Offshore the poor.Can one live in, say, Mexico on 300 to 800 per month US?

[elehhhhna]

Will the SS Admin. send one's check to an overseas location?
Medicare coverage--anybody know if it's portable?

Can the elderly poor offshore themselves at retirement and live better on less than here?

Brainstorm, please.

[havocmom]

1. Actual living expenses, probably.

But real world expenses, you have to throw in the bribe monies I would think. Probably come to more if yo didn't want constant shake downs.

[radwriter0555]

3. What are you talking about? that's ITALY.. not mexico!

:)

[havocmom]

6. Hola, amigo...

and welcome to Baja ... where I saw the chief of police of a small town driving my brother-in-law's recently stolen truck on day on the news. Recognized it from a peculiar dent/scratch.

At least my daughter was smart enough to stay out of Cabo during spring break. Rest of the kids found it more, um, expensive than they had budgeted for. ;)

[radwriter0555]

18. Baja isn't REAL mexico, it's just California Adjacent.

The real sons of Mexico would never live in Baja.

It's for the tourista.

[havocmom]

21. Was using Baja to refer to all things south

I do know a bit about Mexico and I woldn't plan on living there without lots of bribe $ to keep the officials off my back.

[shrike]

27. That's a mighty broad brush

I know folks who know a few things about Mexico, too, and two of them ride their motorcycles 'cross it fairly regularly. They're not young people, and they've never been hassled, inconvenienced or "shaken down" in any way. They won't go anywhere at 3 a.m., but hell, I won't go out at three a.m. in my own neighborhood.

[radwriter0555]

31. Again, all things south are NOT like baja. Baja is the worst of mexico,

rivaling even the border towns along texas.

The heart of mexico is in the yucatan, where it is absolute paradise and exotic jungles, lovely mayan culture and amazing people.

[radwriter0555]

2. Yes. Yes and yes... One can live like a KING in mexico, among wonderful

kind, family oriented people in amazing towns and villages.

And MX's health care system is outstanding.. the doctors are excellent. The climate is wonderful and the living is EASY, tropical and quiet.

I personally can't get enough of the Yucatan.. Merida, Progresso, Cameche, beautiful places to live with great people.

Here is a good site to get an idea of the RE market there.... fish around it... http://miguelsmexico.com/

[ugarte]

4. It all depends on how you want to live

If you don't mind living like the locals, eating what the locals eat, you can get by. Things get expensive if you try to replicate your U.S. lifestyle, i.e. a modern house, trips to the supermarket, etc.

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. Let's see:

In answer to your first question, yes, but it depends on where in Mexico. You wouldn't be able to afford any of the touristy places, so knowledge of Spanish would be essential.

As to the second: Yes for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) and SS retirement; NO for SSI (Supplemental Security Income).

As to the third, yes, and the cost of medical care and prescription drugs is also significantly lower, hence the increasing number of Americans who deal with Mexican pharmacies for their prescriptions or arrange visits to places like Mexico or India to procure healthcare services they couldn't afford in the US.

[Bridget Burke]

7. Americans have been retiring to Mexico for years.

Not exactly the poor ones--but money goes farther there. Word from down South--check out the various communities before investing permanently. Some are quite pleasant, others not so.

The Guadalajara area is especially popular. Close to a big city, with weather that is never too cold or too hot.

[ugarte]

8. Best advice: give it a trial run

Don't move lock,stock and barrel. Plan to spend some time in your target destination. A few months, at least. Check the rents, just see how you like it. If the first place doesn't suit you, try another.

Caveat: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, SHOULD YOU SHIP ALL YOUR HOUSEHOLD BELONGINGS DOWN THERE. IT IS EXPENSIVE, THERE IS RED TAPE INVOLVED, AND YOU MIGHT END UP CHANGING YOUR MIND AND HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN. (I have lived abroad and seen this happen to more than a few people.)

Travel light, do without and accumulate things gradually in your new life. Look before you leap.

