For anyone living overseas who signed up for a membership with
#InterNations -- be aware that they are not refunding even if you moved from your former city due to #coronavirus, and you request a cancellation the day the trial period ends. Complete racket. #worstcustomerservice Horrible experience. Avoid them. They also have no more events, of course, because of coronavirus. I also wonder what other services are doing.
1
"In December they landed in Barcelona, without speaking a word of Spanish."
The language there is Catalan.
6
I'm 60, am in good health, and am heading to Prague this summer to learn how to teach English as a foreign language. After that, I think the world is my oyster. English language learning is desired in every country on the planet, including English-speaking ones (refugees, immigrants), and with more and more learning taking place online, I expect to spend at least part of my time abroad as a cyber-nomad, teaching from anywhere that has reliable Wifi. This country is just becoming too insane, and to be honest, I think I suffer from geographic dysmorphia, always feeling like I was born on the wrong continent. Eager for the experiment to begin.
11
"According to the U.S. State Department, an estimated 9 million U.S. citizens live overseas ... "
That should read "abroad," since a lot of countries such as Canada, Mexico, and countries in central and South America are not actually "overseas." They're all part of the same land mass as the US.
2
I read articles like this with a sense of bemusement. My wife (former PCV and study-in-Florence survivor who speaks 5 languages) and I picked up and moved to Germany and worked there for 6 years in 1985. While there we had 3 kids (who, for reasons of German law, are not German citizens), and had many fine adventures. We returned for 5 yrs to Raleigh, NC and then moved to Berlin in 1996 and lived for another 6 years. So we did all that Ex-Pat stuff two decades before this article was written. And we loved it. And would do it again in a heartbeat. Now, in our 60's we have an open offer of housing in a beautiful location in England. As soon as we can get the visa issues sorted, we will pack our bags and go. We will (probably) always remain US citizens, but the lure of a new adventure is too much to resist.
As previous comments have clearly noted, the key word is VISA, without which one is "perpetually a tourist". Our two stays in Germany were both courtesy of an employer who needed me there and then (and for which I am grateful).
3
My ex husband and I raised our children abroad. Now, my current husband and I are planning to move to France. (BTW, he was raised in Germany...German mother, American father... and his first language was German.) We’re using the next year to divest and make the move. It’s all about the adventure.
1
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in west Africa 1990-91. I have never left the United States since then, and I never will, thank you very much.
1
The article doesn't give much attention to visa issues, and my experience living abroad in Deutschland and Vietnam has taught me that none of the color commentary mentioned in the article means much in the long term without some form of residency other than perpetual tourist status.
As essentially a retiree, I keep my music industry enterprises active to qualify for a one-year business visa; currently only available to US citizens here in Vietnam.
I'm allowed to stay for the full year without the need for the exiting and reentry known as border runs by those who hold tourist visas.
Laws here are getting more restrictive, and after June, no tourist will be allowed to stay for more than 30 days at a time.
Vietnam is pushing back against the countless foreigners who come here to work under the table, mostly as illegal, unqualified English language teachers.
Thailand has an actual retirement visa, but the requirements have been increased lately so that many expats attempting to stay there on the cheap are now being forced to seek a home in a different country.
My military pension plus a smaller than average Social Security check make life quite comfortable for me here, and as long as I maintain a stateside address with the help of family, Charles Schwab bank takes care of all my finances, most importantly with full monthly rebates of all ATM withdrawal.
My standard of living would tank if I returned to the USA now, so if VN stops being workable, I'm off to...
8
@Vietnam Veteran Your visa comments are spot on and I would like to borrow your phrase "perpetual tourist", if I may.
@Vietnam Veteran Hello and thanks for reading. Visa requirements were noted in the companion piece, which is linked in the story.
2
The good thing is that many countries allow retirement there with a certain amount of monthly income.
1
Most of the comments on this article focus on logistics: taxes, employment, housing. Not quality of life so much. There are some interesting places to live in the US. I put NYC right at the top of the list. Then New Orleans and San Francisco. But they all have significant negatives: NYC you live to pay rent and SF is on another planet with regard to real estate. NOLA I love, and being in the South it’s affordable - but it’s dangerous as hell!
I like Europe. Montevideo is really a small town as cities go, but it also easy to nick over to Buenos Aires. Interesting that most Millennial expats live in Argentina. And BA is dirt cheap (with all their financial problems) for Americans and Europeans. (1 USD = 60 AR Pesos).
Paris, Madrid: those are real cities with a commitment to culture, to art, to food, to living! Logistics may be better than you think if you get into it a bit (taxes are not a problem for Americans in France and retirement income is not counted for health care contributions).
Barcelona is very trendy now - it used to be so wonderfully cheap and bohemian - and so cleaned-up that I don’t really get the appeal anymore. Once you get past the Modernisme, it’s pretty thin...
Live! Love! La vida es sueno...
@Vidal Delgado Hello: I had the great pleasure of visiting Montevideo in November last year -- what a lovely city! I walked all over, visited many museums and ate very well. I would move there in a heartbeat!
1
My family has lived on and off in France for over ten years, and nomadic for another five. A critical service not well discussed is the ability to have a stable US address at a mail forwarding service. We use PostScan Mail; there are other good ones, too. Living in several cultures is educational and soul-expanding in ways that are impossible to explain to those who haven’t had the experience. Our children are true citizens of the world, with an openness of spirit that is desperately needed.
3
i am almost 70, and am very frightened of our political situation.
i also would like a little adventure.
however, i could never move away. i would miss my friends, my neighbors, my family and the place i have carved out in my community.
i have travelled and seen "expat" communities in ecuador, costa rica, mexico and portugal and they all seem sad to me...
8
@pamela There's no need to confine oneself to an "expat community". The best adventure is to stay as far away from those as possible. There's far more to Mexico, for example , than the expat ghettos of Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel.
3
these are not expats they are called migrants here and are not wanted here...
4
Do any of these people know that they are limited in their career choices, and even their volunteer opportunities and banking options because of FATCA? Do they know their dual citizen children will be required to file US come taxes for the rest of their lives, even if those children never live in the US? The US has citizenship based taxation with very complicated limitations, often at odds with the laws of the country where these people now call home. It doesn't matter if they file and pay taxes in the country where they actually live. Their freedom is compromised and it sounds like they don't know it.
5
@Connie Kuhns, do you also consider they have a legal right to renounce their citizenship if they would like to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. Perhaps there are financial freedoms abroad experienced when no allegiance to any particular country is given, for a modern world citizen. Just a friendly thought.
7
@Kim Have you actually attempted to renounce your U.S. citizenship? The emphasis is on "attempted".
Sound of one hand clapping! That's right. Run and hide. Don't bother staying and fighting for your country. After all, ya don't wanna break a sweat worrying about democracy or your fellow Americans who cannot flee this mess, or who refuse to flee this mess because, hey, we're decent enough & strong enough to resist & persist. Besides, what are these effete wealthy people so afraid of? Their money allows them to be safe, even if they hide away in their gated communities while democracy dies. Even in a fascist state, the rich do well. And think of all the unemployed & desperate Americans who will be available to hire as servants, once income inequality & the GOP turn the majority of Americans into desperate peons.
8
@Jane Expats can still vote in the U.S., as long as they retain their citizenship.
3
@Jane I know so many US ex-pats on fixed incomes here in Ecuador. They are super smart to get better bang for their buck, especially in their golden years when the income will be increasingly limited. Living in the US, these same folks would be strapped, looking at whether to afford the pharmaceuticals or food this month.
Retired people are deservedly looking to relax a bit and get away from the stress of "resist and persist". Give it a break!
I for one (70 yrs) manage a social service foundation helping those in extreme poverty (earning $1 or less a day) a good work that puts a good name on Americans. So, I continue to serve my country. God Bless!
11
@Jane well done, for deminstrating you know abosultely nothing about this situation.
As a Brit, I specifically took US citizenship to be able to continue to influence US politics while living here in Portugal. I still need to protect my daughter at college in Iowa, and my assets in Colorado.
It has been very refreshing and inspiring to see the results of the Portuguese overthrow of fascism.
We see ourselves as conductors on the railroad out of Gilead.
2
Speaking as an American who's lived outside the US for the entirety of my adult life, I think we need to stop using the word "expat."
You go from the US to live in London or Paris or Singapore? You're an "expat." But everyone who comes from a developing country to London or Paris or Singapore (or New York)? They're "immigrants." What a difference in connotation, for two words describing people doing the exact same thing. Words matter.
This is so evident in the UK where I live, where the rhetoric against immigrants escalates, but where those who come from developed countries can distance themselves from it all because they claim the elite label of expats, not immigrants, particularly when they come to work in white-collar jobs. Every time is a missed chance to show solidarity and help change attitudes towards immigrants.
I'm an immigrant. So are most of the people in this article. And if we really want to fight against rising nativism and anti-immigrant bigotry, we all need to own the label. Please, let's erase this "expat" word from our vocabularies.
86
@Elle. Right now, I would rather erase the word immigrant and all its discriminatory connotations.
3
@Elle, I’m guessing that “expat” implies a temporary relocation with an intent to eventually move back home, whereas “immigrant” is more of a permanent relocation.
15
It’s true there is a certain snobbery inherent in the term.
9
Big help starting out millionaires! Ie: NYC and Hamptons abodes! Give me a break!!
61
An American living and working in Mexico is an expat. A Mexican working and living in the US is a migrant. Go figure.
105
@Herne Exactly. For the most part, "expats" are white, and most often of a certain class. When I lived and worked in the ME, it was blatant. I was there working and was called and "expat." The people from South Asian and the Philippines were "guest workers." I call myself and immigrant, and I am. I am a legal resident and will be getting citizenship when I am legally able.
7
@Herne
Only if one insists on viewing it that way. I and the people I know who live abroad, for any reason, look at this way:
Person moves to a foreign country temporarily, often for a job but perhaps love/adventure/whatever, does not establish permanent residency or have any intention to, and DOES intend to move back to country of origin: expat.
Person moves to a foreign country planning to establish permanent residency and stay indefinitely: immigrant.
For example, I started out as the former but am now the latter.
10
Living abroad is pie in the sky for most Americans. We are from Washington state currently traveling in Australia for three months. We would love to retire here but that requires a substantial $300,000-$500,000 bond among other requirements. Still there is NO path to permanent residency for us to retire here. Same for New Zealand. Hurdles all around the world.
Subscribed to International Living and have been to Mexico and Ecuador. Not for us.
Using examples of couples who already had a foot in the EU is not a reality for the rest of us.
A better researched article showing the hurdles in place in the EU, UK, and other first world countries would have been more beneficial to those wishing to leave the US.
Besides, when it comes to Trump, you can run but you can’t hide.
166
@Neil Carlsen
RE Australia for three months. We would love to retire here but that requires a substantial $300,000-$500,000 bond among other requirements.
See for all those bashing sensible immigration policy many other countries do it. They don't want to support armies of poor immigrants.
14
You don’t understand the logic behind the sizable bond that Oz and other countries require. We are friends with a couple our ages here in Oz. They have lived here their entire lives, both served in the Australian military, paid taxes for over 40 years, and he still works as a very busy volunteer fire fighter. The logic behind the bond is to “invest” in Australia just as our friends have invested their entire lives here.
I am not speaking for or against the sizable bond that Oz and several other countries require. I brought up the bond and other hurdles to the author and readers that many Americans cannot just pick up and leave as the article suggests.
21
@Reader In Wash, DC
Oz is a large country with a tiny population compared to the US & especially China & India (half the world lives in Asia!).
With only 25M residents how does Australia deal with 3,400M neighbors next door? Imagine if our neighbor Mexico had over 1,000,000,000 residents!
4
The ability to relocate to virtually anywhere you choose is a privilege reserved to citizens of so-called first world countries. Imagine how many persons (skilled/educated) from developing countries who would love the ability to move wherever they want. This is the essence of first world privilege.
58
When Trump was elected, my Canadian spouse and I moved to Canada. It was a drag to leave our friends and the mild California weather, but I don’t miss living in the US. It’s nice to take my kid to school and not worry that she’ll be gunned down while sitting in science class. There’s gun violence here but it’s nothing like the US. Taxes are higher but everybody gets healthcare and public education is good. Immigrants are generally not feared or reviled. In our suburban town, we see transgender cashiers and pharmacists in hijabs and no one seems triggered or terrified by that.
I think 99% of Americans would like the healthcare we have in Ontario. We Americans have been fed a steady diet of nonsense propaganda about Canadian healthcare. It’s not perfect, and there can be long waits to see specialists, but if there’s something really wrong with you, you’ll be taken care of right away. Also, if you want private insurance and concierge plans, you can buy that here too. You’d be hard pressed to find a Canadian who would trade their healthcare for ours.
There’s tension between conservatives and liberals here but the politics are far less toxic. There are Trump fans here, too, but most people I meet are appalled by the man, and anxious about what is happening in America. I share their anxiety.
248
@Alexander Harrison yes, that is why every country with universal healthcare is fighting to go to what the US has.
11
@KP If you cared about your country and its destiny as much as you say you do, you would be here and not there.Why turn an anodyne observation about the qualities of Canadians, and the simple pleasure of living there into an anti Trump diatribe?Re health care, why is it that so many Canadians rush "dar dar"in haste to the US for health care if the system is so great in Canada?Uncle of mine spent last 25 years of his life recovering from his war time injuries in the "Guerre de Quatorze,"World War I to you perhaps, was treated very well, and thus I have a soft spot in my heart for Canadians and Canada.When my father would go up to visit him, he always asked me to go with him and sorry to this day I never went!
6
@Marie WHAT?!
10
Record numbers of U.S. Passports are being issued these days.
The credit for this belongs to Trump.
Millions of Americans are clearly desirous of taking a permanent vacation from him.
201
@A. Stanton nah. The increase lies in the decreasing cost of international travel. The passport only allows visits to foreign countries, not permanent stays. Don't give that fellow more credit than he deserves.
23
@Mary Jane There are other reasons Americans are obtaining passports in record numbers. I renewed mine because it feels like a good idea to have one, in this tumultuous time.
Perhaps there is no chance of a speedy escape from the crash and burn dystopia that is the US, but a valid passport makes the fantasy seem a bit more feasible. Others recognize that a valid US passport is the document found to be most acceptable to the surveillance agents, when, increasingly , we are confronted with demands for "papers".
27
@A. Stanton
Remember that until recently you could travel to many countries, including Mexico and Caribbean as well as Canada, without a passport. Post 9/11 new restrictions were phased in for international travel and now all foreign travel requires a passport.
15
Interesting how Americans living abroad are called "expats". Foreigners living in the United States are "immigrants".
765
@Peter Excellent point and one that folks like me who have studied Americans living abroad (my study was about anglophone migrants in Japan - mostly Americans) always look at. Brits and French abroad are also referred to as "expats." For an in-depth look at this topic and others that concern Americans abroad check out Dr. Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels' book "Migrants or Expatriates?" Best in-depth academic study of Americans abroad that I know of. Fascinating reading....
47
These two terms can be confusing, and while their use can appear racist, they actually have specific legal definitions. “Expat” refers to people who are sent overseas for a specified period of time, and who intend to return to their home country. Expats don’t accrue years toward permanent residency in the host country (which is at least five years for Americans in Europe). We lived in Prague for four years as expats, and were we to move back there, we would need to start our year count from zero, for example.
Immigrants, on the other hand, come to a country and intend to stay. We are immigrants to Switzerland and could apply for permanent residency in a couple of years, for example.
Expats do tend to be richer and whiter than immigrants, because it is usually a multinational corporation that sends them over; it is not the term but rather corporate hiring practices that is at fault here. In any case, it sounds as though most of the people in this article aren’t expats but rather are indeed immigrants.
182
@Mari That would be a good way to distinguish the two and I personally like the idea that "expat" be reserved for those who are coming into a country under contract. Calling someone like me an "expat" is kind of ridiculous - I've been in this country so long that I'm on the cusp of retirement and the only pension I will get is from my country of residence. I'm an immigrant.
But the use of the word "expat" for Americans abroad isn't consistent. It very much depends on the how the American community in a country uses the word. I was very surprised to learn in one place that "expat" was used to describe anyone who doesn't integrate - doesn't (or can't) learn the language well enough. for example. In another place "expat" is someone on a very VERY good contract (the kind where you get all the bennies like international schools and a fancy house) and the assumption here of course is that you are some rich high-level exec. It's amazing how varied use of the term is.
25
Excellent article.
If Trump, the would-be unstoppable dictator, somehow manages to be (i refuse to say wins) reelected, the exodus from the US will increase exponentially.
In the article the author said: "anyone can pack up and leave in 2020". True, but anyone cannot stay legally. The people you featured either were married to a citizen of their adopted country or invested in a business in their new country or were nomads using tourist visas and moving every few months. Visas are a huge problem to being free to live wherever one chooses.
I am retired at 71 and not terribly interested in the headaches of starting a business or having yet another career. I prefer to travel and recently spent 71 days visiting 8 countries in Europe. This was my third trip to Europe since moving to Colombia in early 2018.
Colombia makes it extremely easy to get a 3-year retirement visa for around $600 without needing a lawyer. But the EU is not so welcoming to foreigners although I hear for $3 to $ 5K there are lawyers who can facilitate an arranged marriage that is never consummated.
"They use TransferWise and Xoom to move funds between their banks in both countries." It is illegal to initiate a transfer of cash from outside the US using these money transfer companies but Bank to Bank may be different.
The article never covered income tax. The United States is one of only two countries that taxes citizens on their worldwide income. Foreign banks share data on US citizens with the IRS.
265
@Norm I forgot to mention that thousands of financially well off people are renouncing their US citizenship every year to avoid the double taxation once they have obtained residency or citizenship in another country.
For people on modest income with most of it pension income, the double taxation isn't as much of a problem but it is often necessary to file tax returns in both the US and your adopted country and finding true experts is difficult and expensive.
In some countries there are tax treaties that can eliminate some portion of the double taxation plus various exemptions and deductions that are totally different than in the US.
This sharing of data and double taxation is what is fueling bitcoin which is untraceable.
People who have lived outside the US for decades and whose income is earned in their adopted country are still taxed on that income by the US.
While renouncing citizenship may end you need to pay taxes on foreign income, it will also disqualify you for Medicare. But your Social Security Retirement benefits are secure (depending upon what the politicians do the amount may not be secure but your right to receive it is) and not dependent on residency or citizenship. In many countries your Social Security benefit can be directly deposited into your foreign bank account.
132
@Norm
"...one of only two countries that taxes citizens" s.b. "that tax citizens. It even sounds wrong, Norm.
1
@Norm A lot of ex pats work under the table.
12
If more Americans only knew that they are micromanaged by a police state and regularly feed chlorinated chicken to their kids, perhaps they’d realize that the US is really not a great place to live unless you are running from murderous drug gangs.
4
Leaving SF was very hard since we had 5-star health care (free) from University of California San Francisco(UCSF), subsidized child care for our 2 little boys on our same Mission street, superb social surroundings (nite life and friends). My wife and I even had great jobs (and non-IT at that)! Rent for a one-bedroom with a southern-exposure deck was $1,400 (great for SF standards) and we could make all the noise we wanted but you need to know when to jump ship as the boys were growing and needed more space and the street was grimy with substance sales, prostitution, urinating drunkards, and intoxicated homeless. Barcelona seems like heaven in comparison though the bureaucracy is horrid and utility companies have free reign to suck you dry. We thought we had the Golden Visa (get ready to pay thru the nose) but alas I was detained in 2014 at a protest in SF against murder by police and the bureaucracy said no! I hired an attorney and the case is under appeal. Despite this, would do it all again albeit a little different. Unlike California, it's quite hard to get arrested in Spain so I need to get tons of paperwork saying that I wasn't even arrested. If you come to Spain, you need €$€ because they won't let you work for a while. If you have the chance, take the risk and leave the United States of Amnesia. Once in Barcelona, rent 1st with your 3-month tourist visa, then buy. The "American Way of Life" was killing me so for me it's been worth it! Get out while you can!
9
@Technocolored Thank you!
@Technocolored which Golden Visa company did you use, and why was it so expensive? Thanks!
I was a Scot in South Korea for 4 years, then in the US for 10 years after that, and have now been back home in the Highlands for a year. I brought my two children, 2 dogs, and 3 cats with me...and now 10 months later am finally at the end of the process to bring my (American) husband of 13 years here too. We sold everything, house, cars, belongings - we sent only 10 small boxes of memories and documents - and used that capital to pay for starting up and the hellishly expensive visa process. It isn't for the weak. It was an active plan for 2 full years...and in the works for many years before that. It has been incredibly hard to be a family split apart - myself going from stay at home parent to full time sponsor - but every day my relief builds. I'm stunned by the views that pop up around every turn, even though I grew up right here. It's spectacular. We're excited to plan vacations around Europe, and I still hold my breath when leaving a doctor's office because I feel like someone should grab me and tell me how much I owe. Most importantly, and the reason that propelled us out of America - our kids have stopped asking about bad guys with guns. They've stopped thinking of hiding spots in their cafeteria, and talking about getting murdered. They've regained the freedom of childhood, and everything else is just noise.
16
Blue Cross Blue Shield Advantage is telling people that if they move overseas they lose Medicare permanently. It would have been helpful to include some US insurance professionals with accurate information on Medicare. Of course, you can buy into expat insurance for the country you choose, but what if you do plan to return in your final years? Getting definitive answers is challenging as is finding certified sources of correct info.
4
@poslug I have been living in Mexico for almost 2 years. My wife just became Medicare eligible and we signed her up for regular Medicare.
Medicare coverage is not available outside of the US. Some hospitals are excepting some Medicare Advantage plans here. What many expats do is pay into Medicare and buy a air transport policy to get them back to the US in an emergency. Health care here is very good and very inexpensive. My wife is a retired RN and a real pain in the butt patient and she has been thrilled with the healthcare.
She does need to go back to the US once a year get get her thyroid replacement meds which are not available outside of the US.
I have a high deductible insurance policy ($5000) which cost me $1000 for the entire year. This is really catastrophic coverage. Check out our journey at https://careerpivot.com/expat where I have discussed our healthcare journey and a lot more.
2
Where is the discussion of taxes and immigration laws? Everyone who handles expatriate assignments for corporations know that these are difficult issues. Taxes are the biggest expense in an expatriate assignment, and getting work visas can be challenging for many countries. You can't work in a foreign country (even if you only perform work for a U.S. company) on a tourist visa. There is also no mention of permanent establishment issues. If you do work from a foreign country on behalf of your U.S. based company, you create a significant tax liability for that company if they don't already have an entity in that country. Borderless sounds easy, but it is not. Do it wrong and you could find yourself with a huge tax bill and legal troubles.
7
This article reads a bit like an advertorial.
Where are the challenges, the comparisons to the US? My understanding is it’s very difficult to become an expat, and not cheap. No mention of friends or families left behind. I found the comments more informative than the article.
8
@Liberal Hack I've lived in Costa Rica, Vietnam and now, Malaysia. I think it's not as hard as you think it is as long as you do your research carefully, plan ahead, and know what you're getting into. I got residency in all of these countries pretty easily actually. The biggest thing though is the falsehood that it can be done cheaply. You still need savings or income. Few countries are cheap any longer.
3
There are 9 million comments to be made here. Everyone has a story. When people ask why we moved to New Zealand (or Australia if they were mixed up), older parents with high-school-aged children, I say options/choices. I didn't like how things were going when we moved in 2008 it's much worse. I needed to be in an English speaking country to work and NZ is the best there is. AU too much like the US, Canada too close, South African worse than America, England -- well need I say more. We tried to escape once before in the mid 70's and lived in Sweden for two years but didn't stay -- it wasn't what we thought it was going to be -- but a great experience. We are now settled -- dual citizens -- if I surrender my US citizenship I would lose SS benefits. Paying US tax is annoying but not that big a deal. I don't think any accountant knows how to reconcile international with US income either in NZ or in US. I feel really lucky we are here. My son was 15 when he immigrated and when he traveled in the US last year, at age 25 everyone thought he had a foreign accent -- which he does of course -- kiwi. All the money we put away for university wasn't spent -- tuition for a bachelors degree (the Whole thing, not just one year) was $12,000 USD. Hospital care is free. Medication $5 NZD for 3 months supply. GP visits are costly -- about $35 and that's it. My tax rate here is slightly less than the US, police don't routinely carry guns, and I am out of space.
15
@Rawiri You do not lose your social security income if your renounce your U.S. citizenship.
the big topic this article doesn't cover but needs to is TAX. The US is one of one or two countries that taxes its citizens regardless of their location and this causes all kinds of double-taxation issues. Many countries (like the UK, where we live) have a tax treaty which helps, but it's still highly limiting and often requires spending a bunch of money on advisors, etc.
9
Is this article prompted by the expectation of people leaving should Trump be re-elected? I'd do it in a heartbeat if I were only a little younger.
6
Everyone in this article had the financial means to leave the states. Something a select group of Americans can do.
11
@Beth Grant-DeRoos
And thus price locals out of their own towns and cities.
2
I have lived overseas since 1997. The bane of my existence has been dealing with American banks and investment companies especially since the Patriot Act came into being. No American Bank will allow me to open a checking account. My investment fund requires me to drive five hours to the nearest American consulate to get my signature verified on any applications I submit. Each signature verification costs $50. American expatriates are treated like terrorists and drug dealers in their home country. Before you leave the USA, be sure you have a decent checking account. Other than that, I have never regretted leaving the USA.
8
@Stuart M. Yep, I have a checking account in the US, thank God.
@Stuart M. Your excellent comments correctly point out one the glaring omissions of the article. The banking and investment issues are defiantly problems that have no simple solution.
Many years ago, my late wife fainted in the summer heat of Verona, IT. Ambulance ride, ER visit, EKG and observation for the day. All was well, just too much sugar and caffeine for breakfast. At reception, they said the bill was about $300 USD. I was a little frantic about how to pay for it, but relieved it was a fraction of what t would have been in the US. The hospital didn’t take credit cards - imagine that... I said I’d go to an ATM and come back with cash, at which point the receptionist shrugged and said, “ahhh, maybe we’ll bill you, maybe we won’t.” They didn’t.
