Where will you retire?

[Swn4]

Totally agree. The age that you go to college makes a big difference to your college experience. My husband went to Cornell after A Levels & NS (so 21) and found the other Freshmen very immature.
In hindsight, he recommends not rushing to finish college and spending the full 4 years for the full experience.


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[Lisafuller]

Totally agree. The age that you go to college makes a big difference to your college experience. My husband went to Cornell after A Levels & NS (so 21) and found the other Freshmen very immature.
In hindsight, he recommends not rushing to finish college and spending the full 4 years for the full experience.


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Exactly my thoughts. Its one thing to be smart enough, but being mature enough is another. Sometimes its better not to rush and just enjoy the ride.

[malcontent]

I graduated HS at 17 and started college at 18. For the first 2 years I lived with my parents, drove to college, 30 minutes away. Did that for 2 years and continued to working part time. Then at age 20, I finally decided to get serious, quit my job, transferred to University and lived in the dorm. It was a very different experience, mostly positive. There is a lot of camaraderie in the dorms, which helps build friendships quickly and gets you linked up with many social happenings. I must have enjoyed it because I ended up spending 3 years living in the dorms. The senior student dorms are definitely more sedate, but I still preferred it. Everyone is different. You really learn a lot about yourself through the experience.

[Lisafuller]

Good for you, Mal. Nice that you had such a positive experience. My point is just that there’s a difference between starting college at 15/16 and 18. 2 years may not seem like a lot, but a lot of maturing happens in those 2 years.

[hangmann]

Just jumping into this thread, does anyone plan to retire here in Singapore without PR? Some background, I'm American, I got my PR rejected, and I like living here but don't want to keep on working just to be waiting on my PR. I like the idea of keeping a home base here in Singapore where I might spend something like 7 months out of the year. Anyone think this is a bad idea or would it be possible?

I posted this question here but realised this thread is quite similar.

[malcontent]

Just jumping into this thread, does anyone plan to retire here in Singapore without PR? Some background, I'm American, I got my PR rejected, and I like living here but don't want to keep on working just to be waiting on my PR. I like the idea of keeping a home base here in Singapore where I might spend something like 7 months out of the year. Anyone think this is a bad idea or would it be possible?

I posted this question here but realised this thread is quite similar.

Your plan is not going to work for very long using an SVP, unless you have some other means to stay in Singapore during retirement. They keep close track of anyone they suspect of making visa runs, and can deny you entry. One way around this is being married to a citizen or PR here - your spouse can sponsor you for an LTVP. In fact, this is what I plan to do with my wife (who is a PR) if we happen to spend our retirement years in Singapore.

That said, if you want to stay in Southeast Asia in retirement, there are plenty of other attractive options where you can stay that are well established and you can easily enjoy a great life on less than S$2k per month.

Thailand is a popular one, and although they “seem” to have made things more difficult in recent years, if you do your homework, there is still a way to just transfer THB 65k from outside Thailand into your Thai bank each month, that is really all it takes.

Vietnam has a special one year “business” visa exclusively for Americans, and it doesn’t require that you do any business, merely exploring business opportunities is enough. This visa is very popular for retirees because it is dirt cheap and hassle free.

Then of course there is the Philippines, where you’ll find the most American retirees in all of Southeast Asia. Unlike other countries in this part of the world, you can do visa run after visa run and they don’t mind. Even better, they will extend your tourist visa repeatedly for up to 3 years before you need to do a visa run! There are a wide variety of places to stay there, you could consider BGC if you want something similar to Singapore, or the Dumaguete/Valencia area for something more rural but with sufficient amenities a large expat community.

Malaysia is also an option, although they have recently made their MM2H program a lot more difficult, but if you can swing it financially and want to stay close to Singapore (or an island that is similar to Singapore, like Penang), you can consider it.

Indonesia is more tricky, first off you have to be a minimum 55, but given the tax laws imposed on residents there, I wouldn’t recommend it - unless the only taxable asset you have social security alone (exempt by tax treaty).

