Anyone thinking of retiring abroad or long winter holidays abroad?

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  • bostonerimus
    bostonerimus Posts: 5,617 Forumite
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    edited 7 May 2018 at 5:08PM
    atush wrote: »
    We will do this, only to Florida as i am american and have a small house there.

    My only real problem will be health insurance.

    If you are a US citizen you will qualify for Medicare when you reach 65. If you don't have 40 quarters of Medicare tax payments you'll pay an increased premium.
    “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
  • ggmf
    ggmf Posts: 794 Forumite
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    Found this http://www.laterlife.com/ in the Travel section there are articles and ideas for long stay holidays.
    2 Separate arrays, 7 x JASolar 380w panels (2.66kWp) south facing, 4 x JASolar 380w panels (1.52kWp) east facing, 11 x Tigo optimizers & cloud, Growatt SPH5000, Growatt 6.5kWh Hybrid battery (Go-live 01/12/21) - Additional reporting via Solar Assistant.
  • bouncydog1
    bouncydog1 Posts: 2,696 Forumite
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    Definitely on our radar for 5 years time. We have decided against buying and will probably take 2-3 month rentals. We are quite laid back about holidays now. We normally start off at a base in France and see what the weather is like. Sometimes we!!!8217;ll drive to Spain, other times just other parts of France. Problem will be the cats unless I get someone in to house sit for 6 months at a time!
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,105 Forumite
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    We've been caravanning in France / Spain for 3 weeks in September / October for the last 3 years with our dog. We've spoken to a lot of people who are motorhoming for the winter, living between the UK and Spain or living full-time in Spain.

    My view is it has a limited lifespan. I've met lots of people who have motorhomed for 6-7-8 years, but very few who have done it over 10. Last year I met a couple who had homes in both Spain and England and a motorhome and they had been travelling for 18 years, but that is an exception.

    We took a long crossing to Bilbao last year and heard several couples saying they were fed-up of the journey and were thinking about selling up in Spain.

    We've looked at property in the South of France at the Med, but it gets quite cold in the winter. If we hit retirement in good health we'll probably get a motorhome and tour most of the winter but are resigned to the idea it wont work long-term.
  • worried_jim
    worried_jim Posts: 11,631 Forumite
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    I'm selling up at 55 here in Brighton, moving back to Leicester and swapping my two bed flat for a three bed detached house and a two bed apartment in Turkey. That's me out the rat race then. Glad I started pension saving at 20. Might get a Porsche too.
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 15,578 Ambassador
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    No, we have no intention of upping sticks and moving abroad for winters. We have 2 young granddaughters and help with childcare and I personally don't actually mind the winter here in the UK. Mind you it is normally fairl mild down here in the south west. Sometimes we have had lovely sunny days in February and November and it is nice to do some touristy spots without the tourists we get in the summer.
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  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,726 Forumite
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    bostonerimus wrote: »
    If you are a US citizen you will qualify for Medicare when you reach 65. If you don't have 40 quarters of Medicare tax payments you'll pay an increased premium.

    I dont have 40 quarters, and the increased premium is eyewatering.

    I'll visit the doctor, stock up on prescriptions, and get any tests done before I go each year I guess.
  • bostonerimus
    bostonerimus Posts: 5,617 Forumite
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    atush wrote: »
    I dont have 40 quarters, and the increased premium is eyewatering.

    I'll visit the doctor, stock up on prescriptions, and get any tests done before I go each year I guess.

    .....it's not much if you compare it to what you'd have to pay outside of Medicare. The premium will go up by 10% for each year you don't activate it too. So I would make sure you have some travel insurance to cover emergencies and repatriation to the UK......you don't want to be consuming US healthcare without insurance.
    “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
  • ShonaB
    ShonaB Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited 9 May 2018 at 11:09AM
    We're moving to Ireland next month :) easy cheap quick flights home and wonderful place to live - just need to work out best money and healthcare options. Still pretty welcoming for UK folks for the time being.

    oh and easy to stick the dogs in the car for return trips, too :)
  • parcival
    parcival Posts: 949 Forumite
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    We had 4 weeks in Spain from the middle of Feb to the middle of March. We play golf and rented an apartment on a golf complex near Almeria.


    The weather was good - very little rain and a lot of sunshine. The coldest day was 14 degrees but it was shorts weather generally. It got cold at night but we had effective heating.


    We were self catering and found prices to be a bit cheaper than the UK.


    We had a cheap flight with Easyjet and rented a car which was also cheap (9 euro's a day)


    Will be doing same next winter but for 8 weeks but might drive down through France.
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