Feed: Exotic Retirement - AggScore: 45.7

We’d like to win a dream test-drive retirement overseas with International Living because…

it would be awesome to really learn what Cuenca, Ecuador is like, to see if it’s truly the ideal spot for our exotic retirement.

International Living is hosting a great competition to test-drive a dream retirement overseas and our video submission follows. What a great opportunity to see if everything we’ve read, seen and heard about Ecuador is true.

Fingers crossed that we’ll be the lucky couple chosen for this AMAZING adventure!

Win Your Dream Retirement Overseas With International Living

So we spent the weekend videotaping our entry for the contest being held by International Living: Win Your Dream Retirement Overseas With International Living.

We’re putting the final touches on it still and will post it when it’s finished but for now I just want to share a few YouTube videos I found really interesting about the town where the contest will take us to explore our test drive retirement overseas, Cuenca, Ecuador.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did, especially if you’re considering retiring in Cuenca, like me.

A Great Free Resource to Help Plan Your Retirement

I’ve written a fair amount about the book “How to Retire Overseas” by Kathleen Peddicord but I also wanted to give you a heads up about another resource this group (International Living) produces.

I’d highly recommend the podcasts they put out. One of the things Kathleen says is the best resource for expats is other expats. That’s what the podcasts are all about.

I’ve just listened to a couple of interviews with people who are kind enough to share their experiences about their life in their new land. There’s really nothing better and no better shortcut in planning than hearing how people live in the country that you are considering moving to.

The price is right (free!) so check out the podcasts from Internationally Living to get a better sense of the experience people like you are having.

I hope you find this resource as valuable as I do.

The Healthiest Places to Retire Overseas

I came across an article today about the healthiest places to retire overseas. Frankly I had never given much attention to this topic. I usually just focus on where best to stretch a buck in a safe place in the sun. But let’s face it. None of us are getting any younger so this is a consideration.

Here are the top contenders:

New Zealand where the average life expectancy is two years higher than in the U.S. (83 for women and 78 for men).

Part of Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador & Sardinia all boast higher life expectancies than most as well.

And let’s not forget France. “Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to the age of 122, defied all explanation. Still riding a bicycle when she reached her 100th birthday, she didn’t quit smoking until she was 117. She attributed her longevity to olive oil, port wine and chocolate.”

Not a bad gig. For more details check out the full article on International Living.

Destination for your Exotic Retirement

Here’s an interesting article I came across about possibilities for your exotic retirement:

Exotic Retirement

One particularly telling paragraph from the article:

“Panama regularly ranks among the top places for ex-pats to retire when magazines like International Living or organizations like AARP conduct surveys. International Living ranked Panama third globally, behind only Ecuador and Mexico, in a survey that weighed cost of living, health care, culture, infrastructure, etc. (The U.S., by the way, ranked 22nd, just ahead of Slovenia and the Dominican Republic). Panama’s “pensionado” program also offers deep discounts to seniors on everything from prescription medicine to food and airline tickets.”

Just behind Slovenia eh? Ouch!

Where Canadians Retire

According to a special report from the BMO Retirement Institute released in October of 2011, Canadians overwhelmingly prefer to live out their golden years close to home. A whopping 85 per cent of Canadians over the age of 45 say they plan to remain in Canada when they stop working. These statistics do not include Canadian snowbirds, people who trek south for part of the winter.

Overseas Retirement Spots Ranked

I just read a post from Kathleen Peddicord ranking her 12 fav overseas retirement spots based on a number of criteria. These include: language (ability to get along in English),  weather (how many months of the year the weather is pleasant), special benefits for foreign retirees, taxes, etc.

It’s a great overview and gives you the opportunity to get a nice easy picture of the good and bad points of different countries you may be considering. In case you didn’t see it, here’s the link:

Overseas Retirement Spots Ranked

Hope you find it useful!

Renting your Exotic Retirement Home

Renting your Exotic Retirement Home

Here are a few things to consider before signing a lease in the country you chose for your exotic retirement.

1. Make sure you know what you’re responsible for and what you’re not. Be forewarned. Some places normally charge renters for things they’d never consider paying, like property tax.
2. If you’re responsible for utilities ask to see the previous renter’s bills.
3. Find out what the difference between furnished and unfurnished means. (In some cases unfurnished may mean no appliances or lighting fixtures.)
4. What are you repairs are you responsible for? (In some countries renters are expected to repair structural damage.)
5. Protect yourself by documenting any existing damage and by photographing the state of the property before you take possession.
6. Consider how far away you will be from the nearest airport, hospital and amenities.
7. Test the water pressure (and hot water availability).
8. Determine if the property can be accessed in every (including the rainy) season.

Renting your first overseas retirement home allows you to test drive your new life without the commitment of buying. These tips, in addition to everything else you’d normally consider before locking into a new lease at home, should help prepare you for a few “surprises” you’d like to live without.

Health Care Options for Overseas Retirement

As promised, I’m bringing you some more recommendations from Kathleen Peddicord’s book: How to Retire Overseas. This concerns health care options for your overseas retirement.

As you are aware, this is one of the biggest decisions you will make (aside from where and when to retire) is whether you will get health insurance, and if so what insurance to get. Kathleen goes over a number of options in her book. The options include no coverage – depending on the country and your comfort level this may be a plausible option – to full scale international health insurance with a big international firm.If you choose to go the international route, she recommends Bupa since it is the best coverage for the price, plus you can probably rely on them to still be in business in ten or twenty years when you need to access their service the most.

She suggests you pass on Hospital insurance plans because if you become to expensive for them they may cancel your coverage. She strongly suggests you avoid internet insurance policies since she believes the low-cost premiums are not worth the risk. Local, or in-country medical insurance polices may be ideal for you if you have no preexisting conditions and are younger than 63 years old.

And here’s the most important piece of advise she has to offer on this important subject. If you decide to invest in health insurance, apply immediately. The longer you wait, the older you are on the date of the application. The bottom line is that it’s harder and more expensive to get coverage as the years pass so apply as early as possible.

How to Retire Overseas

I’ve just started to read a book called: How to Retire Overseas by Kathleen Peddicord. If you haven’t already, you should follow her. She’s a real expert on overseas retirement.

Kathleen has a lot of valuable insights which she shares in her various free and paid products. The only problems I have with the material I get from her is that there is a fair amount of selling (investment properties) and it is from an American perspective. Therefore, much of the information she imparts on things like taxes and visas don’t apply to me. That being said, there’s still lots of stuff that applies to us all. I’ll share some of her insights today and in the days to come.

The first key insight I got from her concerns how to research your overseas retirement.

As you travel and narrow your search to your top contenders, how do you get the key insights to decide which place is right for you? How do you get on the street, up-to-date information that a person in your special circumstance needs to know?

You connect with people like you that are in the country, town or city you want to relocate to.

OK, it’s pretty obvious that the people who came before you are those with the information you need, but how do you connect with them so you can ask: Who can hook me up with a safe reasonable place to rent?; Where is the best place to buy?; Who do you recommend as a tax attorney in country?; What problems didn’t you anticipate?; and the list goes on and on….

Kathleen suggests you connect with expat groups online. Just Google phrases like “expat groups” or “resources for expats” combined with the name of the country or region you’re interested in. Join online groups and participate on bulletin boards. Like she says, who knows better that expats the best options for health insurance, how to get a phone line installed, the best way to get a maid, the best neighborhoods to settle in and so on.

I’ll report back with more insights as I find them.

All the best planning for your exotic retirement overseas!