I think most of us Americans have been programmed to believe that we will need at least a million dollars to retire comfortably. What does this mean for so many of us who either lost our fortunes along the way or simply never tapped into a decent retirement program? Are we supposed to keep working forever? Is this what happened to the smiling seniors who politely bag my groceries at Lunds supermarkets in the Twin Cities? This question- and a million other ones - ran through my head constantly as I moved through the year 2010. And all this time I continued to see the "teasers" on the Internet about how one could retire comfortably in a number of countries on just Social Security. At some point, I clicked on one of the Internet ads for articles and books about afforable retirement options. And they say that curiousity killed the cat!
A number of the articles and Internet postings posed the question of "what would YOU do with the extra 40 hours of time each week that retiring from your job would give to you"? My reaction was an instant blissful fantasy of what I would be able to do with the 50 to 60 hours per week it would mean to me. To FINALLY have more time to do all the things I like to do but never seem to have the time and/or energy to do? I first read a couple of the Internet articles posted by ... -- a woman who has traveled to and lived in a number of foreign countries over the past .. years or so. As I read about possibilities in countries like Belize, Nicaragua, Pamama and Thailand, I became increasingly excited. Perhaps there were alternatives to the standard American dream of a "comfortable" retirement in Arizona or Florida afterall? My next step was to purchase --- and start reading -- a couple of the myriad of books available on the subject. After reading several chapters of ... it dawned on me that as intriguing as this adventure seemed to be --- it was going to be a lot of work! But if it enabled me to finally get off that damn treadmill I would definitely have to check it out!
As I read more about the various options for living a more afforable life in a number of foreign countries with fabulous weather year round, I began to formulate my own "list" of preferences. Based on my personal circumstances, I had three primary requirements. First and foremost, my ultimate destination would have to be close enough to the USA to allow me to travel home to see my kids frequently. This eliminated several destinations in Asia and Europe which sounded fantastic, and pretty much pointed me toward Central America. Many Americans don't realize that all of the Central American countries are closer to the US than New York City is to Los Angeles! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the following international airports are surprisingly close to Minneapolis:
Belize City, Belize:
Managua, Nicaragua:
Panama City, Panama:
San Juan, Costa Rica:
My second requirement was to have fabulous weather with great beaches in particular and other highlights such as mountains for hiking and other outdoor activities. Being a great lover of the outdoors -- but not particularly kiler winters -- and having lived through about 60 Minnesota winters -- I was looking for a radical change of pace. Although each country in Central America has a wide variety of different climates, zones and physical ... I realized that with a little investigation I might just be able to find my dream destination in terms of climate, weather and physical...
Finally, my third requirement was to find a destination where the cost of living was significantly lower that in the USA, and where my meagre Social Security earnings-- becoming available to me as of my 62nd birthday -- would enable me to live (fairly) comfortably. The books and articles I read explained in great deal how this is possible-- in many cases breaking out typical monthly budgets line-by-line. Although significant differences exist from country-to-country relative to food, transportation and entertainment, without a doubt the paramount expense item to be dealt is going to be housing. Someone with a nest egg has the option of purchasing property on any of these countries, which sets in motion an entirely different world of possbilities not avaialble to some one without a nest egg. In each of the countries mentioned- and in the various regions of each country -- there are many different real estate stories. Usually, people in any place you visit will tell you stories like: "If only you had bought property here five or ten years ago, you would be wealthy now." The great real estate rush is over in some countries. In other countries it is apparently just beginning. And the only way to find out is to jump on an airplane and check it out!
But-- I digress. I don't have the money to invest in real estate. However, since -- in a prior life I was a real estate lawyer and could possibly help someone else make a smart investment-- who knows? For the time being I intend to first explore the options in the various countries for renting an affordable but clean and safe place. The books I mentioned are helpful, but the only way to really learn about renting real estate in Central America is to visit each prospective destination and start looking. That's about to happen-- and I will be writing about my "big adventure" -- starting in Belize (via Cancun and Tulum) -- in this blog!
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