Moving to another country from the US

[cvanbrunt]

We are working on an international retirement plan. Costa Rica, Panama, and Portugal are tops on our list for all the reasons people have posted already. Some places in Mexico are still on the list but Belize no longer is. To my surprise, Uruguay is an interesting possibility but Columbia is off the list. We got started thinking about it by subscribing to/joining International Living. It's helpful for getting started but know going in they try to sell lots of services but the information is great. I've also started the process of getting citizenship by descent in Germany for myself and my girls. This country is a sh%tsh*w and it isn't going to change. I want them to have options and is also why I'm pushing college overseas. They are totally on board leaving the country ASAP so that helps us take the research and process seriously and my husband is always looking for jobs that will take us abroad. I suggest International Living Magazine to start.

[robinsmommy]

OP, have you checked to make sure that you or DH don't qualify for citizenship somewhere? You would be surprised how remote some of the connections can be to qualify for some countries. War brides who moved to the US, being born somewhere else, descent? Sometimes it can be a generation or two away and still work. And if one of you gets it, usually the kids can as well.

[niccig]

Of your list I think NZ would have the biggest barriers. I believe, like Australia, they have age hurdles after which they won't let you relocate there and need local employment. If you are retiring and can show a certain asset level that assures them you will never need their local services, I think it is still possible but the financial requirement for NZ is a lot higher I think than CR or Portugal. They do not want people taking jobs from locals or needing their health services etc as they age. This is all just word of mouth based on friends who wanted to relocate there and found they missed their window and couldn't meet the higher financial hurdle to come in on a retirement visa.

Good luck!

Yes this is right for NZ and Australia. You need to have a enough money to show you won’t usual local social services or health care, or get work sponsor to get a work visa. DS and I are Australian citizens so we can move to Australia or New Zealand without any issues. We just pack up. As Australian citizens we can live in NZ too, we just indicate that upon arrival and we get a residency visa. DH would have to apply for a spousal visa beforehand for both countries.

We haven’t moved because of work. DH can’t work at his level in either country. DS is talking about going into a similar field as DH. There are work opportunities there, just more limited due to smaller size of the industry.

Both countries aren’t cheap places to live for housing or food. Taxes are high but then you don’t have same health insurance issues as here. Pace of life is different too.

You’re also a long way from everywhere else in the world so travel is more involved.

Would we move? DH loves NZ so maybe we should consider it for retirement - though it would be too far if DS stayed here in the US


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[JustMe]

Thanks everyone!

So, NZ doesn't seem like a great option - unless I get a job there- I think I am just under the age max. but still, maybe I will focus on other countries.

Marinkitty, that's great you have a house in Portugal. Hmmn, opening a tourist business in Costa Rica may be something to consider; although I know there woud be a lot to learn/and to feel like I could be successful.

Cvanbrunt - thanks for the International Living magazine recommedation. I plan to subscribe! Panama and Uruguay sound interesting too!

People asked about Mexico and Bellize. I could consider either of these as well; Costa Rica does seem more popular with people who still need to work (maybe internet is better; I dontr know), but more popular isnt necessarily better.

I wouldnt qualify for citizenship anywhere other than Israel. My grandparents were from Ukraine and possibly Russia (somewhere in that area), so not possibilities for me.

I am not sure about what makes sense for us as far as time frame; sooner rather than later seems better. Waiting until I can retire seems too long, but as I said, it is a weird time as far as dd is currently in community college and dd would start college here in 2024...I think neither dd and I are that attached to her staying with her community college, but it makes sense if we stay. Ds and college seems like a bigger deal as I would be deciding he would not go to college here, I think ( could not do international student fees and, as I said, dont really see keeping my house if we do this, but maybe) As far as living both places, each part of the year; i dont know if that would work right now; kids need to be in some kind of school and I think I would likely need to sell my house to move. Of course, there is the idea of renting my house out, but being a landlord is not something I think I am able to do well - unless a property mgt co could handle everything, but probably not.

[nfceagles]

I have researched it somewhat but always find it nearly impossible. I can’t remember why exactly but I crossed Australia and NZ off as not being possible. I also found that I couldn’t qualify for Canada. It’s a point system there and once I hit 47 years old I couldn’t get enough points without having a company sponsor DH or I for a job.

The two biggest issues I run into are: 1) DH wants to retire but for many places he would need a company to sponsor him for a visa which negates the retirement. 2) At 14 and 17, they will be adults soon and after that they wouldn’t be able to come without qualifying for a visa in their own right. I’m struggling with them not being able to join us if they needed to. We lived in the UK for a year recently and when the pandemic hit I had several American friends there whose college age students were sent “home”. They came to stay with their parents in the UK but they were technically overstaying tourist visas. They couldn’t work. Fortunately, due to the pandemic, the govt officially allowed exemptions but I don’t know if I can solely reside somewhere that my kids aren’t qualified to join me. Even if we moved the kids to the UK today, they wouldn’t be dependents long enough to qualify for permanent status. They could get student visas to go to college there, but those don’t last after they graduate. We would love to split our time during retirement between the US and the UK, but immigration issues don’t make it easy at all. Portugal seems to have some of the most affordable Golden Visas, but then it comes back to the kids. We’d need enough assets to get them Golden Visas too.

