Challenges of Moving Countries for Retirement or Employment

[+ Italiano]

On 7/10/2026 at 5:00 PM, sutherland said:

I just retired and, for some time, I was looking at Playa del Carmen.  I have yet to go there but I've recently been told 1) beach is full of sargassum, and it smells terrible 2) not much to do.  So, I'm looking for a warm climate with all the offerings of a big city - do you think Mexico City is the right place?  I speak Spanish very well

I just came back from 10 days working in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. WOW! Such a BEAUTIFUL small city! Many Americans retired there, there are plenty of GREAT restaurants and more than decent social and cultural activities. 40 miles from there (but the road is pretty bad, it takes a good 80/90 minutes to drive) there is also Guanajuato, another BEAUTIFUL town.

Playa is VERY overrated now, and in all that area the sargassum has plagued what it used to be a fabulous coastline with amazing beaches.

[marylander1940]

In my honest opinion. most Americans are too close minded, and unable to adapt to move to another country, especially considering most won't do it as a first choice but as something necessary to reach the lifestyle they couldn't achieve in USA

[Rod Hagen]

In this thread The few personal success stories of people retiring to other countries, be they the characters in the posted articles or the future plans of Forum members, seem to be those who either are from those places or have spouses from those places.  In those cases, yes duh it's simple because they're a citizen or the spouse of a citizen, and so whatever healthcare and longterm care exists there is accessible for those individuals.

A friend of mine is American, but his parents were born in Ireland. So he's Irish too.  Fuckhead.  15 years ago he bought a perfect-for-him modernist condo here in LA for not much money at all. 

Now that he's in his 50s, he's looking to the future and decided to fuck off to another country.  Ireland.  He was able to buy a very nice house there for 80k, and so since it's so cheap he can keep his LA condo.  Fuckhead.  So, he can live in Ireland, drink from it's tit as he ages and not have to worry about the complications of foreign healthcare as an Expat cause he's not an Expat, he's also Irish, but he can also fuck off back to the USA and his paidFor condo 20 minutes from Cedars Sinai if he needs to cause he's American as well.  Fuckhead.

For those of us unfortunate Americans without dual citizenship, but dream to live elsewhere, It's naive to think we can just flit off to the states if we need something major, because as we age most significant health concerns start as a crisis, and a crisis doesn't allow you to fly back to Arizona etc to reassess the situation.

So, I still don't understand:  putting the language and family and friends things on hold because they are in fact thing 2 and thing 3, how does one pay for healthcare and eldercare, even if you have a lot of money, if you are American and you don't have citizenship in the host country?  I don't want to let fear keep me from doing something I'd love to do, I never have before (At 22 I flew to Germany without a return ticket and managed to find enough random work, cuckoo clock store and Ski Instructor, that I stayed for a year.  I dropped everything to become an escort 27 years ago, and before that I dropped everything to move to California, knowing no one, for a new Engineering job), but I don't see a way to handle healthcare while living in another country without being a citizen there.  And yet, people do.  HOW?

Edited Sunday at 05:30 PM by Rod Hagen

[Nue2thegame]

1 hour ago, Rod Hagen said:

In this thread The few personal success stories of people retiring to other countries, be they the characters in the posted articles or the future plans of Forum members, seem to be those who either are from those places or have spouses from those places.  In those cases, yes duh it's simple because they're a citizen or the spouse of a citizen, and so whatever healthcare and longterm care exists there is accessible for those individuals.

A friend of mine is American, but his parents were born in Ireland. So he's Irish too.  Fuckhead.  15 years ago he bought a perfect-for-him modernist condo here in LA for not much money at all. 

Now that he's in his 50s, he's looking to the future and decided to fuck off to another country.  Ireland.  He was able to buy a very nice house there for 80k, and so since it's so cheap he can keep his LA condo.  Fuckhead.  So, he can live in Ireland, drink from it's tit as he ages and not have to worry about the complications of foreign healthcare as an Expat cause he's not an Expat, he's also Irish, but he can also fuck off back to the USA and his paidFor condo 20 minutes from Cedars Sinai if he needs to cause he's American as well.  Fuckhead.

For those of us unfortunate Americans without dual citizenship, but dream to live elsewhere, It's naive to think we can just flit off to the states if we need something major, because as we age most significant health concerns start as a crisis, and a crisis doesn't allow you to fly back to Arizona etc to reassess the situation.

So, I still don't understand:  putting the language and family and friends things on hold because they are in fact thing 2 and thing 3, how does one pay for healthcare and eldercare, even if you have a lot of money, if you are American and you don't have citizenship in the host country?  I don't want to let fear keep me from doing something I'd love to do, I never have before (At 22 I flew to Germany without a return ticket and managed to find enough random work, cuckoo clock store and Ski Instructor, that I stayed for a year.  I dropped everything to become an escort 27 years ago, and before that I dropped everything to move to California, knowing no one, for a new Engineering job), but I don't see a way to handle healthcare while living in another country without being a citizen there.  And yet, people do.  HOW?

