Due to the rising cost of living in Melbourne and Australia generally I'm thinking more and more of the possibility of retiring in another country after my RTW trip.
Life tends to get in the way of the best laid plans and my 6 month South American trip planned for 2014 has had to be put on the back burner and Im now looking at a RTW in 7 years or so once I get my full superannuation payout.

In my research on the top spots to retire to worldwide the top 2 countries seem to be Ecuador and Panama, both having excellent programs and incentives for retirees, which extend to non nationals.

At this stage though I'm more likely to choose Thailand but am open to anyplace I find on the road that takes my fancy.

So I'm wondering how many people actually relocate or retire to another country after their travels?
And what made you choose that country?

Cheers,

James

I suspect not that many is the answer; the ties of family and familiarity draw a lot of people back 'home'.

I would surely be considering Thailand, Panama and Costa Rica as well as Belize and Ecuador. Paraguay and Uruguay are often overlooked as well. The availability of decent healthcare as one gets older is a consideration, I think, for a lot of people.

It seems like the economic crisis in the U.S has seen record numbers retiring in countries where the standard of living is still high but the cost of living is 50-70% less. Europeans and Australians are also moving to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia.
I can understand that family and friends are probably the main factor.

From my point of view I could work another 5-10 years after I reach my full firefighting pension to be able to have a comfortable lifestyle in my own country or retire 5-10 years earlier and live a tropical beach lifestyle at a fraction of the cost.

Healthcare in Asia(perhaps apart from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) is now of a high standard at a fraction of the cost of western countries.
Anybody who has been to a Bangkok hospital can tell you they are more like hotels, have excellent care and are relatively a bargain compared to their own country.

I would have thought that given the general population are retiring in foreign countries in record numbers, overlander's would be even more likely to relocate for a higher standard of living relative to cost.

Or are most adventure travellers these days BMW 1200gs/Touratech riders with unlimited funds :-)

I am a pensioner and my home base is a country that gives me free health care with priority treatment, free travel and arguably the finest TV and radio programmes in the world. My dwelling place has one of the best beaches in the world, OK most of the year lying on it semi naked would probably lead to hypothermia but on the good or even better side, there is no chance of being continually bothered by locals trying to remove my hard earned pension by almost any means possible, legal or otherwise. I must admit that attempting to satisfy what remains of my rapidly diminishing sex drive without resorting to slightly illegal means is harder than it would be living in the tropics, but each to his or her own. Like almost every country that I have been to and they are many, on closer inspection they are all, in my opinion, better to visit than to live in. I am writing this missive in Colombia whilst waiting to catch a boat to Cuba and the moto that is parked beside me on the hostel patio is my 2004 BMW R1200GS with some Touratech bits and 260,000k on it, I bought it by saving up from my miserly military pension which is not a patch on the one that our police and firemen get but they have a union and my lot have to rely on the goodwill of our elected representatives. Still, mustn't grumble. Just in passing, how many counties in the world can you take an indexed linked pension to and also, once again, how much will this super duper health care cost. I would keep buying a lottery ticket. Oh and bye the way, I am a two wheeled tourist and not a poser adventure traveller. Ride safe.

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Mike
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Mike is riding the twisty road in the sky

Maja thanks for your input. You started well but halfway through deteriorated into a somewhat bitter little rant thereby confirming another well known factoid on the HUBB, being that BMW R1200 GS riders not only have money to burn but have absolutely no sense of humour whatsoever

You do sound quite old so FYI in future note that a :-) at the end of a sentence is called an "emoticon". It tells the reader that the previous sentence was meant in jest.

When you get to Cuba, chill out, have a or two and get some sun. The vitamin D is great for depression. smiley face!

You did well to get to the end of the previous posters "post"

I got to about line 4,

vette

What Mike says above, more or less.

I've been retired 15 years now and travelled a lot. Staying the winters in various warmer places, S. Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Oz, S. America.
I'd return to all of them tomorrow for another visit, but there are lots of other places still to see.

Nearly every place I visit I think - well, this is a great place, nice people, warm biking climate, a good place to live.
The places where this really kicked in were Bali, New Zealand, Bolivia, Oaxaca Mexico, eastern suburbs of Malaga, Margarita Island (N. coast away from the holiday towns, Venezuela), Cartagena Colombia, Western Kenya and others.
But every time, after a short or maybe a long while, I get homesick.
For London.

Winter here now. Inside the M25 40 mins from the West End. An hour from Brighton:




I took the photos a couple of hours ago, then read this thread.
I don't think being an overlander has anything to do with it. It's the depth of your roots, the sense of belonging, the sense of place.
My travelling has been mainly by big Honda, big Ducati, big Aprilia and little Yamaha. Never felt any sort of draw towards those Bavarian machines.... (My word, they're getting controversial in these threads lately!)

In fact I think the more I've travelled (I travelled around the world a bit for work before retiring), the greater has been the sense of belonging here.
Something about being born within the sound of Bow Bells I suppose.

And to confirm the purely mercenary aspect hinted at by Mike. Yes, the index linking of my pension stops the minute I move abroad.

So it's very nice to imagine a home in the sun, to daydream a new life, but reality is much better.
Home is where the heart is!

(From above, it seems I should add some of these to go with the winter Vitamin D ... )

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

You got it in one, I am a bitter little ranter who is not only quite, but very old and have no sense of humour as anyone who knows me will confirm. However, I will take one thing that you said very seriously, I will have a when I get to Cuba, in fact I have already started practising. Finally, despite all of my apparent social problems, identified courtesy of your long distance psychological profiling, some things cannot be denied:

1. I have a BMW and you don't.

2. I am travelling and you aren't.

3. I already have my pension and you don't.

4. Next week I will be in Cuba and you won't.
5. Our is better than your .

It truly is a hard life but try not to weaken, just hope that the world economy will not continue so far down the tubes that it screw up everyone's pension plans

Ride safe

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Mike
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Mike is riding the twisty road in the sky

I agree retiring in a foreign country is something that appeals very much to me.



We are all from different walks of life and have opinions a plenty although the binding factor here is travel, regardless of your chosen mode. Being fortunate enough to travel many a country really opens ones eyes to the world economy. What one may perceive as good value at home is often a very different case elsewhere. It's not hard to see why so many people are becoming expats, don't quote me on this but I heard some 80,000 Ozi's are leaving our sunny shores yearly and I for one fully intend to join their ranks.


I'm not bitter or twisted but have my opinions and love my country but think there is so much more to life and lets face it is short enough. I don't intend to wait for retirement and have lot stock n barrel on the market. The quality of health care is an important factor to be considered although for me I'd like to keep on the move, spending time here and there where one finds friendships, countryside and an economy where bend over, spread your cheeks and not too deep please ...... isn't the norm!