The Cheapest Places to Live, 2009
May 21st, 2009 Posted in International living/working, Long-term travel, Work/Life/Travel Balance
Each year I’ve been doing some kind of cheapest places to live post and it’s always one of the most popular ones of the year, so it’s time to roll out a new one.
It’s especially appropriate right now since anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by their monthly expenses could easily cut said expenses in half or two-thirds just by moving somewhere cheaper. I argued in this 2005 article that buying property abroad was far less risky than buying at home, so call me Mr. Nostradamus now. Thankfully I had put my money where my mouth was and am watching my (Mexican) house appreciate instead of lose value.
I focus on foreign destinations because that’s where you can make the most dramatic difference, but even within your own country you can make a pretty big change by moving, whether you buy or rent. People often ask me why I moved from New York City back to Nashville, TN. Well, for the price of a tiny one-bedroom apartment there, here you can pay the mortgage on a real house with a yard, afford a car payment and insurance, and buy groceries for the month. And my city is pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of expenses. It’s just that New York (and San Francisco, and Silicon Valley) sock you so hard for shelter and taxes. This “step down to a smaller city/town” strategy works almost anywhere in the world, including in now-expensive countries like Italy, France, Japan, and Ireland.
If I were to move to Mexico though, as my family is going to do a year from now, I would cut my expenses by 30 to 50 percent again depending on where I go. It’s pretty common for expatriates there (especially retirees) to be living on $1,750 to $3,500 a month for a couple, including eating out, local travel, and having someone else clean their house or apartment. Naturally the big urban areas are going to cost more, as are the places like San Miguel de Allende or Puerto Vallarta that are packed with Americans and Canadians. When the gringos take over a place, they definitely drive up the prices. It’s a huge country though. Go an hour or two in any direction and it’s a different story. Prices are good outside the gringo towns and resort areas for buying and the price is right on property taxes. I pay around $45 a year on my beach house near Progreso in the Yucatan. If you’re 60 or older and have a residency visa, now you get the same senior benefits as the locals, which means big discounts on a whole basket of things, including medicine, movie tickets, and internal flights.
Speaking of incentives, do your homework on what’s offered where you’re looking because that can make a huge difference. If you have some money socked away or have a regular stream of income you can document that will continue, many countries welcome you with open arms. Panama’s program is still the best, with zero property taxes for 20 years, 50% discounts on entertainment and hotels, and 20% off doctor visits. There’s a great program in Belize as well, but it’s at risk of going away since the ratio of expats to locals may be getting too high for some politicians. (We profile the moving incentives in Traveler’s Tool Kit: Mexico and Central America.)
If you’re not flush, then forget the incentives and just rent, being free to move on later without a care. That also allows you to make the most of times like this when many currencies have dropped significantly, such as in Iceland, Hungary, or Mexico.
The cheapest places to travel are often cheap places to live, but many make it tough to do so legally. This includes much of Southeast Asia, unfortunately. The exceptions are Malaysia, which offers the great My Second Home program, and the Philippines, which offers a special resident retiree visa that you can get as early as age 35. At that age you need to deposit $50K in a bank there though, whereas at 50 years and above you just need to deposit $10K and prove a monthly pension of $800 single, $1K couple. I’m not a big fan of the Philippines, but you could live pretty easily on $1,500 a month on a lot of islands there and plenty of men seem to find a good reason to hang around…
If the country is a good value plus they make it easy to become a legal resident, that’s the ideal. Besides the above, that would include Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Argentina, and Uruguay for Americans—and now Eastern Europe is looking much more attractive than it was a year ago for both Americans and Europeans. So is South Africa: this is the best time in a while to buy in Cape Town or on the coast. The dollar is back up a good bit against the currency in Brazil, though a lot of property there is priced in dollars anyway; the appreciation just helps with bargaining and living expenses. The coastal areas in the north are quite cheap by international beachfront standards.
Do your homework on destinations and as is often the case, much of what you find on the web for free is suspect: old, out-of-date, or from someone with an agenda (to bring you into their real estate office, or to get you to sign up for an expensive seminar). Spend solid money for solid information. After all, this is your future place of residence we’re talking about.
