Retiring to Vietnam to be upper middle class for only $1,000 x month?

[mike carey]

If you want to continue wider conversations, I've started this thread.

 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Moving to a poor country to live better than your neighbors is like choosing to take remedial classes in school so you can be the smartest student in the class.  You'll get by just fine; but, are you really living your best life?

Edited June 5, 2024 by Vegas_Millennial
Added semicolon

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

23 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Moving to a poor country to live better than your neighbors is like choosing to take remedial classes in school so you can be the smartest student in the class.  You'll get by just fine, but are you really living your best life?

But this discussion isn't about moving to a poor country and trying to live better than your neighbors.

It's about having a good, personal quality of life for the money you have saved.

If you've traveled enough, you know that there are many places with a lower income range that still have an incredible standard of living.  

[Guest MikeThomas]

On 6/4/2024 at 8:43 PM, nycman said:

Nor should they.

I think it’s amazing when people think they can just move into community and be treated like a "local".

That’s not how it works. 

I agree.  I certainly didn't mean to imply they should.

[pubic_assistance]

On 6/4/2024 at 8:05 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

To me, it's an incredibly (entitled, funny, odd) American behavior to expect the entire world to speak English.  

30 years ago.. yeah

Today you can easily get that impression because English is the default tourist language throughout the world.

I am often shocked at the ease with which you can find English spoken even in the most remote corners if they want to promote their tourism.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

20 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

30 years ago.. yeah

Today you can easily get that impression because English is the default tourist language throughout the world.

I am often shocked at the ease with which you can find English spoken even in the most remote corners if they want to promote their tourism.

Expectation is different than happenstance.

Americans- especially untraveled ones- think if they just speak English loudly, they will be accomodated.

I see it on a routine basis. 

I also kinda love it when cultures (French, South American, MX, Asian) don't just roll over and placate.

[marylander1940]

On 6/5/2024 at 10:23 AM, mike carey said:

If you want to continue wider conversations, I've started this thread.

 

 

 

 

[nomad]

I know a former Belami star that is doing this.  He left Budapest about a year ago and moved to Thailand.  He travels occasionally to other places for work but is based in Thailand with his girlfriend.  He saved enough to buy a small apartment recently.  Has really gotten into Muay Thai and slimmed down a lot from all the cardio related to it.  Working out well so far for him.  Happy for him.

[Whoisyourdaddy]

I love the idea of living like a king for a long period rather than occasionally. I definitely see the appeal.

However, I can see the medical disadvantages as we get older

[Bargara Leatherboy]

As Australians who holidayed in Bali a lot, we often thought that we would like to retire there.

Medically the hospitals seemed great, but when you investigated - you would not want to be sick and in any Bali hospital - (even the international medical centres developed for the tourist trade).

While an expat visa looked good, you had to prove income, AND hire one local on a full time wage. ($300 per month) they would drive for you, cook, clean and garden.  Plus they would shop in the local market for you at local price not expat price.

Then you looked at rental properties, most were on a 10 year lease, and it was expected that you paid the 10 year lease up front ( no refund if you did not stay the 10 years) .  Bearing in mind that your expat visa lasts for 5 years and you can only hope it will be renewed so you can live out your lease ....

Banjar fees. (local council). the local Banjar required taxes or fees to be paid monthly - this was to ensure that you got decent treatment and were not black listed, for services .

Medical insurance, plus the need to fly to Singapore or Australia for any decent medical treatment.

When you add all of this up- it was easier to stay in Australia and take long holidays ....

[nomad]

8 hours ago, Bargara Leatherboy said:

As Australians who holidayed in Bali a lot, we often thought that we would like to retire there.

There is a growing expat community there that stay for extended periods of time 2-4+ months.  Created a mini community within itself where they have skills and services that help serve each other including escorting.  Remote work started this but it seems to be evolving with all the influencers chasing places with content creation. 

[BSR]

I do wonder how long the sexy content creator in the original post ends up staying in Vietnam.  I honestly can’t imagine staying in a foreign country for the rest of my life without being fluent in the local language, and I mean true fluency — like you can give directions on how to assemble an IKEA bookshelf from first step to last, not “I can order pizza in Vietnamese” fluency.  Since I have no desire to commit so completely to learning Vietnamese, if I had to choose between retiring like a king in Vietnam and living as a frugal retiree in the US, frugality here I come.

My stay of 1 month in Manila has turned into 13 months.  While I’m making the best of it, I just don’t see myself living here for the rest of my life.  Even though most Filipinos speak English, I’d have to (re)learn Tagalog if I wanted to retire here, and I just don’t see that happening.  Many retirees welcome the chance to learn a new language.  With all their newfound free time, they are happy to take on the challenge and keep their mind active.  While I can certainly understand that point of view, if I ever had to relearn Tagalog … I’d rather shoot my toe off.

[Rudynate]

On 5/25/2024 at 8:31 PM, BSR said:

If you're seriously interested in retiring in Peru, language isn't much of a barrier.  A bit of googling showed a number of Spanish language schools in Lima, at least one of which has a DELE-certified teaching staff (DELE = Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language, the internationally recognized certification of Spanish language level).  You'd be surprised by how quickly your Spanish becomes good enough to get by day-to-day.  Of course, fluency will take longer, but rest assured that DELE-certified teachers will help you get there.

Skimming over the American expat's other videos, I gather that he has a Vietnamese-American girlfriend (gay4pay? *fingerscrossed*).  Apparently he knows a little Vietnamese, and then he always has his girlfriend to translate if necessary. 

Plenty of expats are just fine living the rest of their lives knowing only enough to get by in the local language.  I couldn't do it because I'd eventually feel too isolated.  But if you're OK with it, you certainly have plenty of options for countries to retire in.

I

Several years ago, I went to Germany for an intensive German course at the Goethe Institut.  I was amazed at how rapidly I improved when immersed in the language.

[nomad]

6 hours ago, Rudynate said:

Several years ago, I went to Germany for an intensive German course at the Goethe Institut.  I was amazed at how rapidly I improved when immersed in the language.

Language is definitely something you need to use to improve or it fades quickly.  If you live in an environment where you don't have the chance to speak with other people regularly, it becomes a challenge to retain it.  Even more so for writing in that language.