Good questions but I would respectfully challenge some of your assumptions. Many, if not most health concerns present insidiously as we age, not necessarily a crisis but may require ongoing care. You can return to the US for this type of care but you do need local access abroad for care for accidents, strokes, heart attacks etc.  which is available. Many countries have much more affordable care than the US and comparable or better quality including much of Europe (especially Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal), Costa Rica, New Zealand and Australia. Some require establishing legal residency but that’s a hurdle that many expats have cleared. I have no plans to leave but I have friends without dual citizenship or relatives that have and they have successfully made the transition. It’s all about expectations. 

[MscleLovr]

3 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

I don't see a way to handle healthcare while living in another country without being a citizen there.  And yet, people do.  HOW?

I fear the answer may be simple: many people are optimistic or naive.
They think it - ageing & illness - won’t’ happen to them.
They may also suffer from survivorship bias, as in ‘I know lots of people older than me, and they don’t have serious illnesses’ or ‘my parents both died in their mid-90s so I’ve another 20 years ahead of me’.

Of course, as others have stated, good healthcare is available elsewhere but, as a recent arrival in a foreign country, you may have to pay for it.

A greater problem, I suggest, may be describing your illness or incipient problems and the possible treatments in a foreign language when you fall ill overseas.

[Lotus-eater]

4 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

So, I still don't understand:  putting the language and family and friends things on hold because they are in fact thing 2 and thing 3, how does one pay for healthcare and eldercare, even if you have a lot of money, if you are American and you don't have citizenship in the host country? 

Prior to establishing residency, you can buy private insurance or pay the old-fashioned way, namely, fee-for-service, which is common at private medical clinics and usually affordable by US standards.. However, returning to the U.S. for specialized care not offered locally will be a major hassle if you are not well enough to travel without assistance. 

[+ José Soplanucas]

Do not forget that US health care system is horrible. Many countries have a good to excellent public health care system. 

I have moved to Rio de Janeiro four months ago, and already have my legal residency. I am planning to depend mostly on the pubic health care system (absolutely free) and, in cases when I cannot afford waiting to get an appointment, pay full price to the professional/s. Prices without health insurance are often extremely competitive compared to the US. 

In the case I wanted to enroll in a health care private program, there are standard ones at about 250 bucks monthly, and premium ones at about 500.

Not only professional health care services are affordable, but also medication. Right now, I am taking two pills daily, one for my thyroid and one for my cholesterol. I can buy them in any pharmacy without a medical prescription, cheaper than what I was paying in the US, with a good medical insurance from my job. 

They give away the pills for PrEP and Doxy like candy. Every single boy I am meeting is on PrEP for free. If I wanted to get tested (I am about to have my first experience), all I have to do is to state my need to be tested for STDs. They have instant tests that give you the results in a few minutes. Again, all for free.

Next year I will be turning 65, and will have additionally the option to enroll in Medicare in the US. If I wanted/needed, flying from Rio to the US is easy.

I am meeting people in the expats community here, and often they take advantage of their trips back to the US to connect with family to use their Medicare in American soil.

And I think the same I am saying about Brazil, can be said about many Latin American countries. Sometimes at a higher price, like in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, but always with many high quality alternatives to take care of your health. 

Before making my decision to settle in Brazil, my plan was having Argentina as my base. I was paying the health plan of the Hospital Aleman, an excellent medical institution, at 450 bucks monthly. 

[BonVivant]

My biggest fear about aging is becoming dependent on someone else for my care. But I have no one who will care for me. At least I don’t think so. 

[Bargara Leatherboy]

Whatever decisions you make, the key is to do your due diligence. Maybe rent a house or a villa or a room where you think you want to settle for a few months in the off season to see what life is like away from the summer sun and tourists.

We were based in Sydney Australia - and gave our retirement considerable thought.  We had holidayed in Bali for 25 years, and had considered living there.  Because we had gone to the same resort for those 25 years, we knew the staff, the local shop keepers, the local restaurants etc.  We spoke some of the language and if we lived there we would learn much more.

When we started talking to people who were living there full time the real story came out - the newly built flash looking medical centres and hospitals for the tourists - were next to useless - you had to go to Singapore 3 hrs flight or back to Australia 4 hrs to Perth 6 hours to Sydney or Melbourne for decent surgical care, the rental situation required a rent payment in advance of anything between 1 year to 10 years.  Non refundable if you did not last the distance.

While our money would go a long way, it started to get too hard.

After much research and a must have list we did what we call in Australia a sea change.  We moved to the coast.

We decided on a location, and then looked at real estate.  We discovered an over 50's resort which met all of our needs.  At the time we made serious enquiries, they were planning on building more houses, the resort going from 390 houses to 520, and currently the are building another 120, and that is it - no more land.

So we chose a house design and a block of land and bought off the plan.  We paid a $1000 deposit that was refundable, but locked in our land house design and price.

18 months later our dream house was ready.  In those 18 months we had renovated our Sydney home (during covid) and sold it at the top of the market before a slight decline.   

We got about $1Million AUD for it, and our purchase price was $525 000AUD.  So we made some major money on the transfer.

We then used that money to buy a luxury car, do some extensive international travel, including a world cruise of 121 nights, and decorate our home with all new items.

