Travel & Holidays Retiring Overseas

Your lungs?

Pollution Index by City 2016 Mid Year

 

I know about that. I was born there and stayed for 28 years

 

Tax rates change for non residents. Land tax can be more in some states too.

 

Oh yeah. Just checked that and there is a big difference. Its flat 32.5% until 80k
The land is in NSW and I cannot see any difference in calculation there.

 

A quick update - and Ok... its not Mumbai so not the same.

We recently re-located to Bali. Bali is a nice 'cheap' place to be. I like the climate and the beaches. It is reasonably 'easy' place to live and close to Perth (my home town).

Moving is not as easy as it sounds. Do it while you are still young. I think it will take 2-3 years to really settle in.
It doesnt matter how you do it - re-locating is expensive initially.

If you are not a passport holder of the country you are moving to watch out for 'hidden' extra costs. Visa costs, travel, insurances all jump up if you are non-resident.
You will be taxed at a higher rate for your Australian income if you are a non-resident.
If you have kids in school - international schools (english speaking) are expensive.

Just because a place is cheap to holiday to, does not mean its cheap to live.

Blacky

 

We are relocating overseas. OK not exactly, we are building at beautiful Bribie Island near to Brisbane. However we believe by building an attractive beach home we can maybe house swap with homeowners in cheaper cost of living locations, for extended periods. Anyone done this?

 

Numbeo.com is an awesome resource. Please contribute info if you can also.

 

Hi Mumbai

Like you I grew up in India too. And I CANNOT wait to spend more and more time in India every year from now on. I plan to slowly increase time spent there to the point that eventually, I will spend almost all of my time there.

It is not for everybody though. I suppose it is a bit like me trying to retire in Vietnam for example; I would never do it. Not because it is not good enough but there are too many things 'foreign'. However, with India, I can go back and just dissolve into everyday life without standing out one bit.

Over the past decade, I have watched in sheer disbelief the rate of change that has happened to my home city. 25 years ago, many Indians like me could not wait to get out of India. Even if you were wealthy, there was hardly much to do back there. It is all changed amazingly in recent times. Restaurants serving cuisines from every corner of the globe. Glitzy malls. Luxury cars. 5 star hotels. In fact, for me, I would rather be rich in India than be rich here in Oz.

I grew up with maids washing dishes and clothes, a cook cooking three meals of fresh and healthy food at my own kitchen, your own gardner and best of all, your own driver. And we were not even ridiculously wealthy.

It has been a great adventure in Oz for me (not very unlike Aussies working in London or LA). I did not come here looking for a 'better life' per se but more of an adventure. I now cannot wait to spend more and more time back home and enjoy those luxuries. Also, we have family everywhere that we can lean on and leverage their insider knowledge etc.

But I repeat, it is not for everybody. Like the CEO of a big multinational in India recently said '"most of my employees live in the first world, work in the first world but travel through the third world to get to work." But it is slowly getting better. Traffic is an issue. But it ain't too bad if you are retired and have your driver ferry you around at non-peak hour. The level of service you get at restaurants and retail shops and just about everywhere is unbelievable. Pollution can be bad (not terrible in my city) but my family live in a gated complex with sprawling gardens and swimming pools and gym etc. Not much pollution there at all.

The key to living a good life there is to first be rich here. I can't be asked going back there and working for a living. The luxuries I want from my time there will not be cheap as chips but definitely attainable with some prudent investing for a number of years in Oz. Like I said, cannot wait.

YMMV

 

Blacky
I would not expect it to be a walk in the park, there are too many negatives ....language barrier, cultural differences, emotional, no or little contact with family and friends, health, education, cruelty to animals and there is more but my main concerns

 

Blacky do you know what the rough cost is to rent a 3/4 bed villa near the tourist strip in Sanur for a year? Which website would you advise looking at? Some are geared to foreigners so asking rents are much higher than if you were looking for something (on the ground).

 

I was working towards a plan a year or two ago to slowly and eventually spend more and more time until kids grow up and are on their own. Things have changed and I am now longing to be close to my 'parent' and siblings as soon as possible.

Well, growing up I did not have any of those luxuries. In fact, our family of 6 lived in a one bedder with communal toilet. Even when I started working back there and could afford maids and cooks and drivers, I did not have either. I like cooking and cleaning, so, if I am not working 9-5 (which is 10-10 in India) I will still do that.

My reasons for going back are different. Though, like you, I don't to be working for a living. Instead, want to spend time travelling, teaching and learning. I want to give back to the people and society who have made me what I am today.

 

I was looking at the life expectancy index, where obviously India ranks high but the causes of death seems be a lot more in Australia than India Look at the charts here:
World Life Expectancy

 

Well we all die of something, so if you manage to to not die of malnutrition, lung disease, cholera typhoid etc then one is more prone to heart disease, cancers, alzheimers. There is also the diagnosis factor. More advanced medical systems means more of the population is diagnosed with specific ailments rather than lumped into more general categories.

 

Agree. I will try not to die of malnutrition.

 

Yeah. We based ourselves in Sanur.

Depends a lot (obviously). We picked up our place which is on the west side of the bypass for 200mln (Aud$20k/pa). An older style 4x2 place with some land (~1000sqm) and a pool. 15mins walk to the main beach/strip (about 5min walk to McDonalds)(not that I eat there but it is a well known landmark).
You can get similar priced places East of the bypass (closer to the beach) which are newer, but no land and smaller and usually 2x storeys.
The price jumps a lot between 2 bed and 3-4 bed.

I had a lot of trouble finding something on the web and gave up. Ended up getting on the ground and getting in touch with a REA there. I can pass on details if you want - PM me. They lined up about 7places and we drove around for the day looking at places.

Be mindful that in bali the full amount of rent is paid upfront. So if you sign a 3yr lease, you pay 3yrs up front. 1yr lease is 1yr upfront.

If you are looking at moving happy to give you more details of our experiance. Im a semi-pro on international moving at the moment - visas, insurance, housing, relocation, schools... the list goes on.

Blacky

 

I have no ideas about the rental in Bali, but $20k pa sound like a lot to me.

 

Don't forget healthcare!

What do you do if you get sick? It's easy to forget that the Australian health system is the exception rather than the rule. In most hospitals in the developing world you go in vertical and come out horizontal.....

Strewth, even in the USA..No cash = no doctors.

Insurance can work, but do your research and be prepared to pay a lot more as you get older.

You'll have a better life overseas if you do this...cause it will probably be longer....

Just sayin...

 

~$350 per week for a western standard house in a tourist hot spot, walking distance to the beach?

Nah, sounds about right to me.
If we air BnB'd it we would probably get that per night.

Blacky