32
In 2016, my husband and I — both in our 50s — left the US to travel full-time. Like a lot of the people in this article, we sold our home, our cars and reduced our belongings to whatever would fit into a 10 x 10 storage container. We also quit our jobs, although I was able to continue to work as a freelance writer. Although we centered our travels in SE Asia, where the cost of living is cheaper, we also spent several months in Europe. Like many people here mentioned, as Americans under the Schenzen agreement we are only allowed to spent 90 days in EU countries and then we need to leave for 90 days before we can return. However, even before Brexit, the UK allows its own 90 day limit, so we were able to stay in Europe legally for 180 days. If you are planning to stay longer, you need to apply for a different kind of visa directly to the country where you will be living.
After two years, we had to return to the US for a family emergency, but we have no regrets about the time we spent as expats and look forward to getting back on the road. We tallied up the annual costs of living as an expat and wrote about it on our blog. You might find it helpful if you are considering this lifestyle. https://www.twolostamericans.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-travel-the-world-for-a-year/
12
Well, you've not even wasted a single word on another group of true EX-pats, of which I am a member: Those who have given up their US citizenship and naturalized in another country, thereby forever ruling out a permanent return to the US of A. I lived abroad for 30 years before making this move in 2015 and feel for the first time that I've really arrived and am no longer a guest in Germany, my chosen country. Having a German passport allows me to acquire any other EU passport, and the Swiss, which I've made a goal. On the other hand I have family in Norway. Naturalizing there would invalidate my German passport, however. Maybe you should dedicate another article to us! I met the love of my life two hours after arriving in Cologne in September of 1984 and left NY for good in May of 1985. We lead a very privileged lifestyle with homes in four German cities. Wouldn't have happened for me in the US of A. And have literally traveled the globe for our work as visual artists.
Now writing from Gig Harbor in Washington State, US of A. where I'm attending a memorial service for my 91-year-old father, who just spent a month with us in Cologne, Berlin and Heiligendamm on the Baltic coast. So the US relatives benefit greatly from my being abroad!
Curtis Anderson Cologne / Berlin / Potsdam / Heiligendamm
17
@Curtis Anderson "I met the love of my life two hours after arriving in Cologne in September of 1984" !!! incredible
5
I'd love to see the Times highlight people who left the country because they couldn't find jobs of any value. I left for South Korea in 2009 because I couldn't make ends meet in the US. While Korea certainly had it's downsides, both my BA and MA were viewed as assets, I had great healthcare at a fraction of the cost of here, was able to see a dentist for the first time in years, and able to travel while paying down debt. In the US, I couldn't even afford a Motel 6 or rent.
FTR: I was an immigrant. Not an ex-pat. And G-d willing, I'll be one again.
14
@Kat Amen, Kat, amen. The U.S. is extremely hard on working class people, and single working class people, yiiiiikes! Everyone I know back home is in a precarious financial situation. As an expat (as I see myself) I was able to stop working for two years to take care of terminally ill family members (though it did kill my savings, I was able to do it) and I was able to pay the house taxes for some struggling friends back home. I was able to donate generously this year to a friend's non-profit in a developing country. As a working-class person outside of the U.S., I feel that I am doing so much better than my cohort back home. I'm able to do good in the world, not just survive paycheck to paycheck under stressful circumstances.
8
@Kat -- Your story is a near mirror image of mine. Ever-rising rents in NYC as well as sky-rocketing healthcare costs led me to explore my options overseas.
One of the great benefits was that both my degrees (BA with honors and MS with honors) made me much more valuable in Seoul than in the U.S. Low(er) cost of living as well as a wealth of culture made me think more than twice about coming back.
Though expats-to-be must know what they're getting into before even stepping on a plane, the benefits far outweigh the liabilities in my experience. Being pushed out of one's comfort zone is well worth considering -- if one is in a position to do so, of course.
1
@ Christopher from Prague: You’re leaving out countless intangibles which make life in a place like Prague so much better than anywhere in the US, despite the inevitability of establishing a “daily routine.”
Let’s start with no one ever being financially ruined here by becoming ill, and the quality of healthcare of being quite good.
And how about almost no street crime whatsoever, except the occasional tourist getting pickpocketed in a crowded tourist area. Just imagine if Americans could enjoy that attribute of life, which would mean that the term “active shooter” would merely refer to a character in a video game. (No, you can’t put a price on children not living in fear, which also means they actually walk themselves to school and take responsibility for getting themselves to lessons, meetings, sporting events, etc.)
Superb and affordable public transportation...magnificent public parks...affordable theater/ballet/opera/symphonic & jazz concerts, all world-class...excellent public primary, secondary and university education, which leaves no one beholden to greedy, rent-seeking bankers merely for having become educated.
Oh, and the world’s best beer (which actually has character and taste, in contrast to the countless insipid limitations of Pilsner-style lager) for about 1/5 of the price you would pay in London or New York.
And I’m only getting started...
26
I envy you! I love Prague.
Shhhhh!
It’s miserable, simply miserable. You would hate it. Go to Barcelona instead.
4
See you in Morocco starting September 2020. A gap decade in my 50s sure as heck beats the gap year I couldn’t afford after high school.
12
Miss Emily spent three years abroad in the 80s because I couldn’t stand Reagan, I understand why anyone would leave America now? But have you really left if you’re on the Internet all day? Meanwhile Those of us who are resisting still need you herewe need you here. Come on those of us who are resisting still need you here.
1
@Bruce Watson The many int'l chapters of Democrats Abroad fundraise and do phone canvassing (to US voters as well as the overseas community) every election. Moving abroad does not necessarily mean disengaging from the battle.
1
When they hit 80, what do they do then?
6
@Ryan Bingham Enjoy free healthcare, probably.
5
Our health insurance also includes long-term care. Hopefully I'll still be healthy and can stay in our home and enjoy our garden. I have an agreement with my German husband that I have to go before him. He'll fill out the paper work and turn out the lights.
3
@Ryan Bingham This is a good question. I've seen many people move back home to the US realizing that being very old and overseas isn't necessarily a good thing.
Comments reflecting resentment at an implied “unfairness” from circumstances of birth, economic advantage, self–selected elitism, marriage, etc., which allow other “lucky” people to live abroad, while they sit stuck in America, are forgetting the most important point. Deciding to live in another country is not a privilege or a right, it’s simply a choice. When we choose something and we want it badly enough, we make it happen (this is hardly a novel idea – it undergirds all great drama and literally all great protagonists reflect this notion). This could be said of a Syrian family getting on a boat risking their lives, and then crossing over on land to Germany, or a 60-year-old American without any claims to German lineage which make moving to Munich easier for others who have them. Think of the relative disadvantages in both cases. I’d say the first involves considerably more adversity than the second. Yet in both instances, if the desired outcome is truly desired, it will very likely happen. No matter what.
It’s unclear why people forget that human will knows no boundaries. So, please, remember all of the asylum-seekers and refugees who made it to Germany and Sweden, among other places, in 2015-16 and stop complaining about people who were able to sell a place in the Hamptons, or someone who is married to a Chilean. If you really want something badly enough, you will make it happen. The world is sometimes that simple. Really.
26
One very important thing that those who chose to be expatriates should do is check on the tax situation in the country to which they are moving. This is particularly true for Germany, where inheritance taxes for a foreigner can reach 70 percent, because the inheritance will be taxed both as inheritance and as income.
7
Being an expat is generally a lot harder for US citizens than European citizens; if you're a US citizen, uncle Sam still wants his cut from your overseas earnings, which is not something Europeans generally have to deal with. Moving overseas for a European often means lower taxes and lower cost of living, while moving overseas for an American usually just means more complicated (and usually higher) taxes, along with either the same or lower income-- it's usually easier for someone in the US to just relocate to a place in the US with a lower cost of living and save themselves the hassle..
11
@Alexander
Or give up their citizenship and/or rely on a spouse who has other citizenship.
1
@Alexander Not true at all. Moving overseas for me meant much lower taxes, and an improved living standard. Of course I'm not in the Western hemisphere. Many banks don't collect FATCA at all from US clients. These include most Russian banks, some Asian countries, some South American countries and some African countries banks.
4
Missing in this article is the challenges of getting employment overseas in your field. Without reliable employment going overseas as an expat is tough. Unless you are in a job that you can do remotely or in a field where US trained personnel are in demand, getting a job overseas is challenging.
I lived as an expat as a kid in Singapore, and it was great. As an adult I have found it challenging to find engineering jobs abroad that I am qualified for.
11
I am surprised that the difference between immigrants and expats is not clear to some of the commenters. A (legal) immigrant’s goal is to become one of the locals (citizenship, melting in the pot, etc.). An expat just lives/works in a foreign county. E.g., in Saudi Arabia both the Asian slaves and the US oil guys are expats. I am an immigrant. Well, not anymore. I have been an American for several decades.
14
@PaulN Nicely said and very true.
5
Look at the table listing the top countries where professionals live. Incredible. Almost unbelievable. I guess money beats every other consideration. In addition, Luxembourg being as tiny as it is, it can’t hold more American professional expats as, say, France or Germany. Right?
1
Three years in Japan and now three in Hong Kong. I'm glad to have skipped a first-hand experience with the Trump years, and to raise a son without active shooter drills.
Better for my wife and myself has been living where we have to dig back into the world, to learn alongside each other, and to have the pleasures and frustrations of figuring many things out again. It has been a good experience for us.
14
I’m an American who lived overseas for seven years in the Gulf, from Qatar to Kuwait to Bahrain. I just moved back home and I can say that overall those years overseas were not a good experience, even though I speak fluent Arabic and am familiar with the culture. I would never want to leave the U.S. again. I’m sure the expat experience depends on where you are.
6
@Rajai, can you say more? Curious about your experiences and impressions.
1
@Rajai Hakki Can you explain why?
1
@Rajai Hakki Americans often have hard time adapting to other cultures. Particularly cultures which are more traditional and expect women and men to take on traditional gender roles.
The article makes no mention of the difficulty of establishing legal residence in other countries, especially Europe. If I’m not mistaken, Schengen member countries only permit visits of less than three months. An overstay can lead to being permanently barred. I don’t know why Americans think they can just pick up and move where they please any more than we allow foreigners to just move here on a whim. Just as the US makes it very difficult for immigrants to work here, European countries make it just as difficult. The only “easy” ways to set up residency overseas are to marry a local, have a job offer (usually from a multi-national) or claim citizenship from an ancestor. (I qualify for Polish citizenship because my father fled the Holocaust, but haven’t yet jumped through all the hoops required.). I had the good fortune to work in France in my 20’s. Though my employer helped me get my work and residence permits, it took five years and endless trips to police headquarters to advance from one-year permits to ten-year permits. It sure is enticing but it isn’t easy.
17
@Bonanglais Hi and thanks for reading and for your comment. The companion story to this one (link embedded in the story) mentions different countries have various visa requirements and advises people to check on their potential inbound countries to see if/how they qualify for visa.
1
@goodenglish, you are absolutely right. It says something about us, Americans, that I am only the 2nd to recommend your comment. BTW, I also qualify for a European citizenship (in the country of trump-before-trump) but have no desire to get it.
I have been an expat in Paris for almost 9 years now. It has been a rich and rewarding experience like none other. The greatest part has been becoming part of the expat community here and combining that with the background of Paris, an amazing cornucopia of culture and opportunity. I would caution those that are anxious to take this journey though. It's is fraught with feelings of isolation, frustration at learning a new language and adapting to a culture (French) that can often feel cold and unwelcoming as well as the difficulty in navigating the French bureaucracy to obtain proper documentation to work here. But don't give up, your journey will undoubtedly be unforgettable in ways you never imagined.
11
9 years after moving to Manhattan after college, I was itching for a better understanding of history and the world. I quit my job, left my apartment and moved to France 30 years ago. No regrets. You can't grasp the culture without knowing the language. A steep learning curve that is well worth the time and effort. A wonderful enriching journey indeed. I love the US - I go back very often. Each country has its mishegoss. I am fortunate to be able to embrace both worlds that are so imperfect.
16
Been doing this since 2000. You don't need a spouse with a passport, you need to show reasonable income, and you need to provide your own insurance coverage. Then you can get legal residence, renewable every 2 or 5 years. Ultimately you can apply for citizenship if that's what you want.
For income, you need steady work. I've been lucky, and it wasn't always easy -- free-lancing has its ups and downs. I'm a writer, so obviously I can't take work away from anybody here... I look for work in the States. Three cheers for the internet!
The two most important points I can see are, don't put a burden on your host country, and sincerely integrate. I also like one comment on here... Don't emigrate to run away, run toward something.
20
The grass is always greener.
5
Honestly, don't come. You make everything more expensive for the locals. However, if you desperately want to come, learn the language of the country you are moving to (at least try).
28
@Besar I can sypathize with Besar's comment. About the language: If you are thinking about Germany, do yourself a huge favor and get to an intermediate level before arriving here! Germany's going through yet another iteration of "Foreigners should speak our language!" Some people even get rather unpleasant with those who don't speak German. Also, the grammar and sentence structure are challenging for most people--do what you can to hit the ground crawling or toddling--it's better than hitting the ground totally incapacitated. I could have spared myself so much stress and such an unpleasant start if I had been able to cope reasonably in German. Plus, it can sometimes be hard to get a spot in the courses here. That was my situation back in 1991--during the other big historical refugee influx. Hope this helps someone out there!
2
I'm an American who has lived in France for 20 years and before that 13 years in the UK. The superior health care I've witnessed here is one reason I will never return to the States--but also the work-life balance seems more sensible here. The level of political discourse is higher--and we don't have a head of state who denies climate change. Nonetheless I maintain an interest in the States, visit yearly to see family and vote in elections. And let me remind all my fellow immigrants (and expats) that unlike UK citizens, Americans abroad never lose their right to vote--you do not need to own property in the USA or plan to return. This year is hugely important--so register and request your ballot --easier now than ever, thanks to the Internet: www.VoteFromAbroad.org/.
57
@Discerning1
Correct, you do not need to own a property, but unfortunately, you do need a residential address to vote. As an American living abroad for 3 years, it drives me nuts that I have to try and convince election officials to let me vote with our commercial post office box address as our residential address. In this day and age, why do we have these silly pointless rules? I feel like citizenship should allow me the right to vote, not whether I have a US residence.
4
@Discerning1 correct, as an American abroad you never lose your right to vote ... or file your American taxes either, also a requirement if you live abroad, regardless of your income.
3
@Discerning1
Thanks for your comments. A brief clarification on voting, that some of your responders seem not to know: You are right about Americans never losing their right to vote--but this would be in Federal elections (IE, for President). I lived in France and Japan for about twenty years all told, and for each Presidential election, all I had to do was go to the US embassy, passport in hand, and vote there. But alas, the last time I checked, to vote in municipal/state elections, one does need to have some sort of residential address. And also alas, despite the best efforts of that admiral organization, Democrats Abroad, if you DO vote in presidential elections when you are abroad and aren't registered to a US address, then your vote is not counted, unless there is a total tie--which never happens. (This is not true, by the way, for people in the military, whose votes are counted as being from whatever their original home state was. From what I understand about party affiliation, it doesn't seem to be surprising that the GOP has supported changes in how overseas votes are counted --for whatever reason, the majority of non-military US citizens living abroad tend to lean liberal, while the opposite is true of those in the military.) I am hoping that the rules will change one day, but I will not hold my breath.
7
In 2008 at 52, after a long marriage and then divorce, I paid off all my debt, gave away/sold most of my stuff, packed two suitcases and moved to Iquitos, Peru. Lived and worked there for more than 9 years. Loved it!! Then met an Aussie and moved to Perth, where I now have residency through my marriage. Didn't expect or plan my life to happen like this but would never have it any other way. Sure, the USA is home but really "home" is wherever you are. Stuff is just transient and it will come and go in and out of your life. We visit the US each year, but can't imagine ever living there again. To be fair, though, having internet banking has made the whole adventure oodles easier and I can't imagine how I'd live aboard so easily without it.
21
American who lives in Munich works in London. The adventure is great, Munich has been a safe place to raise our kids, but it isn't all rosy either. My health insurance is expensive: $1500/month, because no country will let me on their system. My taxes absurdly complicated and considerably more than if I just lived where I was born. Currency fluctuations play havoc with our plans. The world's laws and regulations aren't quite set up for global wanderers who aren't so rich as to be above them. Between going home to see family and the London office (once a month on average, and I ride my bike to the Munich one) our carbon footprint is shameful. Making friends is slow--your European neighbors are eager to greet you, even come to your house for tea or a meal, but they have been "besties" with the other folks on the block since they were 5 years old, and there isn't room for another real friend, especially one who speaks German with trouble and the local dialect not a all. We have good friends, other expats (or one spouse is). Education has been good for my boys, and they have two mother tongues, but many teachers have unfounded contempt for foreigners who they feel don't belong at the top of their beloved tripartite school system. I'd do it again, and we'll probably try on another homeland for size when the kids leave home--we do live more in the same amount of time than natives--but we already know it won't be all exotic food and intercultural bliss.
26
@Junk Mail I hear you; we live in Munich, too. If you look at the InterNations expat survey, you'll see that Germany ranks at the bottom for "ease of settling in." It ain't for sissies!
But we have found that many Germans here also have trouble making friends -- they are divorced or have moved from other towns -- and they are delighted to meet a smiling, friendly American. They even overlook my many grammatical mistakes, for which I am grateful.
I do get the feeling they don't want to throw away their friendship on someone who will move soon, because the first thing they ask if how long we'll be here. Since I don't expect U.S. politics and health-care to improve any time soon, I say "permanent.''
3
@Junk Mail My spouse and I lived in Munich in 07 and 08. We didn't experience trouble making friends but some of them were through work. We are still close with some friends there. We paid a healthy amount for health insurance but providers don't bill nearly as much as in the U.S.
For us it was the perfect location for exploring Europe.
1
@T. Muller No doubt our lifestyles and plans make us a bit hard for traditional Bavarians to commit to, even though we'll laugh and share beer together from time to time. I'm tenured in the UK; the U Munich department where I moonlight is majority foreign (and we Ivory Tower folks are admittedly odd even when native). We won't stay in Germany forever, but we've come and gone from the place since I was in college some 25 years ago. And for sure, we have close friends, quite a few, some going back that far, on family even moved from Augsburg into the same suburb to be near us when we returned, but in all the cases where they are close enough that I'd trust them in need (or have them over on 5 minutes notice to share midweek cocktails), at least half of the couple is foreign. Most of our closest friends run global businesses. The husbands, like me, travel too much, their wives run their own international businesses and the kids speak three languages fluently. So, the problem is probably isn't Germany but that when you've spread your roots thinly over the surface of the globe, the only folks you'll really be close to are those who have the same sense of how small the place really is.
6
I lived in Europe and Asia for almost 35 years, first as a freelancer and later as an expat employee of a major US multinational. A few observations: 1. When I lived in Germany, I met very few wealthy Germans who were not planning to leave Germany as soon as they retired. The very wealthy looked to Switzerland, and most of the rest planned to relocate to the US, some to Canada and South America, and some to Spain and Portugal; most found living in Germany in retirement very expensive and claustrophobic with broad rules and regulations touching everyday life. 2. When I lived in Asia, the very wealthy had places on the west coast of the US and Canada, and a few had places in the UK. Others of lesser wealth were more than happy to sacrifice to move to countries with more opportunity for their businesses, e.g. the US and Canada. I think many Americans who live overseas will one day come to realize that life in the US was less burdensome than they imagined.
21
@RB "...life in the US was less burdensome..."
Except for the fact that you can save and invest all your working life and be bankrupted by one long-term illness.
7
In Lisbon, an influx of relatively well-to-do retirees and migrants from other parts of Western Europe, notably France, has led to increasing pressure on the local housing market, along with fast-rising rental prices that locals are no longer afford. Similar situations exist in cities like Krakow and Prague, where locals have also found themselves priced out of the local rental market by better paid professionals from overseas.
30
The notion that an American would go live in San Miguel in Mexico as a reaction to the 2016 election is, while appealing and understandable, nothing more than leaving the frying pan for the fire. Income inequality, corruption, poverty... don't disappear just because you can't or don't read the local news paper...Being an expat can be quite liberating, but in order to enjoy that liberty one really has to be willing to not look very closely and one's new home.
49
I did this 30 yrs ago, moving to France the old-fashioned way: finding a job, getting work permits etc... What helped me then was working in high tech (where skills are transferrable and valued), having a diploma from a well-known college, and speaking French. The rest was a combination of luck and perseverance, and a family willing to store my things for an indefinite amount of time. I had to pay for everything since I wasn’t being relocated ; the stress of the move and the new environment left me ill for the first few months. I recall realizing that my French had become fluent when I managed to pick up the most important points in a meeting without paying too much attention because I was tired.
Despite working in high tech, there were none of today’s communication tools, other than the most basic email (and that was limited to the work environment).
Furthermore, since I now worked for a French company (as opposed to an American one located in France, as others did), I took a big hit professionally and financially (lower salaries, and missing Social Security earnings for those years. ) The French asked me why in the world I would want to do this when all the engineers wanted to go to the US.
Although I eventually returned to the States six years later for both personal and professional reasons, I never regretted my years in Paris. With retirement looming, I am now thinking of returning to Europe, tho not necessarily France.
18
To RT: Once again read the article. THEY SOLD THEIR PROPERTIES, THEY SOLD THEIR CAR. They divested themselves of all their property, which undoubtedly had mortgages. They wanted different not more.
5
@Ann. Agree. Can we please stop beating people over the head who went to college and have made their own money?! Money is not always a dirty word.
1
I can offer a few words of wisdom for anyone considering moving to France, like we did last year:
1) It’s almost impossible to do if you intend to stay permanently and don’t already have a job from a French employer. Furthermore, the paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles one must jump through to get a long-stay visa (“Carte de Sejour”) is tedious, lengthy, and expensive. I wouldn’t recommend it if you either don’t already have employment in France, you’re not independently wealthy, or not retired (we are, and are prohibited from working).
2) For retirees like us, there’s still plenty of hurdles to overcome. You have to prove that you can support yourself (i.e., won’t be a burden to the State), have a place to live (rental agreement or proof of home ownership), have your own health insurance (private policies can be purchased for about $2500/yr), repatriation insurance to fly you home in the event of a medical emergency, plus a ton of bureaucratic paperwork to deal with along the way. Good thing we’re retired, as we’d never be able to do it if we were trying to work simultaneously (Note: Employers will generally handle all the paperwork and costs of relocating).
3) Don’t even try to move any of your household goods to France without a “Certificat de Changement de Residence” (Certificate of Change of Residence), which you get from the US French Consulate, unless you’re prepared to pay about 30% VAT and duty on the goods.
4) Would we do it again? In a heart beat.
32
@David Walker
Thank you for taking the time to give us your observations. I've searched for information on retiring in France and haven't been able to determine if they allow it by demonstrating a minimum income stream. For example, Ireland grants long-term visas if you can show that you have at least 50,000 euros per year of income. Would you be able/willing to provide information here in the comments about what visa you are able to stay under? Merci bien!
@David Walker
Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA Medicare Advantage now offers intl insurance for expats and I found a insurance provider in France for $99./mo for one single retiree. Found them through a university. Renting my house for the income. Language will be the challenge I am working on now. Not going to Paris but the southwest of France.
When I moved to Barcelona years ago, I went through the spousal immigration process and rather proudly — even politically — considered myself an immigrant.
But nobody else did. For years, I, a white American, was asked: "When are you going back home?" "This IS home now," I'd respond.
"You aren't an immigrant the way THEY are immigrants," was another frequent comment, referring to my Pakistani, North African and Filipino neighbors. Sometimes it went further: "We're happy to have YOU here, but they're a problem."
Barcelona is indeed full of foreign transplants from every possible background. Those from rich countries often stay a few years and move home or move on, for a reason not mentioned in this article: It's much harder to find a good job where you're not local and native-fluent (especially in countries, like Spain, where well-paying jobs are already scarce). Eventually, most of us with economic options exercise them.
So after a few years, we moved on, too. In retrospect, does that make us expats? Who knows; we may well move back overseas someday. Immigration is no longer a one-way ticket.
13
@Jaclyn "Immigration is no longer a one-way ticket", if you have the money.
2
@duncan Not all Europe immigrants are wealthy. We earned a local Spanish salary and lived paycheck to paycheck like most. Back-and-forth immigration was following jobs/grad school/opportunities; simply in 2020, the standard-of-living differences between the US & other developed countries aren't so dramatic, so it's less common to go from Place A to Place B and stay there.
2
@Jaclyn Immigration, when one has nothing to return to nor the desire to return to the land of one's birth, is indeed a one-way ticket.
The US has become a place that in 3+ years changed in ways that will take longer than I have left to repair. And unless there is extreme change in November, it is a place that will only become a worse place to live.
We left for good in September 2018. There is no going back. We will continue to vote, we will continue to file US tax returns, but to return to the US is not something that is on the cards.
We are immigrants. And when I have the chance, I will be applying for French nationality.
2
Lots of things to comment on here, but I think most others have covered it already. But I seriously wonder about the representativeness of the survey . . . more millenial Americans live in Argentina than anywhere else (Canada? UK?), more professionals in Nigeria (ditto), more families in Finland . . . and Bulgaria is the 8th most popular place to retire to? I suspect these are simply the places where people feel sufficiently - what? alien? - so they join an "Expat" network and can be bothered to respond to a survey!
17
@SF May be countries where American multinational corps are scaling up operations and sending their US recruits for international stints (energy sector, supply chain)
4
@SF I saw nothing that specified that only American expats were represented on that chart.
1
@SF Many of the countries on the list have major oil companies that hire from all over the world, including the U.S. They are not necessarily "best" in any respect, there just hire a lot of ex-pats.
