Inexpensive Retirement in Southeast Asia

Discussion in '401k, IRA and Retirement' started by MalorieJX, Jun 13, 2014.

  1. MalorieJX

    MalorieJX Well-Known Member

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    Inexpensively retiring to Southeast Asia could easily be a book. I’ll try and keep this reasonable. I think there is maybe a few people out there that are in the same position I was in two years ago now. 59 years old, I had just been laid off from a marketing position in the Bay Area and didn’t see many good prospects. I recently ended a long term relationship. My children were grown and were no longer around. After some soul searching I woke up one morning and decided to pull the trigger. Sell the house and everything I own and move to Thailand. It was a tough decision. I’d been there a few times over the last 10 years so knew what to expect.

    I lived in a great town and was able to sell the house and contents in a couple of months and walk away with $200k. Along with a $100k IRA I was going to give it a try. Two days after the house closed I got on a flight to Phuket with a large suitcase and a guitar. After a few months of partying I moved to a quiet beach luxury condo that I pay $700 a month for. I bought an health insurance policy for $1500 a year that covers hospital stays. Doctor visits are $30. Prescription drugs are all over the counter at the pharmacy. I bought a motorbike for cheap transportation. I buy food at the local outdoor market and mostly cook at home. Food to go from carts runs under $2 a meal. Cell phone and Internet is $25. My total monthly expenses are about $1800. I also did some traveling last year so let’s call it $2000. You can live cheaper than that. I live in the most expensive part of Thailand. I live with a girlfriend and pay all her expenses. I also like to have a beer ($2 each) at the pub and go out often. A bottle of rum is $6. If you wanted to economize, I would estimate you could live in a studio in Northern Thailand (say Chang Mai) for $1200/month comfortably.

    I finance all this by living off of dividends for the most part. Take $300k at 8% you get $24k. We’ll leave tax issues and specifics out of this but I like high yield corporate mutual funds. I don’t like volatility that you get with stocks. I have found funds like JAHYX, MWHYX and STHTX work the best for me. I own lots of others and a couple of stocks and ETFs and monitor everything daily. Last year I earned 14% and on track to do that again. Dividends good, volatility/risk bad. I don’t care about growth. When I start taking Social Security in 10 more months I think I’ll feel wealthy here. I don’t think much will change. I should be able to save more.

    This isn’t for everyone. It’s a long way from home and you’ll probably never learn to speak the language. Good wine, beef and cheese are expensive because they’re imported. I just do without. Anything made here is cheap. The average Thai makes under $300 a month. The cops are crooked. Laws are enforced intermittently. The infrastructure is passable, on the high end of third world. There are frustrations but overall the Thais are laid back. I’ve got all the friends and entertainment here I can handle. Life is very good and the women are beautiful. (There is a book in itself.)

    Let me just touch on some of the other countries in the area. Vietnam is less expensive than Thailand. I was in Saigon for a few weeks and it was too crazy for me but so was Bangkok. I’ve heard the beaches are nice but the infrastructure is a step down. A big step down is Cambodia but it is cheap and there are some beautiful places. One could easily retire here on $1000/mo. Both Cambodia and Vietnam are relatively safe, Thailand being the safest. I would feel safe walking down a dark street in Bangkok at 3 AM. What American city can you say that about? The Philippines are more questionable for me. Guards and guns are everywhere which for me adds a level of paranoia to life. It is significantly less expensive than Thailand. The beaches are beautiful and you can find a comfortable retirement there. Manila I’ve heard is awful for crime. I was comfortable in Cebu in the south. Malaysia is a beautiful country. It’s little more expensive than Thailand with a better infrastructure. It’s a liberal Muslim country. It is probably the friendliest to expats. There are some nice perks to retirement as opposed to Thailand which makes you jump through hoops.

    Obviously, I prefer Thailand. It has the right combination of laid back atmosphere (Buddhism is the key), costs and beauty that is tough to beat. It took some courage to make the move but I’ve never looked back. Just bought a ticket to return for Thanksgiving, the first time back in 2½ years. I’m looking forward to it, but I live here now. It can be done.
     
  2. gracer

    gracer Senior Investor

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    I guess many Westerners are now considering retiring in a place where their money can be maximized and South East Asia is one of the destinations to go to. The value of the Dollar increases when used here in South East Asia so a person can really make the most out of his/her money if he/she stays here. There will be adjustments with the way of life and culture but once you get used to it you'll be living a comfortable retired life.
     
  3. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    I'm glad it's working out for you. I have also been considering that, nothing to do with retirement but I work abroad anyway and my employer doesn't care where I live. So with the same salary I could definitely have a more luxurious lifestyle outside of Europe. Philippines are not bad at all if you live away from the bigger cities, I also know a few guys who live in Sri Lanka temporarily and they are quite happy with it. Thailand is the "main" destination though and that shows in the price... as well as I think you find yourself to be surrounded by quite a few expats... that can be a good or bad thing depending on how you see it.

    Overall it's definitely something to consider if you don't have too many family ties (grandchildren?) to worry about.
     
  4. pwarbi

    pwarbi Senior Investor

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    I also think that it's definitely something to consider, the trouble is a lot of people will have friends and family around and it will be a massive upheaval, even if it does make financial sense.

    By the time most people get set to retire, they won't want to uproot their life to another part of the world, no matter how tempting it might be.
     
  5. Corzhens

    Corzhens Senior Investor

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    When my father in law came home from his long stay in the US (as an American citizen), he had a pension of more than $1,000. Since has a house here, his only expenses were the day to day basics like food, utilities and miscellaneous. He said that even if his pension was only half of what he was receiving, the money would be more than enough for him. He was 82 at that time and had plans of staying here for good just because of the financial aspect. However, he may have realized the pollution, hot climate and security and peace and order concerns so he went back to the US.
     
  6. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Security is a big issue in a lot of these countries. Not only physical security but also how to make sure that you don't get scammed since you are not familiar with the local customs and the local way of doing things.
     
  7. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I've had lots of fun in SE Asia... :D

    But I don't know about ever living there.
     
  8. norms options

    norms options Well-Known Member

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    I have heard a lot of discussion on both sides of the argument concerning retiring outside the US. Whether it is SE Asia, South America, Central America or wherever, there are a lot of folks who are really excited about using this strategy to help their retirement dollars stretch further. I can say that the concept is very enticing when you consider that you can at least double the value of your money and live in a tropical climate with palm trees and nice beaches. However, you really need to do your homework before moving your whole life to a foreign country. As a few have mentioned here, there are some safety issues that can really put you in a bad situation if you are not familiar with the area, not to mention language barriers and exchange rates if they use different money.
     
  9. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    The best way to solve most of those issues is to simply visit the area properly before even considering moving. For example, rent out a place for 3-4 months and go live there and see how you like it. A small vacation won't be enough since you will probably feel and act more like a tourist, and that is not how you will be living like if staying there permanently.

    If the short few month "tryout" goes well, then it's time to start seriously considering making the leap. I've tried to do the above with quite a few European countries simply because I haven't figured out where I want to settle down yet. :D
     
  10. Corzhens

    Corzhens Senior Investor

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    For the adventurous, I'd say Asia is a good place to retire but you should be prepared to adjust to the new environment. By the way, all the siblings of my husband are in the US as legal migrants. Only my husband is left here because he didn't want to live in America (he had been there for 7 months). His siblings seem to have adjusted easily in the life there because there are so many benefits - feeling of security regarding peace and order, good salary, social security benefits, high standard of living and many other plus factors against living in the Philippines.
     

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