Is retiring abroad still a popular option for people?

bluenose1

We seriously considered downsizing and having a property in the UK and a property in Portugal or Spain. Though the more I read the advice was to have one main residence and take long holidays or you have 2 sets of bills and expenses. 
We are currently moving to the coast in the UK, though with the weather at moment Spain seems much more appealing. The couple we are buying from go abroad for 6 weeks over winter which seems very appealing at the moment. 

Ganga

My wife and i enjoy watching holiday programs,ie Bargain loving brits in the sun,etc and would like to live in the sun  but the truth is we are to old,i am 69 years old and did not retire till i was 66,we often take 4 to 5 holidays a year mostley to the Med or Egypt but i think if people are going to move to the sunshine  they should do it as soon as possible age wise.
The down side to living in a caravan park in Benidorm according to my wife after watching it on tv is that people would drink themselves to death

NedS

steampowered said:

When thinking about Spain/Portugal, you have to bear in mind that the rights which people have to move and work in other European countries will reduce due to Brexit. 

It is actually pretty difficult to get a visa to move to most countries as a retired person. You generally would not get a visa to move to the UK from a non-EU country as a retired person unless you are married to a UK citizen or get an investment visa. Nearly all countries want immigrants to be young, fit, working, paying taxes and not using social security/healthcare.

Exactly the same applies to the US, Canada and Asian countries.

After the financial crisis, Portugal were crying out for retired people to settle there, as they realised those people are often wealthy (or at least have some wealth), and are going to spend it in the local communities in which they live. So much so, Portugal was offering tax breaks for pensioners whereby pension income was tax free, thus putting even more spending power in their pockets to spend in the local community in which they live. I'm not sure how Brexit has affected this situation, but I certainly remember working out on the back of an envelope how much tax I would save if I could access my pension savings tax free in retirement - probably enough to pay for a property in Portugal.

DairyQueen

lilysmum0151 said:

 Brexit is obviously a major spanner in the works, but I can see us rejoining fairly quickly once the reality really strikes those currently wearing rose-tinted specs! Thankfully, I am still approx 10yrs off even semi-retirement so there is time yet for it to be ironed out. 

Oh the optimism of the young.

I was 13 when we joined the EU. I am now 60. Do the maths.

BoJo is determined to stay in power for the next decade. Even if he's a one-term PM the chances of (re)joining the EU anytime in the next few decades, and especially after the collective pain of the last years, is remote-to-zero.

I think you may be the one wearing the rose-tinted specs.

Triumph13

@Ganga a friend of ours just moved to France at 69 on her own so it's not too late!
We too drool over foreign properties, but I can't imagine us actually buying one until about that age as we really want to travel around and see lots of different places rather than tying ourselves down to just the one - plus all the costs and hassles of ownership.
Once the kids are off our hands the plan is similar to @crabby - summer and Xmas here, tour in the autumn and spring.  What we are struggling to decide between is a smaller camper and spend half the time in gites / cottages or a slightly bigger one that we use all the time.  Decisions, decisions.

Linton

ISTM the big problem with retiring abroad is that at some stage you will probably want to, or have to, return to the UK.  You do not want to be in frail in your 80's and having to organise and finance the move back especially if you have insufficient money.  The return should be part of your retirement planning.

swindiff

My plan is to holiday abroad out of season when it is cheap, maybe camper van around Europe and winters somewhere like Teneriffe where the climate is nice all year round.  I would hope to have a couple of months at least away each year.  I would not want to purchase a foreign property and tie myself to staying in the same place all the time

Crabby

@Triumph13, vans are a personal thing, what suits us might not suit you, best to hire the various sizes for long weekends to see how you get on before committing to buy. Also a visit to the NEC motorhomes show is a must. But don't be swayed by the sales patter.

Nebulous2

Crabby said:

@Triumph13, vans are a personal thing, what suits us might not suit you, best to hire the various sizes for long weekends to see how you get on before committing to buy. Also a visit to the NEC motorhomes show is a must. But don't be swayed by the sales patter.

Very much a personal thing. Different layouts, sizes, priorities. Like cars and houses they are a series of compromises. It’s good to get a trial in whatever you intend to buy to see if it suits. 

A fixed bed is a huge priority for my wife, and a garage big enough to keep my bikes inside away from the rain was a priority for me. Fortunately the two generally go together. After going round and round in circles we’ve ended up with a twin-axle caravan with a fixed bed, towed by a van which is big enough for the bikes. 

Add an ACSI card and that’s all we need - roll on my pension!

[Deleted User]

I am old and my fella Is 45. He suffers from terrible arthritis. Im already retired ( at 48) 
Id like to do this ASAP in view of my age, but the plan at the mo is when he is 55- he retires and buys a place in Spain for 6 months over the winter with his lump sum and Mesher on divorced house sold and we have my house for the summer