2
A couple of years ago I spent six months working outside Sydney NSW. I didn’t have much time outside of work but I knew I should have tried harder to find a Australian to marry. Many Australians wish to emigrate to the US, I figured in 2 or 3 years she would realize the foolishness of that idea and wish to return home with me in tow.
9
@Paulie, That's true of New Zealand as well. Many can't wait to leave.
1
Let me just succinctly boil this article down:
If you’re rich - ie can afford a home in Manhattan, let alone one in the Hamptons - you don’t need to worry about Trump winning another term because other countries are happy to accept you. Otherwise, enjoy the ride to America’s decline and fall and descent into tyranny. Just hope you don’t belong to a disfavored group.
66
The word I believe you are looking for NYT is “immigrant”.
I’m a white British woman living in NYC and when people call me an “expatriate” and my friends of colour “immigrants” it really sets a double standard.
Americans who move away from home are immigrants, just like those who join this country at its southern border.
55
@Alison Jane I thought the difference was that an "expat" was eventually going to move back to the USA but an "immigrant" has no such plans. It seems that there are plenty of both types of people and so there is reason for both words to continue. Obviously, race is not a valid reason for a different word choice but if somebody, e.g., works for a big multinational corporation here where I live in LA I usually assume that he or she is an "expat" rather than an "immigrant" - eventually they go back to their homeland. Experience has taught me that I am mostly correct but sometimes, typically bc of a marriage to an American, a person who started out as an "Expat" becomes an "Immigrant" instead. Maybe dial down the preachiness a little bit Alison Jane?
7
@Alison Jane Absolutely! It is well known that white foreigners are expatriates, while foreign people of color are immigrants . . . except perhaps in Boris's Britain
6
@Alison Jane THanks, very important distinction, A.J. I have lived in Chile, Argentina and now Ecuador for almost 10 years. Of course, I am an immigrant on this continent here, still learning nuances of Spanish and different customs everyday and understand well the double-entendre of the "expat" and the"immigrant" . In terms of social class and entitlement, understanding it is everything.
6
For all those praising the great inexpensive healthcare in Europe and elsewhere...
1) Europe can afford it (as well as no cost tuition, retirement at 60, 6 weeks vacation, etc.) because the US has been paying for their defense for decades as well as for the defense for other "allies" eg. dependents. Trump tries to get Europe to pull its NATO weight and the Dems and MSM attack him.
2) Cost of care and drug is higher in US because we are paying for the all the R&D. If the drugs companies could not charge US users more there would be no money for R&D and new life savings miracle drugs. Other countries need to pull their weight.
3) We have the lawyer tax in the US. Many many tests and procedures are given as a precaution not for health but legal concerns. We need tort reform. In the UK if you sue someone and lose you pay for their legal fees as well.
4) US consumes too much health care. 2/3 of Americans are obese. People who are fat and higher risk cost more and should pay higher premiums.
31
Just keep repeating that lie if you want to, it doesn't make it factual.
53
@Reader in Wash, Donald, is this you? You are spreading myths which have been debunked (please do some serious research) but too many people are all to willing to buy this.
61
@Reader In Wash, DC
Like the R&D on insulin?
23
The left, via NYT comments, have been threatening to do this since George Bush "stole" the election and this trend continues today. Allow me to quote "Schwarz" from "A Christmas story" trying to get "Flick " to stick his tongue to the flagpole "Just go ahead and do it already".
14
The Blue States subsidize the Red States. CA residents pay $1 in Federal taxes and get 85 cents in return. Multiple Red States pay $1 and get over $1.50 in Federal support. I wish you didn’t need us.
334
@Bascom Hill
The blue states are richer than the red states, so this is how it should work - the rich subsidizing the poor. Shouldn't complain about that.
4
@Jordan Ted Nugent, the one-hit has-been who sang "Cat Scratch Fever," liked to say that if Obama were elected he'd either be dead or in jail. Sadly, neither came to pass.
I don't consider myself "the left," but I've considered moving to a country that isn't plagued with a broken political system, crumbling infrastructure and a functionally illiterate populace.
100
I've been an expat for 10 years, motivated by political reasons. I taught violin in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2014 and felt inspired by the role Obama played in the global consciousness. If people from Indonesia to Kenya saw in him a new type of global leader, dedicated to connecting others, I hoped to be a musical ambassador for the kind of America Obama hoped to build, and the kind of American he so well represented, a builder of bridges.
In 2014 I was about to go back to the US to focus full-time on a nonprofit I founded, Cultures in Harmony, when an unexpected offer took me to Argentina until late 2015. In 2016, I traveled to each US state for a week for a project asking "What is American culture?" I hoped that for our country, the project would stimulate reflection on the infinitely many answers to that question, and for me, I hoped it would strengthen my connection to the country to which I had hoped to return.
I was crushed when Trump won. Instead of moving to Canada, as other liberals threatened, I moved to Mexico, the country he insults so regularly. I hoped to show that we're not all like him. Now I'm entering my 3rd year as concertmaster of Mexico's National Symphony. I probably would not find an equally prestigious post back home, but it is devastating to see what the US has become: a country divided between radical extremes.
For the time being, with great sadness, I'll stay in Mexico. I cannot support (with my presence) what the US has become.
55
@William Harvey As my dear departed Calvinist mother would say about someone given to braggadocio,"Boy, do I like me!"If you cared about your country of origin, you would be here and not in Mexico,"Ce n'est pas complique!"But most of the comments which I have read are irrelevant to the issue which I raised which is that France, once authentic, once a place where an intellectual drifter could settle roots, has changed irrevocably, and only the well to do from "les Etats Unis"could afford to live there now!Ex pats was not a term you heard back in the early 1960's, at the tail end of the post WWII era.Everything and everyone was more "sympathique!"Who can forget the young ladies with yellow t shirts and New York Herald Tribune emblazoned in blue on the front selling copies of the paper, and often, when I could afford to dine at the Coupole,would buy a copy of the paper. Those great days are gone forever! Say good bye to all that!
@William Harvey Mexico has a vibrant arts scene, enjoy !
4
My wife and I have lived in Zacatecas, Mexico for twenty-two years in the same rented house located in the city center. We have no American friends and are not aware of any Americans who live here. Most friends are Mexicanos and Cubanos. My wife has the ability to absorb languages, but not I although I am functional in Spanish. Living here can be complicated, particularly health care which is inexpensive and sometimes incompetent. Medicare does not apply which means visits to the US if you choose. Aging is also an interesting proposition. It has been a romp, but for these and other reasons we will return to the US within the year after a tremendous investment here personally, but it is the practical thing to do.
6
I am applying for a passport to another country through my mother and hope to move there, leaving behind the country of my birth because I feel this country has let me down and after seeing what it is like in other countries, how much better life is, it isn't a difficult decision. We are told this is the best country in the world but once you travel, you realize that just isn't true. I would consider myself an immigrant, not an expat. Although, I think it would be fair to say I was once a patriot and now I am disappointed, disillusioned and saddened so in that sense I would be an expat.
29
@ana
Prepare yourself for the US tax system to move with you, unless you also renounce your US citizenship.
14
Yes you are correct
1
We’ll need a follow up to this article. These people weren’t satisfied before and I’m betting they won’t be satisfied in their new improved lives either. They’re searching for something that doesn’t exist rather than looking inside.
10
While I agree that contentment or the lack of it is something that an individual carries from place to place, that does not mean that they should not seek somewhere that feels right to them. You sound resentful that someone would choose to find a life outside of the United States despite the myriads of good reasons presented here.
20
@Chuck Burton Baloney, Mr Miso -- living outside the U.S. for me has been a tremendous learning curve and personally, in my heart of hearts -- a great, & very special adventure! I have no regrets about any part of my life. It's been a trip! Maybe you need to simply stop looking and judging others -- and -- try it!
10
@MrMisocainea Very true of most of the older American expats I've met in Thailand. The majority stay in a closed circle with other Americans of about the same age, seldom venture into the local culture, and complain about why their local lives are not exactly like what they think America used to be - when they are not complaining about the current state of affairs in the USA. One is often tempted to ask why they don't go back, but then one probably does not need to ask.
2
Enjoyed the article. I have been married to a European foreign national for 21 years. She has lived in the U.S. for those 21 years. At a point, after the 2016 election, she had enough with a country that seemingly did not share her European values. I agreed, feeling more and more disillusioned with what the U.S. has become. Having traveled in Europe extensively while I was working, I agreed there was nothing holding us from moving. We chose Malta, for a number of reasons. Language (dual official languages) was not an issue, but we are taking Maltese lessons. Great weather, reasonably low cost of living, great health care, not to mention some of the most hospitable people that we have ever met. An added bonus, it is low cost to travel anywhere in Europe, from here, not the U.S.
36
I was born in Australia, spent several years working in Asia, and now am a naturalized US citizen so I have some sense of the issues here and found this article an interesting overview of life as a rootless global citizen. The toxic political debates over citizenship and national loyalty happening in various parts of the world right now haven't really come to terms with the reality of life for a lot of people - which is to say, there are increasing numbers of people who are moving around the world for work who have emotional, familial and financial connections to multiple places - and those connections aren't necessarily in conflict. There are practical governance issues to address but I honestly think this is the way of the future, and not just for the wealthy.
22
Exactamente, companero!! This is not an escape, but rather an experiment in seeking out and forming global tribes—with an international perspective, with respect for principles of the enlightenment—as an alternative to governance by a nation state held captive by private interests.
15
@Paco Paco-- I agree!!
@Saul Constraints for planetary immigration, even for the wealthy, include lack of potable water(Venice is drowning, for instance, and you can't drink the water) and increasing global poverty and war, war, war.
The age of cheap global tourism is over.
2
The problem with moving to another country is that many drawbacks don’t become immediately apparent. For example, integration, language, and aging. Once the honeymoon period is over and the novelty has worn off, loneliness, isolation, and cultural incompatibility can set in. The grass is rarely greener however much viewing from afar (or even close up) may lead one to suppose. A healthier attitude may be to view a move as a broadening experience. A country that loses talent is poorer, but returnees with a broader outlook enriches.
16
@Mortmain It is always possible that loneliness, isolation, and cultural incompatibility can set in. Fortunately it is not always going to happen if you plan your new life well. I am in Europe and spent a good deal of time initially setting up my own integration plan, finding langauge courses, hobbies, and other activities to get myself out into the community to avoid getting homesick. I've only been here three years but am more active (and happier) than I was in my old city in the US.
1
Why is it that basically the rest of the world wants to immigrate into the USA and citizens of the USA who want to improve their lifes don‘t find a better place within the US?
6
The “better places” within the U.S. are where the populace is literate and educated and doesn’t support Trump, and those places are increasingly overcrowded and very expensive.
36
@Helleborus Simple. Because the US has done a masterful job of marketing itself to the rest of the world (mostly through TV and movies) as some superior, utopian option. Most foreigners (and many Americans) are completely ignorant about the realities of life in the US and the structural inequities and injustices operating behind the carefully-crafted veil of exceptionalism. Those I speak with are horrified to learn of police/school shootings, how the US “healthcare” system works, the cost of education and our gloriously anti-democratic electoral system. The grass may not always be greener, but my life is far richer, safer and happier living abroad than in the US...
42
@Helleborus There are hundreds of millions of people all over the world who don't want to immigrate to the US!
24
We have lived "out of the US" for about 12 years. There are benefits and drawbacks....but the benefits far out weigh the drawbacks for us. Without getting into a lot of detail, IMO Uncle Sam does not like us expats very much at all. His "tentacles" are everywhere. FinCen, Fbar and Fatca to name a few and for gods sake...don't tell your investment broker back in the US you live out of the country! Do your research on all of these things. Life is good!!! Respectfully
21
I never thought that it would come to this, but if DT gets re-elected and the country deteriorates further, I would seriously consider moving to Israel. Under the Law of Return, Israel accepts all Jews (which we are). No jumping through hoops either to do this!
15
@pegjac Trading Bibi for Trump? Birds of a feather.
23
@duncan I was expecting a comment like this. Yes, nothing is perfect, is it?
@pegjac What comment were you expecting? Seriously, the Netanyahu administration is a disaster. Might be worth looking into what's happening in Israel now before immigrating.
Would appreciate your giving another look see at my comment on ex pats, since I was one, in a sense, before the term became current.Arriving in Paris in 1960 as a TULANE grad. student, I came to know a city that appeared French to the core, with middle class and working class folks,vast majority native born, co existing with the wealthy folks in the "seizieme and Neuilly. Most folks spoke ONLY French, and Rue Mouffetard was still a working class street and quartier was made up of "petits commercants" and "artisans!" Today, Paris has been taken over by the wealthy, and Rue Mouffetard has become touristy.Then, u could find a "chambre de bonne" for equivalent of $50 monthly if that. Today, you could not touch a small studio for less that 10 times that amount. Where have middle class and working class folks gone?They have been evicted from the cities and forced into dreary, gruesome and often dangerous h.l.m.'s "en banlieue!"Folks calling themselves ex pats today are grosso modo wealthy, and their buffer zone is their money and good jobs."Reflechissez:"U could drive ur mobylette down Avenue de la Grande Armee in early 1960's and still believe you were in the City of Light. Today all those "grands boulevards"sprouting out from "l'Etoile" resemble, mutatis mutandis,Queens Boulevard. Entering le Provencale in Marseilles on Cannebiere, asked barman, "garcon de cafe,":Ou sont tous les Francais?"to which he replied jocularly,"Il ne viennent plus!Ils n'ont pas d'argent!"
6
You describe a not very unique situation. Ex pats as an expression was used long ago in relation to Hemingway, Fitzgerald and others.
I lived in 1972 near the corner of Le Mouff and Rue de L. Arbalette. The neighborhood was still like what you remember that one could afford a beer or a lemonade at the Place de la Contrascarpe; not anymore, th prices are astronomical.
6
@ASV :I've read biographies of EH, including the latest by Peter Griffin, as well as works by recently deceased A.E.Hotchner,"Hotch" to Hemingway, works about just about every one of the literary figures connected to the "Lost Generation,"term allegedly coined by Gertrude Stein, and never came across the term "ex Pat!" BUT YOU MISS THE POINT. Paris and all of Europe was a more interesting place in that bygone era, less so now and you did not have to be a millionaire to reside in Paris centre.Small ,what we would call s.r.o.'s like Hotel du Globe,Rue du Chateau in the 14eme, Hotel des Bains on Rue Delambre:cheap, clean, and within the budget of even the most indigent Montparnos! Today, only the most well established Americans and others from elsewhere could afford to live in Paris. You had to be there at that time to appreciate what I was trying to convey.
3
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke
13
With Trump as president, turning America indecent and unrecognizable, all Americans are expatriates—even in their ostensible native country.
47
@Steve Griffith An important point... the U.S. is now joined up with the other indecent and very recognizable countries in the world no one in their right mind would want to stay in for long! Russia of the oligarchs is one- as does China with no ability to think or speak freely for oneself or breathe the filthy air ... I live in small Ecuador with a decent slower pace of life, civility, and politeness mostly from eveyone one meets day after day --abrazos y besos regularly -- A high quality of life we have ...a sweet life, comes to mind.
7
I guess the title should be 'How to be an emigrant in 2020'
9
Come November if you are not liquidated with the funds offshore then I pity you.
Trump will cheat his way into 4 more years and you can bet your bippy that the Trump dynasty will not end with dear Donnie.
Welcome to kleptomania on steroids with lots of kakistocracy for good measure.
24
@folderoy Nothing like a good ole kakistocratic kleptocracy!
2
They are immigrants not expats.
7
They are immigrants in the country they live and expatriates (expats for short) of the country they are from. Got it?
9
They are emigrants from the US.
You gotta love the posters herein whose love of country is so tenuous their plans to leave or stay depend on who is in the White House. Pathetic...
In any event, maybe these unfulfilled ‘progressives’ could relo from their urban hubs to someplace truly exotic and foreign like a rectangle state.
Oh, but I do highly recommend Berlin (but not for the winter darkness!) and Chile (amazing food and scenery!).
7
Don't forget Americans that as long as you keep your US citizenship the IRS still wants to get as much as they can from you, wherever you may be.
19
The word the editor was looking for is "immigrant". The inherent racism and classism in the word "expat" is something we would be good as a society to get over, especially in America.
10
They are immigrants in the country they live and expatriates of the country they are from. Got it? There is nothing racist about it, it’s the right way to describe it.
7
No, it’s emigrants, or expats. They’re going out, not coming in.
My first reaction was to the word “home” in the headline. It just doesn’t feel like home anymore. No prize for guessing why.
13
The biggest problem for being an expatriate is that we are locked out by a stupid Obama era law from US brokerage accounts, and we can no longer add to our investments, which is very unfair. I wonder why the NYT is not writing about this?
A second problem is taxation, TurboTax no longer does the taxes online.
So pretty much expats are treated like second class citizens! *Unless they are rich.
13
I’m 75 and because of medical conditions would find it hard to move. With trump in the White House, the pledge of allegiance means nothing to me. To what am I pledging allegiance, a racist, communist controlled president?
50
Home is where the heart is.
7
Another year, and I'll have moved to Nazare Portugal. I'm done, had it, been there done that for 75 yrs. And I still have to wonder if some catastrophic illness will leave me destitute, or getting shot in the streets . . . or getting shot anywhere for that matter. I want to live in a sane society, a society that isn't a supermilitary power, but one that is known for it's compassion, care of its citizens, learning/culture, and hospitality.
56
@revfred2000 We moved to Nazare a year ago, and my parents joined us. We’re 80% of the resident American population, so hopefully not many more join us. See ya around!
3
We can only hold onto a dimming hope. Sad.
As a very pale skinned Brazilian, I’ve never found a word to be so backwards & twisted as Expat. When my sister moved to Germany she was labeled an “Expat.” When a fellow Brazilian who is 3 shades darker moves to Germany, she’s an immigrant. It’s a cruel distinction and should not be published in the NYT.
24
This is some weird article. I loved my time as an expat back in the late 70’s and 80’s. This really was not very helpful at all.
2
I married a Filipina. She came here 5 years ago, worked her tail off and built a house for her family in the Philippines. I am so proud of her...she took advantage of what we offer here in America...
We are both teachers and have our summers off, so we go to the Philippines every year on our break.
If you think we are going to retire here in the states you are crazy. I have my military retirement check every month and that alone will allow us to live comfortably forever.
Best of luck to everyone...there's a big planet out there...and you know, it's only America. It was fun while it lasted.
27
Today we learn that the President of the United States intends to demand personal fealty from all who work for the government. At this second, "It is unclear whether civil servants will be targeted as well, but it would be harder to dislodge them than removing political appointees. Civil servants, however, could be sidelined in other ways." The President is heard saying, “I inherited a place with, you know, many different administrations, and they worked there for years and were civil service and with unions and all of it,” he said on Rivera’s “Roadkill” podcast. “You can’t do what you’d like to do.” Apparently what he would like to do is replace the oath to the Constitution that the more than 5million civil and military servants take with one to himself. On this straightforward evidence of the intention of the President of the United States to replace the current manner of government with a dictatorship, I think that I'll just slip over the border now rather than wait much longer. That'll be less 'expatriation' than exile, but probably will be wise. I don't intend to be forced to choose between my survival and the man occupying the White House. Coutts is looking pretty good these days.
16
Let me rephrase that- " How to be a migrant in 2020".
5
One cannot be old, poor and ill in the United States of America. Period.
43
We started traveling full time in 2015 - we don't sell any services and don't have ads on our website (www.visa-vis.com) but we do try to document our travels and travails!
It's not always easy, and sometimes we wonder why we do it, but then we pinch ourselves and ask ourselves if we could ever go back to the way we lived before.
3
Nothing on visas, bridging Medicare or expat in-country insurance requirements, tax issues, feared legal changes under the GOP, local legal requirements, etc.
Come on NYT how about some practical and researched issues, and not the people with houses in the Hamptons examples. The number of people looking into this is considerable and real information would be up to NYT standards. Enough with the fantasy click bait.
50
@poslug There's lots out there ( internet, youtube, etc etc)to learn from... why not join the rest of us who did our research some years back now and join us? Don't depend on the the NYT to do the necessary investigation s to get started.. JUST DO IT.
3
If you live in a death culture that depends on war to keep the economy pumped up and the gas flowing, the smart move is to get out
27
@Walter Unfortunately, it's happening everywhere.
2
I’m looking at Portugal and Morocco. Wonderful weather, cheap housing, less than six hours to JFK, no terrorism, healthy food. Golf, ski, cycle year round.
7
Canada is not on the list of countries in the article. If you believe this article there are more Americans in Kenya. Not.
9
@Harpo - Hush. We're trying to keep it quiet.
9
what makes a person an "expatriate" and what makes a person a "migrant?" The classism and racism in this article is glaring. If you want to know how to live outside your country, as the many populations who have had to do it for years: working class people of color.
12
Our tax dollars have been wasted in you education.
An immigrant is a person living in a country that is not his own. An expatriate (expat) is the term that applies to the same person in his country of origin. Got it?
1
@A P Duncan Nice reply, however they are still referred to as "Expats" in Germany, Australia etc. You may or may not get it.
1
Ah, yes! The spouse with the EU passport. Always a game-changer.
26
Haven't read through all the comments but what struck me is that unless you have a considerable amount of financial cushion and a transportable skill chances for most of us being an ex-pat is a fantasy.
13
Or a skill that the country needs.
3
@RPhodo That is a vastly untrue statement.
1
I think The Times needs to do another story, albeit fuller and with a different slant, about those of us who cannot and will not live in America under Trump for another 4 years. I'm on Social Security now, but I cannot fathom another 4 years of total dread, every single day I open The Times and read what's happened, (overnight even), under an American Dictatorship. The news of 'Smart Drivers Licenses and Smart State I.D.s' going into effet Oct. 1st has prompted me to get this. I'll need it along with my new passport if I feel the need to leave. 'Feel the need to leave'. A statement that I'd never ever even considered in my life, yet at age 66 I do so now. And no, I do not think I'm being overly dramatic or being a reactionary. This must be what it felt like at the beginning stages of The Holocaust, only we've passed those early stages long ago, the fact that I'm not Jewish doesn't enter into this at all.
32
@david You only need the passport not the smart ID to leave. You need a smart dr. lic. or ID to board a domestic flight if you don't have a passport. Its easier to get a passport than a smart ID.
I too plan to leave. Think Ireland. Check out how progressive it has become. Housing outside Dublin is relatively cheap. The people are the best.
8
Ireland is beautiful but the laws for moving there are strict as you must prove you have regular income to support yourself. Not just investments. In retirement a couple needs to prove they will have $100,000 per year in income.
From a recent article on the subject:
Retiring: The third option is retirement and this also demands a lot of cash. Although one-third of Irish Americans would like to retire in Ireland, new rules implemented in 2015 make it increasingly difficult.
The new rule requires that retirees have an annual income of no less than $55,138 (€50,000) per person, ($110,276/€100,000 for a married couple) for the remainder of their lives in Ireland, regardless of their existing cash on hand or lack of debt. While INIS is currently finishing up a review of these rules that could see the required income levels drop, the numbers they've proposed are still quite high and will be above the means of many.
2
People whose parents, grandparents immigrated here might check and see if there is right of return especially if they came from the E.U. I understand that Spain is encouraging right of return to the decedents of the converso. Perhaps we should check our family trees.
3
A relative of mine is in Madrid right now signing documents to become a Spanish citizen. It’s easy and healthcare is better in the EU.
3
Actually, I looked into this. The deadline for people with Sephardic Jewish blood to apply for citizenship was October 2019 and the process was quite cumbersome. Portugal has a similar pathway to citizenship and it’s easier to qualify.
2
we moved to New Zealand 18 months ago and brought our rescue cat with us. She spent 10 days in quarantine. She was just fine after the experience of flying from San Francisco and has taken to her new home with enthusiasm......can't keep her indoors now.
2
@Allan Oh good. Now your cat can eat exotic New Zealand birds outside.
16
My. guess i should that Mexico & Canada would have more presence - if the survey only included Americans . Proximity & marriages create lots of dual citizen expats .
6
Why did you feature mostly people who already had foreign residency/passports or people married to them?
The real challenge is doing this with no legal ties to your new country.
The Vermont couple did this but needed financial help from their 85 year old father.
20
Yes, anyone can become an expat. If they have an apartment in Manhattan and a house in the Hamptons.
14
Not necessarily. The company you work for might transfer you to another country, that makes you an expatriate (expat). Got it?
2
You lost me at “divest”.
All the trials and tribulations encountered by the article’s subjects are reduced to inconveniences when one’s bank or brokerage statement is no less than seven figures, without decimal points.
I am grateful to have traveled pretty far and wide on rather limited resources, but at the end of it all I have to return to my pretty darn nice home but one that I could never divest myself of to yield enough for an exciting life elsewhere.
I know, it’s the NYT so I’m a bit out of my league. Still, the article would probably look good in Town and Country.
I’ll do the best I can to politely smile and wish these folks well in their endeavors.
14
We are all trumped out. Time to leave.
13
Grossly naive and inaccurate account of “how to live abroad”. Health insurance, valid residency permit and taxes are the top issues and none is covered here. Then take integration and cultural understanding. That pair who speaks no Spanish or Catalan living in BCN? It’s fine but they’re not living a true experience without knowing the local languages and working and living in them. They’re probably living in some expat bubble—the worst one can experience as an expat in my view of 20 years of living abroad.
26
I’ve lived the better part of 18 years overseas, and I feel these examples don’t highlight enough how precarious most of these situations are. I would not recommend such a move without a solid economic foundation in the foreign country, or a spouse with legal status and an income. One setback of bad health or occupational failure would send many of the cited examples back home very quickly, and in much worse condition than when they left. Also in most advanced economies, fluency in the language is a must. High school level greetings in Spanish are not going to cut it in an office environment in Spain. If you plan to work, you need to be able to conduct business in the language of where you are going. Lastly are the issues of legal status. Hopping over on a tourist visa is not a viable long term option to start a life outside the U.S. We may live increasingly in a borderless internet, but getting on someone’s payroll, or invoicing and collecting from customers, will very quickly bring the fact of legal status into view. You need real status in the country to do anything viable, open a bank account, buy a car, rent a home, etc. The article seems to be missing these elemental facts of life overseas. If something sounds too good to be true, it is.
