Where to Retire Overseas

Here's how to retire overseas:
By: Kathleen Peddicord

Step #1: Know Yourself

There are a dozen good reasons, at least, to think about living or retiring overseas. Your challenge is to make sure you're moving for your reasons. Be honest with yourself...and with your significant other. What's most important? Cost of living? The weather? Accessibility to your home country so you can visit your grandkids on holidays? A reliable Internet connection so you can manage your stock portfolio? Health care (if you have an ongoing health concern)? The local school system (if you're moving with children)? The language (are you willing to learn a new one?).

What are you looking for? And, critically, what are you willing to give up and to live without?

Here are 12 factors to take into account as you work through the process of shopping for a new country to call home. I list these things in no particular order and leave it to you to prioritize according to your preferences and interests:

• Cost of Living
• Cost of Real Estate
• Health Care
• Infrastructure
• Accessibility To Your Home Country
• Language
• Taxes
• Safety
• Special Benefits (or lack thereof) For Foreign Residents
• Education And Schools (if you're moving with children)
• Climate
• Culture, Recreation, And Entertainment

Step #2: Take Out A Map

Once you've taken inventory of your priorities and agendas, you're ready to consider the geographic possibilities.

There are about 200 countries in the world. Some are cheap...many are beautiful...some have sandy coastlines...others boast interesting histories...

But not all of them are places you'd want to live. Here, then, are 20 countries worth considering right now:

Argentina
Belize
China
Croatia
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
France
Guatemala
Honduras
India
Italy
Laos
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Malaysia
Mexico
Panama
Philippines
Thailand
Uruguay

The trick is to connect the dots.

Good health care...affordable cost of living...lots of sunshine...favorable tax legislation for foreign residents...leads you...where?

I can't consider all 20 of the countries on our shortlist of The World's Top Retirement Havens in detail here (we'll do that for you over time...keep reading). However, I can offer some Cliff Notes, to help prompt your thinking.

For example:

*** World's Cheapest Retirement Havens

India is by far the cheapest place in the world to think about retiring right now. Intrepid Correspondent Paul Terhorst reports that a couple could live in this country for as little as US$735 per month, including rent. (We recommend against buying a home in this country, at least for now, because of political and legal problems related to getting and keeping clean title).

However, we realize that India is not everyone's idea of an ideal retirement haven.
Our second choice for the world's cheapest place to retire right now? Ecuador. You could live in this beautiful, safe country on as little a $660 per month if you own your own home or on as little as US$1,240 if you rent.

Next most affordable is Thailand, where you could retire on a budget of as little as US$765 per month if you invest in a condo or apartment...or on a budget of US$1,055 per month if you rent.

Also temptingly affordable right now (as well as beautiful and, yes, safe) is Nicaragua. Live well in the second-oldest city in the Americas, Leon, a beautiful, historic city within 20 minutes of the beach, on as little as US$954 per month if you invest in one of the city's grand old colonial haciendas for yourself...or on as little as US$1,300 per month if you rent.

Another highly affordable option is Uruguay, where you could live comfortably on US$1,038 per month if you purchase a home, on US$1,555 if you choose instead to rent one.

Plus: France. Yes, France. Not Paris...and not Provence. But in the southwest of the country, north of Spain. This region serves up the best of French country life...and is far more affordable a place to live than you might ever imagine. Contributing Editor Lucy Culpepper details the cost of living in Languedoc in the current issue of the Overseas Retirement Letter.

*** Luxury Living on a Budget

You aren't going to live a "luxury" lifestyle in Belize, no matter how much money you have. Even in Belize City, there's no fine dining, no great shopping, no haute-couture.
In other words, luxe living has as much to do with opportunity as it does with income. Where could you enjoy the good things in life on a budget of, say, US$2,500 to US$3,000 per month?

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Panama City, Panama
Paris, France

I'll qualify my Paris pick a little. First, I'm assuming you're not paying rent (or a mortgage). That is, you own an apartment. In that case, take my word for it: Living in Paris is as luxe as it gets...and can be far more affordable than you might ever imagine. A couple could have a hard time spending US$3,000 per month in this city (again, assuming no rent). Many of Paris' finest offerings come gratis, or nearly so, and transportation, too, is almost free (1.10 euro to get from one end of the city to the other on the Metro).