[Horse with no Name]

13. You can't take refrigerators into Mexico

You have to buy the poorly made, short lifespan expensive ones down there.
One of my friends from years ago lived back and forth and told me that little tidbit.
My aunt was telling me though, that some friends of hers moved down to a small village in Mexico. They built a beautiful home.
The government took it away from them.
They brought back what they had left of their life savings and moved back to California.
I've heard it reported on here that there are several wonderful expat communities in Mexico that don't have that type of corruption.
Just be careful though.

[GOPisEvil]

9. San Miguel de Allende is popular with American retirees.

http://www.internetsanmiguel.com/

[sam sarrha]

10. yes, and very well.. but who would want to..?? you would not last a week..

there are over 5000 missing in Juarez, there are over 700 women missing they find bodies everywhere all the time.. there is a mass murder there and the police say that they were just prostitutes anyway. I have friends that live there.. why do you think 20,000,000 have come here..?? and the line to cross is backed up at least 300 miles.

the police steal peoples cars and throw them in jail for ransom.. and they don't feed you in jail.. someone has to bring your food. Americans in jail have had their wives raped when they come to visit.. about 6 years ago an American woman who was 7 months pregnant was raped visiting her husband.. this stuff doesn't get out because we don't want the Tourism to be effected.

the UN declared the Mexican government Democratically irretrievable and Morally bankrupt.

I have been there, i lived in El Paso.. it is a pathetic place.. the people suffer the sort of Fascism that is being set up for us.. the 'haveNots' survive on a sidewalk economy, the *Haves* exist in a society second only to France..

Mexico is raising the standard of living for the *Haves* by exporting their poverty to the United States. The Mexican migration is the largest migration of people in the history of the earth.. but it isn't really a migration because they aren't going back.. and if the problems caused by this migration haven't come to your town.. they soon will. in Atlanta, there were 2,800 a month coming into town.. they decided to build a *Day Labor* center..for 2 1/2 MILLION dollars to accommodate them, but there is not day labor for the citizens.. for the thousands out of work because of Bu$h's outsourcing jobs

Wages plumment, housing skyrockets, the schools are flooded, hospital healthcare is streached to the limit.. In El Paso I paid 17 Times for free healthcare to local hospitals in property taxes per month than i paid for my own health insurance, Hospitals were closing up and leaving town.

[Bridget Burke]

11. Who would be stupid enough to retire to Ciudad Juarez?

Mexico has been popular among older (& younger) Americans & Canadians for years. Many settle near Guadalajara or the old colonial towns of the Bajio. Others prefer to live on one of the coasts--or perhaps Oaxaca.

The Border towns do not represent the best of Mexico (or of the USA). Of course, some people can find The Worst--no matter where they live.

[raccoon]

12. thanks for sharing that

I find this thread really interesting. I've thought about moving somewhere I could live very cheaply.

Anybody know anything about retiring to India? (Don't laugh, they say curry helps prevent Alzheimer's.)

[elehhhhna]

14. Good answers, everybody. How 'bout Costa Rica, etc.

Suggestions of other nations are welcome!

[King Coal]

15. Check out Ecuador.

It is now like Mexico used to be.

[ohio_liberal]

17. Costa Rica

I only have experience with San Jose, so take it as a part not as the whole. My ex worked there for a couple years for a telecom company. It's a beautiful place but I don't think I would consider settling there forever.

Like people here have said of Mexico, you can live there fairly cheaply if you throw off the American trappings. US goods are expensive. The ex lived in what was considered a very nice apartment for around $700 a month. I think to most Americans it would be ok, but not fantastic. Now he lived with the locals, not in one of the "American" communities. There are wealthy American businesspeople that live in communities unto themselves. They don't rub shoulders, not much at least.

Now, its been several years and I know the government has cracked down, but I do remember that the post offices and customs were very corrupt. We never shipped anything of value back and forth to the US because it would not make it's destination. The telecom industry was corrupt too (which is why the ex didn't stay any longer than he had to) and if you were screwed over by your employer there was little recourse. American tourists were also a target for criminals, nothing new there I know. M always said that people tried to get over on him, from taxi drivers to his landlady, to people at markets. That's the bad stuff.

