely, as long as you stay far away from those trendy Americanized places.

I have lived in the tropics/subtropics before (Hawaii Big Island--8 years) where I lived off the grid with no running water, electricity or phone, in a one-room shack I built myself from scrap lumber.

Third World Commuter, what do you think about living La Pura Vida on $940 a month? Would it be do-able? I can do without a lot, but I like internet.

To the person who enjoyed the name of the island, Phuket, I say, Ha Ha, I hadn't even thought of it!

If Irvine, CA isn't conservative enough for you, good luck. I would never want to live around a bunch of ignorant bigots like Sarah Palin who cloak themselves in the banner of 'Onward Christian Soldiers.'

Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company as Twain said.

I don't particularly want a conservative area because I myself am conservative (ie republican or liberterian)... I am just looking for an area that is senior friendly. I don't want someplace that has the need to spend lots of money for development etc. I want someplace that is set in its ways.

BTW I assume you have not been to So. CA in a long time. Nothing, nowhere (OK maybe San Bernardino) is conservative anymore. Irvine has predominantly a minority bsed population (hispanic, asian, e. indian, persion etc). The entire State of CA is blue as they can.

My parents are just outside Knoxville and very happy with it. No prior connections to the area, they just did their research.

Knoxville, that's the area I was thinking about... I have several friends who have settled there. It is definitely high on my list...

I wouldn't call Eugene a conservative leaning town, it's the most liberal leaning place I've lived, I like it that way. But from what I can see the seniors are very well cared for here, can't imagine that a liberal community would be less responsive to the needs of seniors, I'd actually think it would be the other way around as stingy and mean spirited as conservatives are and all.

.

I have friends in Eugene and know the area well. OK it's democratic no doubt but really not all that liberal. Compare the people in Eugene and its City government with say Los Angeles. "Liberal" is a relative term... I am looking for an area where its city government knows how to conserve fiscally, not spend out of control (like most of CA). Then they are better able to care for all its residents.

Port Townsend WA

2 words... Banana Slugs!

I've been thinking about retirement. I would add to the list a good hospital nearby. At some point, you'll need it.

I am new to this, and haven't been to most of the places that have been discussed. In a couple years we are planning on driving around the country; and see what looks nice.

I wonder if the recent cold in the South is part of some new weather trend.

My folks have lived in Mississippi for the better part fo 40 years... it routinely gets very cold in the winter and they frequently have ice storms. Sometimes snow. The South has weather extremes not unlike the midwest and east although it's more temperate than say Maine or Minnisota. I'm visiting them next week - temperates are going to be in the 30's that has always been normal. Of course where my sister lives (Hilton Head, SC) it doesn't get as cold - more like 40's and 50's instead. It all has ot do with the proximaty to the Atlantic Ocean.