Telephone, cable, and Internet are a bargain. And, outside the tourist zones, everyday things (haircuts, groceries) can be very affordable.

*** Kid-friendly

If you're moving with children, you're looking at city, probably capital city living. That's where you'll find the international schools you need. Right now, consider:

Montevideo, Uruguay
Paris, France
Panama City, Panama
Wellington, New Zealand

*** Entrepreneurs Welcome

Don't move to France to start a business. Instead, consider:

Argentina
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Panama
Thailand

*** Best Health Care

If health care is an important consideration for you, you'll want to choose a big city, probably a capital city. Consider:

Paris, France (the World Health Organization says France has the best health care in the world...and I'd agree)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Managua, Nicaragua
Panama City, Panama

*** Eternal Spring

Don't like it too hot...or too cold? Here are three places where the weather is just right, all year-round:

Mountains of Costa Rica
Ecuador
Mountains of Panama

*** They Speak English

Don't want to learn a new language? Consider:

Belize
New Zealand
Roatan, Honduras

*** You're Connected

Don't want to go without high-speed Internet? Your best bets are:

Paris, France
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Panama City, Panama

*** Part-time Paradise

Don't want to leave the kids, the grandkids, or your old life behind entirely? Think about seasonal living in:

Argentina
Costa Rica
Mexico
Panama
New Zealand
Uruguay

*** Quick Escape

Want to know you could return anytime to the States or Canada, quick and easy? Choose:

Belize
Costa Rica
Mexico (you could even drive back and forth)
Nicaragua
Panama

*** Super Tax-friendly

Keen to mitigate your tax burden by moving abroad? Choose a country that taxes you only on the money you earn or remit locally:

Belize
Malaysia
Panama
Uruguay

Tomorrow: Steps #3 through #12...

You can reach Kathleen Peddicord at editorial@liveandinvestoverseas.com

URUGUAY

Uruguay - One of the Best Places to Retire For Affordable Retirement Living and Gambling

By Stephanie Hofstetler

Experiencing an economic slump, the Oriental Republic of Uruguay has turned to the foreign pensioners to help bring it out of an economic doldrums. Many who have moved to Uruguay have discovered it is one of the best places to retire - this article will tell you a little bit more about Uruguay.

The 68,037 sq mi land area, which largely relies on its agriculture production to keep its economy running, is searching for other options on how it would improve its gross domestic product (GDP).

It intends to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign to attract more foreign retirees or pensioners who are in search of a second home. Oftentimes, these expatriates prefer spending their twilight years in a tropical country, where the sun is out several hours in a day.

But there are a lot of countries in South America that have also declared its intention of being a retirement home for foreign retirees. Uruguay believes that it could stand up to the challenge and take a slice of the market as a retirement haven.

The 68,037 sq mi "heart shaped" country fought off its former invaders such as the Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilians but sheer tenacity and determination to gain independence drove 33 exiled Uruguayans to lead an insurrection. This same level of determination, plus the attraction of the city and strong tourism market propaganda, would attract the tourists and retired pensioners alike to visit and live, respectively, in the country.

What will happen next is inevitable-an economic recovery.

It would be practical for foreigners to live off their retirement years in Uruguay where they would be maximizing the value of their hard-earned money.

Quiet and quality time, whether on your own or with a loved one, would be strolling the beach Punta del Este. In the evenings, you could eat in one of the fine dining restaurants before you play a game of chance, or as others put it luck, in casinos.

While the peace and order situation in the country would need improvement, it is not bad as some other countries. Tell me what country can claim complete nirvana? None right. Every country is a work in progress at one point or another.

In this predominantly Roman Catholic country, petty crimes are recorded in its capital city of Montevideo such as pick pocketing, purse snatching, confrontational robberies and thefts from unsecured vehicles. But these crimes usually do not involve violence.

The Uruguayan law enforcement authorities have also increased the number of uniformed foot patrol policemen in an effort to improve their visibility. They particularly roam the streets noted for their notoriety or where criminal activity is concentrated. A number of patrol cars can also be seen around residential communities. No country is completely safe from crime.