It is interesting to note here that timing is everything.  In the 18 months it took to build the property values increased by $200 000, and today we would sell for about $1 million - but we are leaving here in wooden boxes.

What did we get for our money, a beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bath home, with a large study area, a large open plan kitchen, butlers pantry, dinner and living area, and a big outside entertainment area, a small garden and a double garage.

we live in a street with great neighbours, the LGBTIQ ratio is about 1 % there is currently no other male couples, but 1 female couple.  Like any village with 850 people in it, not everyone likes us, and we certainly do not like everyone.  But living in the suburbs is not different.

We have found a group of people who we socialise with, an inner circle who we call family, and an outer circle of people we see on a regular basis.  We do pay just over $1000 AUD a month in fees, for the maintenance of the resort, and all the facilities, 4 pools, 1 indoor heated the hot tubs and sauna, gym, cinema, lawn bowls, ten pin bowling alley, craft rooms, woodwork shop , golf simulator 3 club houses and activities that range from yoga, pilates, exercise classes, art groups, knitting groups etc.

we are very happy, we can walk at night as its gated, we feel safe here, we can walk to the beach (and do) and its a great area to live in.

the town we live in is about 10 000 people, great beaches, and we have a town of 100 000 people about 15 km away, and have access to all the medical care we need, specialists, hospitals, etc.  There is some live theatre, art galleries and concerts etc to go to.

The only downfall is the 4 hour drive south to Brisbane,  expensive regional air fares and a lack of variety in restaurants, lots of places to eat, good food but not a lot of variety.

we knew that when we moved - but the key is your due diligence.

We had a great bunch of friends in Sydney, but many had either fallen by the wayside over the years, as friends can do, or moved away for their retirement dream.  when we finished work we knew we would need to start our social life from the start again, by getting involved in the community.  

Today after almost 4 years here, husband is 71 and still doing some part time work, not for the $$ but because he loves what he does, I 65 and fully retired, and we both do things outside the resort.  I play bridge a couple of times a week, and have joined the local orchid society who meet a couple of times a month, Husband is playing lawn bowls In a club in town, so we are both meeting different people and having interests outside the home.  We have met people who we now see socially and share in harvest dinners and special interest dinners at local foodie places, along with drives in the country to country pubs for lunch etc. 

Life is what you make of it, but you have to find strong foundations first.  It is all about community.  you can find that in the cities and you can find it in the smaller towns and countryside.  

 

[MscleLovr]

9 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Before making my decision to settle in Brazil, my plan was having Argentina as my base

As I recall, you’re Argentine. So if you don’t mind giving some details, it would be very interesting for me and others to learn what were the factors that led you to choose Brazil over Argentina.

Edited yesterday at 10:27 AM by MscleLovr

[+ José Soplanucas]

2 hours ago, MscleLovr said:

As I recall, you’re Argentine. So if you don’t mind giving some details, it would be very interesting for me and others to learn what were the factors that led you to choose Brazil over Argentina.

I have always liked Brasil better than Argentina, more specifically Rio de Janeiro over any other Argentine destination. Being both countries part of the Mercosur, Argentines have a fast and simplified residence process. Brasil has a much more stable and reliable economy. I can access my money in the US more easily from Brasil. I am still working part time in the US, Rio de Janeiro is closer to the US. Rio is located closer to the center of South America, making it more convenient to travel around the subcontinent. Rio has GP saunas. The Carioca sexual culture is more enjoyable to me than their Argentine counterparts. Ultimately, Rio has been my happiest place the last 7 years, I wanted to live in my Happy Place. 

[Rod Hagen]

19 hours ago, Nue2thegame said:

Good questions but I would respectfully challenge some of your assumptions. Many, if not most health concerns present insidiously as we age, not necessarily a crisis but may require ongoing care.

Which is why I said "significant"" health concerns.  Those times when you end up in the hospital, because you fell, stroked, whatever, and you're told you have Kidney failure, partial paralysis, whatever, those kind of significant events don't leave room for going back to the America to reassess, that was what I was getting at.  What I didn't say is that while home healthcare is probably equally expensive everywhere, my experience with nursing homes in the US, the ones which have to take medicare once they burn through all your money, is very positive in both California and Minnesota.  New York City Nursing Homes accepting Medicare are terrible.  TERRIBLE. 

But in general I'm not afraid of them in America and resigned to giving them all my money some day, because that is going to happen to each and everyone of us who doesn't die in a car accident or have a suddenly fatal cardiac event. 

But in other countries, how do they handle the presumptive asshole Expat who becomes incapacitated because of illness?  I think about this every time I'm in a foreign city I prefer to ours, every article I read about how happy people are living in Norway.

Edited 21 hours ago by Rod Hagen

[BonVivant]

20 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

But in other countries, how do they handle the presumptive asshole Expat who becomes incapacitated because of illness?

Especially if you are there “alone” with all friends and family in the USA. All is well so long as you  are fit and healthy. I have seen my older relatives who are relatively isolated and depending on non-family for care. Scary. 

Edited 1 hour ago by BonVivant