43
No discussions of the tax implications and red tape Americans are faced with?
Only Americans and Eritreans are expected to file taxes when they reside overseas.
It makes sense that most countries only impose taxation on residents- if you live there, you use their services, if you don’t live there, you don’t use their services.
So Americans are nearly uniquely stuck filing and often paying taxes to a country in which they don’t live, for zero services, AND have to file and pay taxes in the country in which they DO live.
That’s in ADDITION to all the reporting requirements that the IRS imposes on US citizens overseas and foreign banks which make living a normal expatriate life difficult or even impossible- FACTA, GILTI (that’s quite a name), etc. Foreign banks don’t want American citizens as customers in many places and there is often nothing that Americans can do about it.
If you want to wrote about living abroad, you had better tell people that getting a bank account may be impossible, you may not be able to open a business or invest locally, and the IRS will require that you file, just as if you live in Miami.
The people in this article are lucky with either a local spouse who can open accounts, etc., or do what many expats do- break American law because it is genuinely onerous to comply.
It’s a sad and bizarre situation and ignoring it won’t improve it.
41
I couldn’t open a bank account in Mexico, where I lived for three years, due to the endless paperwork I had to fill. I’m glad I could handle everything with my bank’s debit card.
This article lacks a lot of information.
12
A fascinating discussion from many points of view. My ancestors escaped the Irish potato famine in 1848. I have no criticism for those who wish to escape a toxic America in 2020. I know that "escape" is not the same as the desperate flight of so many who came to the U.S. in the 19th century, but the rise of the national security state and the denial of climate change are comparable 21st century reasons to consider trying emigration.
23
This article is titled "How to be an Expatriate in 2020," but the "how" portion is glaringly absent. That there is no mention, for example, of the taxes American citizens can expect to pay while living abroad is particularly notable.
Should have been titled "A Fantasy of Expatriate Life in 2020."
54
@LJ Molière Earn your income all in the US and pay all of your taxes there. Perhaps ownership of their Mexican restaurant is a US corporation in which case income would be funneled thru it. I live in Greece but earn all of my income thru my US company- IN THE US. Therefore, I pay zero income tax in Greece.
1
@LJ Molière Rather, A Sampling of Expatriates 2020
@PD That sounds pretty useless for the country you actually live in and whose services you use.
One is supposed to pay taxes on one's worldwide income to the country where one is resident.
5
My understanding is that both Portugal and Spain offer a residency visa with a real estate investment of approximately € 500,000. I understand this is not a minor amount of money ( about $550,000 ),
But, it allows an expat to join their healthcare systems which are good/reasonable and the benefit of any resident transportation deals. ( train, bus, etc). At one point this included no local tax on U.S. retirement income. Being in Spain allows anyone train transport almost anywhere in Europe.....or reasonable airfare. Again, not inexpensive, but hardly elitist IF you are ready to make this type of change. Portugal is 6 hours from Boston and a wonderful country.
19
@PM There's a website that lists the requirements for golden visas in different countries. Portugal is actually only € 350,000. Greece is € 250,000. As you might guess, I've been looking into. I've lived overseas approximately 1/3 of my life and have no illusions that there's a perfect country, but people almost everywhere in Europe seem happier, less wary, and less angry than we are here.
8
Great Article- I was happily in California until about 2015, when I no longer had to pay school tuition and suddenly realized that I could live a very comfortable life if I left California. There is nowhere else in The US I'd live, so I considered the entire world for my move. The 2016 election solidified my decision to GTF out. I decided on Greece. Great Weather, Wonderful People, Good Quality produce, Low Cost of Living, Safe, EU travel a snap, and my health insurance premium dropped by 2/3rds. Best of all, I've become a summer resort spot for all of my friends, and in winters I enjoy a life of seclusion. What do I miss? Only Asian Food & Burritos
30
@PD Yeah Greece is great. Just don't read too much about what's going on with the government there. You can avoid this by partying down with your friends and not getting involved in local issues.
3
My wife and I were born, nurtured, and flourished in NYC. We love the city. Recently we have begun to “dream” of the expat experience primarily because of what is happening in our country. After reading this article I asked her, “after living some idyllic years someplace that is amenable to our circumstances and ease of acceptance at our ages (e.g., Portugal, Spain) would we we return to ‘tormenting’ ourselves with the news in our native country?” She nodded yes. Still, the dream persists.
6
@Gordon Silverman Ah, Gordon, follow your dream. I would love to follow my oldest daughter to Spain where she and her family live and thrive. I've been visiting them there for the past 10 years (when I retired) and would love to join them. The only things keeping me here are my mother-in-law and my age. I have found the Spanish people warm and generous. Yes, the way they do things is different and somewhat confusing at times, i.e., why can you pay the electric bill only in person, during a two hour period only on Wednsday morning? The sun, the Med. and the wine...oh my... The time change difference is 6 hours making it very easy to ignore the news in the US. Go for it!!!
11
@Florence
One thing that jumped out at me while traveling through Spain is the way international news is presented. They'd spend five minutes talking about the latest dumb or evil thing Trump did, then move on to the news from other parts of the world. Our news outlets spend an entire day debating five minutes worth of information, if that!
And the way they do things in Spain is different to us, not them. I'm sure it's a challenge, but anyone relocating to a different country needs to go with the mindset that we're not taking our culture with us, we're hopefully immersing ourselves in theirs. I hope you get to join your daughter there some day, it sounds fabulous!
5
@Florence Could not agree more; I was married to a Spaniard for 14 years and unfortunately, because of my work, I commuted back and forth monthly; I'm in the process now of divesting of real estate assets here to move permanently. Cannot say enough about the people, food, culture, climate, ease of transportation (Barajas airport in MAD vastly underrated). And healthcare - have used Spain's system and US -- Spain is vastly better in my experience.
8
Thought I'd be a NYC resident until the day I died, then the 2009 economic meltdown and busy adult kids no longer needing a full time mom got me thinking it was time to join the circus and run far, far away. A job offer for my IT Specialist spouse led to a quick jump to Toronto and suddenly, home became this culturally diverse, civic minded city that has enriched and extended our lives in so many ways. "We the North" is not just a meme, but reflects our heartfelt joy for our new lives in a great country. Thanks Canada!
41
They used to call that emigrating/immigrating. And I did it 25 years ago - to New York City! It is cool - I recommend. :-)
5
I didn’t start out with a plan. But a few years after getting an undergraduate degree in Art, I went back to school for an MSc in engineering (yay jobs!). Worked for two years in Texas, but I’m from the mountain west, so always kept an eye out for a chance to move somewhere with more.... topography. Saw a job at a Norwegian company in Norway - applied, interviewed, got hired, they helped me get the visa, and off I went. And now 8 years later, I have permanent residence and will soon go for citizenship (dual). Love these Norwegian mountains!
Knowing what I know now, I can’t believe how lucky I got. Norwegian taxes are high (50 percent) but I’m not dual-taxed. I never worry about losing my job as I am protected by my work contract and Norway’s strong union culture. I have 6 weeks of paid vacation a year (plus 13 public holidays). My pension is substantial and will be enough to retire on. That’s what those high taxes pay for. Public shootings, job loss, medical bills - I don’t have to worry about these and much more. I feel freer without these worries always lurking in the corners of my life somewhere. I feel like I’m going to be okay no matter what life throws at me now. I feel safe. Secure. Like maybe I can pursue art more seriously...
These days in the States, to feel secure - hard work simply doesn’t cut it - you also need family money or extraordinary luck. The system is set up not to prevent people from failing but to profit off it when they do.
89
Wow! Not one mention of FBAR or FACTA?
No reference to the fact that Americans are taxed based on citizenship and not residency? The only country in the world that does this. That means that on top of the income tax you might pay in, say Spain or Finland, you have to pay income tax on that same money to the US.
In northern Europe, few banks will open an account for an American citizen. It's just not worth the headache. Transfering money between Europe and the US is a nightmare.
So while I encourage everyone to travel and live overseas, one should not go in with their eyes wide shut.
41
@Michael
Actually, Eritrea is the other one.
It is a bizarre, draconian way to tax citizens, for sure.
4
@Michael
You will not have to pay US taxes on the first approx. $100k earned overseas.
4
@John S Exacto. It's doable, not that one doesn't need to investigate all aspects of your own situation and anticipated earnings, etc.
1
Admittedly, this article makes the "expat" life seem easy and somewhat glamorous. For the vast majority of us, it's not. Living abroad can be rewarding, but it is not a walk in the park. That said, judging by all the cynical comments, there seems to be a lot of underlying envy among the NY Times readers. Don't knock it until you try it people. Enjoy your mass shootings.
17
@William
Hanau? Hmmm.
3
Perhaps the best thing about living or traveling for extended period overseas is that one is not bombarded 24/7 with news as in the US.
16
@Paul Or, if you can't afford to travel to exotic places, you could turn off your devices and take a little trip in your mind.
I am planning my move to Costa Rica . I want to live close to nature where it is diverse and protected.
7
Please be aware that the biodiversity you admire doesn’t recognize doors and windows as barriers. Make peace with living with insects because they are fine living with you.
10
@beth If you eat enough grlic and low sugar they will be less interested.
1
Relentless and irrational pursuit of expatriots by the IRS is persuading many that we need a universal organization. Soon, Trump will deny us passports etcetc. A million voters must speak with one mighty voice.
21
I have all the same feelings as those who were quoted but I live in Canada and do NOT feel the need to escape it. But I did need to escape the city, the madding crowd, the hustle and bustle and, most of all, the increasing lack of community, humanity and despair that seems so prevalent there. I found the good life in the country/wilderness. In fact, I live so OFF THE GRID, I often say my nearest neighbours are bears and squirrels. Truth is a bit different. I live on a remote island amongst other remote islands that cover over 250 square miles. And I share that with almost 250 others. But that is just right for this Goldilocks. People! The 'Merican Dream is a nightmare. Get out. Get out now!
13
@J. David Cox Off the grid with internet. That's good,huh?
1
I am a 4th génération to change nationalities. I never planned this but it must have been part of my fundamental makeup. I know my world vision spans the globe but still my little garden in my Swiss village connects me to the earth more than anything else.
11
@Brian Well, my parents who were married almost 50 years, would disagree.
My wife and I just returned from Panama City, Panama, where we spent two weeks clearing out a storage unit that had, for over a year, housed the possessions accumulated during four years of expat living there. Our return to the US was due to having to be more involved in the care of two older family members, one, sadly, suffering with dementia.
Finding a home, learning local customs and processes, learning a new language, making new friends and all that goes into expat living was an exciting, humbling and broadening experience. No regrets and lots of encouragement offered to anyone considering making the leap.
21
While useful to know this alternative path in life, these peoples' stories, and such resources exist, the commercial, one-sided nature of the column is problematic.
I find it hard to believe there aren't downsides, such as people who have tried it and return.
Grandchildren, community ties, what is left behind, airport security hassles are not mentioned.
For some, there are existential questions of one's purpose in life. Is it only about what makes me happy, such as cheaper living expenses, in a world that seems closer than ever to falling apart? Instead, how can I play a role in reversing societal and planetary declines? If living as an ex-pat is part of the answer, then OK.
Relatedly, if one motivation is that you are sick of certain things in the U.S., such as the politics, while I wouldn't blame anyone for leaving, and in a way that's an important statement to make, at the same time there's an element of giving up.
How does it help the U.S. dig out of our multiple societal holes if people, who by definition have some admirable qualities, leave? Whereas, if in some way becoming an ex-pat helps, then that particular objection withdrawn.
Smaller picture, maybe it's just me, but I never find the Internet and social media to live up to their "frictionless" rep. There's always something. Plus, learning a second language is just so hard. Maybe they have the motivation I haven't been able to find. But it would be nice to have discussed such real challenges and how they were met.
31
Well, here’s a data point.
I fought for progressive causes in the USA my entire adult life: 40 years. My favorite candidate for office in the Democratic primaries lost the presidency all but once: Obama. I am a solidly liberal American who by European standards is center-left.
I devoted myself nearly full -time to the Indivisible moment from the minute Trump was elected til SFO disappeared behind my flight to Europe. I still participate a lot from exile.
I am sick of losing and America, in my long-considered opinion, does not want to be saved.
America is now a better life for third-world immigrants (a very low bar) and a haven for the super-rich, with a cultural wasteland and some terrifyingly political trends in between.
The longer I’m away the less I want to return. It’s a shallow, boring, and increasingly toxic place that pays mere lip service to its highest ideals.
I doubt it will improve, save a miracle, in my lifetime, though I will contribute and make an effort to help... from a safe distance.
87
I agree with you on all your thoughtful observations. My husband and I briefly looked into retiring to Prince Edward Island as we have summer vacationed there every year for well over 20 years and love it there. As we began to casually look at real estate last summer, I just froze inside. Culturally it would be a very easy move. Financially it is certainly do-able. The beauty of the land is breathtaking. However, the thought of leaving family and friends was overwhelming. At heart I am a homebody, adore my crazy family, and am blessed with a string of faithful friends. My roots are deep, so despite crazy taxes and cost of living I think we’ll still be here in our 70s and beyond.
7
@Matt Polsky If I could do the expat thing I would. Eldercare and a non-portable job keep us here for now. My dad was European and I speak multiple languages so that's not an issue.
As for political engagement, it's possible to do that (to some extent) from afar. I live in a blue state; my vote doesn't really count in any but local elections. Some of my younger relatives have moved to Europe and are raising families there. not having to worry about exorbitant healthcare and education class is a wonderful thing.
1
It's interesting that this story is "most popular" right after Sanders wins the Nevada primary. We're all feeling doomed to 4 more years, and looking for a way out.
31
Re another 4 years of Trump... if another 4 years is the worst thing then maybe instead of assuming Sanders will lose, you should vote for him, no matter what. It’s not like he can actually do the things he says he wants to do if they bother you so much. Isn’t getting a Democrat in office more important than the beginning of what could be an attempted Trump Dynasty. Seriously.
13
I think it is very interesting that the article refers to "expatriates." As a middle-aged white American who chose to move abroad because of the better quality of life (which very clearly makes me an immigrant, and not just an expatriate - according to some, but not all, definitions, expatriates are living abroad temporarily and not necessarily by choice). It sounds like all of the people in this article are immigrants to me. They all moved abroad for better lives. However, in America in 2020, the term "immigrant" is often loaded. I have met lots of other middle-aged white Americans who refuse to call themselves immigrants, even though that's what they are. It's time to take back the word.
49
@EH Yes, I'm always amazed that Americans assume that other countries will have no trouble with them immigrating - who wouldn't want us, we're Americans!- and yet we can't deal with our own immigrants.
It sounds like most writing here are at least center-left if not left-left, and not the types that put children in cages, but no one sees themselves as some other's countries immigrant...
5
@EH As my husband and I look at the possibility of moving abroad we refer to ourselves as immigrants. Expatriate is a colonizer's word.
4
@EH
I think Americans have been conditioned to believe that being a US citizen is special. The generation of Americans who actually saved the world from fascism are either dead or being cared for by illegal immigrants who are being paid for off the books.
The current generations of Americans seem to support fascism in very large numbers.
13
This has been a dream of mine since long before the rise of today's toxic state. The men in my family so far haven't lived long lives -- my father is the only one to pass 70 -- and the thought of working til death is abhorrent to me. That seems more and more likely in the modern US. My hope is to relocate somewhere with a cost of living low enough to survive on whatever we've saved/invested/inherited when we're able to pull the trigger. We're childless so once our parents are gone, I don't expect to have any emotional ties left to sever. Right now it's just a dream on paper; we need to start doing more research and visit potential destinations.
22
A new grandchild keeps me from bugging my spouse from about leaving the US. A trip to Norway, Denmark, Belgium and The Netherlands a few years ago, cemented the belief that the US is not the only and best nation to live in. A friend who emigrated to Belgium 20 years ago b/c she fell in love w/a Belgian, now has three children, had one year of parental leave for each child-available until each child reach age 12; free university education for each child; and excellent health care-which, by the way, she was eligible for upon her arrival in Belgium 20 years ago once confirmation of her status and relationship with her fiancé was confirmed.
A recent trip to the UK also reconfirmed this thinking. Despite Brexit, the people we spoke too were still strong in their belief in their National Health Service and believed that all would work out, recognizing the social divisions in their nation. And, yes, racism was evident to us and brief tourists, but there was also a sense of a nation that was trying to move forward.
Living abroad may not be easy. But, if one can do it, go for it. There are places that offer a better life. Shorter work hours in just a productive economies. Just as good health and dental care for free. Wonderful university education. Great food. Great museums. Less traffic. Less crowds. An easier way too live.
29
Rachel-Just to point out, nothing is “free.” Medical and dental care is paid for in an alternate way. In this case, taxes. Nothing wrong with that, and I have seriously been thinking of picking up and exploring the immigrant experience, reversing the course my forebears made centuries ago.
But we just need to remember, as we do in the Democratic primary playing out now, nothing comes “free.”
Who do you imagine pays the salaries of the doctors, nurses, dentists and hygienists?
Who pays for their offices, hospitals and the medical supplies with which they are stocked?
Unless one lives in a cave with no outside contact, nothing in life is “free,” no matter whether a life is lived in the EU or the USA.
10
@Rachel As an American expat there, Belgian women DEFINITELY do not get a year of parental leave!! It's three months, and you can sometimes pull some strings (which do have professional consequences) to make it six.
And there's a mixed bag in other ways. Daycare is cheap ... but there's very high ratios, in our case 12 young toddlers for one carer. Health is cheap, but there's holes.
Also "less traffic" in Belgium, hahahahaha! I'm from Southern California, and still I am appalled at how much people drive here.
Don't get me wrong, I did choose to come here. But I do find the "everything is MAGIC in Europe" attitude silly.
5
@Scott, I really don’t think any adult thinks that “free” healthcare, or university, or, for that matter, our massive military, is “free.”
We pay for it through taxes- or at least the middle class does, as it seems the wealthy always have a good way of avoiding that.
But save your lecture: From everything we have learned about Trump in the past few years, we know that he probably hasn’t paid any taxes in an eternity. So maybe you can explain to him that those “free” golf trips aren’t really free. The rest of us, who pay taxes, already know.
13
Having married someone from Barcelona we moved there in the 80's; had three kids, sent them to school, and integrated into the Catalan community. We moved back in the late 90's because I believed that the homogeneous society was not a good thing for our kids. Now, at 60+, with kids grown and settled I'm thinking that the climate in this country is toxic and maybe a move back to Spain would be a good idea. Although I think people romanticize, I did, about living abroad. It's not easy! Especially if you don't speak the language. Cultural differences, values, food, makes it challenging and worth it.
19
@Hopie So true. It is NOT easy. But it is easy to romanticize. I guess the big question is this: would you do anything differently?
Looking back on things, do you have any regrets?
@Zac Stafford absolutely not! Great question. I struggled for about 3 years (I was at a great disadvantage having no Spanish skills) and I knew nobody except my husband. Once I was able to communicate, get around the city, and make friends (lots of ex-pats) including Catalans, it was an amazing and enriching experience. Actually it changed my life!
1
Nothing against InternNations, but I seriously doubt its research on "most favorite"ex-pat destinations bears much semblance to the true statistics. Most U.S. MiIllenials flock to Argentina and Estonia, as opposed to London, Barcelona or Berlin, seriously? I know InterNations and it is not exactly favored by Millenials, but, shall we say, slightly seasoned, wealthy people looking for company. The author might have consulted a more credible source for emigration info. The best, most useful ex-pat groups are found on Facebook, without "Albatross membership fees" and fancy meet up locales designed to compare status.
22
@BettyK InterNations is really not used by anybody I know who has migrated out of the USA. Its quite frequently hacked and has little relevance. As soon as one integrates - takes some effort and a knowledge of local customs/language/culture there is little point in expat groups. I have lived/worked in 3 cities in MX since 2004 with the idea of NOT living in US retiree type places like San Miguel de Allende mentioned here but rather working and living with Mexican & international people people in my area of media and communications and the arts and its generally what occurs with friends who are bi-nationals from many other countries but integrated permanent residents of Mexico. BTW it is very very nice living in a healthy optimistic society with universal health care, free education and tons of culture.
4
@BettyK
Just seconding the above comments — I highly doubt Estonia is the second most popular Millennial expat destination. And no one in Germany I know uses Internations, either. Their events are expensive!
6
BettyK- Could Estonia make the list for millennials because of its very advanced and integrated IT infrastructure and the related business interests tied to it?
3
Like many I know, I find I am most joyful when I live an intentional, purposeful life. I have found such a life here in Ecuador. I spend 3-4 days a week traveling to the tropical coast, through the Andean cloud forests, and hiking up volcanoes; Galapagos and Machu Pichu are within easy travel distance. But more than anything, I find joy in teaching Ecuadorian students from poor families. I am privileged to be working with these intelligent, ambitious, and kind-hearted people. Stumbling through their language and culture reminds me I am learning from them as well. A purposeful, interesting, adventurous, purposeful, and yes, affordable, life awaits anyone willing to take the risk.
47
@Paco
Hi Paco,
Yes to "I find I am most joyful when I live an intentional, purposeful life."
I'm a recently retired ESL instructor who has taught academic English (for passing TOEFL) at UC Berkeley, but also taught ESL to immigrant centers in the bay area. I enjoyed both immensely. I also have taught ESL in Osaka, Japan and in Dakar Senegal. Ecuador has been on my mind for years! Any information for me on how and where best to find a teaching position? Remuneration not so important.
Mika
1
Hola de Ecuador, Mika!
Here’s one way: you can spend a year volunteering at the school where I am, while you look around for a longer-term position with remuneration. (I am retired and have no financial constraints.) The program will provide you with food and lodgings, and with assistance to obtain a missionary visa, which will allow you to stay here for 3 years. Native-born English speakers who are effective teachers are a prized commodity here. A midnight flight from Quito will bring you to U.S. East Coast by morning.
Quito has an interesting history, and abounds with Spanish architecture dating to the 1500s. I have traveled throughout Europe and Asia, and I find Cuenca to be one of the most beautiful cities I have visited, an hour from the Andean sierras. It is cosmopolitan, yet not so overrun with Gringos to have lost its local culture. There is much respect for the indigenous people, who exert considerable political influence.
Pregunta Senor Google sobre Jesuit and Quito, which is how I first found the school, CMT. And if you are serious, pick up Spanish. I came here with no fluency but I had special skills to offer beyond English; after 7 months, I am now able to conduct meetings in Spanish. Buena suerte!
6
This all sounds so nice and easy. As an expat of some 25 years, living across Central And Southeast Asia, the US government does not make it easy for people living overseas. Try telling your bank your new address is somewhere outside of the USA, or your brokerage or your mutual fund manager. See how quickly they tell you they're closing your account, where do you want the funds sent? Be ready to get a new credit card too, from your new local bank. And with that new bank don't forget your FBAR reports. No major US insurance company will write a term life policy for me, living outside the USA. And voting, good luck, they run you through hoops, different process for each state. Same with your will. And you want to contact your elected representative in Washington, that's right, you don't have any, no one in DC cares about expats. It can be done, but sometimes requires a little creativity.
36
@Jim. As a fellow expat (though I consider myself an immigrant and permanent resident), I can't help but laugh at and be offended by you. You seem to be another one of those folk who at bottom just think they're on an extended, years-long vacation.
Perhaps SE Asia is different, but as someone living in a "banana republic", I find your criticisms specious. That, or you're just making it more complicated than it need be. There are all kinds of easy work-arounds. I have TWO US addresses...one with my niece (for banking) and another a international mail service with document scanning and express forwarding options (everything else). I have the same three bank accounts in the States (checking, savings, and retirement) and two here (one with the national bank and other with my local credit union that offers 9% on accounts with over $27,500), with multiple options for transfer, some with fees, some without. I vote absentee in the state of my last US residence. I can access my SSDI information online or it comes international airmail to a local coffee shop that expats use as an easy-to-locate address. As for wills (and divorces) you're going to have to deal with the laws of the land. Why shouldn't you?
15
@Jim Agreed! It does take creativity and no, nobody in the government cares about getting anything from us but our taxes.
5
@Jim
You're right that banking has become a nightmare for those of us living outside the US; even as a citizen of my new country I have had several accounts closed because I was born in the US. Most banks don't want the hassle - most Swiss bankd refuse outright.
4
All changes come with emotional longing for what you left behind. I miss so many aspects about our life, most of all, our close friends. I loved my Obama-era U.S., but that feeling crumbled with the rise of the Tea Party and every election after 2010. So off we went to Berlin, but after too many cool and grey days and feeling "too old" for Berlin, we made like 19th century Impressionists and "stole" my parents' vacation apartment in the South of France.
The near- grotesque bureaucracy can drive you insane, but then you find out you can reason with public officials here and get some of the insanity resolved in a humane way. Taxation and health insurance are also major issues, but since you must file in the U.S. as well as in your new home (Thanks, USA, teeming with tax havens, but persecutes expats to a degree where we can't obtain bank accounts in Europe), your U.S. expat accountant is a friend in need. Health care in (less affordable-)Germany and France is as good as and cheaper than in the U.S.
What I love about living in Europe is that diversity of cultures and places is at your fingertips for much less than the U.S. We've gone on countless road trips through France, Italy and Spain and visited Morocco for a modest price. I wish I could split my time between Chicago and Europe, but if we had to choose for good, we'd pick Western Europe, its relatively sane leaders, healthy democracies, amazing food, culture and its enlightened, cosmopolitan citizens.
49
The Customs official that I have to cross, like a Rubicon, every time I get a parcel from home slammed the door in my face five minutes before closing time after I waited in line an hour, denied the presence of my package for which I had two notices and a tracking number, and refused to yield to my tears of frustration now shows me pictures of his grandchildren and enjoys telling his co-workers of the day that I stood my ground and told him that I loved his country and that his rudeness was a disgrace to a proud nation.
