$ and Expatriate Question

[JimmySTLOUIS]

Hi

There is a lot of talk about Pete moving to SA (best of luck by the way) - but I was wondering what kind of $$$ would you need to live there.
I have read books on retiring to central america and I am fascinated with the idea of cahsing out around 45 or so.

Lets say for an example I get married to a girl in Peru. What if its too cold here, home sick, etc and I decide to cash out here.
What kind of rough rough numbers would I be looking at fro Peru?
What if Colombia where the choice?

I appreciate any thoughts on this. I am not ready now but I love thinking about what it would take. I love a mild climate. My hawaii plan never worked out so SA sounds warm.

I have a ton of business background in all sorts of mom and pop enterprises (including the close out business). If you were married to a SA women could you start some sort of vendor/import business?

Sorry if any if these questions are dumb. I have not been to any spanish speaking country YET.

thanks again - I love this board.

jim

[Patrick]

... in response to $ and Expatriate Question, posted by JimmySTLOUIS on Oct 22, 2003

Since you haven't even visited a Spanish speaking country yet, you're planning way too far in advance.

I looked into retiring in Mexico after a 3 month stretch of 60+ hour weeks at work right after our baby was born.  From what I read on another forum (mexconnect.com, no longer a free site!) that dealt specifically with retirment in Mexico, your living expenses go up dramaticaly as you try to emulate an American lifestyle.  Living like the natives is very cheap, living like an American isn't.  A gated community among other ex-patriates, cars, golf, American food products, English satelite television etc. will run up your living expenses quite a bit.  Perhaps to the point where you could live on the same amount in some parts of the US.

From all the stories I've read, the most given advice was to visit the area you may move to many times over different seasons and spend a lot of time there before making any decisions on actually moving and don't cut your ties here.  Many people move down and want to return after 6 months.
I don't know how similar other countries would be to Mexico.

You should enroll in a Spanish class at night if at all possible.  I wouldn't even consider moving to Latin America without a decent grasp of Spanish.

[Red Clay]

... in response to $ and Expatriate Question, posted by JimmySTLOUIS on Oct 22, 2003

In terms of climate, Lima is kind of dreary in their winter, but you can travel north up the coast a few hours and find warm sunny weather with nicer beaches too, even in winter [closer to the equator]. You also escape whatever petty street crime you might find in parts of Lima, since you are out of tourist areas. Not too many gringos in the northern coastal towns, you will be treated like a celebrity there.

That's a plan that my wife and I are considering. Even if you locate yourself too far from Lima to drive, flying within the country is MUCH cheaper than flying within the USA.

[surfscum]

... in response to $ and Expatriate Question, posted by JimmySTLOUIS on Oct 22, 2003

It depends on which country you're in and what lifestyle you wish to maintain. I know that you could live comfortably on $1000US a month in Lima, in a good area near the coast. That includes rent ($275), food, eating out and movies. Spend a little more and you get a maid and a cook. I mean like $100-200 more a month. It's cheaper in other areas. I like Arequipa and could live there a while and I'm sure it's cheaper there, but I don't have any facts for it. Better climate than Lima, too.