I have already decided that continuing to live in the USA is not an option for me. I do not agree with the USA government and their “peacekeeping” missions which end up killing hundreds of thousands of civilians all over the Middle East. Nor do I subscribe, anymore, to the huge consumerism in America, the spending is just silly both at corporate and at a personal level. Then their is affordability for me and for a lot of us we just can not afford THE SAME lifestyle on a pension as we once did in our high income earnings days. I do not fancy living in a mobile home in Arkansas and having no money for heat on cold winter days. Remember: winters are expensive on our budgets: clothing, heating, well constructed home cost more and so on. So my choice is to leave the USA, but where to go?
At 60 I began reading International Living an online magazine that supplies information about all the ins and outs of where to retire and why. A word of warning about the site that I learned over recent time: use the articles as a guideline and not gospel, the company pushes places that they often have a vested interest in. I also searched the internet for expat blogs I found sites such as: ExpatForum and ExpatExchange
My list of requirements is; AFFORDABLE, GREAT WEATHER, GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOMEWHAT POLITICALLY STABLE. Since most of Europe and the USA is not that stable in many senses I suppose “SAFE” would be a better word. My short list ended up being: CROATIA, PORTUGAL, MEXICO and ECUADOR.
The winner for now will be: MEXICO. Now I need to narrow down where in Mexico. First though, more about “why” Mexico. Logistically Mexico is easy. For example moving to Ecuador would require some serious thought on what to ship with me. I currently live in Tucson, USA and so I can drive to Mexico and take the kitchen sink with me if I want to. Next reason is that Mexico is BIG and so plenty of climate, topography and cities to choose from. Portugal, Croatia and Ecuador and are small countries and not so many choices. Lastly the Mexican Economy is doing very well at the moment, in fact all trends for Mexico are getting better. Crime is a HOT topic when talking about Mexico and so I checked the facts thoroughly and found it is not as bad as the USA news media portrays. Imagine that; the USA media exaggerating, what a surprise! However should I wish to participate in the distribution of cocaine then Portugal would be a much better choice since in Mexico I would be killed very shortly after my arrival.
So what are YOUR priorities to being an expat? No sense in living in the cheapest place on Earth, somewhere in India I guess, if that place is also crime infested or gets blown off the map every year with Cyclones or whatever. So Sharpen your pencil and make a list of “what is important to me” for a place to live overseas.
For me… Mexico here I come!
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