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Where to retire, or not..

watchyouwant
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Retire in the USA? Oh Dear ... No way. Portugal is a very good choice. Still empty and great climate and Beaches. Friendly and quiet . Cheap as well. Great food. Not plenty of Crazies. If you must, there might be a special Visa for retirement Foreigners into Australia .We are the last frontier in the best possible circumstances. Empty. But don't talk too much about that. We like it the way it is.
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jsducote
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Glad this thread has been resurrected. I've been researching a move to France and it seems imminently doable. With a 'long-term visitor' visa, I can continue working for my US company remotely. Anyone can buy property in France; Residency is not required but by the same token it doesn't automatically grant you residency either. If I'm going to live alone for whatever is left of my life, I might as well be someplace better than this. And why wait until retirement?
 
dsio
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Retire in the USA? Oh Dear ... No way. Portugal is a very good choice. Still empty and great climate and Beaches. Friendly and quiet cheap as well. Great food. Not plenty of Crazies. If you must, there might be a special Visa for retirement Foreigners into Australia .We are the last frontier in the best possible circumstances. Empty. But don't talk too much about that. We like it the way it is.
Your neck of the woods might be empty but man Brisbane is packed beyond belief and is only getting worse as we lead up to the Olympics in 2032. A lot of other places like Byron Bay are also crazy packed, we’re falling behind pretty badly on infrastructure, home building and most other things at this point.
 
watchyouwant
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dsio dsio
Your neck of the woods might be empty but man Brisbane is packed beyond belief and is only getting worse as we lead up to the Olympics in 2032. A lot of other places like Byron Bay are also crazy packed, we’re falling behind pretty badly on infrastructure, home building and most other things at this point.
Excellent! People, don't come to Australia for Retirement ! Getting packed with 26 Mio. mostly friendly people . Lots of Kangaroos as well ...
 
kfranzk
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Hallo friends,
here is a view of an already retired, so all decisions are made for long.
(And when someone wants to live with his family and grandchildren nearby, no decision is asked for.)
I did not read all answers in this thread, but I miss a decision list to be made first:

  • I would in no way live in a country, where I need air condition any time of the year (heating in winter is ok).
  • I want to live, where I can do most things of daily life by feet and/or bicycle (supermarket, bank, coffeeshop, beergarden, yes and the doctor)
  • Am I familiar with the local language or willing to learn intensively?

  • So Portugal is surely ok with its food and wine culture and nice neighbourhoods and a steady wind from the Atlantic. But are you open to learn Portugese quickly? (Spain at the Mediterranian maybe too hot in summer und too damp in winter.)
  • Our Chinese friend, she works and travels really global, has just opted for German citizenship and bought an appartment near us. She likes well organized publics, all kind of food and bar culture, spring, summer and fall is best (for the winter there is an airport nearby).
  • We just came back by car from southern Austria, e.g. Klagenfurth (state capital of Carinthia) with only 100k citizens and optimal climate, mountains and lakes nearby.
  • In fact, if I had to decide completely new, I would look at middle cities in Germany or Austria! (I have no language barrier in most of Europe.)

Greetings Konrad
(... just on the run to the local market for a lunch, lentil soup with saussage, after my whife is back from the doctor, of course all by feet.)
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Fallout Boy
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jsducote jsducote
Glad this thread has been resurrected. I've been researching a move to France and it seems imminently doable. With a 'long-term visitor' visa, I can continue working for my US company remotely. Anyone can buy property in France; Residency is not required but by the same token it doesn't automatically grant you residency either. If I'm going to live alone for whatever is left of my life, I might as well be someplace better than this. And why wait until retirement?
Living since seven years near Ste Maxime France: best time of my life. Not evrything is perfect, summer is hot, but I like it here. And buying property is easy and you have a unbelieveble variety of appartements or houses; the market is very !! huge and people sell and buy houses like cars. A very "movable" market! With houses on real large terrain available.
 
kfranzk
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Fallout Boy Fallout Boy
Living since seven years near Ste Maxime France: best time of my life. Not evrything is perfect, summer is hot, but I like it here. And buying property is easy and you have a unbelieveble variety of appartements or houses; the market is very !! huge and people sell and buy houses like cars. A very "movable" market! With houses on real large terrain available.
Are you in the real estate business?
 
