Galt's Gulch

Me and Other Future Expats

Posted by $ Abaco 7 years, 7 months ago to Culture
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I'm having a meeting soon with several other families to discuss becoming expats - doing our due diligence, homework, research, etc. Learning what we can. Thanks to some of you here who have clued me in somewhat. We see what's coming and don't want to be caught flat-footed.

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  • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 7 months ago
    I'm way too old to expat but I often recommend it to people with whom I have discussions to look into it. Only one person who has discussed it with me has started to do it. He is a Hispanic Federal Judge who has made the east coast of Mexico his summer home and will retire there soon. He is American born. He told me he maintains a family of three year around to live on the premises for less than it costs to keep a part-time cleaning lady up here.
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  • Posted by Tbabe 7 years, 7 months ago
    Try looking into Boquete, Panama where I live.
    http://panamaadvisoryinternationalgro...
    Lived here 10 years and I am a citizen of Panama and expating the US next year.
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    • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 7 months ago
      Excellent. We started by looking at Belize, but ended up in the Baja. We have been pretty happy here, but I do not think it is as cheap as Panama.
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      • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 7 months ago
        Panama can be inexpensive, but not if you want an American lifestyle in an American quality house. Depends on your requirements, of course.
        Panama's tax authorities also work with US authorities, and they will assist the IRS to sieze property, arrest suspects on IRS request, and forceably deport them on tax matters without any court hearing.
        What disqualified Belize for you, db?
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        • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 7 months ago
          I still work and they block IP phones, which was part of the plan. We found the government is more corrupt than we thought. The level of goods in Belize are a whole step down from what is available in Mexico, which is a step down from the US. We were planning on staying in Corozal but the ocean/beach was not that nice.

          We started small, by moving to Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) which we had visited and which was less than 100 miles from the border. Then we did some traveling and ended up in La Paz for awhile then moved to East Cape Baja. There is a very nice and vibrant ex-pat community and good flights for our kids to come see us.

          Yes, one of the keys of being an ex-pat is not demanding a US style house, which make no sense here and I doubt there. Then learning to live with the local brands at least most of the time.
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          • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 7 months ago
            I agree, db. Most people are not as flexible as needed to make a permanent move to live in another culture using a foreign language. Most are looking for lower cost living, which makes sense. In fact, they could live at lower cost in the US if they accepted the limitations that exist in most o/s places like Panama. The biggest advantage I can see for living overseas in non-first-world country is cost of health care. Based on my research, the rest of the costs are similar. Why else move to Panama or Mexico or Belize to pay rent of $2,000 a month for a 2BR 2BA US-style rental when the same is available in the US? There must be another incentive.
            Corozal looked like the best option in Belize to me, too, since it has easy access to shopping and medical care in Chetumal.
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            • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 7 months ago
              "In fact, they could live at lower cost in the US if they accepted the limitations that exist in most o/s places like Panama."

              Perhaps, but not have as much fun. For instance, our house (which is perfectly fine) would be considered a weird dump in the US and would mean we were in a bad neighborhood. There are abandoned lots and houses in our subdivision and also million dollar houses and we all coexist pretty well together. Most people here understanding it is about enjoying life, not killing yourself for fancy houses and cars.
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              • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 7 months ago
                That is a real incentive, db. I found it to be true in NZ and Australia to a great extent. Who looks after your place when you are away for days or weeks? That is a real problem for expats in much of central america.
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                • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 7 months ago
                  We take our most important possessions with us, which is our computers and perhaps our car, after that there is not much in the house that locals would like to take. Our neighborhood is pretty good at looking after each other and the cops provide pretty good presence especially if they are told there has been a problem.

                  The cops very from town to town a lot down here, but luckily in our city the cops here are not highly corrupt, they are also not highly intrusive and mainly good a preventive work.
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  • Posted by Ben_C 7 years, 7 months ago
    I looked into New Zealand but you can't be over 55 to move there. Hmmm, wonder why? Something about health care comes to mind. Not stupid people.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 7 months ago
      Exactly right. Socialized medical system has to prevent people with potential to drain the system from immigrating. If you have a lot of assets, you can still move to NZ as a retiree (and that does not lead to a NZ residency or passport) or start a business there (which can lead to a residency, passport, and citizenship.)
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  • Posted by term2 7 years, 7 months ago
    Good subject for this forum. A lot to consider- medical care, financial affairs, safety, corruption in government, climate, availability of "modern conveniences", etc.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 7 months ago
      Are you advertising a seminar? Are you employed to do so? It appears that is the case. If so, ethically you should be doing this in a separate post and doing so in the Marketplace with a clear statement of your financial interests.
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