Anyone live overseas for lifestyle

Plenty of posts on SS, working out how to retire early and live overseas, so anyone actually do this? Did it work?

@pinkboy love an update on Chilie, if you care to share ?.

... or anyone else who has made it work.

I will admit it won't work for me I am too much into family, Italian background mum would kill me if I left her, and in part I have a great network of family and friends in Oz I think I would be lost without them.
I am sure some will have a great experience please share...

MTR

 

Hi MTR, I looked into moving over to Thailand as a stepping stone to living overseas permanently, but having spoken to the Consulate here in Melbourne, it's not really an option for me at this stage.

I recall GeoffW saying that getting PR in Colombia can (possibly) be attained for ~30K, so that is something that I intend to look into more closely in the near future (in the next 3 - 5 years) as South America is where I would ultimately like to reside on a somewhat permanent basis.

 

Nope, too many family commitments here in Aus, plus the usual "retire overseas" locations are not my preference.

Having said that, I would love to (and hope to) be able to spend at least 3+ months overseas per year. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

 

Heh hobo, I hear this a lot from people when I say I want to move to Thailand (eg: "herp you're just going over there for the girls!" derp type thing). But for me, it's about having a base in Asia that allows me to travel around without having to fly back to Australia constantly. Well... that's what I tell people *wink wink*.

But seriously, I don't want to be stuck in the 'far corner' of the world my whole life and intend to see as much of the world as possible and enjoy and embrace as many different cultures as I can before I shuffle off this mortal coil.

 

Yeah I've enjoyed my trips to Thailand but I'm not a summer / beach person really - would prefer to stroll around the streets of Moscow or Paris or Geneva or Seoul.... so yeah, weather / temperature is really the main reason.

 

Hi hobo, I hear what you're saying. My intention is to go to Chiang Mai and avoid the 'touristy' areas of Thailand. It can be argued that Chiang Mai is touristy, which it kind of is, but it has easy access to the areas I'd like to explore, like Pai, for instance. I've never been to, and have no desire to go to places like Pattaya, for instance. I can also hop over to Cambodia and Laos (and even southern China) from there reasonably easily - although I've been told by people who have tried that it can be hard to get into China for any decent length of time from Thailand.

But when I was over there (in Chiang Mai) I met A LOT of ex-pats who were more than happy to provide a lot of great information as to how travelling throughout SEA can be done and where to go, etc. So it was a great experience for me. Also, the people over there are so far beyond marvelous and beautiful and lovely and friendly and open, it's such a great place to be. I've never been in a single environment in my life where the smiles were really genuine than the time I spent over there.

My favourite memory from when I was there was walking around and walking into one of the many temples and just sitting down and enjoying the atmosphere and peacefulness and reading a book for an hour and saying hello to people who came in there. As an atheist, it was just a really nice feeling to just sit inside this temple and enjoy the time I spent there.

 

I know a guy that moved to Ubud when he was around 40. He has found himself a very close group of friends who all moved there for similar reasons and they live a life of good health and mindfulness. I really enjoy seeing his Facebook posts and the positive changes in him since the move.

 

This would be my ideal too. I'd probably become the reverse retired person who likes to Summer all year and I'd probably escape from Aussie summers to somewhere cooler.

 

I like the idea of spending 3 months per year in Italy, but then I have my dogs.

 

One reason why we are conflicted over taking on another dog .... the ability to travel for long periods is severely restricted....

 

We have a home sitter coming in over Xmas, but my dogs do suffer withdrawal symptoms.
It makes it difficult unless one of my daughters is around.

 

Must admit I've become a bit shameless at finding semi-willing dog sitters while we're away. There are people out there who love dogs, have the time and the space and really don't mind taking on an extra for a while in exchange for some compensation. I hate asking but have had to get better at it or we'd be housebound. We just came back from a short camping trip with our dog and can't believe how many places we couldn't take her to. Holidays with or without your dog definitely need planning.

 

MTR - As you know I dont quite fit the profile you are looking for as I work. However, I did move overseas for lifestyle reasons.

I am looking to get back to Australia in the coming years, after spending about 10years in other parts of the world.
It has enabled me to travel extensively (basically every other month). My son who turns 1 in Jan will have seen more countries than months of the year and will have taken somewhere around 35international flights by his first birthday.

For me, having lived in a 'difficult' country for 10years retiring to a 'developing' country holds little appeal. Its a young (wo)mans game.
I also spent a couple of years 'chassing summer' and managed to avoid winter for over 2years. Im a summer lover, and to be honest I got a bit sick of it. I craved some winter.

Everything is more difficult in a developing country. I mean... everything. You go without a lot and not by choice... and I consider myself fairly low maintenance, with very few needs and I still find it hard from time to time. Different places will be different (obviously).
Power, water, hot water, gas, internet, phone etc are regularly cut off. Sometimes for days (or weeks) at a time. These are luxuries which most Australians take for granted. Often you cant drink tap water. I know this is a simple thing, but it frustrates the hell out of me (the 'I only drink bottled water' crowd confuses me).

Going for your weekly shop? it takes all day. First you have the fresh market, then the meat market, then the 'store', then the other 'store' to get that thing which wasnt at the first store, then its off to the egg lady, the bakery, and we will stop for lunch and coffee while we are there. Then back home. Your buggered from walking all day through hot stinky markets.
Yes - its great fun to do... for a little bit. Then...its a bit annoying... then its frustrating.

Its ok - we will be rich in these cheap countries, so lets get staff to do all of it for us. The luxury of a cook, a cleaner, a groundsman (or two) a driver. Hell lets get a nanny for little johny while we are at it.
Before you know it you have 4-5staff to manage (or more). This in itself is a job and you have the added pleasure of always having someone else in the house. Privacy is difficult to achieve (or all together non-existant).

Now - please dont missunderstand me. I love my life. I love the lifestyle. There are many more benifits to the above 'negatives'. So overall the decision to live overseas isnt a hard one for me. In fact, moving back to Australia is a more difficult decision, and we will be targeting a 'dual' country lifestyle. Somewhere that we can enjoy both summer (Australia) and winter (Japan has appeal), and a long the way 'pop' into a few other places from time to time.

Anyway, my point is that its not all beer and skittles (life rarely is). There will be challenges and difficulties, and it isnt for everyone. Often, the things you think you will miss the most, you wont. And the things you dont realise that you even have... you miss when they are gone.

I recomend everyone to live overseas for at least a decent period of time (and by overseas I dont mean US or UK - they dont count as being different). Esspecially if you have children in the ages of 0-14. The learnings they gain will serve them in life far more than the difference in 'schooling quality'.

If you are single and under the age of 35 I would seriously question why you are not planning on relocating at some point in the next 12 months.

Blacky

 

I lived in Thailand for 1 year and took leave from my job .
I have been to Thailand more than 32 times in the last 10 years, sometimes as short as 5 day trips.

I want to go back to live forever in the next few years.
I will rent out my apartment here and buy a big bar in Pattaya.

My plan BEFORE Uber took over was to buy a Sydney Taxi plate and rent it out and have that to fall back on should i need to come back and have a job.
But Uber ..... #%##### those plans for me.

Im actually thinking seriously of going forever next year once/if I get my redundancy I want to go buy a business and live a different life.

 

It sounds like a good plan for you.