Fallout Boy
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Fallout Boy Fallout Boy
Living since seven years near Ste Maxime France: best time of my life. Not evrything is perfect, summer is hot, but I like it here. And buying property is easy and you have a unbelieveble variety of appartements or houses; the market is very !! huge and people sell and buy houses like cars. A very "movable" market!

kfranzk kfranzk
Are you in the real estate business?
Yes and no - depends on what you are looking for ;-) Send me a pm if you want - you even can call me.
 
MTROIS
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Anybody considering retiring in Switzerland to be closer to the mothership!?!

Omega museum is still free after all... 😀
 
Dsloan
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MTROIS MTROIS
Anybody considering retiring in Switzerland to be closer to the mothership!?!

Omega museum is still free after all... 😀

You got a hook up for some of those easy to get Swiss passports? 😁
 
Fallout Boy
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Deutsch sprechen - "deutsch" arbeiten - be useful for the country- repeat 😀

Or: have a $ billion
 
Dsloan
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Fallout Boy Fallout Boy
Deutsch sprechen - "deutsch" arbeiten - be useful for the country- repeat 😀

Or: have a $ billion
Awww, but then I'd have to unload the watch collection, so what'd be the point?
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MTROIS
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Dsloan Dsloan
You got a hook up for some of those easy to get Swiss passports? 😁
Ah, yes, good point!! Forgot about this little detail...
Funny how I often forget that we can not really freely travel after all 😛
 
Fallout Boy
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Wrong - you don t need any passport to enter Europe, so free travel 😁
Depends on where you come from.
 
MTROIS
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Fallout Boy Fallout Boy
Wrong - you don t need any passport to enter Europe, so free travel 😁
Depends on where you come from.
Ok clearly, once you are in the Schengen area, you don't need a passport anymore, but don't you need one to enter it in the first place, esp. if you come from a non-Schengen area country?

And then, even if you are allowed to enter, staying there for an extended period of time (say more than 3 or 6 months) is yet another story, no? This is why you may even need a visa or a visitor's permit...
 
Fallout Boy
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Use use a Zodiac from Tunesia,head to a rainbow-flagged "rescue"-ship , pardon: shuttle, and throw away your papers.
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sxl2004
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Fallout Boy Fallout Boy
Use use a Zodiac from Tunesia,head to a rainbow-flagged "rescue"-ship , pardon: shuttle, and throw away your papers.
Sound Plan 😎
 
The Father
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More or less retirement account will pay what I make now. Have not had debt for 10 years. Social Security will be fun money if it is still available or whenever I take it. I better tune into the certain networks to find out.
Where to retire? Too bad California taxed itself out of the picture, would move there in a minute.

Live in Arizona already, many move to AZ to retire. Midwest? Prospects of two homes not enticing. Who knows
 
kfranzk
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Hallo friends,
meanwhile I scrolled through most of the comments in this thread:
It's very American-loaded. You US guys seem to be very homeless.

I think most Europeans stay happy, if they are, where they lived the whole life, medium sized cities...
As I do! 50 years in the same neighbourhood with a few assignment abroad, 40 with the same whife in the same house, since almost 30 years early retired. Some pubs have closed over the years, some new have opened...

I travelled almost all parts of the world allways asking, wether I should live there with a 'no' at the end and nowadays the same ritual every year:
Mid Jan. to March in Thailand, June in Italy and Sept. in Greece, allways the same appartment or bungalow, no costly luxury necessary, a scooter is ok. (The watches secured in the bank safe!!)
Late Juli bicycling along a river in Bavaria or Austria, maybe in May a week in Portugal or Hawaii, the long Dec. maybe shortened by a week in Mauritius or for Christmas in the Austrian snow.

And every time happy to come home for the homemade stew, neighbours, familiy and the bicycle for town and riverside. My whife needs a week to restore the garden. And the beergarden with a pork knuckle and believe me, the best beer in the world is brewed at Schumacher in Düsseldorf!

And not to forget, I make the dates with dentist or medical screening in April or October, result: 'Medically 10 years younger'! (As the Ukrainian lady says, after she has cut my hair.)
So most important: stay healthy and yes, a bit wealthy!
And forget about taxes...let the bank pay the expenses...
⁣Gruß Konrad

See below, what makes a retiree happy: bicycle, beach, local food and friends!
2024 Drauradweg 57.jpg 2023 Thailand Schnorcheln 12.jpg Linsensuppe und Schumacher_edit_518078740126672.jpg Männer-Frühstück.jpg
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