It eventually gets better. Persist.
14
Run away! Yes, it's not for the faint of heart, but life should be an adventure.
Looking down the barrel of the Trump presidency and the rise of the Grotesque Oligarch Plutocracy, I ran shortly after the election. Subsequent events have proven it right.
Keeping in mind that I went alone to Swaziland, Africa for a self-designed year abroad in my college days, and have traveled widely and alone quite a bit in my life, this was not the challenge it might be for others.
Where I am, the novelty never wears thin. Learning a new language is wonderful. I love the European-ness of it all, in the flavors, the wine, the manners, the public transportation, the lichen-draped stone walls lining my cobbled street.
I know this is not for everyone, and if you think you will be challenged by the unfamiliar (just ask Army brat families), or frightened or deranged by the reptilian impassivity of the preposterously unmoveable bureacracy in much of Europe, don't go.
But if you were one of us old hippies that dreamed of the Marrakech Express, for god's sake, get up and go. While you still can.
36
Maybe Bernie’s plans will make it unnecessary to move away from the US? Just saying: wouldn’t it be lovely to afford to stay home? To
make the choice to go overseas because you want to, not because you have to.
32
You don’t have to upend your lives to find relief from Big City stress and expense. There are many areas in the U S that offer great benefits at a slower pace and less money. Richmond has a vibrant art and restaurant scene, reasonable commutes, wonderful cultural opportunities, and is centrally located for both mountains and ocean. In addition the political climate has shifted in recent years. I’m sure this is true in other small cities around the country.
10
My son went to University of Richmond and discovered the joys and adventures of this wonderful city! A most enjoyable 4 years. The city of Richmond is a gem!
9
@Allison
I have just moved to Virginia and am finding the Old South alive and well, which is difficult to adjust to. Best example: NRA, hunters and other gun fanatics are blocking even the most reasonable gun controls proposed by the newly blue Legislature; some municipalities are declaring themselves "sanctuary cities" that refuse to enforce gun control laws, and in some rural areas, citizens are forming militias for when "they come for our guns." I recommend to anyone moving anywhere in the world, learn everything you can about the culture and consider seriously whether your own political and philosophical beliefs would be too battered to live happily.
7
@Erda You are concentrating on the wrong side of the story. The Democrats have pushed through lots of gun control regulations, despite their wimpiness on this most visible restriction. This from the Washington Post:
“Virginia Democrats are delivering on the liberal agenda they promised for this year's General Assembly session, pushing through hundreds of bills that undo years of Republican leadership and change course on significant issues.
In a cascade of votes Monday and Tuesday ahead of a legislative deadline, the new Democratic majority advanced measures to protect LGBT residents, help undocumented immigrants, protect the environment, fund roads and raise the minimum wage.
And that was on top of earlier action to pass gun control, ease abortion restrictions and enact the Equal Rights Amendment.”
So please don’t look at where we’ve been, but feel hopeful at where we are going.
1
I am an American in my mid-30s that has been living abroad for almost 15 years. During this time, I've lived both in Germany and China, but haven't ever returned permanently to the United States.
However, one thing that has come to bother me the longer I live abroad--why are we labeled as "expats" and not as "immigrants?" I have no plans on moving back to the US, I am married to a German, I speak German about 75% of my time at home and at work.
I've given this a lot of thought over the years and frankly, I've come to the conclusion that it's because of my education and my job (I work in tech). I also have the luxury that I can move back to my home country relatively easily compared to those fleeing their homes due to hardship. People don't group me together with other immigrant groups because of what their idea of an "immigrant" is compared to an "expat."
My grandparents were immigrants to the United States and were searching for a better life. I moved abroad to get what I thought was a better quality of life. How am I any different?
37
P.Lee, the term expat used to mean professionals (and their families) who live abroad for a certain time but plan (and do) return to their home countries. Nowadays, expat is also used for people from countries formerly known as „first world“ who move abroad. By the way, I predict that you will gladly move back to the US from Germany before you retire, so make sure that remains an option. Build assets in the US and don‘t rely on Germany’s persion system.
2
@Helleborus You say this as though they could rely instead on their American pension system?
It's true that the biggest problem I see with living abroad is that at one point you find yourself without a center at all - you aren't truly a member of the country in which you live, but you return to a US that you don't recognize and can't abide. As a retiree that has lived abroad all my adult life, with children spread worldwide, it is hard to decide where 'home' is.
8
nancy, of course they can‘t rely on the US pension system if they work abroad until retirement and don‘t pay into the US system. I mean that they should use their savings for building solid assets in the US instead of, let‘s say, real estate in Germany.
1
I’m reminded of There’s May’s comment that those who think they are citizens of the world are citizens of nowhere, which reflects the widely-apparent tension between a traditional, rooted localism versus a cosmopolitan, globalist mindset.
7
Indeed. Consider the source.
5
Once you make the move you realise that there is not much about the US that you miss. After moving to London we found: better healthcare, lower crime rates, public transport that actually works, better supermarkets with cheaper food, a broader range of restaurants and more culture. Why would we ever go back?
51
@John Stroughair Could not have agreed with you more. After making a move in early 2017 from DC to London, my wife and I live a completely different life. Mindless wasted hours of frustrating driving commute were replaced by walking and using exceptionally good public transport. Phenomenal fresh produce. Great healthcare options (both NHS and private). Most of all - London; the two thousand year old ultra modern city with so many layers that one needs years to uncover them. On a top of al this, any European destination is at most a three hour flight. Mediterranean at your fingertips. I wish more people realised that they could either do the same work they always do or do something different in another country without fear. There is only one life.
44
@John Stroughair
As an American living in Manchester (UK) with my British husband, I'm pretty concerned about Brexit. London is wonderful if you have the funds, but let's not build the UK or London up too much here. I know plenty of Brits who'd move to the States in a heartbeat, despite the fact that America has no NHS. Most people I know here do face long commutes (albeit by train and tram) and we don't yet know how Brexit will impact food costs or "culture." My colleagues and I (in higher Education) work very long hours; our wages are not high and there's no "work/life" balance. Unless you're wealthy, a large UK city feels just as hard as Los Angeles -- without the sun.
30
@John Stroughair according to the UK government 200,000 Americans share your views, and that's just the ones that are officially resident
1
While it is possible to maintain existing professional relationships, forming new ones is nowhere as easy as it would be if you were able to participate in face to face settings. Therefore I would primarily recommend this only for professionals seeking to transition from full employment to semi-retirement.
While not moving overseas, I did this almost twenty years ago, moving to Vermont. No traffic, clean air, living in nature. Better neighbors too. Had I stayed in New Jersey, I would have died of stress and depression. Sometimes, you need a radical change.
9
@RM You do not migrate for ease - I needed to do the work to understand how to form professional relationships in Mexico, working in 3 cities, learning language and cultural differences. First years are all about the learning, but it is never boring.
1
@RM And yet the restauranteurs in this story moved from Vermont. One Man’s meat and all that.
I moved to the Netherlands four years ago. There are visas available for many countries in Europe that Americans can take advantage of. The freelance/startup visa was perfect for us here in the Netherlands. If you're interested it's called the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT). That is a two-year visa with a three or five year extension followed by automatic permanent residency if you meet the minimal requirements.
That said, I eventually obtained Italian citizenship through ancestry as thousands of other Americans are doing now, with the desire to connect more to my Italian roots. Making the move to Italy soon!
15
@R.A. I'd think long and hard about moving to Italy. Hope you speak the language. I lived there for 18 months as a U.S. federal employee living on the economy with no Italian language skills. It was tough and isolating. Italian bureaucracy is no joke.
3
Why not stay and work for what you believe? Yes it's hard. If everyone who dislikes Trump leaves it just makes it easier for them. It makes me crazy to see Americans give up on their country so easily. There is so much work to be done in your country. Get out and do it-I'm sure you will find it rewarding. Canada and Scandinavian countries have social support systems because people worked to create them and maintain them. These things are not magic and belief. They are the result of hard committed work by mostly unpaid people. Little people working for little changes in their community every day. If you are not engaged in making positive change in the world where you are, why does the rest of the world need you? Using your social security wealth to live in luxury in Central America just speaks to everything that is crazy about the American worldview. It is Trump in everything but name.
35
@not my ancestors - As someone who gave up everything to protest the Vietnam War, did not have children because of the damage to the environment, and been working on alternatives to the insanity of America for over 50 years, I think I deserve to live the rest of my days in a quieter, more peaceful country. Remember: If YOU would have listened to US fifty years ago, WE wouldn't be in trouble NOW.
21
@not my ancestors
This is exactly the reason that I came home, after 20 years abroad. But I'm beginning to despair; if the election in November leads to 4 more years of this and worse, I don't know that I will stay permanently. It is an honorable fight, but at some point, I have to decide if this is how I want to spend my last years...
8
@not my ancestors European fascism in the 1930's-40's was not defeated by their citizens who stayed and worked for what they believed in, but by Allied military victory. Staying in the U.S. now and working for what you believe in will not defeat the Trumpism/fascism coming our way. Time to get out while you can (if you have the money and/or youth to do so).
6
Not an ex-pat, but just a thought: I'm seeing that many people who were uncomfortable with their lifestyle in the US were residing in cities with very high costs of living. There are many more rural places in the US where living is affordable and connections with the rest of the world exist. I see pictures of people describing their spacious new apartments and how they compare to the hovel of a studio in NY, San Fran or Chicago. Why not move to the adjacent, less populous state and work remotely? Of course, travel and different culture are fabulous as well, not knocking the other benefits, but sometimes there is wonderment to be found stateside.
23
@S. Let me explain.
65+ and physically disabled, with a finite income of less that $2000 per month (SSDI and a small pension), I had to make a choice: continue to live on the edge of a precipice in the US or to live on the edge of the Pacific in another country.
Is it perfect? No. Have there been adjustments? Yes. Is it frustrating to deal with government offices and insurance companies? Not much different than the US. After 2.5 years, would I move? Nope. Well over half my paltry income is "disposable" here.
5
@S I agree with your premise that there are other places to live besides the high cost cities mentioned in the article. I live in Des Moines IA, with a very reasonable cost of living. I've been to Los Angeles twice this month, and was shocked to see the cost of living ($1.5 million for a hovel), the sprawl, pollution, traffic, etc. We've got an apartment in NYC for our daughter, so I know the high cost of living there, as well. And, Des Moines is 'expensive' compared to plenty of other more rural places in Iowa. Moving inland from high cost costal cities will not allow you to escape what is happening to our democracy, but financially could be worth considering. With that said if it were reasonably possible, I'd move to Iceland/Norway/Holland/Germany in a heartbeat for improved quality of life compared to today's USA.
6
@S-we actually moved to the suburbs of NYC and with €170k in salaries, still lived paycheck to paycheck. My husband left home at 4am and sometimes returned at 12am. You can say all you want about "why didnt you...." but we tried everything. The US cannot compete with Europe's quality of life. When i became pregnant as a fashion designer in NYC, I was given 6 weeks mat leave then let go. Ireland, you get 6months and holiday days missed. In NY i got off at 3pm on the day of my rehearsal dinner, drove upstate and had to be at work 6 days later. i wasnt allowed 2 weeks together. in Ireland, I have 5 weeks paid holidays. My son goes to a top Uni for €7900 yr. Yes, you may have more wealth in the US, better things, but after living 38 yrs in NY vs 15 yrs in Ireland, I can honestly say I am finally living!
26
All Americans can trace their heritage from someplace else in the world. This could pay off handsomely for some Americans, especially those that are first or second generation Americans.
Some countries grant citizenship through your parents or grandparents. Not where you were born. That means you might be able to qualify for a foreign passport and become a dual national.
Qualifying for a European passport will allow you to live and work visa free in any one of the 27 member states of the European Union.
I would recommend anyone thinking of moving overseas first check this path out.
20
Americans should not think that it's just a hop, skip and a jump to move overseas. Banking could be a serious stumbling block to making a move.
Due to changes to U.S. law within the last ten years, many overseas banks don't want anything to do with American citizens. Most of the European economy is now cashless. So you can forget about just getting along without a bank account.
Also, many banks no longer work with checks (it's old fashioned). That could make things difficult if you're expecting to receive a company pension from the U.S., but that pension provider is unable to electronically transfer funds overseas. In such a case, they'll most likely only be able to pay you by check.
9
@Ex New Yorker Revolut and a dozen of others solve this problem with ease. No problem at all, actually.
Not many people receive pensions these days!!
2
Americans think the bureaucracy here is bad, but that's nothing compared to other countries. To move abroad requires more than a Xoom or Skype account. Many places won't even let foreigners open bank accounts (due to money-laundering laws) and things like getting internet hooked up or putting an electrical bill in your name can be daunting, especially if you don't speak the language. Getting a visa can be a harrowing/challenging experience, too, requiring many rounds of paperwork, interviews (often with bureaucrats that don't care if you stay or go...), waiting in lines, and figuring out how things work. Moving abroad is not as easy as it sounds; it takes a lot of patience, paperwork, and courage.
22
@Max When I moved abroad, a civil servant demanded written proof that I had never been married. As far as I know, such a document doesn't exist in the U.S. I could provide a document that I was married, or that I was divorced. But not one showing I had never been married.
So I went to the town clerk where my parents lived. The woman there typed up a document basically stating that they had know record of me ever being married in that tiny village. A stamp and a seal made it look official.
The civil servant was more than happy to accept that as proof.
The lesson that I learned that day: Feed the bureaucracy beast.
43
I moved to Israel a year ago to follow my only child. As a retired NYC teacher (bless Albert Shanker and the UFT) I have a pension and social security. The pension is not super high because I didn’t work 20 years but I can’t complain. I have health insurance here and the US (again bless the UFT it’s affordable).My Tel Aviv apartment is lovely and amenity filled and the same price as the tiny studio I rented for two years in Silicon Valley. I teach part time and get a small salary. Life is not easy and it’s not the US, which I miss terribly and visit regularly, but I’ve created a life with courses and work and activities, plus my family. Learning a newish language is challenging. I also welcome friends as visitors.
15
I am an American who left the US in 2011. For two years I worked as an employee computer programmer I’m Chile. The I switching into doing tech writing on software. You can make a living as a freelancer, but you have to deliver quality work to get new business and have the right personality. Not all people have the ability to sell themselves. Or they get burned by bad clients. It will take a year at least to build up a portfolio of clients so that you can find them more easily. So you will be poor before it takes off. And you might run out of money in the middle too. So save some of it
Three years ago I left. agile and started moving around Europe and North Africa. Now I’ve got residency in Cyprus. I’ve reached 59 years of age. There was a real risk of b coming stateless and having to go back to the USA were I to get sick. So at some point you need to find a home and stay there. The clock keeps ticking and you cannot live in a country on a tourist visa for usually more than three months.
I would say please don’t be a cliche and go to where the other Digital nomads go. There’s no need to live in a big city if your are working on the internet. And avoid Thailand, Indonesia, and Bali. Argentina is not safe. And make the destination your focus and not getting there. Too many people I see just want to travel. I focus on my work and my passion, ocean swimming, and trying to make friends, the physical and not virtual kind. Don’t drive up your budget by traveling all the time.
15
We left Chicago almost 3 years ago to settle in Amsterdam. Many Dutch companies recruit foreign talent and provide a skilled migrant visa. After 5 years one is allowed to become a permanent resident. For the time being there is a tax incentive, but it is slowly disappearing. The Dutch expect you to learn basic Dutch to receive permanent residency. We didn’t have Manhattan properties to fall back on, but for now we manage to pay our rent in Amsterdam while we figure out how to enter the property market. We both found jobs in our field - marketing and high tech - many large Dutch based corporations have an ambition to become global, so English is used as a base language at work.
In short, being an expat is doable, but it takes work and humility to accept realities of a new culture. We have learned to love our no-car, less consumption, more adventure based lifestyle. The only thing I miss about the US is our health club. I replaced it with a bicycle commute and steep stairs. And yes, everyone in!the Netherlands speaks at least two languages because they accept they are not the center of the universe.
43
Your comment is confusing, it sounds like you were recruited, but then you make it sound like you were able to find work AFTER you got to the Netherlands.
Gosh, I am one of these people and I don't see my chosen country on any of these lists. And it's the best country by far as everyone who lives here knows.
I concur with the posts that point out it's a bit trickier than this article makes out and you do need some kind of in to make it happen. I was very fortunate in that way, reading some of the posts of people who couldn't get in here. It's a rare gift to be able to live outside the US.
13
@John
Given the huge number of expat Americans in Canada, and Canada not showing up on the lists, I can only guess that the percentage of Americans in Canada who join the Internations group is much lower than Americans in other countries, perhaps because Canada is so close to the US geographically and life style, etc. It looks like the results are based on incomplete data and should not be relied on.
12
@John Internations is a pain to join; I know many expats who do not bother with them. There are lots of American expat groups in Australia without them. I am guessing that's why some countries don't show up. Either that, or immigration laws are so strict in some countries that unless you have an in - a spouse from that country or a much-needed profession - getting in is too difficulty for masses to move.
5
@John
I don’t see my country on the list, either.
Being an expat can be a lot trickier than the article notes. First and foremost, language! If you move to an English speaking country or a country where English as a second language is common then obviously you’re fine. If not, the hurdles are enormous. Call a taxi? Ask for a kilo of fruit? Deal with the gas company? Call for an ambulance?
You may master the basics but without the broader expertise and subtleties of the native language you can feel isolated. And don’t get me started on the banal cultural differences that can make personal and business communication very difficult.
So go for it but know what you’re getting into.
8
My family — we’re from California — lives outside the US. My brother was the first to leave for college in Australia. Several years later, I left for a teaching job in Bangkok and my parents left a month later to retire in Fiji, my grandfather in tow. (We had lived in Fiji when I was in high school.) My brother married a South African woman he met in Sydney and they’ve since moved to Cape Town. Here in Bangkok, I met and married a wonderful man from northeast India and we’re still here but thinking about leaving (but definitely not for the US). My parents are still in Fiji. They have work permits through an organization they volunteer with that provides medical treatment to children. We’re all happy to be out of the US, but of course there are many things we miss: for me, it’s the public library, Taco Bell and Target.
We have yet to all meet up. We’ve visited my parents once in Fiji and they’ve come to Thailand several times. We went on a cruise with them out of Hong Kong over Christmas.
Visas and work permits control our lives here, making it very stressful for my husband and I when I don’t have a job. This might be a problem we’ll face for the rest of our lives.
Healthcare here in Bangkok is very good. I recently went to the hospital without insurance when I was in between jobs with what I thought was kidney stone pain. A urine test, ultrasound and long conversation with the doctor, my suspicions confirmed, I paid $75.
Living overseas is difficult, daily, but worth it.
12
@Susan Zingkha Not to worry. There will soon be Taco Bells in Bangkok. Not sure about the Targets--bricks-and-mortar stores are having a hard time of it.
California is coming to town...
To be a long-term expat, you really do have to keep your eyes on all the moving pieces, and try to get ahead on some elements of the game, and fly under the radar with others.
I moved out of the U.S. when I was 31. A single, public school teacher, I bought a house close to work in a poorer neighborhood than the one I grew up in. It was downward mobility - after paying the 13th payment on the mortgage, paying off the car, and taking the max out of my paycheck for retirement, I only had 600 bucks in the bank -- for two straight years. Dumbest thing I ever did. If the roof or water tank had blown... and how to pay off the family loans I'd taken for the downpayment? The American Dream was not for me. I bailed. Went to an int'l job fair, landed a new position, sold everything, and took off for Istanbul.
I was lucky - able to pay off my family loans within the first year, and banking money ever since. Employer pays in USD and provides good housing; I have both private health insurance through work and general health care through the state; I don't own a car; the lifestyle (food, walking, travel) is very healthy. I don't stint. The quality of life is better for me, news and politics notwithstanding. I'm careful.
I'm trying to build up capital in the U.S. while living a better life in a cheaper economy. It's coming together; I'm figuring out my next steps. I'm happy and feel more secure than I did; it seems like everyone back home from my social class is stressed and fearful.
28
Trust me, after Trump became POTUS I've wanted out. It breaks my heart. However, I've spent a lot of time in Lima Peru and can live quite well there off Social Security which doesn't get you anything in the U.S. When I say "quite well," that means a lovely Spanish house in a luxe neighborhood with a live-in maid. I wouldn't have to touch my savings, I can have a sweet life for $2k a month!
26
@Jambalaya are you moving?
Many EU countries require that you have considerable money in a bank account before they will offer you *long-term* residency. Australia and NZ are the obvious examples. The list of countries in the article is interesting: some of those countries have terrible civil rights abuses. UAE and Qatar and Kuwait would be problematical places to live long-term for many many Americans. I would be curious what Americans go to those places to live as an expat, unless they are living there for a few years and then move back to the USA. Which is not really an "expat" in my book.
11
@K Henderson Each EU country differs in their requirements. Australia and NZ are not in the EU.
6
@K Henderson Although Australia and NZ aren't in the EU, you are right. It's really important to keep up with how much in assets you must have in order to establish long term residency, and particularly in Australia the amount has drastically increased over the last few years.
In Australia we heard conflicting ideas on establishing residency. Because we are considered "pensioners", it can be tricky. However we did hear from several ex pat teachers that there are many places with critical shortages, just as here in the US. We have current certification in our areas, so we have considered going that route.
I've lived in the Philippines for the last 3 years, and not in the cities. I live pretty far into the jungle, where most people live in grass huts with dirt floors. I'm strictly middle class in the US (just into 6 figures), but I found that working online half the time, no mortgage, car payment, credit cards, that I keep more at the end of the month than I was in the US. I live like a king, everyone knows who I am and there's no age-gap here. But it can get stressful. You can't live here and expect a cheaper version of Americana. You have to change your expectations. But I did the US for 50 years. Here I learn more about the world and about myself than I ever could in my office in the US.
23
Such irony! Wealthy People from the U.S. retiring to Ecuador during the years when they are most likely to need expensive hospitalizations, then relying on that country's socialized medicine for their care. A "good deal" for the expats-- not such a good deal for the Ecuadorians who subsidize their care
23
@Elise
Why assume they are wealthy? Not many of them are, as the big draw to Ecuador is being able to live a fairly good life style while on social security and perhaps some savings. As to free healthcare, I'm not sure where you got that info. If you're not a resident you have to buy healthcare insurance, albeit a lot cheaper in Ecuador than in the U.S. Most expats pay for health insurance, but it doesn't bankrupt them.
26
@Elise ....
In order to live in Ecuador, an American or, any other person...must show either that they have 50K usd in the bank , invest 25K usd in the country or, have an income of at least 800K usd a month. I am not certain of this but, when we considered moving there you had to purchase health insurance too. We have savings. But, many persons are only receiving their social security and they are able to live comfortably. Rentals can be found for 250.00 usd a month. Utilities are not too much. Food is affordable. The fresh markets are fabulous. An affordable and tasty Almuerzo- preset lunch (soup, main, dessert) can cost anywhere from $2-$5 usd.) Its a lovely country with lovely people. The health care is good if you don't mind waiting for unnecessary surgeries.
23
@erin
$800,000 income a month?! A person making that much a month in the US doesn't need to move to Ecuador to live the good life.
Surely you meant 80K USD a month income.
1
You lost me when you profiled people who owned two homes -- one in Manhattan and the other in the Hamptons.
Real people do subscribe to the Times you know.
156
@KatheM. What struck me was that this couple who had homes in both the Hamptons and Manhattan, at least partially, chose Spain for it's lower cost of living. If this was a concern for them, how is it even possible for the rest of us?
18
@KatheM I'm with you. "Real" people don't have multiple homes, (especially Manhattan and the Hamptons) and while I understand there are some who fit that category, I would have loved to read more about those who live modestly (retirees in particular) and where they do it. San Miguel sounds lovely, but I don't have an elderly parent to help me with the purchase of a property and wonder where, besides Ecuador, those of modest means can make a go of it. Perhaps a separate article "for the rest of us" might be suggested.
14
@KatheM
We sold our 1 home and left the US in 2015. We haven't looked back. Living in SE Asia and Latin America or, South America is affordable. So, is living in someplace like Portugal. Food and medical care are less expensive in all the countries we have have lived in. Rent is a lot less expensive. Our utilities are less expensive. You don't need a home to sell. You need to be willing to leave family and friends and make new 'family' and friends. Facetime and Skype keep us connected to family. There are challenges to living anywhere. If you want to do it; do it. If you don't have a lot of money, teach english either in a classroom or, online with China. You can make good money. If you have a high school degree you can teach at some places and if you have a college degree in any subject you can teach all places.
2
"they 'saw the writing on the wall' after the 2016 U.S. presidential election" and so they moved to a country overrun with violent drug cartels. Smart thinking.
42
@Tom It's really not *that* simple. Violence is a complex subject, and violence is everywhere. I have lived in Istanbul, TR, for almost 15 years. I had my first taste of tear gas here. I heard my first car bomb here. I'd rather not do those things again. However....
Growing up in the U.S., I had domestic violence and "funny uncles" in the family. I was nearly abducted as a child in a fast-food parking lot. I had two different, very frightening stalkers in my twenties. I can't possibly count the number of times I was deeply afraid -- in big cities, in my own neighborhood, in my own house. I don't think my experience is so unusual, judging from the rape stories my friends have.
Don't get me started with violence on the job. I'm a teacher. In my last (posh) public school district, both my principal and my assistant principal had had run-ins with guns on previous jobs. When I told my Turkish friends that I was going back to the U.S. for a few years to teach, they were terrified for me. Told me not to go. The news out of the U.S. is so terrible. School shootings. Etc. Etc.
Ironic, no?
Violence and feelings of fear are relative. I feel safer living in Istanbul than I ever did living in the U.S. No one wants to believe me. I don't know how to make people like you understand.