I have also considered Hawaii as an alternative. I know it isn’t a foreign country and it’s very expensive. But I’m allowed to live there and it seems possibly far enough removed from things going on here.


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[heatherlynn]

I haven't read all the replies, but I've been seriously considering this as well. My youngest will graduate in 2 years, so I could move after that. It's a little daunting as I'm single so doing it alone scares me a bit. I'm really nervous about the cost of medical care as I get older and just the cost of living here in general.

[sariana]

I have researched it somewhat but always find it nearly impossible. I can’t remember why exactly but I crossed Australia and NZ off as not being possible. I also found that I couldn’t qualify for Canada. It’s a point system there and once I hit 47 years old I couldn’t get enough points without having a company sponsor DH or I for a job.

The two biggest issues I run into are: 1) DH wants to retire but for many places he would need a company to sponsor him for a visa which negates the retirement. 2) At 14 and 17, they will be adults soon and after that they wouldn’t be able to come without qualifying for a visa in their own right. I’m struggling with them not being able to join us if they needed to. We lived in the UK for a year recently and when the pandemic hit I had several American friends there whose college age students were sent “home”. They came to stay with their parents in the UK but they were technically overstaying tourist visas. They couldn’t work. Fortunately, due to the pandemic, the govt officially allowed exemptions but I don’t know if I can solely reside somewhere that my kids aren’t qualified to join me. Even if we moved the kids to the UK today, they wouldn’t be dependents long enough to qualify for permanent status. They could get student visas to go to college there, but those don’t last after they graduate. We would love to split our time during retirement between the US and the UK, but immigration issues don’t make it easy at all. Portugal seems to have some of the most affordable Golden Visas, but then it comes back to the kids. We’d need enough assets to get them Golden Visas too.

I have also considered Hawaii as an alternative. I know it isn’t a foreign country and it’s very expensive. But I’m allowed to live there and it seems possibly far enough removed from things going on here.


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Hawaii is an interesting suggestion. What about one of the US territories? Guam, PI, Virgin Islands?

[AngB]

When DH was in the military we were stationed in the Azores (a group of small islands about 900 miles off the coast of Portugal but territory of Portugal...) for 2 years. Granted, this was not actual Portugal, and was almost 20 years ago, and we were very young (like 19 and 22) ...but we HATED it. I think being much older now I would have appreciated it more, and granted the only part of mainland Portugal I saw was the Lisbon airport(overnight though so I was there a long time) but it was pretty similar to the island we were on...I just remember it being so so dirty, people walking around smoking *everywhere* even in the airport (this was 2004ish), and the island as a whole was a totally different pace of life. Like things just randomly close in the middle of the day for the heck of it. Or on Mondays. Or just whatever random day. It seemed like schools only were in session for a couple hours a day a few days a week. It reminds me of places in the US now *with the labor shortages*/covid but like was just the pace of life there...."our store is just randomly closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays". Healthcare on island was not good. One of my coworkers had a baby in the local (Azores) hospital and even epidurals weren't an option there. The military shipped people off for any procedures (and not to Portugal, either Spain or Germany.)

[mmsmom]

Something else to consider is the cost of living, taxes and healthcare in the countries you are considering. I know we all hear about healthcare and other benefits being better in other countries but it comes with a high tax rate. Or, if you go somewhere like Mexico where cost of living is low but healthcare not as good would you be able to return to US if needed for surgery or other procedures?

I also want to pick up and go but it’s just not realistic for me with my kids ages and other family I need to be close to. I hope when I retire I can have a 2nd home in another country at least.

[AnnieW625]

Something else to consider is the cost of living, taxes and healthcare in the countries you are considering. I know we all hear about healthcare and other benefits being better in other countries but it comes with a high tax rate. Or, if you go somewhere like Mexico where cost of living is low but healthcare not as good would you be able to return to US if needed for surgery or other procedures?

I also want to pick up and go but it’s just not realistic for me with my kids ages and other family I need to be close to. I hope when I retire I can have a 2nd home in another country at least.

Yes to this (except the second home comment….I doubt that will ever be a reality). Dh will never consider retiring in Mexico (he won’t even visit now due to the issues they have there) and we probably can’t afford to retire outside of the US and Mexico is about all we could afford; maybe the Philippines but I don’t know the language and I would hate the weather. It also isn’t appealing to live in a country where you can’t even drink the water (Mexico….I think the Philippines is fine). We cannot leave the US and even California due to our jobs (we are state govt. employees) as Dh is not 100% remote, and even though I technically could work out of state my employer says it is against the telecommute rules now and if we were to ever go back to the office in any capacity I would be responsible for all travel costs.

TBH if you think you can do it then do it. I don’t see any harm in voicing that opinion here….you clearly are not in the minority.


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