The Expat Retirement Thread (or expat thread)

Another Take

I immediately hated these spoiled
Millennials but that's just me.
Cons are the coffee and nobody
is a Lib vegan? Are you insane?
You move to a country that's
famous for their meat dishes
and bitch that it isn't vegan
friendly??? Language barrier?
You're in a FOREIGN country!
It's cold it the winter? Really?

Come back in 10 years when you're
adults.

Quote: Evenbob

The only place I would live as
an expat is Mexico. 1.5 mil
Americans are there. Cheap
rent, really cheap food,
friendly people. They say
you absolutely must learn
Spanish first. There is more
written on living in Mexico
as an expat than for any
other country.

I met a lot of expats who spoke only minimal Spanish. It sort of depends on where you live as to how important Spanish fluency is.

It is far away from the drug cartels as it is not a good place to grow drugs, nor is it on the smuggling routes.


Zacatecas is a small university city of about 150,000 within a full day's drive to Texas (415 miles to Laredo). So many Zacatenos live in the US or have returned from the US that many people speak English. Because it is not a beach town it is relatively cheap.

The airport is very small so most people drive to Texas
General Leobardo C. Ruiz International Airport(ZCL), also known as Zacatecas International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Zacatecas), is an international airport located in Morelos, Zacatecas, Mexico.

Volaris Chicago–Midway (1,562 miles), Tijuana (1,097 miles), Los Angeles (1,220 miles)
Volaris San Jose (CA) (suspended), Dallas/Fort Worth (suspended)
VivaAerobus Mexico City Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare (1,568 miles)
Aeroméxico Connect Mexico City (333 miles)
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth (770 miles)

I just don't get the concept. I want to be in a country that English is the main language. Period. I LOVED traveling through Portugal and Spain. In NO WAY would I want to live there. It is fun to use my minimal Spanish fluency on a VACATION. Not forever. Paraguay? Yeah... I want to live in a landlocked country in South America..... Give me Florida or Arizona for winter weather..... Buffalo for the summer... (I got ONE HUNDRED rounds of golf in this spring/summer/fall....!)

I visited Hawaii and loved it and
so I moved there 2 years later.
I hated it. Places that are great
to visit doesn't mean they're
great to live. What got me about
Hawaii wasn't that it's hugely
expensive. It was the prejudice
on display everywhere. The Japs
hate the Chinese and vice versa.
Native Hawaiians hate everybody.
Everybody hates the military and
white people. There's always
tension in the air you don't
notice as a tourist.

Quote: SOOPOO

I just don't get the concept. I want to be in a country that English is the main language. Period. I LOVED traveling through Portugal and Spain. In NO WAY would I want to live there. It is fun to use my minimal Spanish fluency on a VACATION. Not forever. Paraguay? Yeah... I want to live in a landlocked country in South America..... Give me Florida or Arizona for winter weather..... Buffalo for the summer... (I got ONE HUNDRED rounds of golf in this spring/summer/fall....!)

For me starting the thread it is about two things. One, you can live way cheaper and better. This can be a big thing. I saw my grandparent's standard of living erode quite a bit. It happens to many people.

Second and the big reason and I have said it before, I see major disruption coming to the USA. We are balkanizing. You can see what is happening in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and other places. This stuff spreads. I am not arrogant enough to say "it can't happen here!" It can and I believe it will. I see us as 1930 Italy/Germany at the moment. We may never get to 1938. It might take 20 years to get to 1938. But I want to have researched it all should things keep going bad.

Quote: Evenbob

I visited Hawaii and loved it and
so I moved there 2 years later.
I hated it. Places that are great
to visit doesn't mean they're
great to live. What got me about
Hawaii wasn't that it's hugely
expensive. It was the prejudice
on display everywhere. The Japs
hate the Chinese and vice versa.
Native Hawaiians hate everybody.
Everybody hates the military and
white people. There's always
tension in the air you don't
notice as a tourist.

We hired a guy lived in HI as hid dad was military. He didn't like it. Said driving is downright dangerous as at any moment 2/3 of people were tourists and do not know the roads. Said that if you are white you are living as a minority. Some people can take that some cannot. Everything cost a fortune.

The biggest thing people say is how yeah, paradise yadda, yadda, yadda. But in the end it is just another state.

Quote: AZDuffman

Said that if you are white you are living as a minority.

If you're working class white you
get treated like crap. The attitude
is, why are you here on OUR island.
And that's from Chinese and Japs,
they have wanted Hawaii for 150
years. You can't ride a public bus
without seeing fights break out
between Hawaiians and military.
You see none of this as a tourist.
If you're white and need a job,
better have one locked down
before you get there because
they'll laugh in your face if you
don't.

Quote: Evenbob

If you're working class white you
get treated like crap. The attitude
is, why are you here on OUR island.
And that's from Chinese and Japs,
they have wanted Hawaii for 150
years. You can't ride a public bus
without seeing fights break out
between Hawaiians and military.
You see none of this as a tourist.
If you're white and need a job,
better have one locked down
before you get there because
they'll laugh in your face if you
don't.

When I was a PCO it was rare for them to transfer people there. You had to sign a 2 year paper instead of the normal 1. I see the costs of housing alone in my job and would never even think of retiring there. You are probably better off living on Guam.

Quote: Evenbob

I visited Hawaii and loved it and
so I moved there 2 years later.
I hated it. Places that are great
to visit doesn't mean they're
great to live. What got me about
Hawaii wasn't that it's hugely
expensive. It was the prejudice
on display everywhere. The Japs
hate the Chinese and vice versa.
Native Hawaiians hate everybody.
Everybody hates the military and
white people. There's always
tension in the air you don't
notice as a tourist.

Anesthesiologist I trained with did just as you did. In addition to everything you mentioned, he complained about the very high cost of living if you wanted to live well. After two years there he took a job in Iowa!