International Living is kind of like the Two Face character in Batman: one side shameless huckster, the other side purveyor of useful and current information. The pretty side of their face—the magazine—is the best resource available for, well, international living. If you go for the free info you find on sites like EscapeArtist.com, make sure it’s current. They tend to hide the publication date in articles, probably on purpose. Transitions Abroad’s expatriate resources and articles are a better bet in some cases and easier to navigate. EscapeArtist’s country report e-books are a different story though: great resources for the lowdown on a particular destination. There are also regular books out there you can buy, like Living Abroad in Nicaragua.
If you’ve seen a few episodes of House Hunters International on HGTV, you already know that many of the destinations they profile are nothing close to being a bargain anymore: coastal Costa Rica, Roatan, Los Cabos, Italian hill villages, the most popular parts of Panama. For these you’ve missed the boat. Head to the next “next big thing” that few are talking about (yet) instead.
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36 Responses to “The Cheapest Places to Live, 2009”
By gary on May 21, 2009
Great article, Tim. Damn, I love how you are simultaneously concise and comprehensive.
Thanks so much.
g.
By Bessie on May 21, 2009
You posted this, and I think my husband immediately emailed it to me. Mexico is a fabulous place to set up shop.
Thanks for the inspiration.
By Mike on May 22, 2009
Great post – I’ve bookmarked it.
By soultravelers3 on May 23, 2009
Excellent post! I just tweeted it!
Why buy when you can rent so little today? We actually don’t think it’s a great time to buy anywhere as most of the world is overbuilt & things are shifting.
There are TONS of cheap rentals every where and many are hurting so they are very willing to negotiate down. Most people who have homes that they rent by the week, will give great deals for monthly rentals off season ( sometimes even during the season).
We have found terrific places in Spain this way ( for the last 3 winters) and see for sale and for rent signs every where. One can have a brand new, Med sea view, fully furnished 2 to 4 bedroom with high speed internet, etc for 350-650 a month.
I often wonder why more people in cold climates don’t at least winter here in Andalusia. We can walk to everything or use mass transit, so save a bundle that way too.
If you rent, it gives one total freedom. Let your money grow in other ways ( like gold) and wait until real estate markets hit bottom ( it will be a while as the recession & dollar decline has really just begun).
I say KNOW a place REALLY well before buying. Living some where is much different than visiting & owning a house is a big commitment….more so in a foreign land.
By travel inspirations on May 23, 2009
I second what southtraveler3 posted above. While the notion of owning your own piece of paradise has been sold to especially the baby boomer generation over the last decade, luring them to buy and retire in the likes of Costa Rica and Panama, property costs there have not only escalated some of the overseas places sold have created settings where you may find yourself with much the same feel of having all the same kind of neighbors that you have had on your cul-de-sac in whatever the town you’re from in the US all your life. If that may be the case, why settle abroad at all. And many that buy overseas find themselves strapped to their property, once again dreaming of being free to travel. Yes, you can find secluded and be among the natives, but why buy, why be tied up to a single place. You can travel the world for years, in fact everyone should at least for a decade in their lifetime, for the enriching experience alone, and literally enjoy the best there is. You can find affordable places all around the world that you can keep coming back to and do it all by renting.
By tim on May 24, 2009
Renting certainly has major advantages, especially the ability to take off and move whenever you want. But anyone who bought in a cheap destination that later boomed isn’t going to be convinced they didn’t make a smart move: they sold their house for 4 or 5X the money they paid a decade later and walked away with the equivalent of lottery winnings. If you’re not seduced by bubbles and are buying based on solid information, it’s an investment you can live in.
“Let your money grow in other ways ( like gold)…” Are you joking on that point soultravelers3? If I had bought gold instead of real estate when it last was at this level (in the 1980s), I would be a very poor man right now instead of having major equity in two homes. Since buying my first home I have sold one at double what I paid (after repairs and improvements) and one at triple. The two I own now have doubled, despite this busted bubble. If you know what you’re doing, it’s still one of the best ways to create long-term wealth, especially if you buy in a foreign market that is less mature.
By Alonzo on May 24, 2009
If you bought gold in 1975 your investment went up 500%—but only after being tied up a quarter century. If your timing was off and you bought at a historical peak (like it’s at now), say in 1980 when everyone was hyping it like they are now, then you would have made a measly 20 percent TOTAL return if you sold this year. An annual return far lower than inflation. It’s a sucker investment and you can’t live in it, vacation in it, or rent it out for real income like you can with real estate.
