My husband and I love to travel and have started thinking about retiring in a couple of years. We keep hearing about people retiring to Mexico, Costa Rica, and other countries because the cost of living is much less than in the U.S. and you can afford to travel more. Is anyone thinking of retiring to another country? If so, where, and why?

We are looking at spending the summer/fall in France..
I do business in France but my dream is to do my biz along with hanging in the summer and late fall in Paris and the Provence area..
I just salivate just thinking about it.

Friends have homes in Costa Rica and Mexico and they are seeing more petty crime that is becoming more violent, which I/they have never seen..it is very sad.

Best thing to do like we are going to probably in the next year or so is to spend a month plus where you want to be and see how it goes..
All the best Mary!

There are loads of forums about retiring in other countries. Just watch out for those who are really trying to sell you real estate.

Most recommend that you spend a minimum of a year renting a place before you buy a home, pull up roots, and move. This includes staying there during the least desireable seasons to see what it would be like if you HAD to live there. You will also find out if those stories about it being much cheaper are really true or not.

You need to carefully assess your healthcare needs, your need to have grandchildren or other family around, your need to get out and maybe travel more.

Traveling in a place and retiring there are very different entities.

Mexico.

Because the weather's, I love the people and the culture, you could drive home if you needed to (Hawaii is my 2nd choice but the ocean gets in the way).

It is not so much about cost of living (Puerto Vallarta my home-away-from-home is not all that cheap) or to be able to travel more... rather a new adventure for later in life.

I want to sell almost everything we own and bum around Europe for a year. Then come back and settle someplace.

Alas, we've got two kids in college so it's going to be awhile! But I can dream!~

My plan is not 100% retirement to a different country, rather to live 50/50 between two places... I guess I aspire to be a "snowbird" -lol!

Suze, would you make your second home in PV? My late husband and I talked about doing that.

LoveI~ Yes I would... in a heartbeat!

That would be my ideal - to have my current condo in Seattle paid off and live 6 months north, then head to PV for 6 months in the fall/wintertime. That way all the paperwork and legal stuff could stay U.S. (much less complicated than moving bag & baggage to Mexico permanently). I would rent, not buy in Vallarta.

That would also give me the freedom to be able to mix it up and go to Hawaii sometimes instead. Or spend time in Vermont or Switzerland, both places I love also & where I have friends living.

Hi again Suze, that is exactly what my late husband and I talked about doing..the same exact thoughts that you have. We never said anything to anyone but we thought about selling our house, buying a condo in our same small city and renting in PV for at least 4 or more months in PV. We always went to PV as much as possible when the cold winter weather hit N CA. Well it was not to be but I sure hope you are able to follow your dream Suze. You will have one Fodorite that will understand your thinking! Best wishes..and Happy Holidays along with wishes 2008 will enable you to take some wonderful trips!

Thank you LoveItaly, your post made my day! Very sweet of you. All the best to you and yours as well.

We bought a condo last year in Belize. Hoping to spend at least four months there per year as soon as we retire. We're guessing that will be in a year or two.

In the meantime, the condos in a rental pool, so the expenses are met and we have enough cash left over to pay for our 2-3 week stays in Belize now.

The condo is paid for, but our house here in the States is mortgaged.

The part of Belize we're in isn't much cheaper than the States either, but we love it there. Once we're there for months at a time, hoping to use it as a base for exploring the rest of Central America.