Uruguay has many reasons that make it a best place to retire, learn more about retiring to Uruguay Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Hofstetler

The Adventurer's Guide To Early Retirement

Federal Obligations exceed world GDP

Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?

---

February 13, 2009
11:35 pm Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.

The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.

The real 2008 federal budget deficit was $5.1 trillion, not the $455 billion previously reported by the Congressional Budget Office, according to the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" as released by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The difference between the $455 billion "official" budget deficit numbers and the $5.1 trillion budget deficit cited by "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" is that the official budget deficit is calculated on a cash basis, where all tax receipts, including Social Security tax receipts, are used to pay government liabilities as they occur.

But the numbers in the 2008 report are calculated on a GAAP basis ("Generally Accepted Accounting Practices") that include year-for-year changes in the net present value of unfunded liabilities in social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Under cash accounting, the government makes no provision for future Social Security and Medicare benefits in the year in which those benefits accrue.

"As bad as 2008 was, the $455 billion budget deficit on a cash basis and the $5.1 trillion federal budget deficit on a GAAP accounting basis does not reflect any significant money [from] the financial bailout or Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which was approved after the close of the fiscal year," economist John Williams, who publishes the Internet website Shadow Government Statistics, told WND.

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"The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fiscal year 2009 budget deficit as being $1.2 trillion on a cash basis and that was before taking into consideration the full costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, before the cost of the Obama nearly $800 billion economic stimulus plan, or the cost of the second $350 billion in TARP funds, as well as all current bailouts being contemplated by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve," he said.

"The federal government's deficit is hemorrhaging at a pace which threatens the viability of the financial system," Williams added. "The popularly reported 2009 [deficit] will clearly exceed $2 trillion on a cash basis and that full amount has to be funded by Treasury borrowing.

"It's not likely this will happen without the Federal Reserve acting as lender of last resort for the Treasury by buying Treasury debt and monetizing the debt," he said.

"Monetizing the debt" is a term used to signify that the Federal Reserve will be required simply to print cash to meet the Treasury debt obligations, acting in this capacity only because the Treasury cannot sell the huge of amount debt elsewhere.

The Treasury has been largely dependent upon foreign buyers, principally China and Japan and other major holders of U.S. dollar foreign exchange reserves, including OPEC buyers purchasing U.S. debt through London.

"The appetite of foreign buyers to purchase continued trillions of U.S. debt has become more questionable as the world has witnessed the rapid deterioration of the U.S. fiscal condition in the current financial crisis," Williams noted.

"Truthfully," Williams pointed out, "there is no Social Security 'lock-box.' There are no funds held in reserve today for Social Security and Medicare obligations that are earned each year. It's only a matter of time until the public realizes that the government is truly bankrupt and no taxes are being held in reserve to pay in the future the Social Security and Medicare benefits taxpayers are earning today."

Calculations from the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" also show that the GAAP negative net worth of the federal government has increased to $59.3 trillion while the total federal obligations under GAAP accounting now total $65.5 trillion.

The $65.5 trillion total federal obligations under GAAP accounting not only now exceed four times the U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, the $65.5 trillion deficit exceeds total world GDP.

"In the seven years of GAAP reporting, we have seen an annual average deficit in excess of $4 trillion, which could not be possibly covered by any form of taxation," Williams argued.

"Shy of the government severely slashing social welfare programs, federal deficits of this magnitude are beyond any hope of containment, government or otherwise," he said.

"Put simply, there is no way the government can possibly pay for the level of social welfare benefits the federal government has promised unless the government simply prints cash and debases the currency, which the government will increasingly be doing this year," Williams said, explaining in more detail why he feels the government is now in the process of monetizing the federal debt.

"Social Security and Medicare must be shown as liabilities on the federal balance sheet in the year they accrue according to GAAP accounting," Williams argues. "To do otherwise is irresponsible, nothing more than an attempt to hide the painful truth from the American public. The public has a right to know just how bad off the federal government budget deficit situation really is, especially since the situation is rapidly spinning out of control.

"The federal government is bankrupt," Williams told WND. "In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary."