Best Place to Retire??

[PrimroseHill]

Look at Bahamas and its murder/homicide rates for a supposedly small tax free haven, full of ultra rich folks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... death_rate
Batam is SG's Tijuana? Not Guantamo?

[zzm9980]

Look at Bahamas and its murder/homicide rates for a supposedly small tax free haven, full of ultra rich folks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... death_rate
Batam is SG's Tijuana? Not Guantamo?

Egypt and Syria have some of the lowest homicide rates? Somehow I doubt that, unless sectarian violence and terrorism isn't counted.

And how do they get figures for North Korea? I'm calling BS on these stats.

[PNGMK]

Back to the topic....

I've met several couples over the years here and there who are convinced they've found the perfect retirement spot. They then spend all their dosh doing up some palace... only to ask me a decade later - "would you like to buy it? We're too far away from the kids/family/socialised medical care in Sri Lanka/Thailand/Spain".

so perhaps the best place to retire is the same place where you spent the rest of your life?

I think for many retirement is a huge adjustment and potentially an epic anticlimax, like NYE x10. In the sense you work for 40+ yrs to earn the right to a twilight period of bliss playing golf etc etc, but then you get bored after a few months and find the things you thought would make you happy actually don't, and even worse you start to miss the daily dross that you used to complain about all the time....

1. Yes - I guess if you can live somewhere ok for the rest of your life. Hence some Subconts are so desperate to get SC? Maybe not. I know plenty of immigrant Aussies though who up and move back somewhere cheap as soon as their OAP kicks in. (Egypt and Lebanon being two examples).

2. As for boredom the absolute worst cases are the offshore types who marry bar girls from the Issan and bumfuk parts of Thailand and then move into the country. It's just awful. Most of them start drinking by 10AM to get through the rest of the day it seems.

I do notice a lot of Singapore men hang onto the very bitter end in their jobs because of fears of being bored (not so much the money).

[sundaymorningstaple]

I do notice a lot of Singapore men hang onto the very bitter end in their jobs because of fears of being bored (not so much the money).

^^This.

[JR8]

I do notice a lot of Singapore men hang onto the very bitter end in their jobs because of fears of being bored (not so much the money).

I haven't much of a sample pool upon which to comment. But, my FIL did the very same. Worked well beyond pensionable age (for no pressing reason) until he dropped.

You might ask, what avenues are there for retired people in this country, where everything seems to focus on obeying the law, and working hard.

The answer is: don't retire. At least not 100%. Make sure you have some money-spinner gig that isn't necessarily do-or-die, yet gives you enough incentive to keep you buzzed a few hours every day.

Plenty if things you can do online for a couple of hours that keep your brain revved, after which you head off for the links or go fishing or surfing or (for JR8) lawn bowling.

Your 'buzzing' idea is very new-fangled and dot-commish. Pensioners all at liberty to set up successful .com businesses... sure!? You must be very young.

[x9200]

Probably yes, at least in their country of origin and it does not need to be successful (highly profitable). Self sustaining / low profit would be enough.

[Beeroclock]

I think it's more the mind set. If you have a very fixed, black/white idea to demarcate your working life vs retirement, it seems a huge transition and a lot of people will struggle to cope with the magnitude of change. When you've been in certain routines and habits of working for 40+ years, then one fine day it all stops and you no longer have work colleagues, pay check, a mandatory reason to wake up on monday morning, etc etc.

Even bigger transition if coupled with a grand plan to go to an exotic location (Thailand etc) to enjoy the good life and make all the years of toil worthwhile, as per PNGMK's earlier post.

So I reckon "don't retire" is a better mind set, or at least a very gentle transition with part-time work or a small business, etc.

[Vaucluse]

I was in Mexico for the holidays with my Malaysian wife, and her opinion after the trip was: "I felt safer in Mexico than I do in my own country". And we were in Mexico City for a few days as well...
.

A German-Mexican perchance?