By Soultravelers3 on May 24, 2009
Timing is everything isn’t it, Tim? I never said to buy gold when real estate was in an unprecedented boom market. ;)
I am a BIG believer in buying low and selling high. We actually did very well in real estate that way, I just don’t think this is a great time to be buying homes. I don’t think it is a good time to have any debt, but your mileage may vary.
Your example was not really fair either as it was like comparing apples & oranges, because you talked about buying gold at the top before it fell. People who bought homes at the top are equally screwed and many are underwater now.
Makes more sense to buy both gold and homes very low in a rising market and selling close to the top. People who bought gold smartly in 1978 and sold in 1980 made a fortune! Ah, timing. ;)
We bought some precious metals very low & it’s been great for us and I am betting that trend will continue. It certainly is not my only investment, but one of many wise investments.
Also you have to figure inflation into things. Today gold is around $950. If it was adjusted for inflation, gold would be worth $5-6000/oz! In 1980 you’d need 5 ounces to buy a pickup truck, because gold was $1000/oz. Today, you’d need 20 oz at $1000/oz!
As Kiyosaki ( a man who has made a lot of money in real estate) has said, unless you own a home outright, a home is a liability, not an asset. ( Oh,BTW, he is one of many smart investors who is very big on buying gold and silver for this period in time).
Like “travel inspirations” , I think it is better to rent for now and watch these tumultuous times unfold. There are better times to buy and own than others, don’t you agree? Timing and future trends count! Equity really means nothing until you sell, then you know what your true equity is and not just on paper.
So many people are soooo strapped by their mortgages, that one can get fantastic rental bargains! The down slide on real estate world wide has not even begun yet, nor has the real pain of this recession.
Yes, there might be some things that LOOK like real estate bargains today ( like Spain for instance where I rent a beautiful new sea view home for peanuts & it has lost more than half it’s value in the last 2 years).
Nobody is buying, because in a few years these “bargains” will look super over priced. Once things fall like this, they don’t usually stabilize for quite some time and it can be a bit contagious. After a big boom, there is always a big bust.
Traditionally in such times “cash is king” and precious metals are safe havens when fiat money is being printed like crazy out of thin air as they debase currencies like the dollar.
Keep an eye on the Chinese (& others) who are making wise moves like secretly buying lots of gold ( they recently let a little bit of the “secret” out). Unlike the US they have a lot of cash (not debt) and are making smart moves like bargaining with Brazil etc to bi-pass the sad US dollar.
Actually gold/silver are not so much investments as safe havens. Gold does not really go up or down, it is the dollar and fiat currency that is doing that.
Yes, in boom times some of us did really well in real estate, but those days are done. Many people have been burnt badly and that will continue and many say the coming commercial real estate crash will even be much worse than the sub prime mess.
I believe there is a world wide glut in housing and we are at the very beginning of the decline. If you look at Shiller’s study, you will see what housing has done over the last century…basically stayed the same ( with inflation figured in) until this recent boom. A VERY enlightening chart everyone should read.
If you listen to the smart people who forecast this economic collapse like Jim Rogers, James Turk, Peter Schiff or many, many more, you might see why it is a good time to have some money in precious metals.
The dollar is down, the stock market is down, bonds are down, housing is down and they will most likely continue in that direction. Roubini laughs at the green shoots theory in Forbes and said “yellow weeds” was more accurate.
You can’t really count on main stream media to give accurate information, so I would look to the people doing well. When I heard Gates and Buffet were getting out of the dollar years ago, I paid attention.
I think the dollar is in deep trouble and we mostly got out of the dollar in 2005.
I’m not saying that one can’t make any money in real estate now or to put all of your money in gold or silver.
I just don’t think it is a good time to go into debt of any kind. I think it’s a great time to rent at bargain prices, enjoy that freedom, have a safe place to store cash and watch real estate keep falling.
