If you could retire early and live anywhere - where would it be?

muddyl

I'm a long way off retiring yet, but if I had the choice I'd certainly move out of the uk.

I think the cost of living and housing is too high.

I also think the the economy and work opportunities are dwindling and often think my children could have a better future in the likes of Australia or Canada. My two oldest kids don't have a clue what they want to do as every trade they look at seems to be struggling and they don't see the point in passing a driving test when they probably won't be able to insure or fuel a car.

As mentioned before, I'd miss the seasons, but what I would not miss is the total unpredictability of the British weather. It makes it very hard to plan anything as we don't really seem to have a summer anymore, total pot luck as to wether you'll have a nice day or not.

In fantasy land I'd wait for the eldest to finish his GCSE's in a year then all go to Quebec or similar.

[Deleted User]

Western Canada - Alberta. Breathtaking scenery, friendly people, lots of space:j

PompeyPete

UK sucks.
But so does most of the rest of the world.
But sucking is often about getting sucked in.
The honeymoon period will soon be over.
And the nightmare often lasts for a whole lot longer.
I've done it, but escaped relatively financially unscathed.

Take a look at the Republic of Cyprus.
It was one way traffic not long since for would be expats.
Now the place is full of For Sale signs, and people desperate to leave but can't afford to until their property has been sold.
Have a good look at the discussion forum on https://www.cyprusliving.org
Have a look at https://www.cyprusmail.com
A few years ago life was pretty good out there.
But not no more.
And that's pretty much the case anywhere these days.

travellerboy

annie1975 wrote: »

So by going to warmer cilimes (in retirement)would save an absolute fortune in itself.

I love Great Britain, the best place on earth, thats why we have so many bloody immigrants. When you retire medical care is of critical importance and we have the best.

814man

This thread seems to have gone off track a bit. I suspect the OP was simply thinking of dreaming on a cold winter day in the UK about where you would like to be.
Most people then recall a favorite holiday in the sun and imagine they would retire there to live out their days in the warm glow etc etc.
A number of posters have of course correctly identified that its not so simple as moving and there are a lot of considerations to research first. For anyone seriously considering such a move, then you need to do a lot more research than a thread on MSE.
I posted earlier about my plans to move to Belize which I have researched extensively including all the essential elements such as finance, property rights, inheritance and of course medical.
The one overriding thought that I have about it is to remember that the difference between a holiday and living in a location will be the way you interact with the local community. As has been mentioned there are some holiday areas where it may not be either safe or desirable to live locally and not all communities welcome retired people.
But when you find somewhere that does fit all your needs don't ignore your dreams, you only have one life, don't reach the end of it regretting that you didn't give it a go.

PompeyPete

814. That username, and your love of Belize makes me think 814 was one of your old Naval Air Squadrons?
Sound advice too!

sillygoose

I am thinking Romania now, apparently it will be deserted (cheap housing prices) and dead cheap living within 18 months as most the population will be here camped outside the benefits offices.

BritAbroad

So right, 814man. So many people seem to think that living overseas is an extended holiday, which is absolute rubbish. Aside from the practicalities, the culture shock of living overseas is huge and it can be extraordinarily difficult or even impossible to fit in. I live in the US and the overall cost of living in my state is way more expensive than in the UK for the basics - I'm talking housing, utilities, healthcare, food, etc rather than luxuries.

slinga

I retired at 50 15 years ago and we split our time 6 months 6 months between UK and a small country mentioned once above but not in a really positive way.

The two countries suit us perfectly and we can't think of anything else we'd rather do or be.

15 years ago the UK was much more expensive than our other home.
Totally opposite now but we are still happy.

chucknorris

We are probably about 5-10 years away from retirement and have just started looking at the Algarve and Spain. But probably only to live there from November to March/April, who knows if we do end up there and really like it, we may move over there permanantly.