Live the Life South of the Border

Filed in archive Retirement on February 23, 2006

I have a number of colleagues that have talked to me about moving south of the border and Living an expat existence. They have had a lot of good things to say about it, but for me it isn't quite the time yet.

Here is how free money finance sees it:

"I don't know about you, but I see this as a big trend in the future -- retirees moving to another country. Let's think of how/why this might occur: People aren't saving enough for retirement. Yet, they don't want to give up a "fun" retirement lifestyle. Their choices are to work longer or cut expenses dramatically. For those who don't want to work (or can't), moving to Central or South America provides the latter.

And by the way, the weather is WARM! What's not to love?

Of course, you can always retire in a different way and remain in the U.S. But if you want to do that, it's likely that you'll need to save more."

This is a legitimate comment as many Americans continue to have almost negative savings rates and in many cases little retirement funds. There have been many communities that a number of people from the U.S. have been living in south of the border for years, and I literally haven't heard a complaint from those that have taken this route.