Places where you can retire and live as an ex pat on a modest income

[viking22]

I'm getting a bit disillusioned with my career in accountancy. I'm hitting 38 this year. I have tried to move into more interesting areas within finance with no real success and I cannot see myself being an accountant for the next 5,10, 20 years. I don't plan to have a family. So I do sometimes dream about leaving the rat race and retiring early.

I live in a big city where it would be impossible to live on less than $50K a year. That would obviously need a retirement portfolio of around $1.5m. Even in smaller towns it would probably require $1m but then you'd be stuck in an area where most people are married and there is little to do and it is boring.

But I imagine there are places in the world where you can live off around $20k-$30k a year which assuming a 4% withdrawal rate would only require around $500k or so. And to give some inflation protection you could also buy a flat reasonably cheaply so you wouldn't have rent to worry about. And live in a major city so you could enjoy restaurants, cafes, bars, have a reasonable selection of single women in their 30s and other ex pats to socialize with. I could also probably generate a bit of extra income doing a bit of teaching online or something.

Does anyone else have similar ambitions and are more advanced in their research than I am?

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I am sure there are places that are very cost effective to live...

Here are some resources to start with:

Escape From America: 5 Cheapest Places To Move If You Want To Leave The U.S.

Want to move out of America? Here are some affordable places to consider if you want to leave the U.S. after coronavirus. Or sooner.

www.forbes.com

Quit Your Job And Live Abroad: 10 Places So Cheap You Might Be Able To Stop Working In 2020

Retire early or quit your job and move overseas: These are the 10 cheapest places to live in 2020.

www.forbes.com

 

[jaygreenb]

I'm getting a bit disillusioned with my career in accountancy. I'm hitting 38 this year. I have tried to move into more interesting areas within finance with no real success and I cannot see myself being an accountant for the next 5,10, 20 years. I don't plan to have a family. So I do sometimes dream about leaving the rat race and retiring early.

I live in a big city where it would be impossible to live on less than $50K a year. That would obviously need a retirement portfolio of around $1.5m. Even in smaller towns it would probably require $1m but then you'd be stuck in an area where most people are married and there is little to do and it is boring.

But I imagine there are places in the world where you can live off around $20k-$30k a year which assuming a 4% withdrawal rate would only require around $500k or so. And to give some inflation protection you could also buy a flat reasonably cheaply so you wouldn't have rent to worry about. And live in a major city so you could enjoy restaurants, cafes, bars, have a reasonable selection of single women in their 30s and other ex pats to socialize with. I could also probably generate a bit of extra income doing a bit of teaching online or something.

Does anyone else have similar ambitions and are more advanced in their research than I am?

I have something somewhat similar in mind but with different net worth goals. If it is something you really want to do, simultaneously while you are building your nest egg, build an online income stream. There are a lot of options on what you could do, even a few grand a month could basically cover all your living expenses. You would probably want to look and central/south america, SE asia or eastern europe.