The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget: How to Live Well on $25,000 a Year

The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget: How to Live Well on $25,000 a Year

by Dan Prescher, Suzan Haskins
Released March 2014
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118758595

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Book description

Achieve your dream of retiring abroad while on a budget

The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget provides a detailed guide to one of the least-known but most effective retirement strategies in today's chaotic economic environment: retiring abroad. The premise is simple: Enjoy a happier, healthier, more fulfilling retirement than you could possibly afford in the U.S. or Canada by finding the right overseas retirement haven. The book reveals those affordable havens and the strategies for successfully making the move that could save your retirement. Aimed at retirees and near-retirees in the U.S. and Canada, this book's strategies apply just as well to younger people and people with families who are looking for ways to improve their quality of life while at the same time lowering their cost of living. It includes solutions for the challenges of continuing to work and earn money abroad, too.

As long-time contributors to the acknowledged leader in the field, International Living, authors Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher have at their disposal more than thirty years of International Living experience and expertise in the topic. They've been writing about living overseas for more than 12 years and have created their own broad and deep body of work, including regular blogs on the topic for Huffington Post and AARP. The authors include information and strategies that can be successfully applied by anyone regardless of their political or economic opinions. For anyone who wants a happier, healthier, more affordable life, The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget shows you how to enjoy the romance and excitement of living abroad on an affordable budget.

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Introduction
  3. Part One: Contemplating an Exciting Move . . .
    1. Chapter 1: Can You Afford to Retire Where You Live?
      1. Why Are Millions of Baby Boomers Retiring Overseas?
      2. What If You Could Retire Even Earlier Than Expected?
      3. Technology Makes it all Possible
    2. Chapter 2: Can You Really Live (Well) Overseas on $25,000 a Year?
      1. It’s Personal . . . and Completely Subjective
      2. Strategies for Reducing your Retirement Costs Overseas
    3. Chapter 3: What’s Your Deal Breaker?
      1. Consider these Eight Factors
      2. Can you Really Adapt to a Foreign Culture?
      3. Can you Learn to Speak a New Language?
      4. Is Your “Significant Other” Onboard?
      5. Are you Okay with Not Living Close to Family?
    4. Chapter 4: The Most Common (and Avoidable) Mistakes Expats Make
      1. Take Your Luggage, But Leave Your Baggage Behind
      2. Leave Home at Home
      3. The One Personality Trait that Successful Expats Share
      4. You May be More Adventurous than You Think You Are
      5. Attitude is Everything
    5. Chapter 5: Health Care
      1. The U.S. and Canadian Health Care Systems Are Not Healthy at All
      2. High Quality and Low Costs: Why Foreign Health Systems Work
      3. Public Versus Private Health Care Systems
      4. Is A Public Health Care System Right For You?
      5. Your Best Private Health Insurance Options Overseas
      6. The Good News: Moving Off the Comfort Couch Can Improve Your Health
    6. Chapter 6: The Challenges of Language and Culture
      1. Why Should You Learn the Language? For Fun . . . and Basic Survival
      2. Start With Baby Steps . . . and Baby Talk
      3. Your Best Language-Learning Resources
  4. Part Two: Making the Move
    1. Chapter 7: Belize
      1. Why Do So Many Expats Retire to Belize?
      2. The Top Expat Destinations in Belize
      3. Belize’s Much-Touted Qualified Retired Persons Program
      4. How Much Does it Cost to Live in Belize?
      5. Health Care in Belize
    2. Chapter 8: Costa Rica
      1. Costa Rica Ticks all the Boxes on Your Retirement Checklist
      2. Costa Rica Offers Many Advantages You May Not be Aware Of
      3. Costa Rica’s Top Expat Destinations
      4. Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast—Wild and Rugged
      5. How Much Does it Cost to Live in Costa Rica?
      6. Best of All, Costa Rica Offers World-Class, Affordable Health Care
    3. Chapter 9: Ecuador
      1. An Excellent Retirement Value Proposition
      2. Ecuador’s Top Expat Destinations
      3. All This, and Affordable Health Care, Too
    4. Chapter 10: Mexico
      1. Mexico’s Retirement Advantages
      2. Mexico’s Top Expat Destinations
      3. How Much Does it Cost to Live in Mexico?
      4. Excellent—and Affordable—Health Care
    5. Chapter 11: Nicaragua
      1. Nicaragua’s Retirement Pluses
      2. Rolling Out the Red Carpet to Foreign Retirees . . .
      3. Nicaragua’s Top Expat Destinations
      4. How Much Does it Cost to Live in Nicaragua?
      5. What About Health Care?
    6. Chapter 12: Panama
      1. Money-Saving Discounts and More
      2. Even More Reasons to Appreciate Panama . . .
      3. All This, and An Affordable Cost of Living
      4. Panama’s Top Retirement Destinations
      5. You’ll Find Excellent Health Care Options in Panama, Too
    7. Chapter 13: Uruguay
      1. Why Consider Uruguay for Your Retirement Home?
      2. Uruguay’s Top Retirement Destinations
      3. In Uruguay, You Can Improve Your Quality of Life and Lower Your Cost of Living
      4. Health Care in Uruguay: The Icing on The Cake
    8. Chapter 14: Europe
      1. Your Cost of Living May Be Less Than You Think
      2. France: Who Doesn’t Dream of Living La Vie Française?
      3. Italy: Bargains Beyond The Tourist Trail
      4. Spain: Economic Woes and Expat Opportunities
      5. Where Else in Europe Might You Look?
    9. Chapter 15: Southeast Asia
      1. How Far Will Your Retirement Income Go?
      2. Malaysia: English-Speaking, Affordable, and Truly Asia
      3. Thailand: Step into the World of Exotica
      4. And Keep an Eye on . . . Cambodia
    10. Chapter 16: Boots on the Ground
      1. We’ll Say it Again: Profile Yourself Ruthlessly
      2. Getting There—and Once You Do, Then What?
      3. The Soloist: Retiring Overseas as a Single
    11. Chapter 17: You Found Your Paradise. Now What?
      1. Try Before You Buy: How to Find a Rental, and When you Might Want to Bite the Bullet and Buy
      2. Decided to Buy? Don’t Succumb to Margarita Madness
      3. When Halfway Isn’t The Wrong Way: Why Living Overseas Part-Time May Make Sense for You
      4. How to Ensure a Problem-Free Real Estate Purchase
    12. Chapter 18: Once You Know Where You’re Going
      1. Health Care
      2. Finances: Credit Cards, Banking, and Taxes
      3. Moving Your Pets Overseas
      4. Shedding or Shipping: What About Your “Stuff”?
  5. Part Three: Once You Get There
    1. Chapter 19: Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitude
      1. Saying “See You Later” Instead of “Good-Bye”
      2. The Internet Will Be Your New Best Friend
      3. Staying in Touch: Easier Than you Think
    2. Chapter 20: When the Hammock Gets Boring
      1. What the World Needs Now: Volunteering
    3. Chapter 21: Moving On
      1. This May Not Be the Last Move you Ever Make
      2. The Serial Relocator’s Guide to Staying Light on Your Feet
      3. Going Back Home: No Harm, No Foul
      4. The Only Regret You May Have . . .
  6. Epilogue
  7. Index
  8. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget: How to Live Well on $25,000 a Year
  • Author(s): Dan Prescher, Suzan Haskins
  • Release date: March 2014
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118758595