Finally, one other choice where you won’t need a visa is Guam, still in Asia but a little far flung, it’s bit like tiny version of Oahu. While it’s more expensive, it’s still very reasonable compared to Singapore. Prior to Covid there were direct flights from Guam to Japan, Hong Kong & the Philippines, around 3-4 hours flight time.

[PNGMK]

I would add Taiwan to your lift Malcontent. Guam to TW has regular flights. I'd also add Goa in India and Sri Lanka as well and even down as far as Mauritius.

[malcontent]

I would add Taiwan to your lift Malcontent. Guam to TW has regular flights. I'd also add Goa in India and Sri Lanka as well and even down as far as Mauritius.

Interesting. Do those places have substantial communities of retired expats? And do they have retirement visas or other ways to stay in country as a retiree? [edit: looks like Mauritius recently made it easy to retire there for 50 or over, Sri Lanka also has a retiree program, Taiwan is a bit more difficult and India is almost impossible unless you are NRI]

I know that Goa has a long history with backpackers and hippies, seems like a cool place. Mauritius has an interesting multi-cultural vibe, but is a bit isolated. Sri Lanka seems a little more dicey, might need to be a bit more careful there. I have not been to any of the three though.

I have been to Taiwan, and it’s main appeal seems to be immersion in the Chinese culture. It is good for shopping, eating and hiking. One advantage, you can actually drive there without any special skills — can’t say that about most countries in Southeast Asia, outside of Singapore and Malaysia.

[hangmann]

Thanks for the suggestions Malcontent and PNGMK. So it seems like no one really plans to retire here in Singapore unless they are married to a citizen? Even having PR doesn't seem to cut it, given that it needs to be renewed every 5 years and may not be renewed if you aren't working.

I guess I wouldn't be doing "visa runs" in a very obvious sense, I think it may look more like 3 months in Singapore, 1-2 months elsewhere like the US, then another 3 months here. But that might get tiring to do that after so many years.

I'm aware of the other options in SEAsia, actually I am Vietnamese ethnically but was born and raised up in the US, so I'm well aware that Vietnam is a popular option as well, however I do like the feel of living in Singapore as an Asian-American, as it is a good balance between my "Americanness" and my "Asianness", where as living in other places in SEAsia I feel too much of a cultural gap, even perhaps in Vietnam.

[smoulder]

Thanks for the suggestions Malcontent and PNGMK. So it seems like no one really plans to retire here in Singapore unless they are married to a citizen? Even having PR doesn't seem to cut it, given that it needs to be renewed every 5 years and may not be renewed if you aren't working.

I guess I wouldn't be doing "visa runs" in a very obvious sense, I think it may look more like 3 months in Singapore, 1-2 months elsewhere like the US, then another 3 months here. But that might get tiring to do that after so many years.

I'm aware of the other options in SEAsia, actually I am Vietnamese ethnically but was born and raised up in the US, so I'm well aware that Vietnam is a popular option as well, however I do like the feel of living in Singapore as an Asian-American, as it is a good balance between my "Americanness" and my "Asianness", where as living in other places in SEAsia I feel too much of a cultural gap, even perhaps in Vietnam.

Malaysia (MM2H visa) might be worth considering if you can manage the financial part which has become quite difficult to achieve for most retirees.

[hangmann]

Thanks for the suggestion smoulder, yes perhaps I should explore Malaysia more as an option, given it still great for an English speaker there, similar to Singapore.

Another option that came to mind is just simply Oahu, Hawaii given that is pretty close to Asia in terms of demographics, but the high cost maybe an issue (Although maybe it works out to be similar to Singapore if you avoid the killer costs there, like eating out). Also I heard theft and homelessness can be bad there as well, as in many liberal cities in the US.

[PNGMK]

I would add Taiwan to your lift Malcontent. Guam to TW has regular flights. I'd also add Goa in India and Sri Lanka as well and even down as far as Mauritius.