I imagine that you and I have had very different life experiences. Don't be quite so dismissive of complicated issues. People weigh their options and do what they feel is best for them.
14
@Tom The US is overrun with drug cartels; both from Mexico and Asia but, also Pharmaceutical companies too.
8
@J. Are you seriously claiming either or both of these:
1) there is more murder and rape in the U.S. than in Mexico;
2) the governmental institutions of the U.S. are more corrupt than the governmental institutions of Mexico?
It is the very privilege of the couple described, as white foreigners with American passports and the money to leave whenever they want, that allows them to sit in Mexico and look down their noses at America. They can live their lives in Mexico without being subject to the conditions of life in Mexico for most Mexicans. They are in Mexico, but not of it.
3
Semi-retired – much of our time in rural France. Simple, inexpensive, friendly – ahhhhhh!
35
I wish this article touched on the visa issues, especially for retirees. Golden Visa and Non Lucrative Visa. Otherwise, we can only stay in EU 90 days.
19
@Brad You can apply for a long term/resident VISA in Portugal for example, and live under a Portugese ViSA. The EU Visa is not as easy to get. There are some other countries which have individual VISAs, too.
10
@Brad We are living in Portugal under a long term visa, renewed yearly and can apply for citizenship after 5 years. Yes we had to jump through some hoops such as health insurance, minimu income of 8,000k a year, background checks and a few other things. It is doable
6
@erin Portugal belongs to Shengen area
1
The biggest problem for being an expatriate is that we are locked out by a stupid Obama era law from US brokerage accounts, and we can no longer add to our investments, or trade, which is very unfair. Once we change our residential address to one outside the US, we can either keep what we have in the brokerage account or sell, but we cannot sell, save, trade. I wonder why the NYT is not writing about this?
A second problem is taxation, TurboTax no longer does the taxes online for Americans with an international residence.
So, pretty much, expats are treated like second class citizens! *Unless they are rich, when all sorts of schemes become possible.
47
@Alexgri - I came to the comments to write exactly this! I have a 403b and a Roth IRA in the US, can't contribute to either of them, can't take them out to invest in other things. I am trapped with them until I retire. If they go below x amount, I have to pay fees on them. It's maddening.
In the five years I've been an expat, I've had two different CPAs do my US taxes - never once have they been right. Either we get a random refund on a tax overpay, or they bill us for an extra $50 or something. And by the time the letter gets to us saying we owe more, additional fees are added on. It's ridiculous we have to file tax returns at all; to have the tax code be so complicated that even trained professionals can't get it right is obscene.
30
@Maria
I have exactly the opposite problem. I am an European expad living in the US. My taxes are astronomically complicated. And in my birthplace I can not even have a bank account or keep the one I had before leaving. This in case I wanted to save for an eventual return to my birthplace. Where should I put money I left in my birthplace? Under some mattress in an apartment I do not have?
I tax on both sides and the US collected even taxes on a small inheritance I once made. It all started when those banks got fined for providing tax heaven to rich people but seems we the lower income people are paying the price. This in taxation, complications and freedom.
17
@Alexgri , I live in the Philippines now since Trump. I do my taxes every year with TurboTax online with an international address.
This article made me want to hurl. Oh, the home in the Hamptons and oh divesting the flat in Gramercy Park. Oh, the high end degrees. Oh, the posey fashion shot in globally hip Barcelona. Add Chardonnay. Add organic green salad with pecan with non fat Salmon filet. Soooo boring. When is the asteroid going to hit?
62
@Westfalio I loved this article! Different strokes, but we can all choose what we read and what we gain from it.
7
@Westfalio We moved to London and we did not have a posh flat in Manhattan and we do not eat organic kale. People extract whatever message they want to see from media. If one wants to move, there are plenty of American companies that have offices elsewhere in the world. I think the article would have been better without the rich people example. And quite frankly, you came across a bit angry.
11
If you search on youTube you can find expat couples talking about their lives in their new town just about anywhere in the world, often showing you around.
10
Surely México should be on your chart. Is it just because the USA won’t let Mexicans in to stay and so should be embarrassed? Surely there are more of us here than anywhere else.
9
@Carol Wheeler Not all Mexicans are prohibited from coming to the United States. The issue is applying for an receiving a VISA. Likewise, not all Americans who want to live in Mexico can just 'up and move.' There is an application and requirement process.
1
@Carol Wheeler My husband and I semi-retired to Mexico a few years back, We spend the winters south of the border nestled in los Sierra de la Giganta, just a few miles from the beach, and summers cooling off in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, where we maintain part-time employment until we fully retire. At first I was concerned about learning a new language; now i'm concerned I may never learn it. There are so many white people in MX from Canada and the US, the locals are learning English. You'll find affordable Mexico on the retirees list; we would still be working if we planned on retiring fulltime in the US. (We have way better Internet service in MX at half the price, too!)
1
@Carol Wheeler
probably more people move to Mexico than Europe!
2
lucky country gaining all those american emigrants who don't even speak a second language...what do these people have to offer to the countries they choose to live in? how do they manage work permits, or are they working on the web under the radar?
12
yes they do. Work under the radar, pay no local taxes and have free education and insurance for kids plus many other kicks: Spain.
5
@cossak
1. Learning a new language is good for the brain. It helps prevent dementia.
2. If you are retired, you will show them you have a minimum amount of income and a certain amount of savings. WHICH, in turn you will spend in their country.
3. In order to work abroad, you need to apply for a different kind of VISA. This is more complicated but, it is possible. Mostly, you need a job before you apply.
4. You can be a digital nomad and work online. Then, just apply for retirement or, long term VISA's.
1
I’m sure all Trumpists will hardly miss these flights of fancy after they’ve fluttered off. Nothing like a good Thanksgiving buffet line and hotel lobby to shake old tortured memories of home.
3
It’s all very simple. Sell of your million dollar properties in Manhattan and The Hamptons and there you are. Why didn’t I think of that?
75
@Tedsams Depending on where you go and the lifestyle you hope to maintain, almost anybody can leave the US and find better opportunity. My husband and I semi-retired to MX when we were 58. Were it not for the cost of living in MX compared to the US, we would still be working full time. I'm encouraging my adult children to explore their opportunities outside US borders as well. The hardest part is deciding to do it; it can be done on almost any budget.
6
Wait a minute. Someone mentioned in the comments renting in Ecuador for $250 a month...
1
Wow Wee, Holy Cow and Andy! This is just too cool!
Think of all those people saving themselves and falling in love with another culture as they migrate in a life adventure to peaceful nations that will enrich their lives and they themselves, having wonderful educations, refugees from a culture war with no promise of a good end.
God Bless you all who left, and who will leave. Like the Roman Catholics say at the end of a mass; "Go in Peace"
I am ecstatic so many are saving themselves and their families.
10
The commentators of Ms.Bartolot's informative article seem to be educated and worldly Americans seeking an alternative to their American life style. Yet, not one joined the Peace Corps. Apparently, doing good for others is not part of living abroad.
Yours truly, Jlf, Peace Corps Volunteer, Jamaica, 1969-1971
26
@jlf I don't think many people realize that the Peace Corp isn't just for new college graduates. They don't really advertise the later-in-life volunteer opportunities. Also, this article is about expats moving to other countries, not just volunteering for a spell.
15
@jlf Peace Corps is a branch of the US government that works closely with USAID and other "development" ventures, honing in on poor countries, primarily those left desperate through the ceaseless mucking around in their countries by the US and its cronies.
6
Read the book: (on Amazon): "One Way Ticket, From America to Anguilla". Tale is circa 2002.
3
My husband and I were "Bush-wacked" (my husband's description). Bush's stolen 2000 election was the initial catalyst with Bush & Co.'s never-ending-illegal wars finalizing our decision to become ex-pat Americans.
Although we had a rich and full life in California, at ages 61 (2006) we were fed up with the US' Military Industrial Complex controlling our government so decided to take the risk. We first bought a home in Victoria, BC exactly 14 years ago, moved and lived here for awhile to experience this culture. We later applied for immigration and were very fortunate to be approved (2011).
By 2016 we became very proud Canadian Citizens!
Our entire experience has been 100% positive! We have been extremely pleased with our universal health care in BC. Oh, we've already saved over $30,000 not paying for Part B since 2011 (that doesn't include co-pays, deductibles, etc.)
Neither of us has had any regrets. We feel much gratitude to Canada and Canadians who have generously welcomed us.
We are truly living a charmed life in Victoria, although our heart aches for all Americans living under the insanity and corruption of Trump's rule.
121
This entire article makes it sound like you can just pick up and move. Most Americans don't even have one passport much less dual citizenship.
17
@Monsp
1. You don't need to be a citizen to live abroad.
2. Retirement VISAs are different than, marriage or work permit required VISAs.
3. And, yes...if you are receiving Social Security and or, you have savings of a certain amount, you CAN up and move.
Get a passport. Its not that difficult.
30
@erin Right, but to qualify as a non-citizen you are going to need to be wealthy.
And as for passports, I already have multiple but thanks for the suggestion.
I haven't lived in the US since 2002. One thing I notice with this article and with living abroad in general, is that people from the USA tend to hang together and move where there are a lot of other people from the US. Many don't learn the languages. They form enclaves, or ghettos, and transform areas into little Americas. They often move to a place for its qualities, and then can't wait till there is a Starbucks and Walmart near by. San Miguel de Allende is a perfect example. It is the example we use of what we do not want our community to become. I have heard it used as a verb for the gentrification and Americanization of Mexican cities. The online groups may help with loneliness, but the downside is that they can get in the way of integration into the new community. It's ironic, given what people in the US expect of immigrants who move there. Yes, and, by the way, I am an immigrant to Mexico, not an "expat." When Mexicans and Arabs moving to the US are considered expats, then I may find the term palatable, for now it is predominantly used for white people of a certain professional or retirement status from the US or Europe.
68
@Joanne Bee
What you're describing is normal behavior; it is to be expected.
7
@Joanne Bee
I believe you're describing behavior that is normal and to be expected.
4
@Joanne Bee What you're complaining about, i.e, "Many (U.S. expats) don't learn the languages. They form enclaves, or ghettos, and transform areas into little Americas," is the same thing many in the U.S.A. complain about immigrants to the U.S., transforming neighborhoods into enclaves of whatever countries and cultures they came from. Seems like people are the same everywhere.
9
It's interesting to see how Italy has fallen off all the "best places for expats to live" articles. It's not as inexpensive as it once was. Their non functioning government...well, that's probably another big factor.
13
A nice piece, but as a couple that’s now spending time half the year in our cottage in Quebec, with the other half the year in our home base of N.C. - an addendum.
We’re relatively affluent retirees, so it’s easy to be in Canada, which is a great place. But we can’t stay here longer than 6 months at any one time, which is fine for us, but you certainly can’t just up and become an full-time expat here as a retiree.
When we were working, we probably could have managed to get residency, but that’s not certain (we were both biologists and professors).
So what’s not easy in terms of being an expat is staying somewhere than your home of residence for that long.
Yes, if you’re still working (at portable professions, or ones that are desirable). But if you’re retired, you have a short list of countries that will welcome you as a long-time expat.
Many of those countries are great places and well worth checking out, but it’s not everywhere in the world.
20
@Lisa What countries are on that list, Lisa? I’d love to know
6
@ Stella in some of the early retirement forums I’ve seen Thailand discussed. I also believe it’s possible to invest in property (I’m afraid half a million USD) to gain residency in Greece and Spain
4
@Stella I know a lot of Australians live in Malaysia. For a deposit you can get a very long visa. Check it out.
You have to be quite wealthy to discover yourself in a foreign country for an extended period of time.
18
@JQGALT
Ecuador is a popular destination for American retirees who try to make it work on little income (e.g., SS and a small amount of savings). Many end up returning home.
6
@JQGALT Not really. I live in Budapest six months a year and the rents are cheaper than any city in the US. Obviously you have to have money saved but you can be far from wealthy and live here.
18
Nope. I’m not wealthy, not even close. The rent on my one bedroom apartment here in Shanghai is $427 a month. Mobile phone, internet, electric, water, and gas together amount to less than $100 a month. Taxis, subway, and buses are cheap. Restaurants run the gamut, your choice, but cooking at home is inexpensive. I work, but even if I didn’t, I could easily get by on my Social Security benefits.
20
Interesting, and given the sociopathy of the WH dictator- wannabe, a very timely piece.
The "Professional" destination list is intriguing, but I am surprised that Nigeria is at the very top.
I could see Kenya ranking even higher, and I strongly suspect that Ghana will soon make the list.
It would be interesting to see an article spelling out the appeal of each of these places.
16
@Oceanviewer
Even more interesting would be finding out the background of those choosing African countries.
8
@Oceanviewer Nigeria is just the biggest african oil producer
Pets? How do people go about moving the furry ones to a new land?
8
@Oceanviewer
Most likely cannot be done or is not advisable. Most European countries have lengthy quarantine laws, in UK it is (or was ) 60 days and there are many stories of animals dying in confinement. France is I believe 30 and more humane.
2
@Oceanviewer Re pets: I took cat to vet to get international health certificate, paid airline $125 to add pet to my ticket, put cat in pet carrier and under my seat on plane. There are many expat cats and dogs.
24
There is no quarantine for pets (meaning dogs and cats) in France. Of course, there are regulations: an American veterinarian can assist in their preparation for review by USDA/APHIS. I have brought my dogs to France for over 20 years by carefully adhering to the process: there is no quarantine. And there is no better thing than to wake up in a far-flung land with one’s dog.
21
Its not that easy to pick and move abroad due to finances, immigration rules, family back home etc. But being abroad for several months a year can help make being an American more tolerable.
35
@northeastsoccermum At least to you, maybe not to the locals, who don't always seem to like us so well. But I get your point, America has gone so far down it's good to get away as much as possible. Make America...oh yeah...
1
@northeastsoccermum ....for whom?
I’m an ExPat who moved to Ireland 6 years ago and now has dual citizenship thanks to legacy (my grandparents were born here in the 1880’s).
If I had a dollar for every American, young and old, I meet in Europe who is IN TROUBLE as they’re caught working from here, I’d be rich. It’s “working” in England if you’re designing software for an American company but your sitting in a coffee shop in London. It’s “working” in Ireland if you’re woofing - working on a farm in exchange for room & board. I myself was even detained at immigration at Heathrow when I wasn’t working but hadn’t gotten citizenship yet. After a very scary time they released me, but....they’re watching these “digital nomads.” WORK IS WORK. An expat friend - married to a Brit - got into trouble for consulting with American companies back home (his previous job). He needed to get a work visa, which took months and months. He’s lucky he wasn’t fined.
This article barely mentions a working visa until the end, and they barely hint at it even there.
If anyone reading this is thinking about becoming an expat, do your homework. In some places, even babysitting is work. This is the reality. And the more America restricts immigrants the more other countries try to restrict Americans on a case by case basis.
I love living here but thank goodness I have an EU passport. It’s a game changer.
Susan
Tour guide & photographer
Waterville County Kerry.
64
@Susan Baughman If you're married to a Brit you don't need a work visa, you get the right to work with your spousal visa. But you do need the visa, and you have to jump through rings of fire to get it if you're a non-EU person. It's the Hostile Environment.
@Susan Baughman
Excellent advice: "DO YOUR HOMEWORK" is the key message !!!!
The USA is a global behemoth and no nation in the history of humanity has had such global impact and influence on all people living today. I’ve been living outside of the US for nearly 20 years in various parts of the world and my experience has by and large been much about discussing the USA from afar and discussing (insert foreign country here)’s relationship with the USA. I agree with much of what has been said that living abroad does open you up to new universes of reality and understanding the world, but after a while it gets old and you long for the comfort of the familiar, which is in the USA for me. While I have been enriched by speaking with Finnish world war 2 refugees in their native language about their experiences or learning the basics of Aymara from Bolivian highland children, or using my rusty French in a health internship in a remote Congolese village; being the “other” in the room or the village wears on you after a while. There is only so much of the world that you can lose yourself in before you yourself get lost in it, not knowing where here is and what was was, and then you find yourself belonging neither here nor there. What is unique about the USA is that not only does it have an immigrant presence from every other nation on Earth, but it also through these vast immigrant groups can claim the world as it’s own. Every person on Earth is a bit of an American if you will, and that American pulse is what pulls ppl to our shores, including me sometime soon.
44
@Aaron The US you remember from 20 years ago may well be a vastly different, far more reactive and insular place than you remember
2
I'm a 70 year old American and can hardly imagine anything sadder than dying as a stranger in someone else's country.
16
@Phillip Usher, that would be, in my opinion, mitigated by the joy of living an interesting, colorful life and following one’s dreams.
13
I’ve lived in the US for over 30 years. I no longer recognize it as my country.
8
@Phillip Usher I am afraid a lot of people die as strangers even here at home in the US. We don’t have a tight social structure except maybe immediate family. People move so much these days within the country that you barely know your neighbors.
6
This article tries to give that impression that Americans can simply decide to live elsewhere and proceed to do it, but that is not the case. I know because I've looked into it for a number of countries. Typically, you need to have a job offer, a ton of money to invest, a local spouse, or a large retirement income. I am a highly skilled professional with a PhD, of retirement age, with a modest income, and I am not welcome in any of the European countries I might like to emigrate to - nor in Canada. A shame because I might feel compelled to leave in November.
69
@kgeographer
I've heard it's also a fortune in taxes - you pay there, and still pay here too. If you decide you want to leave U.S. for good , there's a huge exit tax.
14
@kgeographer Consider Mexico. See if you qualify. Also, Ecuador is a good bet with a low barrier to entry. Good luck. Yes, I would leave before November and avoid the rush.
15
@Hazel We have tax treaties with many countries, so you are not taxed twice. If you take the drastic step of renouncing your U.S. citizenship (which is not at all the same thing as leaving the U.S. for good but keeping your U.S. passport, as most of us do) the 'exit tax' kicks in if you have assets above about $2 million.
18
I've lived in several countries as an expat ESL teacher. One country for 3 years, 2 countries for 2 years and 4 countries for one year. Have met many many expats. I really do not understand why expats want to duplicate their US lives: don't learn the language, hang out only with each other, often live in flats and villas that the local population could never afford. These expats raise prices for everyone else.
I think it is totally disingenuous to say: oh I don't want to live in the US given the current political climate, etc.
31
Very happy semi-retired, semi-ex-pat here. Spend a few months in NYC and a few in Madrid. Will soon add Bogota to the mix. Anything I can do to stay out of the US as much as possible makes me a happier person. I grew up there, and I've had enough. I like to say that I work in the US and I live in Spain.
34
@JNR2 how do you buy health insurance in the US in your part-time situation. Please share.
1
My wife and I have explored moving to Canada for both quality of life and political reasons. Yet even as a registered nurse with a graduate degree, age (over 46) essentially rules out immigration to our northern neighbor. We could consider immigrating to either Italy or France – both of which we have traveled to extensively and neither of which penalizes age as Canada does – but do not want put an ocean between us and own grown children who are rooted in the US.
I’m sure that our situation is not unique and wonder if the authorities in Canada are aware that their age penalty means that they are excluding a very productive class of potential immigrants.
44
@Gp Capt Mandrake
So much for so-called NA Free Trade agreement. I guess corporations can trade things, but people can't trade in their labor. Since when did corporations gain more rights than humans?
15
@Gp Capt Mandrake. It is odd that by 40, many countries don't want us. Yes, I get that they want a number of productive years out of us. But, when are they going to take into account that people are living longer, healthier lives?
5
Canada has lots of older people. 15 years of working contribution from you will not pay for 30 years of retirement health care for you. The system need young immigrants who start families. Our immigration system is very pragmatic.
I don't believe it is any easier for Canadians to move to the US.
6
I retired and moved to Italy two years ago. I live in both Milan and a small city near the Italian Dolomites. Access the NYTimes daily as well as the Wall St. Journal, Netflix and Amazon Prime. All of my friends are Italian. I learned the language in my stay here. It’s been a great ride so far. Not for everyone, but it was for me. And yes Expats have our own primary with about the same delegate count as Wyoming. I voted last week via email.
27
@Douglas Ritter How are you able to live long term in Italy (more than 90 days on a tourist visa)?
17
If the Grifter wins my wife and I are out of here.
Italy has many rules, paperwork and makes non EU citizens difficult but we love Umbria.
53
In 2016, I said half-jokingly that, if Trump were elected, I’d head for Canada, but I am still here. In the last year, however, I have finally obtained a passport and I’m almost four years closer to a reasonable early retirement from a good public service job. I always used to say I’d never leave California, but with homelessness on the rise in my hometown, climate change burning up the West Coast, and fascism a very real prospect in Washington, this homebody homegirl might just take another, more serious look to the North.
94
Vancouver is awesome!
@Martha Goff You should read Gp Captaincies Mandrake's comment above regarding age limitations to emigration to Canada...sounds like you might not be welcome if you are retirement age....
I want to runaway from Florida too, but I don’t bc we have to stay to bring in the light. Please come here and register and vote democratic. Don’t leave us behind, we cannot leave anyone behind.
195
I like Florida but I'm guessing the Southern half will be under water in 20 years.
11
I left Florida. Best thing I ever did for my sanity. I felt like you for a long time but just couldn’t take seeing anymore red hats at the supermarket.
6
It’s quite possible to live abroad and vote in Florida.
5
'Expatriate' is a fraught word, with a presumption of primacy of the place you came from, not where you are. I prefer 'immigrant', because I left America for the same reason all immigrants leave: a search for a better life.
Considering the dysfunctional health care, educational, and political systems, and general angst-laden way of life there, I stop short of 'refugee', but only just.
87
@ExUS Came here to the states as an immigrant from a third world country, lived and worked here for 25 years / no big savings / PhD / but finally going back to the third world country mainly to avoid the angst.
1
Something to consider when living abroad as a pensioner. I paid medicare taxes my whole working life in the US, but they don't cover me for the 7 months I spend in Germany each year. So I have to pay for German health insurance - about $600/month, in addition to my Medicare deductibles and copays when I'm in the US. In addition,, I have to pay German+US taxes on my incomes. The one is deductible from the other, but German taxes are significantly higher than those in the US. Not complaining - it's my decision; but I'm rather surprised the article fails to mention these significant drawbacks.
61
@Dr Jim If you‘re paying German insurance you probably have a private one. Most will cover you around the world for a certain period of time throughout the year. So use that when you are in the US. It would be cheaper than paying co-pays and deductibles. Or will your doctors not take you if you pay cash (you would get reimbursed by your German insurance company)? I think most would rather have cash payments so they don‘t have to deal with medicare.
8
@Dr Jim Expat health insurance in France is $99/mo.
One aspect not covered in this article is the legal rights of American expats if one finds oneself in trouble abroad. I know from family experience that governments can change and become unfriendly resulting in harsh treatment by authorities. Tyrant trump is working very hard to alienate our allies. Thus far the mood abroad appears to be welcoming, but political turmoil is something to seriously consider before moving.
31
So we retirees sold our Barcelona apartment to have less of a footprint there because we felt the need to stay closer to medical care in NYC for most of the year.
Five months away per year with an airline ticket as our health plan should do us fine absent an emergency. That much time away can be liberating and stimulating.
22
We are 73 and 71. If Trump gets re-elected, we are seriously contemplating selling all of our possessions and moving to Costa Rica. We can’t imagine living in a country with citizens who would elect Trump twice. Our visit to the Scandinavian countries have shown us how nice it is living in a country with free health care and education. However, we hate cold climates, thus, Costa Rica is our best choice.
97
@Michael Talbert I looked into the foothills of Sn Jose in 2916. You have to prove you have $2000/ mo income. I think it's a great idea. Very nice expat social events that promote mixing in with the lovely Ticos.
19
@Michael Talbert
Been there for 17+yrs.
You will be fine in Pura Vida land.
I do prefer the daylight and less rain May-Oct in Pitt but hey, the grass is greener and you can move around CR to miss some of the rains!
11
@Michael Talbert we thought of Costa Rica but chose Portugal
2
Very good article, and--as usual--I love the comments! We visit Mexico almost every year, and love Oaxaca (and feel perfectly safe--I often go for a walk alone at night, with never a concern for safety).
My wife is from England.... this article makes me think that her passport might be our most valuable asset! I wonder what Brexit will mean for Brits who might otherwise like to live in Spain.
29
@vermontague it means that the NHS benefits you receive in the UK will no longer transfer to EU countries, sadly. I have a UK passport but am looking into obtaining an Irish one, so I can remain a citizen of the EU instead of only Little Britain.
15
I don't have any European relatives who can provide me with a passport in the EU. How about doing a well researched article on how does one obtain the coveted long term stay visa that exempts one from the 6 month stay limit in the EU - otherwise known as Schengen.
87
@Allison
Im on my fourth year in Germany, just got extended for five more on my visa. It’s been very easy to get them. Just get employment and pay your taxes and your all good.
7
I can speak for how to do this in Italy as I do it annually. Requires a Permesso di Soggiorno. Not difficult to get but full of bureaucracy and multiple visits to the local government offices. Easy for folks who are retired. A little different off you plan to seek work here.
5
Western Europe is quite expensive, though less so than NYC. The cost of living in Eastern Europe (also EU members) is marvelous. You can buy a one bedroom apt in a brand new building in a good area and furnish it for well under 100K, maintenance well under $100 pe months, subway is 50 cents per ride, buses 30 cents per ride and free for seniors and students, cabs go for about 40-50 cents per mile, food is about 4 times cheaper than NYC, movie tickets about 4-5$, theater tickets at the best shows under $20, free ER and ambulance services, universal healthcare that can be supplemented with a private one for faster and more fancy service, but still a small fraction of what it is in the US, cable TV for like 10$ a months for what would cost about 200$ in NYC, zillions of super fancy cafes and restaurants much cheaper than in the big US cities. Once you have your apt., with 1K$ per month you live like with 5k in NYC or LA.
48
Yep. even relatively expensive cities like Prague or Budapest are a bargain compared to Western Europe.
14
@NYC expat You also have access to all the chain stores and superstores across entire Europe, and all the brands you have in Long Island.