I used to work in San Diego and tried to get to Mexico as often as possible, creating long week-ends to drive . . . past TJ . . .

Yours is a beautiful country, stuck between modernity and primitivism, not quite sure whether it is Latino or Indio, wealthy or poor . . .

. . . but one thing I can say for sure is that Malaysia is far safer than Mexico - not just by the numbers alone - though I never had any problems whatsoever . . . but then nor have I had them here in Malaysia after five years. . . . so I'm not quite sure why your wife would feel this way, unless she is Chinese and has a general dislike of Malays and their 'owning' the system, which is quite common.

Ah, retirement . . . NZ so the kids can go to good universities and enter the workforce on equal terms with others . . . and talk about safe? (earthquakes aside, of course)

[PNGMK]

There's no work for your kids in NZ - they'll end up becoming Aussies.

[JR8]

I think it's more the mind set. If you have a very fixed, black/white idea to demarcate your working life vs retirement, it seems a huge transition and a lot of people will struggle to cope with the magnitude of change. When you've been in certain routines and habits of working for 40+ years, then one fine day it all stops and you no longer have work colleagues, pay check, a mandatory reason to wake up on monday morning, etc etc.

Even bigger transition if coupled with a grand plan to go to an exotic location (Thailand etc) to enjoy the good life and make all the years of toil worthwhile, as per PNGMK's earlier post.

So I reckon "don't retire" is a better mind set, or at least a very gentle transition with part-time work or a small business, etc.

I think you're 2/3rds+ way there
It might be a mindset, but one of such monumental proportions, imposed upon you, that it is very difficult to simply shake off.
Your career usually defines you, who you are in the eyes of others.
A. 'Hi, I'm JR8
B. Oh, and what do you do for a living JR8?'

Why is that usually the 1st question, if not to try and socially triangulate you?

To test that hypothesis; next time you're asked that question, reply that in fact you do nothing [lol]. Everyone will hate you for that of course, so instead you better be good at making up plausibly 'busy yet independent' occupations to fib about.

When you are at total liberty to lie about what you do (travel writer, dive guide, property dealer, restaurant critic), it is amazing the number of people who'll take an instant dislike to you... lol. If you don't slot into their 'boxing ring' of personal lifetime possibilities...

[JR8]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vxY-zTmFyc
Rambo 4 [Redux]


[squint [daddy owns a lake) lol]

[Max Headroom]

Lofty, those starting from scratch the day they retire could find it a little bumpy eh. Better if you can get the ball rolling a bit before retirement.

BTW, it doesn't have to be .com.

But, yes, I'm very young.

[JR8]

It's Gunner Lofty

Didn't really get the rest.

Apols!

[PrimroseHill]

So, I am guessing, no need to retire. Or retire back to home country

[JR8]

Lofty, those starting from scratch the day they retire could find it a little bumpy eh. Better if you can get the ball rolling a bit before retirement.

BTW, it doesn't have to be .com.

But, yes, I'm very young.

No. Our generation have it easy.

The idea of 'retiring young' is anathema to my parents generation beyond the most uber-rich. These days for one fortunate (?) and 'accidental demographic' it seems a lifestyle choice. The internet has changed an awful lot, especially the devolving of work possibilities/locations.

So no, I do not join the plaintive cry of 'Oh, it's so hard these days'. It's not. In fact it's easier than it's ever been.

What I think has changed is the burden of responsibility has been moved. Whereas you used to work 40 years, retire and get the gold watch, now the onus is squarely upon you to set up your own pension and future financial well-being.

Put another way, my 15-20 year industry contributory pension is worthless. At least I think it is. I was wondering just today whether I should look into it 'One last time' to see if the tens of thousands of $'s paid in are worth even a few salvageable peanuts. Something not disimilar happened to my fathers pension too. [You have been warned ].

You still have systems like CPF that 'do it all for you'. Well, apparently. But perhaps like 'NI' in the UK when people actually start to rely and draw on CPF, they'll find it's worth absolutely toot! [Oh, shock!]