Interesting. Do those places have substantial communities of retired expats? And do they have retirement visas or other ways to stay in country as a retiree? [edit: looks like Mauritius recently made it easy to retire there for 50 or over, Sri Lanka also has a retiree program, Taiwan is a bit more difficult and India is almost impossible unless you are NRI]

I know that Goa has a long history with backpackers and hippies, seems like a cool place. Mauritius has an interesting multi-cultural vibe, but is a bit isolated. Sri Lanka seems a little more dicey, might need to be a bit more careful there. I have not been to any of the three though.

I have been to Taiwan, and it’s main appeal seems to be immersion in the Chinese culture. It is good for shopping, eating and hiking. One advantage, you can actually drive there without any special skills — can’t say that about most countries in Southeast Asia, outside of Singapore and Malaysia.

I know a few people who have used TW as a base for living in but not retirement truthfully.
For Sri Lanka it has waxed and waned in popularity with expats from here - I've known two who have bought property there with the intention of retiring but I don't know if they actually have done so. There appears there was a way for Commonwealth citizens to "retire" in India (or maybe I'm being misled by the movie Hotel Marigold? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_ ... gold_Hotel) - the appeal for India is the extremely low costs outside the big cities of course.

I am not a big fan of the PH I might add. Far too much crime there but I saying that I know a few offshore guys who have retired there and are fine so maybe it's just me.

Mauritius is becoming popular with ex Mauritians (a lot in Australia) and South Africans with money etc. Probably won't work for us.

I think at present I am sticking with Mexico and North Carolina.

[PNGMK]

Thanks for the suggestion smoulder, yes perhaps I should explore Malaysia more as an option, given it still great for an English speaker there, similar to Singapore.

Another option that came to mind is just simply Oahu, Hawaii given that is pretty close to Asia in terms of demographics, but the high cost maybe an issue (Although maybe it works out to be similar to Singapore if you avoid the killer costs there, like eating out). Also I heard theft and homelessness can be bad there as well, as in many liberal cities in the US.

For a long long time I considered Penang. However once the Covid19 showed Malaysia's true colors on the MM2H program then I bailed on it. Even Thailand was better at how it treated retirement visa holders in the pandemic.

[PNGMK]

Thanks for the suggestion smoulder, yes perhaps I should explore Malaysia more as an option, given it still great for an English speaker there, similar to Singapore.

Another option that came to mind is just simply Oahu, Hawaii given that is pretty close to Asia in terms of demographics, but the high cost maybe an issue (Although maybe it works out to be similar to Singapore if you avoid the killer costs there, like eating out). Also I heard theft and homelessness can be bad there as well, as in many liberal cities in the US.

I have American friends who have semi retired to Hawaii. They seem to like it. I'll them where they live.

[malcontent]

Thanks for the suggestions Malcontent and PNGMK. So it seems like no one really plans to retire here in Singapore unless they are married to a citizen? Even having PR doesn't seem to cut it, given that it needs to be renewed every 5 years and may not be renewed if you aren't working.

PR is not renewed, only the REP. But if you leave Singapore without a valid REP you lose PR.

If you are 55 and older, it is possible to renew your REP without employment, provided you continue to spend substantial time here as a retiree (and have the means to do so).

This was clarified in parliament:

https://mothership.sg/2020/02/parliamen ... lications/

However, I do know of one PR where their REP renewal was rejected (prior to the above). When they appealed, they were asked to produce evidence of employment… and the person was over 80 years old! So they asked the ICA, can retire or not? Their appeal was successful.

But what you said is true — most who work here on an EP without any family ties are not going to retire here. Let’s be real — it is not the most economical place to live, nor the most relaxing… so most choose to retire elsewhere unless they have family ties.

Even if you own a place here outright, most retirees would rather unlock that asset and put the funds to work in an investment portfolio, generating a safe withdrawal rate that can be enjoyed during retirement rather than locked up in an illiquid asset that has far lower yield.