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Where Dollar Goes Farthest
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Where is the best place to stretch out your dollars in the entire world? Where can I retire and live decent with the least amount of money for awhile.
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There is no perfect answer taken out of context as the “best” is always a weighed compromise based on your criteria. For example: Age. If you are young, you can learn a new language, you don’t need good quality healthcare at a decent cost, nor be concerned about restarting if things don’t work out.Sexuality. Not only whether one is LGBT or not, but also, if one is single or coupled.Urban vs rural. Don’t assume that “urban” is globally more expensive, especially if you don’t need a vehicle.“Developed” vs “Off-the-Grid”Health status. Need access to regular care, any diseases run in the family?Cultural attractions, cuisine, historical interest… (i.e. How to keep occupied.)Climate typeTaxation and profession. Do you want to completely stop working or work occasionally? This affects the visa type and taxation requirements.Special needsChildren, pets and other dependents or partnersAbility to assimilate; do you only want a place that is Anglo?Accessible to your home country (for family, emergencies etc.) or anywhere in the globe?Budget.Safety. a) Personal safety, b) Road safety, c) Medical responsiveness an d) Political stability (NB. A democracy may be more unstable than a non-democracy.)No one can possibly answer for you even on the above criteria as only you can weigh one factor versus another in a trade off.However, the one bit of universal advice is to do a pilot long-term residence and network with other expatriates before making any major decision.———————————————————————— For a single person in good health who can speak English, learn Spanish, willing to learn local language, wants good, affordable medical care, stimulating cultural attractions, stable country: Americas: USA (regional and locality specific): Provided you are healthy/have healthcare insurance and you choose a location with modest housing costs, I can’t think of any developed country with a lower material cost of living for food, consumer items and gas/petrol. Your actual costs would depend on location, State etc. It has the lowest sales tax (VAT) of which I’m aware in any developed nation. If you pick a place where you can walk instead of driving, costs may be even lower. Colombia (stable in the last 10 years, growing economy, decent medical facilities, educated population, 3 hours from Miami, cool climate in highlands, varied landscape) Mexico (stable but regional insecurity, growing economy, LGBT OK in capital, next to the US, cool climate in highlands, varied landscape, large expatriate community, excellent private healthcare, developed in urban areas, “off the grid” in rural areas) Costa Rica (very stable, cooler in highlands, eco-haven, well-connected, free universal OK healthcare but not much history or culture, pollution in capital, more expensive than other places .) Uruguay (stable, temperate, good meat, LGBT OK, good healthcare coverage BUT far away, more expensive that some, a bit boring and dull) Panama (stable, fair universal healthcare, shopping paradise, English spoken in urban areas, more expensive that other C.Am. places BUT hot/humid nonstop except highlands, traffic & pollution in capital, poor infrastructure;“retiree visa” requires substantial upfront investment Belize (stable, officially Anglophone, tropical climate but poorly developed, not much history or culture except ancient ruins, tropical diseases, modest medical facilities) Chile (stable, economically good BUT very far away, earthquake prone, not much history or culture) Argentina (Big cities are culturally active but not much in terms of history or architecture, cheaper with devaluing peso, LGBT OK in cities BUT very far away, government and economy occasionally tanks, insecurity in urban areas) Ecuador (reasonably stable, cool highlands, inexpensive, some expatriate communities BUT 5 hours to Miami, politically unpredictable, altitude sickness in some, medical facilities not world class.) Europe: Bulgaria and Romania have Black sea towns that have a mild climate and both are among the least expensive places in the E.U. However, medical care is only adequate and language can be a major barrier. Fortunately, flights out are inexpensive and West Europe is only a few hours away. Portugal and Spain. Very popular with Northern European expatriates with year-round Mediterranean climate, rich history, architecture and cultural events (in major cities). Spain has good medical facilities and some zones of Anglo-expats but, taxation is unavoidable and residency is means- or profession- based. Africa Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa are the only countries with a fair medical system. However, South Africa and Tunisia have young, unpredictable democracies and Morocco has very high unemployment. Asia Inexpensive living costs in Thailand, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka but at a price of poor infrastructure, political uncertainty and only fair healthcare (exception for Bangkok). First world healthcare and costs in Singapore, Hong Kong. Malaysia is interesting in being a democracy, having English as an official language, prosperous society, interesting culture and history and decent healthcare system.
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The question is not the first I would ask. Your first question should be, were can I retire cheaply and have good insured health services. There are many “paradises” you could retreat to, but would you survive their medical system? Many people choose Costa Rica because is close enough to the US that they can go there in case of need. Uruguay is a nice country. It is quite inexpensive, but medical care is not so good. It is however very close to Poto Alegre in Brazil, were one can have access to first class care. Chose Punta del Este were a large community of British ex-pats can be found.