6
Riga!!
My wife and I are from Albuquerque, retired, and spend half the year in Adelaide, South Australia.
We would live in Oz all year, it is so nice here, but we can't get permanent residence visas at our ages. Being foreigners we cannot buy existing homes, but only new construction so have contracted for a high-rise apartment that is still about a year from completion. We rent a furnished apartment until then.
Our children and grandchildren mostly live in the States so it is really rather convenient to be back stateside for six months and visit all our family and many friends.
Splitting the year between two nations and hemispheres (constantly seeking summer) makes life more interesting, for sure -- and more expensive. We are very fortunate to have the means to enjoy this lifestyle.
34
Sure feels like there are a lot of "look at Me/us" rich white folks stories of late.
I, with a GF at the time, moved out of the US many years ago...kind of on a whim, but more for a complete about-face. But we moved in with the locals, had to find real jobs, and figure out how the place worked from the street level, not the penthouse, gated community, or with lots of cash-in pocket and/or banked. No real safety nets. It was a struggle, it was fun, it was like going to college without the class-work. The night-life was awesome, the work - mostly manual labor for me, tourist-hostess'y for the GF. Tough trades.
We met many Ex-Pats from the US, most were running from something, or someone, and often ran right into more trouble. (many had alcohol problems) The European Ex-Pats were more regular folks...as best we could tell.
We grew bored and tired with the real social hierarchy around race, and wealth. Then returned to the US when pulled by family issues.
Good times sprinkled among the difficult times. Wouldn't do it again, not without a fair amount of cash in the bank, or a serious, well-paying job prospect in writing. So its not gonna happen any time soon.
The meme; "the cost of living is so much less" - only really plays when you don't have to struggle to meet the bare minimums. Then its life as usual. Rent might be cheaper looking in, but so are the regular wages.
87
@Boregard Agreed. I've lived abroad myself, several places, and (most of) these accounts are very unfamiliar to me ....
6
@Boregard the whole “rich white folk” critique is shallow. There is nothing “look at me” about these people; the journalist put together the story. And they’re not all white.
1
Having lived in various European cities for the last 3 years it’s encouraging to read an article documenting some of the technological support systems out there.
That said I’d be interested in learning how American professionals are handling the FATCA Regulation?
From my own experiences it’s been a nightmare with bank accounts opened then closed, and as there’s no mention here it makes me wonder how people are getting around it.
32
@Eric Bock Fatca needs far more exposure. In many instances, US expats seem penalized.
5
I wish there was more information on Retirees, how they're making out and surviving, what their experience has been and are they sorry or not. When I was younger, I once seriously considered emigrating to Australia, but for one reason or another, discarded that idea. I am sorry to this day that I didn't take that chance and risk what I considered safe, for adventure and a chance to start over.
Now that I am retired, I often think of what moving to Ecuador or Costa Rica would be like, but alas, now it is old age, healthcare and family ties that keep me anchored.
25
@biglatka
Lots of shared info is available on-line about retiring in Ecuador, Costa Rica et al.
You'll find plenty of blogs and articles by using Google to look up
retiring in Ecuador or
retiring in Costa Rica or
retiring in (fill in the blank)
Tip: Before picking and relocating to a foreign retirement spot, live there temporarily for a few months to get some feel for the place. Don't stay in a hotel, rent an apartment or home that will approximate your actual future living situation and location.
Enjoy!
29
@biglatka Do NOT take at face value all the great online "Expat" zines. They all have a bill of goods to sell. If you are interested in a place, find a Facebook group from that place and join. You will get your questions answered straight most of the time. "Retire Abroad" sites are for profit and have a bill of goods to sell, often "workshops" and "e-seminars." Avoid them.
19
@Joanne Bee Also learn the language and until you do use a translate app and go to the official government sites of where you are interested in moving. Do NOT believe hearsay, get expert advice. There are immigration attorney sites much better than this article - of course they advertise their services but are not a bunch of "digital nomads" - hate that term! Immigration attorneys are professionals. Here is the Mexico official site: https://www.gob.mx/tramites
I consider myself to be an "immigrant" rather than an expat. I live and work in Italy. I'm fortunate to have dual citizenship (except for the never-ending U.S. financial intrusion). I did not come here to "escape" but the longer I'm away, the luckier I feel. Certainly, Italy is a country with huge problems; however, my European passport bestows far more social and financial benefits than the U.S. passport. In fact, a U.S. passport doesn't really provide very many benefits here or at home. In fact, in the not-so-distant-future, Americans won't even have a safety net (the republicans will do away with the New Deal).
Certainly, there are wonderful things in the U.S. but very quickly, all the "good stuff" is going to be co-opted by the uber-wealthy. Yes, a Darwinian paradise.
92
if I had a home in Manhattan and one in the Hamptons, I'D be living in Lisbon. This article is aimed at the 1% who can do pretty much what they want without help from the NYTIMES.
My guess is also that things are tougher now for just regular people who work for a living--you know like actually having to pay for health insurance in your foreign country host, and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will not be a moocher on the state.
77
@dve commenter
Everybody pays for health insurance wherever you live. People either pay through premiums for private insurance (as in the US) or through national insurance tax taken from wages as in most European countries. The difference is European citizens and residents don't have to worry about not being covered for pre-existing conditions or having a cap on their medical expenses - prescriptions are nominally charged or free. That alone would make life abroad far better than what is being offered in the US. Actually, if you were part of the 1% US would be the ideal country to live in, wouldn't it?
14
Paying for your own health insurance in most EU countries is generally cheaper than if you had to pay for your own health insurance in the US. Sometimes it's even less than the Medicare supplemental.
11
If you had read the entire article you would have found a variety of people doing this. Reading helps.
Not sure how that survey was conducted or if I am reading it wrong, but there is about ZERO CHANCE that most professional expats are living in Nigeria. LOL. This is why we should never pay attention to surveys.
43
Really? Actually there are many expats living in Nigeria, as it is one of the big oil producing countries. Many who work for big oil live and work in Nigeria.
24
@Stephen
I think the expats in all of the top six countries for professionals are primarily oil industry workers.
9
@ETH
When read correctly, the list only says that a plurality live in Nigeria. For all we know, that could mean a percentage in the single digits.
5
I am very interested in the prospect of living in another country but I must point out that your passport data may not reflect everyone's desire to move: because of the ridiculous 'Real ID' policy as an Oregonian I've been advised that my drivers license will not be enough identification to get through airport security by the end of this year. The DMV is not yet prepared so I got a letter suggesting to make sure I have a passport if I intend to travel, even within the US, before the end of this year. I'm sure some of the new passport applications are because of this dumb policy.
28
@xtyB I figured some of the newly issued passports were to people of color who feared they might need to verify their American citizenship status should ICE come calling. That's why we did it.
12
@xtyB Some states have had "Real ID" for 10 years. I don't want to suggest that Oregon is in any way backward but....
4
Amazing. But true. Next stop: check points on the highways between US states to “show our papers”. We are a disgusting country giving up freedom for pretend “security”. Makes me sick.
2
The biggest problem for being an expatriate is that we are locked out by a stupid Obama era law from US brokerage accounts, and we can no longer add to our investments, or trade, which is very unfair. Once we change our residential address to one outside the US, we can either keep what we have in the brokerage account or sell, but we cannot BUY NEW STOCKS or ETFS, hence save, and we can not trade. I wonder why the NYT is not writing about this? Vanguard, Schwab, Etrade, all forbid us to trade US securities once we move outside the US.
A second problem is taxation, TurboTax no longer does the taxes online for Americans with an international residence.
So, pretty much, expats are treated like second class citizens! *Unless they are rich, when all sorts of schemes become possible.
37
@Alexgri
Why couldn’t you keep a U.S. address? I worked overseas for 21 years and always maintained a U.S. address. I was also not required to pay taxes in either the U.S. (because I made under the maximum annual salary which was $70,000 at the time) or in the country where I worked.
Many commenters are over-complicating the issues. Living or working abroad isn’t necessarily just for the wealthy.
It depends on where you want to live overseas, of course, and whether you want to work or retire there.
However, I do know that U.S. government tracking and regulating of its citizens abroad has greatly intensified since I lived and worked overseas.
33
@Mandeep Once I moved out of NYC, I gave up my apartment. It seemed shady to keep the old address as my address when someone else moved into my apt. That is why. I wanted to be fair and square.
13
@Alexgri the inability to to add to investments long predates President Obama. It was in effect when I worked in the Middle East for four years. There are other other investment vehicles available to you. Talk to a professional. Re: taxes: you do need to file, but if living abroad your first $70K is tax-free.
9
Not only does the internet make it easier but in most major cities in Europe people speak English which was so helpful to me. I am a numbers person so language was always difficult and avoided. Now I have lost half my hearing and of course my memory is not as good.
When I broke a filling in Valencia, Spain I found a dentist who speaks English but I was prepared anyway for his receptionist with a translation in Spanish on my iPhone. When the shooting at Parkland happened I found a group of Americans protesting in Rome and joined them.
I think I would still move to Europe even if I did not have these tools but they sure are helpful. My retirement is right around the corner and though I am not sure where I want to call home I am looking forward to my journey. If trump continues it will be an early retirement for me and I will figure it all out as I go.
21
@Ginaj
RE: When the shooting at Parkland happened I found a group of Americans protesting in Rome and joined them.
Wow way to go! Attending a street festival (protest) will surely prevent criminals from commiting crime.
1
Much is old news here.
Internations? Eh. Be wary and resourceful during your first years. Everything does work out with lots of help coming from lots of sources. Sure does help to have an EU passport!
Being an expat is very different in the digital age. As with everything, there’s good and bad. The internet and Face Book are the biggest culprits. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. I used to feel I was in a foreign country when I was in a foreign country. Not anymore. Anyway, I should complain? I’m not in Trump’s America. How did I know to leave with such perfect timing? I wish I could say that about my love affairs.
19
France issues renewable long-term visitor's visas (not good for work) for three months to a year, renewable. Must submit forms to the nearest French Embassy or Consulate that show sufficient income/assets, medical insurance and a lease in France. Well suited for retirees. A good option for those who want to live (but not work) temporarily in Europe but are not eligible for a European passport.
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/long-stay-visa
Note: For those considering a move: consider consulting a knowledgeable tax attorney. French income tax law generally applies to residents of France, regardless of nationality and source of income. Those who have a vacation home/apartment in France used for less than half the year are generally not subject to French income tax law, but persons who reside primarily in France must pay French taxes, which are usually higher than UStaxes.
16
Please don’t generalize about what the “dems” want. You are incorrect.
Leave, while you still can...
36
“We are not saving anything, but we’re healthy and I am confident that I can work until I can retire in six years”. You’re healthy... until you’re not. Everyone interviewed for this article seems in good health, which is great. Now sickness might strike at any time. Nobody is immune to aging and needing care. Retiring is unfortunately not only about sipping martinis in an exotic location...
47
@Sophie Too true.
Year's of running, exercising, non-smoker, but I like my sweets....cardiac arrest. Almost at retirement age. No family history. Just luck that my girlfriend was near me when my heart stopped.
Now, every day, I live as if there is no tomorrow.
I know.
I was there.
12
@Wlkensun
Breast cancer survivor here. I hear you loud and clear. Each and every day is a treasure. I dropped out of college when I was 20 and headed to Dublin, Ireland to live. I was completely immersed in the culture. Best decision of my life. I was one of the fortunates with "foreign births" citizenship through my grandmother and am a dual citizen with Ireland/EU. I returned to the US and have lived here ever since. I could not part with our American West. The beauty of the land. I love this country for all its flaws...but for those who want to wander, to each his or her own!
8
Please run this column on November 4, 2020.
111
@soozzie
Hopefully there will be no need to run this column on November 4, 2020!
3
@soozzie Or don’t. This isn’t for the vast majority of Americans who don’t own multiple homes or hold an EU passport. Running this on Nov. 4 would just be taunting the rest of us.
1
This article is interesting but very misleading. The subjects seem to be either the spouses/partners of foreign nationals or children of the same. Those situations are total game changers.
105
We left the country after the election. I am American. My then-fiancé, now wife, is German. I am American. We decided that I would get my residence permit independently of her the first time. It took fifteen minutes. I have the right under my permit to work in other countries but not in Germany. Fine by me. I am a consultant. The German government asked two questions: did I have some resources and sis I have health insurance? I answered both in the affirmative and got a renewable residence permit. Then another the following year. How is it? Maintaining my home and lifestyle in Germany costs about a third of what it did in Massachusetts. Health costs are so much cheaper that at times I have thought the billing was erroneous. We travel a lot around Europe. My daughter moved to France. (She had an EU passport.) she gets 45 days paid vacation a year plus holidays (Christmas and so on.). She also works a 35 hour week. America has fallen so far behind in quality of life it is disgraceful.
301
@Reader In Wash, DC
What does living abroad have to do with spreading fake news about domestic politics?
3
@Reader In Wash, DC I think you are mistaken. Which Dems want open borders? None that I know.
I think this is another one of the "slam the other guys" comments that is not based on facts.
42
It helps to try living in a foreign country before pulling up stakes and moving there. The possibility of leading an expat's life is exciting. It's magical for an American to make one's life outside of this chaotic trumpian society.
Millennials and still young Gen Xs and Gen Zs can live outside the 50 United States, if they so choose. Spending vacation days and weeks looking into expat possibilities is a way to start the process of leaving America.
One day a person enjoying their vacation in a remote place on earth may have the epiphany that he or she can WORK in the paradisal vacation spot! Can work and live where their desired vacation spots occur all around the world.
English is the world's lingua franca, but learning the language of the country where you decide to make your adopted home is worthwhile. Learning other languages will open new worlds for American expats. The world is out there.
22
@Nan Socolow
Upping sticks and moving to foreign lands may sound like fun and exciting but it is not easily done. Most countries have entry requirements for people wishing to move there. You will have to "invest" in the country - meaning sinking various amounts of money into a local business or buying a house of certain worth. For younger people, they may have to prove higher educational attainment or a job offer in place before they get permission to settle. Then you follow the myriad bureaucratic red tapes ....
7
One thing to consider when moving to any northern part of Europe , and that includes France, Germany, etc, above a certain meridian, is climate.
If you like sunshine, don’t do it.
42
@Ex- ExPat
Another thing to consider, along with cost of living, is the relative ease (or its lack) of qualifying for citizenship/passport in one of those EU countries with the dreary weather you mentioned. That would enable quick, cheap and uncomplicated travel to those balmier Mediterranean climates, not to mention work and buying property.
7
@Ex- ExPat You mean above a certain longitude line. Meridians are great circles that demarcate distances east/west while longitude lines demarcate distances running north/south (except the Equator, which is a great circle, too).
You're welcome.
Mea Culpa
The idea that Barcelona is a cheap city with perfect weather is in large part incorrect. Prices for rent and purchase go up at least 10% each year, in five years prices for purchase have gone up 50%. There is very little housing stock, unless you want to go to a suburb. The areas where expats want to live are not ideal. If it's near the beach, the area is filled with rowdy drunk tourists and the Gothic Quarter has problems with drug dealing. It's not 70 degrees year round, they have fall and winter, meaning coats scarves and hats. I live there part of the year and planned to move there (luckily I'm a citizen) but expats coming in with San Francisco budgets and foreign real estate investment companies buying whole buildings have made it near impossible to find an apartment.
31
@Miriam There's a lot of beautiful Spain south of Barcelona! and quite a lot south of Madrid!
7
I want so badly to move to southern France or Barcelona. I'm 73, and my husband never wants to leave New Mexico except to travel. but the current political scene in the US is abhorrent.
45
If you don’t like the winds in NM, don’t go to southern France. The Mistral can be really difficult to support in the southeast. It rains a lot in the southwest.
Weather drove me from France to New Mexico.
It depends on your temperament, but gray skies, dampness and rain can make anyplace depressing.
I do miss the food though.
12
There is a blog called Barefoot Blogger written by a woman who moved about five years ago from the US to Uzes, France. Look it up and she will explain how she did it!
2
The best thing to happen to this world is for westerners of all stripes to leave their homes and go live with the rest of the world this time as immigrants not colonizers. We did for the last 50 to 100 years and helped Europe and the US grow and thrive. Your turn Europeans and Americans. You would enjoy yourselves and bring much needed expertise to many lacking behind sectors in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Our people are hospitable, the food is great and great cultures to explore.
After 26 years in the US, I myself have my sight back on Europe. With a a young child, I might just try Finland for obvious reasons.
20
@Hisham Oumlil - I'm giggling. You're telling us to go to Africa, Latin America and Middle-East - but, "You'll take Finland," eh? .... All righty then! :-)
2
I'ωε been living on a Greek island now for 5 years. I'm originally born and raised in a beach town just outside Los Angeles, California.
If you go to live in a foreign country I highly suggest trying your best to learn the native language. I see many many foreigners here (mostly British) who do not speak Greek, or even attempt to. Shame really. My opinion is, if you can't speak the native language, you will never fully be part of the local community.
By the way, living on a Greek island isn't for everybody. But, if you want to live a simple and good life, it's absolutely wonderful.
Γειά σας!
50
A US retiree who has lived/traveled abroad, I was seriously looking to become an expat until coronavirus arose.
My wife and I have canceled an exploratory Baltic cruise for this June because:
1. Most cruise lines reserve the right to alter/curtail the schedule/itinerary sans refunds; and cancel-for-any reason insurance adds 50% to the cruise's cost.
2. We are both over 70 and thus at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or even dying from COVID-19 if we catch it.
3. At best cruise ships are floating Petri dishes that easily spread noroviruses; note the current COVID-19 transmissions on the Diamond Princess and Holland America Westerdam.
4. While our cruise ports are in nations that now have fewer than 25 cases, COVID-19 may become a pandemic affecting many nations, including those on our itinerary. Our nightmare scenario is that we or other passengers contract the disease aboard or ashore. Do we want to be treated or quarantined on the ship or in Latvia or Estonia or Russia or Finland or Denmark? No way.
For us the medical/financial risks are just too great, so in 2020 we will limit our travel to US destinations we can reach easily by car or short flights.
Over time we will evaluate the COVID-19 situation and see how cruise lines and other nations are coping. There’s always next year to explore the expat option.
My comments are not medical advice; talk to your doctor. For travel advice, talk to your travel agent, carrier and insurance agent.
13
Your "Where do expatriates live?" chart is misleading because it's not possible to stay in the Gulf countries like the U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman indefinitely or permanently. It's not possible to immigrate to these countries. You need a work visa to be there at all.
21
"Mr. Zeeck said data from InterNations’s 2019 survey showed that love was the most common reason for people to move to another country."
Don't do it for love! I had three relationships with a foreigner and they all ended badly. The things you find interesting and cute in the beginning become tiresome and annoying over time. Plus the language differences make you wonder if the other partner really understands what you are saying no matter how well your partner speaks your language. It is just not the same as speaking to a fellow native. And if my three bad experiences don't convince you, I know of no mixed country relationship that has lasted long term. Stick to people in your own country where you have a better chance of lasting success than hooking up with someone from a foreign country. So if someone in a bar walks up to you with a foreign accent, run!
8
@Brian So how have you been doing with your American relationships?
I do and don't agree with you - I think if it works it can only happens. My wife and I are from different countries and together for 20 years and it is amazing! But man, was it a lot of work at first but also a journey of discovery... and if you asked me to do it a second time, I wouldn't but would recommend it at least once. You never know.
13
@Brian
Your experiences do not necessarily speak for everyone. I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who are married or partnered to people from other countries and cultures. Some of them didn't work out but many are in very long-term (20+ years) relationships. Coming from the same background has never been a guarantee for a successful marriage or partnership.
6
@Brian Well, I discovered my foreign spouse really only wanted the money I had earned working at a start-up. I really should have known, though - I read Portrait of a Lady ....
Still. I wouldn't tell anyone not to do it. That's amore! :p
6
This article is a little bit misleading in that many of the couples here have partners with foreign passports, which makes things a lot easier. The rest of us need to somehow secure residence permits.
67
It's possible to have the expat experience right here in the US by moving from the high-cost rat-race areas to small cities and towns. You get to speak English, be available to family members, and use your US-based health insurance and medicare.
29
@Jeff L Unfortunately, Trump is still President in those small cities and towns as well as the high-cost rat-race areas.
15
A note to all fellow US citizen expats and emigres: Vote in the 2020 federal election!
82
@Paco varela
And vote for Bernie of course!
4
I'm surprised by the table. What is the appeal of Argentina or Estonia for millennials? Or Nigeria for professionals? Please write future articles to explain.
15
Yes - the tables were the most interesting part of this article. Nigeria? Oil industry? My husband has a German passport, but so far we’re staying put. I have enough trouble remembering names and words in one language!
7
I'm Estonian-American and was rather surprised by that. They do have a very strong tech sector and a low cost of living by Western European standards
7
Ex Pat or immigrant? Very interesting point of view. When people learn I have been living in Europe for about 40 years they stop asking me « when are you going back to the States? ». I thought I was an ex Pat but now I’ve realized I’m an immigrant.
17
Wow! What a missed opportunity this article was. Rather than cover 6-7 examples in the most superficial way, you could have given us a deeper understanding of what it takes to move abroad, in terms of sacrifices, red-tape cutting and adjustments, through the examples of just one or two people.
Skimming over this group as you've done tells us nearly nothing!
75
@Sixofone
So true, it could have been so much more. Maybe a series of articles covering the requirements, plus and minuses, success or failures, etc. for each of the four groups.
30
Funny how Americans "move abroad" and are ExPats but people from other countries coming to the US are immigrants! It's been a long running joke in my family who's grandparents escaped the Great Depression by re-immigrating to Europe.
24
As the most venal and ignorant americans dominate the public sphere and diminish our core values under a sick political leadership; leaving for more humanistic cultures is another reason to leave.
And 2020 - no matter the electoral results - has the potential for even worse and potentially dystopian political upheaval.
22
Refugee,immigrant,or ex-pat are only a few of the roles available to those who choose to relocate. Your means will generally make the choice for you. I have lived in both Canada,Holland,France,Mexico. Felt more like an immigrant back east in the United States than anywhere.
9
Not possible long-term unless a person has citizenship in the other country, as well here, or gives up the US citizenship for another passport. The article glosses over the realities of obtaining residency elswhere.
23
@JM not true. We have lived in Costa Rica for 12 years and have become permanent residents. That means that we can stay indefinitely, work and bank. Even if we eventually become citizens we are still allowed to have dual citizenship under US and Costa Rican law.
19
@JM
I'm not sure where you got your information. I am a US citizen and do not have a dual citizenship. I have lived in Mexico for 9 years. I have a permanent residence visa here and a work permit. It took about an hour at the Mexican consulate in the US to get my permanente. The transition was very easy.
16
@JM
American Myth!
Many countries allow dual citizenship — consider Australia.
A variety of tourist visas allow long stays and WORK visas can be applied for online and in advance.
5
Ok, let’s talk money. How much are these people making a year and what are they annual living costs? Next, what are they paying for rent and cost of living in each city or country? Are they fully retired or still working remotely? What about medical issues and expenses? Articles like these need to also focus on the actual finances of actually living abroad .
43
@Stephen Alicandro
My husband works full time in the US by telecommuting. The cost of living comparison here would be determined by where you come from. It is about half what it cost us in Florida. Our medical care is excellent. Being an expat is not for everyone and a lot of people who come down here find they can not adjust to the cultural differences. You have to be flexible. In Mexico, "manana" is a way of life. I know many people living comfortably on their Social Security checks. They would be at poverty level if they went back to the US.
21
@Stephen Alicandro I traveled by car the extent of the Baja Peninsula - staying in B&Bs and hotels. Met many expats in the communities established, some of them, back in the '70s. Most claim to problem with living 6 months in US and 6 months in Mexico. One couple with an English bookstore for sale in La Paz, says living full-time in LaPaz is a dream come true that one can live on for $1000 a month. After month traveling in Baja. In LaPaz, I realized I could live in this middle class city with very little problem.
13
@ExPatMX
How's medical care for life-threatening chronic conditions? I'm ready to get out here if November goes badly, but I also have to have reasonably good continuity of care.
9
I was fortunate to learn late in life that I was born a dual citizen. It took a few years of research and planning but 3 years ago I retired and moved to Finland, bringing my un-Finnish husband and dog along. The move itself was one of the most difficult, complicated things I have ever done, but it has been overall a most rewarding experience. I have found a place that reflects my values, with a democratic government that functions to create a liveable, sustainable life for its citizens. Our life here has been richer and far more interesting than what we left behind.
130
Glad it worked out for you.
Most of us do not have dual citizenship.
3
You are extremely lucky
3
@Christine You are very lucky! Finland is a wonderful country! (Switzerland is, too.)
2
The article in the beginning fails to mention that Spain is actively encouraging foreign investment as a path to residency. Spend 500k Euros on a residence, and you're in.
The UK, on the other hand, isn't so welcoming. No option like above and strict enforcement.
A friend is currently trying to choose a new home abroad. And despite most of his relatives living in the UK, he's unable to establish residency. Spain it may well be.
I assume if Treasonous Trump prevails in the fall, we'll see more Americans head for foreign shores. Poverty from sea to sea, free guns and illegal family planning are two examples of a very dim kleptocratic American future.My family and I may join them. We'll keep our real estate investments here to profit as much as possible off the ignorant, but enjoy sane life in a country that values humanity and social conscience instead of usurious health care schemes and social Darwinism.
86
@Bike Fanatic
I'm good with Spain. Warm, good cycling, and great cuisine for me to dive into and learn.
Now I just need to win the lottery.
Sigh.
32
@Bike Fanatic Curious about how you think you value humanity if you plan to keep your real estate in the U.S. "to profit off the ignorant." There are many Americans who cannot move abroad in need of homes in the U.S. and the willingness of the monied to park their money in the scarce real estate and charge exorbitant rents is one of the problems. Keep your real estate but don't pretend to be a patriot, or even humane.
