After spending 3 months on this popular Indonesian island I have a good grasp of costs to live here. All of these numbers are just for a single retired man. No dog. No wife. No kids. Just me. Here we go with Bali cost of living… The cost to rent on this island, in popular areas, can be absolutely amazing low and can go up as high as “are you kidding me”. For example I booked a few hotel rooms, normally referred to as a “home stay”, for as little as 7 USD per night and this included breakfast!! I Read more…
Turning 60, a Paradigm Shift
All my adult life have looked and felt younger than the year printed on my British birth certificate. Turning 40..no big deal.. 50.. now married with 3 children.. still no big deal.
Turning 60. Ok, now THIS is getting interesting.
By 60 both my parents were dead, my 2 best friends and a few more friends along the way had also passed. I was also divorced and needed a much smaller home. My life was downsizing big time and I embraced the changes.
Plus in my 60’s, people had begun RETIREMENT; a huge shift in the paradigm of my life and for millions of others. I am speaking of “others” that are/were fortunate enough to live in a country where private and government pensions are the norm. However many of my friends were constantly checking their 401k plans and using “retirement calculators” on a regular basis. Not me, what would be the point, I would just get depressed! So how was I going to fund my life after 60? Many think they have to work until they are dead. Many others think that they would rather work that do nothing.
This website is full of ideas on how to change your thinking of what you need and where you can live for far less and still enjoy a safe and happy life.
My income as an engineer probably maxed out around 2008 and went lower from that point. However since my needs were less, since I was divorced and living alone, I was doing OK.. but unlike the US government I could see that my current lifestyle back around 2010 was not sustainable with my future pension income and changes would have to be made. A huge shift was in the wind. But how? What? Where? So my search for the best place to retire, for me, was now my focus.
Can you the reader can relate to this? Was turning the earlier decades no big deal and 60 IS?! So, what are you going to do now? Literally, what are you going to do now? I contend that many, many people agonize over which big screen TV to buy or which car to buy and give little thought to the BIG things in their lives. Things such as where do you really want to live and enjoy the rest of your life and what is it you will actually be doing while not having to work? You do realize that we get a chance at TWO lives-in-one nowadays? My parents were dead at 69 and 78, enjoying about 10 years of actual retirement. Me, I am hoping to live until 92 (I will die on a Tuesday, not sure which one) which means a whopping 30 years of not having to work.. a thing called retirement.
The mortgage on my last marital home could have supported several hundred, thousands perhaps, people living in a village in a Third World Country. All we all need is to change our way of thinking. For me I am going to think about what I absolutely can not live without. That list will include a comfortable bed with nice linens, a bathroom, a comfy place to sit, good quality food, a few happy friends and a computer so that i can continue this website :). Things that would be nice to have: a kitchen, a patio and so forth. Then a list of things I do NOT want in this huge shift in the wind: a crime ridden area, a polluted area and so forth.
So I am one of the lucky ones. First off, I am ALIVE, second I have great health and third I have a pension to look forward to. How about you? How will you make plans for your “golden years”? Does using on of those “retirement calculators” make you ill? Please make a comment below and share with us all what thoughts you have on this topic of turning 60 and retirement.
Welcome to your retirement guide to paradise
Hello, my name is John Arnold and with my travel and expat experience, I can help you get the information you need! The purpose of this website is to provide information about travelling or moreover, retiring outside your current country of residence. I have set out on a mission to find the Best Place to Retire.
This site is full of useful information about retirement and travel to beautiful and interesting places. What most of us have in common is a sense of wonderment with the possibilities in our lives and this website will help you implement those daydreams into reality. Actually looking back on my life, I have always been in search of the “best place” to live. In my fifties, friends began telling me: “John, nirvana doesn’t exist”. My reply: “maybe so, but there is an opportunity to learn about this beautiful world along with more joy and adventure looking for it”.
So where is this best place to retire? Is it the cheapest place to retire and live in? We all have various reasons to think about leaving our home country; you may be disenchanted with the current state of politics, the economy and affordability, the weather and others just want to experience a change in scenery. A BIG change in scenery!
Click on the menu bar above under “Countries” to find a list of countries that I have focused on. Further over to the right is a menu tab called “infrastructure”, here I provide information about transportation and how you get around your planned destination, how to use your cell phone, how to get cable television and use services like Netflix overseas and many more such topics. Also provided on this site is information on healthcare/insurance options and the logistics of moving your personal or household belongings to your new country and hopefully your paradise. There is also a “Social/Cultural” section where I have gathered information and learned the hard way, about relationships and how to behave respectfully in your chosen country. Last, but least, there is lots of information about “Cost of Living” including important pension information.
Your paradise and priorities in paradise may be different than mine. For me climate and safety are equally as important at the top of my list, followed by the cost of living. I see no point in being able to live very cheaply, in a sunny place but in an unsafe area.
Please enjoy the information and feel free to contact me about a topic that you think should be covered here on Retire in Paradise for Less. Happy reading.. and a very happy retirement.