When things are near the bottom, then I like to be ready to buy. ;) BUT, everyone is certainly welcome to do what ever works for them. ;)
By Elizabeth on May 25, 2009
A great post, and some interesting back-and-forth discussions. I’m writing from the Pattaya region (Thailand) and am literally surrounded by millions poured in by foreign property investors and mafia money. This place is a strange economy, inflated with international currencies and still booming despite global problems.
By soultravelers3 on May 25, 2009
I think the key really is “know what you are doing” and “do your homework”. People have lost lots of money on real estate & sometimes foreign governments take away the homes foreigners have bought. Look at future trends realistically and thoughtfully.
I have a Scottish friend who foolishly bought 3 properties at the top of the market in Spain, thinking they could sell at a profit. Now they are wondering if they might have to abandon all in the future.
You might like this link Alonzo, ( even though it is old it has good basics on how and why precious metals can be a good play today as it has been at other times through out history). There is a ton of info like this, but this one is from a big real estate guy, so thought it might make more sense to you.
http://is.gd/D9iO
By tim on May 25, 2009
I’m with Alonzo. Gold is a sucker play, especially at these prices.
“We bought some precious metals very low & it’s been great for us and I am betting that trend will continue.”
Doesn’t everyone think “that trend will continue” after a big rise, even when the bubble is about to burst? Take your profits and be happy.
My point is to buy judiciously, in a LOCATION that is on the rise, not at its peak. In many parts of the U.S. even, this housing bubble is a non-story. Prices haven’t budged because they weren’t inflated to start with. Investing in any overhyped market is always risky, whether it’s Spain, Ireland, California, or Costa Rica. Investing in a market that has almost no downside risk because prices are so low is a different story. There’s always major appreciation on the way somewhere. You just have to pick the right place. No market timing required.
By soultravelers3 on May 25, 2009
Obviously, you and Alonzo know nothing about the gold market. That’s fine with me. Reminds me of what many people said when I sold my house at peak in 2005. Or when we left on our open ended world tour in 2006. ;)
Makes me grin.
I’ve always been iconoclastic and a divergent thinker. It’s worked well for us and allowed us to retire with a young child at 50.
I didn’t come here to argue, but to add value. I’ve stumbled your post and tweeted it ( which have been passed on by several of my followers). I wouldn’t bother taking this time if I didn’t think it was an important topic that was well written.
You even mention that renting is a great thing, I’m just agreeing with that & giving reasons why that may be even truer at this particular time.
I do have to disagree that “there is always major appreciation on the way somewhere”.
Here’s Yale economic professor Shiller’s chart that I talked about earlier that follows US real estate back to 1890, that really says it all:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-housing-chart-thats-worth-1000-words-2009-2
Or look at Japan after it’s boom and bust some 15 years ago & their L shaped pattern which has housing STILL down at the same level.
Interestingly, in this same article their was this quote:
“Mexico is already on the brink of implosion, with drug lords controlling much of the country”.
I’ve heard similar things said about instability in Argentina, Thailand and some of the other countries that you mention.
If the world economy dips to the dark levels that some predict, one must look at the long term possible consequences.
That’s another reason why I think it is a good time to wait and watch….and rent for now as we see how this shift unfolds & what happens to various currencies etc.
We all saw how quickly things changed in Iceland, and many places are on the same kind of precipice…including the US.
I just see LOTS more advantages in renting right now than buying…anywhere.
By Belinda on May 25, 2009
SoulTraveler – Some people are not cut out to be homeowners, which is why those historic booms and busts exist. It’s also why we have so many people in trouble right now that weren’t fit to own what they bought to start with. If you’re not willing to buy when/where prices make sense and sit tight for a decade, then you are better off investing elsewhere. But I can’t think of even one reasonably wealthy person I know (or know of) who has been a renter their whole life. Who bought a house 20 years ago anywhere and is regretting that decision now (especially if they lived in it?) There’s nothing magic about that, but it is the only investment that provides shelter while you’re paying for it.
By tim on May 25, 2009
OK, this is a post about the cheapest places to live, not which investment strategies work for different individuals, so ’nuff said all around. Renting is fine for many situations in life and for some, now is a prime time. For others, this is a historic purchase opportunity. With more potential reward comes more potential risk, no matter what your investment. I hope all works out well in any case and you’re happy: I don’t have a stake in the outcome either way.
So back to the subject at hand, these are some potential places that offer cheap living, ease of residency, AND a greater chance of property appreciation. If you take out the third part of that equation, you can also throw in places that don’t want you to stick around for very long–legally anyway.
By Patrice on May 26, 2009
Great post. I agree that Philippines is one of the cheapest places to live. The cost of living in here is very cheap especially for foreigners whose currency equivalent to peso is very high.
By gary on May 26, 2009
I take it that buying and/or renting a property on the Gold Coast would satiate all parties.
By Maria on Jun 9, 2009
It´s easy to make money buying property anywhere if you don´t buy when things are frothy and you have the patience to let it appreciate. Anyone who bought pretty much anywhere in Latin America 15 years ago is in great shape now, except maybe in Venezuela or Bolivia, where the socialists are trying to turn the countries into Cuba. Same thing for Eastern Europe. There are always great markets out there for savvy investors who do their homework.
By Diamond Beach resort on Jun 10, 2009
great post. very detailed. but i think stability and security is under emphasised. often, these places are cheaper for a reason. i, for one, will proably move to new zealand in the next 5-10 years. NZ offers a cheaper cost of living without sacrificing security or quality of life.
By southbow on Jun 18, 2009
Mexico,I`ve heard before is a good cheaper place to live!Oh, and there are no mexicans left there they are all over here!LOL!
By Marcea on Jun 18, 2009
Wonderful and useful article. I am a new ex pat who is currently living in Spain…Thanks for the tips.
By tom weeks on Jun 18, 2009
Folks, all I can say is let the American system suck you dry financially and leave nothing for your children, or change the rules and try another culture to see how far your dollars can go, for me 6 months ago I decided to change the rules, I now pay only about $130.00 dollars (6,500 Pesos) for a nice 2 bedroom apartment, cable and water included, my highest electric bill has been $12 Dollars a month, I now have money left over every month for savings and believe me I want for nothing and now stay busy atleast 2 weeks a month exploring my new environment where in the U.S. I could do nothing because of prices and could go no where, I’m even now back in the states visiting sons and other family which has been a much more enjoyable time than when i lived here all the time, I feel it has been worth it!!!
By Lou on Jun 18, 2009
Hi your article was interesting ..unfortuneatly youve left out a lot of “details”..Like it takes years to get a residency visa in mexico and costs $$…also not mentioned are Mexican govt agencys that constantly come up with new ways to harass and finagle money out of gringos..agencys like profepa, semanart(sp). Its funny that these agencys only seem to go to gringo areas (where there is money) to enforce newly found rules…. then there are the mexican ‘corporations’ that take deposits on homes in beachside developements then disapear with the money…ie..the big development in Loreto on the baja peninsula …ive been going to mexico for 40yrs , ive rented and ive built a home there…i would never build there again…to much govt harrassment..renting is ok tho…
By Michael on Jun 18, 2009
Good post, I and my wife have chosen China as our retirement. We live well on 1000usd a month, about 8000rmb. Our rent is only 800rmb and food about 2000rmb since I like good food. We love Nanning and travel all over China while saving money. I have been here for 4 years, Married here and have a great life. Thanks for your post again.
By Gaby on Jun 18, 2009
Hi
I don’t agree with Lou, if she was arrased as she said is probably beacuse you need to do the things under the law, if you are going to build a home you need to have some permits to do so, as in avery country.
I live in USA and Now I’m living in Mexico City and I see the difference between Countries, Mexico City is really expensive you can compare it to New York , the only cheap here is the food but the cars, homes, rent, etc is really expensive, but you can live outside of Mexico City and will be cheaper.
I want to come back to USA because living here I can’t afford to buy a house.
By Isa on Jun 18, 2009
This is great! I’m glad I found this site! (long to retire elsewhere than Southern CA,
maybe Mexico? but find myself single at 5o something).I wish there was a way to meet decent “others” who are interested in the same idea.
By Roman Tafoya on Jun 18, 2009
Sounds expensive to me. I live in Colorado quite comfortably on $1000 per month. I don’t need maid service and I like to cook. Your article is wrongly titled. I can buy homes all day long in Pueblo CO for less than $80K- there is good soil and good water for great gardening! Great Mexican food abounds for great prices. The climate is warm and with an evaporative cooler- its heaven. Good looking women also!
By Ed on Jun 18, 2009
Great Note!
I have lived and worked in Mexico for twelve years. I have lived in Monterrey in the North, on the beach in Chiapas, Mexico City and now in Merida, Yucatan, close to the Author´s beach home in Progreso.
The hype over drug lords controlling Mexico is just that. In the North there is more of this type of activity but very little here. Drug use in general and definitley in this part of the country is non-existent compared to the US. Families stay together.
Yucatan is a wonderful place to live with a thriving ex-pat community and a beautiful colonial city with more cultural activities, Mayan ruins, underground and open springfed pools (cenotes), beaches, fishing, haciendas and nice people than you can count, all within an hour´s drive.
We routinely get resident visas in ten working days for our foreign clients and you can get it in one day at the Texas border. Bank accounts can be opened in one day and owning a house in not at all insecure as many would have you believe. Renting is a good option also. Annual property taxes are less than your electric bill for a month at home. It is safer here than anywhere I have been, in large part thanks to the State Government that makes sure it stays that way.
We routinely invest in realestate her and have NEVER lost money and usually have no less that 20% annual return on our land investments. You have to know what you are doing to do this, we have been at it for a long time…..
Building here is infinitely more simple than in the US as long as you contract with a reputable contractor. (They are hard to find anywhere!)
There are negatives, three months of HOT summer, this is a culture of distrust, you do not trust people you do not know with money or other valuables. You do not put a check in the mail. If you leave something of value out in plain site, it will be swiped. The first answer to any question is often no. Accept and adjust to these negatives and the positives will just wash you away.
You just have to know HOW to get things done. There are people that can help you learn the ropes and avoid pitfalls. Our group does that for people all the time. Moving your houshold belongings, importing your car, all that stuff can be done and is routine and not terribly difficult if you know how.
It will not get cheaper to buy in the future.
Saludos, Ed
For Isa: this is a great place for active retired ladies. We have many friends in this category that have come here and absolutely blossomed and enjoy very active lives in and about the city. The Merida International Women´s Club is a great organization that gets the ladies together for a great variety of activities and charitable efforts. There is always something to do!
By lrm on Jun 18, 2009
I’ve also heard/researched that China offers a great quality of life for an inexpensive cost. [ie,depends on what you're looking for,but it IS safe and food is plentiful.]
New Zealand,on the other hand,has really changed and grown. And,it is NOT so ‘cheap’ anymore-in reference to the comment by someone above. It is still safer than the US,but cheap,no. Sure,you could go to a very rural area with a depressed economy,but then again,you could do that in the USA-in almost every state-and find the same thing.
People’s comments span the gamut here: some seem to be interested in quality of life,low cost,and some seem to be interested in making money via real estate.
Two VERY different interests.
For myself,I’d say there are regions in france that are due to rise in popularity [won't say,want to keep it a secret for now],as well as parts of NE Canada and Chile. All safe,very moderately priced. Though,harder perhaps to ‘retire’ on an average pension,but certainly worth looking into for the quality of life available.
Mexico’s been ‘done’ in my opinion. Either expensive or unsafe,OR loaded with americans or tourists.
Then again,you could find an area still remote and with traditional values,but that depends on your geographic preference. I personally don’t care for semi arid or desert environs,nor steaming jungles.
Oh yea,and Portugal has been up and coming for awhile. Outside of the resort south,you could find fantastic locations…though not many english speakers.
By Mario on Aug 24, 2009
Just read through all these comments. Look at a chart of the stock market this year and one of the gold price this year. Anyone in the latter investment has seen nada appreciation. And compare real estate bought in 1980 (anywhere in this hemisphere) to gold bought in 1980 (when it was $850). No contest. You can fight history or you can ride it to profit. Just don’t get greedy!
By William Wallace on Sep 15, 2009
I would chose any place that wasn’t full of uneducated dumb Yanks to live.
By tim on Sep 16, 2009
William, I guess you’d prefer uneducated dumb Brits instead? Spain and Greece await you.
By Peter on Jan 3, 2010
Like so many of these EXPAT promotional sites, they leave out the important and often gory details. One: if so many people living in that country will do damned near anything to get out, what does that really tell you about life and safety there? The reality: except for Costa Rica (and there stay OUT OF PUERTO LIMON IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE) The Caribbean, Central American and Andean countries have a crime rate that makes New Orleans look like a convent. In Sao Paulo Brazil, the apt buildings of the upper middle classes have heliports on the roof as the only safe way to get to and from their offices. As a foreigner in Nicaragua your house deed is worth toilet paper, and Danny Ortega is getting 1980’s flashbacks. South Africa has a 25% (25 NOT PER 100,000) rate of rape in a country with a 28% HIV infection rate, and a rate of invasions and murder that make the South Bronx in the 70’s look like Switzerland. Mexico’s corruption and drug violence has degenerated into a semi failed nation. The only functional EXPAT countries to even think of are Chile, Uruguay,and Argentina…Reality Check!!!!
By tim on Jan 3, 2010
Thanks Peter for reminding us why the opportunities outside one’s first-world home country are so great. Many people like you have an irrational fear of the unknown. And some people have trouble looking up and reading crime statistics—even those generated by the State Department showing the U.S. has one of the worst homicide rates and the very highest incarceration rate.
As a person who owns real estate in Mexico and has lived in four foreign countries, I know a fair bit about the real situation on the ground. I can safely say most places an expat would move to are safer than your average U.S. city—a fact that almost any expat living abroad will verify if you bother to ask them.
People don’t want to leave Mexico, Ecuador, or Panama because they don’t like their homeland or they’re scared. They want to make more money—simple as that. (Witness the drop in immigration when a recession hits.) Again, ask a few and you’ll see.
By abendkleider on Jan 17, 2010
great information, very interesting…
By James on Feb 20, 2010
Yeah, I have to agree with Tim–most people who want out of their countries want that purely for financial reasons. And the majority of the time the ones who actually do think there is a better life in America find they are miserable when they get there.
I’ve been living in Thailand for the past year and a half. I can’t speak for many of these other countries, but it’s a well-known fact that the vast majority of the population here would never consider leaving their country for a minute, regardless of how bad things got. It’s not even in their reality,
and the expat who drags a Thai wife home soon finds he’s got a lonely, miserable wife on his hands. To these people, their country is without a doubt the best in the world.
I never felt at home in America–always wanted to go. People told me I was nuts–there’s nothing more that you can’t find here. But now I have to yank myself out of town to go anywhere.
I feel so comfortable I just want to kick back, and back home I couldn’t sit still. I could rant all day about good things here and I could rant all day about bad things too–but what really draws me and captivates me (usually without me even noticing) is the overall mindset and pace of life. It permeates everything they do, and you stay long enough it starts to permeate you.
I’m 28 years old, and I feel like I should have done this 8 years ago. Why wait to retire? Why not move overseas when you’re young and live the luxury life on pennies while making overseas money online?
That’s what I do–I run an outsourcing business, and with companies doing everything they can to stay afloat, this is an industry that is actually GROWING in a recession.
I pay $60 per month for my apartment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from luxury, but I did have a luxurious place for a while at $150. For $300 you could have a fully furnished 3Bd house with a pool–and that’s in one of the most popular cities in Thailand.
And I feel safer in a poor neighborhood here than I ever did back in California. No doubt about it.
I think soultraveler3 has some good points, and renting is a great option if you’re not sure what the future will bring for you personally A little time in paradise might bring you to the conclusion you just want to see more of the world, and it’s nice to have the choice to move on. And also because who knows what these times will bring.
Nothing is liberating like mobility. I recommend to anyone out there thinking of international living to just do it. I sold everything I owned to come here–my business, my truck, my furniture–nothing to go back to, and there hasn’t been a day when I looked back.
Maybe you won’t like it. You never know until you go, and they say the choices you regret in life are more likely to be about the things you never gathered the gumption to do than the things that didn’t work. What will you regret?
Or stay home if you want. Paradise will be paradise a whole lot longer if everyone back home stays scared. ;)
By Robert on Mar 9, 2010
The world is now so intermingled that we are beginning to realize the extent to which we can value what we have and where we are, but… that there are other ways, places, customs, cultures, that we might very much appreciate…if we were to attempt to experience them. Our world, globalized as it is becomming, is full of the best and the worst that life can offer. The best is what should be strived for.