The good stuff--the food is unbelievable, the flora and fauna is remarkable, and oh. my. God. --the coffee is to die for and it's cheap! Medicines are cheap too and health care (the minor stuff we dealt with) is highly affordable. And M was blessed with neighbors in his apartment building that took a lonely American under their wings and showed him how to survive.

[radwriter0555]

19. Thailand is heaven on earth.. the living is very cheap

and the people are lovely as well.

[shrike]

16. Juarez?

Judging Mexico by Juarez is like judging the United States by Detroit or Akron (with apologies to denizens of both cities; I know they have their good points.)

[radwriter0555]

20. I think Tijuana makes Juarez look luxurious...

The US influence on the borders of Mexico hasn't been good at all.

[shrike]

26. Never been to Tijuana

But I'll take your word for it.

I've been to Mexico once -- Guadalajara and the coast -- and loved it.

[Lisa0825]

25. Wow... talk about generalizations...

That's like saying all of the US is like Detriot (no offense, Detroit).

I have visited Mexico many times, and love it, and would love to live there someday.

Yes, some places are dangerous. Yes, there is corruption. But many places are much safer than your average US city.

If you move there, be sure to research what you can bring. Bringing things that are obviously old/used and not very valuable is a safe bet. I think with the permit, youget to bring a one-time load of belongings, and there may be a monetary value limit on it.

I second the advice to try before you buy. Rent an apartment for a couple months and see what you think.

Tourist areas will not be cheap, but even there it is possible to live, if you live where the local workers live. In Cozumel, for example, I have friends who rent an apartment for $200 a month about 5 miles from town. If you are walking distance from town, it would cost more like $6-700, more for luxury. Electricity is quite expensive there too.

Home ownership there can be very risky. The laws are NOT on the side of foreign ownership. But relatively good safeguards can be legally established. I know a lady who has built two beautiful homes there. she has a forum at www.cozumelmycozumel.com . If you decide to build, you can check for information about her experience.

[Bethany Rockafella]

22. I wouldn't. I'm Black.

Mexicans don't take too kindly to black folks in their country.

[elehhhhna]

23. Then it's off to the Caribbea!. I'll tag along!

[radwriter0555]

32. Then you haven't been to the Yucatan? Lots of blacks from the islands

live there... there are no racial issues... it's all just.. life.

[Selatius]

24. MOST DEFINITELY

I know this computer programmer who was fired. He went to work in the Philippines. Now he only gets paid roughly 10 to 15k a year now for a job that should pull in several times the amount in the US, but he lives like a king now because cost of living is so cheap.

There was this one Navy guy I was talking with a week or so ago when we were waiting for our jobs to clear at this casino. We got to talking, and he mentioned a mid-level officer (I forgot his rank) who owned a beautiful home in the Philippines. He said he had marble floors, the whole nine yards. He even had three maids looking after his property. You cannot get that with an officer's salary in the US. There's simply no way.

It's not as easy as it sounds though. This is just two examples where the cards were right. I'm sure people have been screwed over or cheated in some way, shape, or form. You've got to study it. Look before you leap. You have been warned.

[sweetheart]

28. india as well

Same issues as with mexico, but if the culture works for you, it
is as well "cheap" by western-cash terms... especially outside the
larger cities.

However, given that western people are accustomed to certain standards
of society, likely western europe in a population declining country
like italy...

So much depends on whether "latino" culture works for ya.

[enid602]

29. SS

You still get your social security if you live abroad. You would just have it deposited into your regular acct in the States, and use your debit card overseas to draw it down. You can go into any US embassy overseas to negotiate any problems you have with SS. Not that I've checked it out . . . .

[mitchtv]

30. I like Costa Rica

but they want to see bucks to be a legal perm resident. lots of them. Very wierd squatters rights there too. I would only rent. The people are gentle and friendly to Americans. food good, cheap same with fresh flowers, the scenery is the best i'v seen outside of Colombia.