12
The first time I heard the term 'expat' was when my husband and I relocated to Iran for a job in 1977. I was truly insulted the first time someone called me an expat. I thought it suggested I had rejected my country.
I was wrong! You still pay taxes, retain your home if you choose but your knowledge of the world,and your place in it increases exponentially!
You form friendships and gain first hand understanding with people from all over the world. I've occasionally felt isolated in Canada but expats reach out to each other immediately. There is a real sense of belonging. It's a wonderful way of life!
24
@Deb What about the weather?
@Bill P. The way of life, suits the weather! You start when its cool, stop working after 11 am and start again at dusk! It's just a very relaxed way of life.
I found it harder to re adapt to the faster pace of life here. It was 70 F when we landed and 45 C when we left. I didn't realize how acclimatized I had become until I found it so cold the Aug. we came back, I had to wear a ski jacket until the following summer. The tan lines took 3 years to go away. Other than Iranian bread and the other expats, I can't say I miss it!
I've lived in Thailand on and off for 43 years, since spending a year as a med student in the 70's. My husband of 30 years and I lived in the US for 15 years, but recently moved back full time to our family's place in NE Thailand.
I've seen a huge increase in the number of American and European men (mostly) living in Thailand. I welcome them, but notice that almost none learn the language, few love the culture as much as they do their wives, they tend to hang out with other expats and only occasionally get involved in local community activities and needs.
My advice: learn the language; love the culture of your new home; and, for heaven's sake, contribute to the local community. Otherwise, you're just using your technology to take advantage of a place that has welcomed you.
70
@Douglas
Learning the language is the key to everything. Social media and tech can help provide information and support, but there is still no substitute for the analog world of language. It's the ticket to a much deeper awareness of the history, culture and society. Even in countries like Germany where I've studied and visited often, and where many speak English, mastering the local language has thrown doors open that remain barred to those who fail to make the effort to linguistically integrate.
24
@Douglas Indeed. I think part of it is a lot of people's only connection is via their spouse/loved one and there are no other connections in terms of work or other professional relationships which is where I think cultural understanding becomes necessary. The Thais are largely deferential to the farangs so I think are highly sheltered in a community and its activities (unless one is into Buddhism) though it's a starting point I suppose.
My wife is Thai but I also work with the Thai government and have mentored several Thai academicians who are faculty at various places there now so I've said that it's the place I want to die. (I was originally born in another and have made most of my life in the USA but residencies elsewhere as well.)
So I have a hard time truly understanding the nationalistic bent of many people. I mean I see where it originates but the world is changing and the direction is going in is towards more globalisation and connectivity not the other way around.
9
@Douglas Well, that's kind of their business, isn't it? It's their choice how to live - abroad or in their native countries, not yours ....
2
What an excellent illustration of American selfishness. It's a good thing, really it's only proper, that Americans should have freedom to go and live wherever they want. There's a world full of adventure out there, for us. Yay. But for people who are not American - we can't just have open borders! They can't just come here, because they want to, or are starving or, like, whatever. Eye roll. That's an outrage, it would never work.
This article also completely glosses over the major difficulty of scoring legal residence in Europe without a special job or a relative with a passport. In reality, unless you're wealthy it's not a realistic option.
65
@Marmot
Americans who wish to live abroad can do so only if they meet requirements of their chosen nation. The first couple described in this article live in Spain, a nation that requires prospective expatriate residents to submit proof that they have a specified minimum annual income, proof that they have the means to pay for their health care, and proof that they have not been convicted of a crime. In Spain, the border for an expatriate is not open - not by a long shot.
16
@Quiet Waiting Right. Generally, the border in Europe is not open to Americans living abroad as non-tourists. But this article wants to pretend that it is, and glorifies the idea that the world is a playground for (only) Americans, without ever acknowledging the unfairness of that fantasy. Evidently the idea that 1%ers can easily sell the Hamptons house and jet off to adventure without trouble is a good one.
9
@Marmot "This article also completely glosses over the major difficulty of scoring legal residence in Europe without a special job or a relative with a passport. In reality, unless you're wealthy it's not a realistic option."
Correct - Europe doesn't have open borders. Nor do we ....
While pleased to see this article contains a link to the wonderful organization Families in Global Transition (www.figt.org) that would seem to have been the only reference and attention paid to the thousands of expatriate families currently living and working around the world.
True enough that living abroad does indeed satisfy the urge for adventure and meaning in many people's lives as the interviews in this article highlight. But for many more, the decision to live abroad is thrust upon them due to their employers, and the families who accompany those workers-- who face challenges as an accompanying spouse or child dragged along very unhappily or worse, with learning disabilities not addressed by international schools--deserve more than passing reference and one link if the story of being an expatriate in 2020 is to be complete.
9
There are a lot of businesses but need to be researched before joining one. On the job my husband held oversees, there were at least three companies and they were not equal!
Like anything else, wages and living conditions need to be considered! We were lucky with Dillingham Corp. (US) but many co-workers were not!
Things to be scrutinized are wages, medical, equivalent schooling with transfers back home to higher education, housing, vehicle with maintenance and personal safety measures. In some countries your safety is only as good as your employers ability to provide.
Buyer beware attitudes are critical !
5
It's even more plausible to become an "ex-pat" of NYC in the American midwest. I moved away just over 12 months ago. None of my clients even know I'm not in NYC full-time anymore and there is no reason they e=need to. The flight is 1.5 hours. I can fly to NYC in the morning and back in the evening when required. The best part: my cost of living is ¼ what it was in NYC. I lived well in NYC. But now? My quality of life is through the roof and I don't miss NYC at all because I still get to be based there. Best move I ever made.
67
@TFD
Yay! Good for you. I am a west coaster who came here for a job 20 years ago. One can have a lovely and peaceful life here in flyover country.
@TFD Massive carbon footprint.
2
@TFD Applause! I want to read an article about folks like you next! Moving from NY myself to the interior west a few years ago, I sometimes feel like an expat myself.
1
Regrettably back in the U.S. after 6 wonderful years in a small French village, even bought and sold a French house. If we had any advice from our experience , It would be, store, sell or give away your U.S "stuff" We spent 20K on shipping. We could have Furnished the house in France from "Vide Grenier" empty your attic sales for 5K! And they are fun.
55
I was excited about reading this article because living abroad is something I've always wanted to do. However, you didn't cover the one topic that keeps me from doing so:
How do you navigate health care in another country? Does any kind of American health insurance cover you abroad? Do Medicare benefits follow you? Do you purchase health insurance over there? Does any country's national health plan cover you after you've lived there for a certain length of time?
This is an important part of any discussion on this topic and I would have liked to know how the people you profiled handled it. Perhaps a follow-up article?
Thank you.
71
@ReadingLips It will depend on the country and type of Visa you are on. If you live and work there you should be covered. If you want/need private insurance in Europe, it is probably much cheaper than what you are on in the States.
8
It’s much cheaper to be overseas and buy medical travel insurance than it is to buy health insurance in America. Also with my American Health Care Cooperative I am covered in the US and overseas.
4
@ReadingLips
In France you can buy healthcare and it’s cheap.
Comparable or less than paying
Medicare gap coverage.
4
I lived and worked overseas for some 35 years, in Europe and afterward in Asia. I can echo the comments of many below that life overseas was very rewarding and enjoyable. The things you learn to love there are often the things you never expected, such as (in big cities) the closeness of amenities and ease of using them due to the way many foreign cities have developed and the availability of public transportation. Then there's the general rhythm of life in many places that is simply embracing - in my case, I lived in Germany and Japan, and throughout the year in those countries there are any number of festivals that make you look forward to the different seasons of the year beyond just the weather. Very enjoyable. I offer some practical advice: there are many countries that have entered social security treaties with the US that enable you and/or your spouse to qualify for US or local social security while working in one or the other country as well as to collect social security of those countries if you are living in one or the other. It's worth doing a little research on that early on to see what you might qualify for now or years later (for which taking steps now is necessary).
21
The Global Human Community grows stronger. May those in power choose environmental policies such that our planet can continue to support the human species.
22
I lived in Japan for a while as a kid in the 60's -- traveled often with my parents then went to school in Belgium and London. My choice of profession allowed for travel and foreign posting in Asia and Europe for extended periods (over a year) .. have been South Africa for 2 out of the past 10 years.
While I loved the experience -- NYC and our weekend place in Buck County is home. Same for my parents .. we were Americans. What's not to love about living in Berlin or Paris for an extended period if you can? Being the spouse of a local is different -- I'm married to a Philadelphian!
Wanting to live in Costa Rica or Mexico -- that's not for everyone ... and is usually for cost. I would go nuts .....
We plan on taking extended "trips" to a few place we enjoyed when we retire. 6-months in Thailand .. Spain -- my favorite city Munich. (They wrecked Hong Kong). I'm sure I could spend 6 months in Greece ...
But, the USA is home ....
24
@GT
Yep. Home. And no country has the American West.
I've lived abroad for 26 years except for a single two-year stint back in the States. I left in my early 40's and have lived in three different countries in Europe and Latin America. Unlike the people profiled in this article, I didn't leave the States with any money or job prospects. I simply wanted to experience other cultures and countries more deeply than one can as a tourist. I've accomplished that goal, and it has been well worth it. I recommend the adventure to anyone who has the desire and who is open-minded, flexible, willing to learn, and able to cope with occasional uncertainty. Life is so very, very short. Enjoy it.
111
@An American Expat I migrated in my 40´s also after many yrs working internationally, and teenage years in France and Germany. Good language skills. Its a great idea to do this before retirement age as much easier to integrate through work, classes, cultural events. Its also as I see it pretty much easier as a single to integrate, couples have problems as one usually is better at the language or has the job.
1
I echo PaulN's question. In 2016, retired with sufficient income to live in another country, I checked around.
The EU does not issue permanent residencies to someone like me: no EU relative, no job offered, no rare skill not common among the country's nationals. Ditto with New Zealand, Australia, Canada, any Scandinavian country. I was not interested in living on the African continent (too hot or country in too much turmoil) or in Asia. Mexico is a tad too dangerous.
I don't know who the article is aimed at. Those that can liquidate their Hamptons second home and take their lucrative consulting job somewhere else?
255
@Richard Birdsall I am surprised, because I know a few Americans who have retired here in France. And are happy, especially with the universal healthcare that is available to all legal residents and of good quality. If you can prove you have enough income to support yourself (and thus will not be looking for a job), and fill out the necessary documents, they will issue a Carte de Séjour (a residence card). Usually it’s renewed every year up to three years, then you can apply for a ten year residency card and after this it renews automatically. Not sure how it works in other EU countries though.
23
@Richard Birdsall
Hi Richard - One alternative you may wish to consider are the annual visas that I know are available in Thailand and Spain. You have to apply for renewal, but such alternatives do exist.
1
@Richard Birdsall A friend looked into New Zealand a few years ago and I believe they required $250,000 in the bank to move there.
5
Even as I hunker down and wait out the restrictions in force for fending off the current virus, I have never had a second thought regarding relocating to Shanghai thirteen years ago, at the age of fifty-five. Among the many virtues I could list to living in this vibrant city I will mention only one. For over forty years the American medical establishment assured me that there was no cure for Crohn’s Disease, and that I had to simply learn to live with the annual attack or two and do my best to manage it. The judgment of the doctors at a gastro-intestinal hospital here who took a look-see was, “We can fix that.” Following a minor surgical procedure and a month-long regimen of herbal medicines, which cost all of $800, I haven’t had a Crohn’s attack for almost five years. As I close in on completing my seventh decade, I intend to stay put, thank you very much.
150
@Thomas Caron Amazing story! Thanks for sharing.
18
So please tell me how a US citizen can legally settle in a European country unless the person has some kind of a European dual nationality. The only such people I know are professors employed at European universities and such. How does a retired person move to Europe? I mean legally.
120
Find a job. The employer will sponsor your visa request. If not than most countries will grant a residence visa if you start a business or invest a certain amount of capital.
8
@PaulN
I haven't checked current rules in a while but I believe there are some countries (Portugal and Greece, I think, and maybe others) where you can invest a reasonable, though substantial, amount (~$300,000) in property that you will renovate and be allowed on a fast track to residency. At that point your residency will apply to the countries in the Euro zone.
18
@PaulN Let me rephrase. Suppose I am a 65 or older US citizen with a decent pension who has no European ties. Can I settle in a developed European country legally? Let me also answer it: no way. Same applies to countries such as Canada or Australia. It doesn't even matter if the person will not rely on the local social benefits. BTW, most European countries have an obligatory retirement age of 65. So my fellow Americans, unless you have mucho bucks to invest in potentially shady deals, keep dreamin'.
35
We retired to Mexico 21 years ago, in our early 50s. The low cost of living here made early retirement possible. No snow to shovel, affordable, excellent health care, and affordable housing are among the many reasons we have never regretted this decision. True, the Mexican government has its challenges, but honestly, I would rather be living under the Mexican government than the U.S. government these days.
Cartel activity, while awful, is largely restricted to certain areas. Expats live in safe areas. I feel safer here than in the U.S., and our fellow expats agree.
In hours we can be in the U.S. to visit family. As dual citizens, we enjoy the best of both worlds.
55
We retired to Mexico 21 years ago, in our early 50s. The low cost of living here made early retirement possible. No snow to shovel, affordable, excellent health care, and affordable housing are among the many reasons we have never regretted this decision. True, the Mexican government has its challenges, but honestly, I would rather be living under the Mexican government than the U.S. government these days.
Cartel activity, while awful, is largely restricted to certain areas. Expats live in safe areas. I feel safer here than in the U.S., and our fellow expats agree.
In hours we can be in the U.S. to visit family. As dual citizens, we enjoy the best of both worlds.
4
I moved to Italy at the age of 73 after several post retirement years of coming here spring and fall on a tourist visa. It was challenging to do but well worth it. I love living here and have a wonderful relationship with an Italian woman of about my age. As others have noted it's not all bread and roses. The Italian bureaucracy is justifiably notorious but I'm learning to live with it. I'm on the national health care system that seems to work well and is modestly priced for an expat to enroll. The language is a pleasant challenge I would say and it helps that my companion doesn't speak English. Italian friends ask me what I miss about the U.S. but other than the relative bureaucratic ease - nothing. I plan to spend my remaining years right here in this city. I do hate to see the destruction being wrought in the U.S. by the current resident of the White House.
285
@Joe You left out an important issu- legally, how do you live in Italy without a work visa or being married to a EU citizen? A lot of people would like to know...
11
Italy has an elective residency visa for retirees who can demonstrate the financial resources to support themselves for the rest of their lives. With this type of visa, you are not allowed to work. The application process is difficult, but it is possible for an American to retire in Italy.
15
Hello from Bologna! I’m glad you like it here! We like it too. The healthcare, schools, mass transit, and housing are all very good, at a fraction of the cost of the equivalent in the US. Not to mention the many beautiful museums, concerts, readings, plays, parks, etc., within walking distance or a quick bus ride away
3
I was glad to see this article. I never considered leaving the USA but I no longer know what the USA means or stands for anymore. It's just a pin on a map. Now that I'm in position to retire I'm really thinking about the type of community I want to live out my remaining years. It might be in the USA and it might not be.
There is nothing special about the USA that makes me feel attached to it anymore. The idea of it that was implanted in my skull as a young man seems like a forgotten memory.
359
I couldn’t agree with you more. And while it makes me sad I could gladly move somewhere else.
50
@HL
Ditto. I'm 77 years old and comfortably retired. Maybe it's not too late for hubby and me.
20
@HL. Don’t give up. Trump can be defeated and our country can be repaired. Our reputation will continue to suffer but we can at least attempt to reunite our republic. Start by defeating all of the Republicans in Arizona. I went to college there but would not want to live there.
64
I've been threatening to leave this country, if DT is re elected, and this article is my new inspiration. I believe there is life outside of the US, and the people mentioned in this article are a wonderful reference point. Lots to ponder, in the next 9mos.
144
Laura, I have been practicing living in Porto for the past month. . . just in case he gets re-elected. It was 70 degrees today.
11
@Jil Nelson - I've been to Porto and loved it, but I think that may be too radical for me. However, I'm perfectly serious about an exit plan, and have already been investigating options. Thanks for the note of confidence: ) LW
@laura wagner
Will you be missed? Will anyone care?
Not to be rude ....
If you think Trump is the worst thing going on in the world ..maybe getting out of NYC will do you some good.
1
Many travels later, and ten years in the sun, I am going home - my real roots - the Northeast U.S. Old friends, family, these seem to matter most to mt in the elder years of life.
38
@EB
I share your feelings.
I'm a Warren supporter and lived Abroad (London, Florence) and traveled to South of France and Ireland recently. If I were any younger, given the state of affairs here, I would have moved. But like you, my old friends and family simply mean too much to me. I love them and did love my country and now I am very sad.
31
@JVO
I'm trying to see beyond the turmoil and strife and simply hold to my view that Trump will NOT be re-elected. I don't have a television so that helps, and am a klutz with my smartphone except for texting and phone calls.
(I have $250 worth of bets saying he will not be re-elected. This attitude keeps me somewhat above the fray).
5
@EB
Neither do I have a TV though I'm a compulsive reader of news. Keep up your attitude. I read a lot of history especially about heroes like Washington and also remind myself that no empire in history has lasted. Climate change is another matter!
5
I love my expat life, but the tax and reporting issues for US citizens abroad are making me wish I hadn't applied for US citizenship for my children.
Expats have to report any accounts to which they have signing rights, personal or professional, their money or not, to the Financial Crimes division of the Treasury department. It prevents many of us from holding positions in organizations, even local clubs, because those clubs don't want their financial information transmitted to the US government. It also rules us out for many jobs, again because a non-US firm doesn't want to disclose financial information to the US government.
We are denied bank accounts because US regulations have made it too onerous to have US clients. We can't invest in many of the best mutual funds available. My husband (not a US citizen) has them all in his name.
We must file an income tax return with the IRS if we earn even $1, and we are subject to income tax in the USA and in our country of residence (although some treaties may negate this.) The cost of filing to prove that we owe no money can be exorbitant. By the way, the only other country that taxes based on citizenship and not on residency is Eritrea.
Should we inherit, we could be subject to double taxation from both the US and our host countries.
Anyone thinking of expatriating should investigate the financial implications beyond just finding employment.
458
@Fiona So true! Happy to see someone else reporting these issues. The IRS is relentless and I have had to pay over $1700 a year to have a tax professional do my taxes, as they are onerous - impossible - for most to complete. I don't make a lot of money, don't have a lot of money, so it seems impossible to even try to invest - either in Canada or in the states - the cost to report 1 mutual fund by a tax professional is about $425 per fund. There is more to say here, but don't fool yourselves about saving money by moving, especially if you are a US citizen and plan to stay as one in another country.
71
@Fiona This is so true. Living in the UK for a few years was great but the US tax burden was very expensive.
29
I am a tax professional. Your phrasing is confusing, so I may not understand your intention, but you do not have to file a US return for making even $1. The filing requirements are included in the instructions for form 1040 and are far more generous.
25
It appears that many of the featured people/couples were well enough off financially to move abroad and reestablish a lifestyle in said new country.
Some indicated that they still have a property here in the US while owning another in their new county. What a luxury.
The comment by rob blake (top of the reader list) provides a significant perspective in a few words.
61
@Stephen Carlat At this point we wouldn’t sell our U. S. Property. But we might rent it out for more than our mortgage payment and use the difference, along with retirement income to live elsewhere .
2
When is an immigrant not an immigrant? When they have money.
I moved to New York from another country, and have a successful job, but that doesn't mean I'd ever call myself an "expat". I'm an immigrant. There's no degree of success where I get to pretend I have nothing in common with people who moved here from other countries, with other jobs or legal status. We're immigrants.
The word "expat" is a way of pretending some immigrants are more special than others, so you don't have to empathize with everyone else.
199
@Eoin Cunningham
Well said. I have been here in NYC for 33 years have an American passport but for some reason I am still an immigrant.
I have never heard anyone refer to a Mexican or any other Latin American as Expat. I know British and French expat who live here,
52
@Eoin Cunningham I agree we are immigrants from Ireland to France and now with Brexit I am very conscious of it. My husband has full rights as an Irish citizen but I was born in Scotland and I have to sort out my situation. I have been quite surprised when talking to neighbours they say we don’t mind you being here it’s those ‘others’ we object to. So I am an expat to them not an immigrant.
27
@Eoin Cunningham
"The word "expat" is a way of pretending some immigrants are more special than others, so you don't have to empathize with everyone else."
One of my pet peeves, and you said it better than I could have. Since I understood what the word truly meant (in the late 90s), I've avoided people calling themselves or their relatives "expats".
25
Very accurate article on contemplating becoming an Expat. Having thought about it for 6 months, I finished my research into Costa Rica, mapped out my target areas and in November 2019 spent 9 days traveling thru Central Valley, Arenal and staying in 8 different towns. I met Expats or those contemplating such a move.
I was told about a great baker in Grecia. Turns out this native son learned to make bagels in New York City! Who knew? Now to convince my wife to move!
13
Be careful, “Cassandra” above threatens to avoid you if you dare to use the word “expat”! It would probably be no big loss, but you should be aware...
1
This ex-New Yorker and ex Los Angeleno moved to Italy 7 years ago and never had as rich a life as I have here in glorious Italy!
I'd never leave. Ok, I do miss bagels, but that's about it.
68
I am a Brooklynite of retirement age, but I choose to continue working as a Professor for an American university near Frankfurt. I have been here for the past 6 years with no intention of ever returning to the States except for visiting my kids and grandson.
I find that living in Western Europe is exhilarating and a wonderful tonic for the senses and soul. As much as I love America, I do not get the same fulfillment from driving the Outerbridge Crossing into New Jersey. In the past 18 months, I have visited 18 different cities in 16 different countries (Spain and Italy were repeat visitations) with at least one trip planned per month for the balance of 2020. The people, food, sights, history of the Continent makes for new stimulating discoveries virtually every day. For those who say it does not matter where you live because you still have the daily routine of going to a job and taking your children to soccer practice, etc., I say if you make the effort, the experience can be otherworldly in a good way. Whether you are a boomer like me or a millennial or someone in between, be good to yourself and become an expatriate. Your mind and body will thank you.
227
@Michael As a Canadian who moved to France, I agree with you. I love exploring all that European history and culture has to offer. The high-speed train network is excellent as is the lower cost airline, EasyJet. And then there are the different languages to learn. Highly stimulating and enriching. Sure, I miss my home country, but I'm not exactly languishing here.
30
@Michael - :)) As a boomer, I have had the complete opposite experience in my life. All I have to do is walk to the corner on a clear day and there is Mt. Rainier dominating the skyline. I ride my bike to the top of the hill and there is the majestic Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains which seems more impressive every time I look at it.
My neighbors? The Samoans have taught me how to make chocolate from the cacao bean. The Ethiopians taught me how to roast my own coffee at home on the stove. The Guatemalans introduced me to soup recipes with mint. The Chinese doctor talked to me in the parking lot for 5 minutes one day when I was in excruciating pain. And she told me what was wrong. Ironically, she is studying to become an American doctor and I went to the university where she studies and it took 6 months of tests, more tests, more clinics until they finally said, "yeah, what she said".
The Chinese market has a full Mexican bakery and restaurant inside. In between is a Russian aisle. You literally have to speak Spanish on one side of the grocery, switch to Ukrainian in the middle, and then back to Mandarin on the other side:) And at the end of one aisle, they now stock four different kinds of Ethiopian raw coffee beans at half the price of the fancy roasted.
And if I want to leave "town", I get on the bus and head to Little Saigon, Japantown, or Chinatown for some food. But the menus aren't in English:)
I'm good letting the world come to me.
82
@tom harrison
Not sure where you live in Seattle, but the last time we, a family of four, went to Seattle, we were actually a bit scared.
Massive homeless population is most parts of your city, aggressive people begging for money, open drug usage.
Used to enjoy the occasional visit to Seattle. Not any more. We will not be back. We will go somewhere safer and cleaner on our next holiday.
14
I've lived abroad for the better part of my adult life. First I was a student, then I met my now-husband and was lucky enough to establish residency through him a couple years ago.
But life in Paris is not all croissants and intellectual café debates. It takes a certain character to move abroad permanently--I've seen it break a lot of people. Still, I'm happy to see more and more people consider it as an option.
97
@American in Paris How does it “break” a person?
4
@On the coast I'm in Germany, but I'll give it a go based on what I've witnessed. I'm guessing that what people, who are prone to get upset, get upset about while abroad, is fairly universal:
1. Having to deal with any kind of bureaucracy, particularly in terms of setting up a visa/residency permit (believe it or not, one doesn't just waltz up to the foreigner's office, American passport in hand, and say "one visa please!")
2. Having to do the above, but in a foreign language
3. Having to do things in general not in English (the affront expats take in this category boggles the mind)
4. Having to file taxes in two countries, and deal with the inane way the US treats its citizens abroad (this can actually get pretty annoying, even if you don't owe any US taxes)
5. Simply learning to adapt to another country's customs, rhythms, and social mores, and really internalizing the fact that they are not going to adapt to you. You're the newcomer, it's your job! But some folks don't want to hear that.
Any of my fellow expats/immigrants have anything to add?
1
@An American Thanks. I know I’m generalizing, but this almost reads like a list made by an “ugly American”.
1
I travel a great deal but love to come back to my place in Southern California. Each time I travel it changes me for the better. I grow in my knowledge of other cultures and am able to put the USA in perspective.
21
@Paul
Agree 100%. Travelling enriches my soul but coming home to Southern CA nourishes it. I am grateful for the beauty of my coastal town every time I return from a trip. Living in Barcelona though does sound wonderful.
8
@Left Coast
I lived in Santa Monica (L.A.) and later in San Diego for a number of years; and yes, the ocean is beautiful, but the water is very brrrrr! cold.
3
I lived in so cal for my four years of college, but am a firm nor cal resident. Just last weekend I hiked in Sausalito one day and wine tasted in Healdsburg the next. I wandered around my little bayside burg to complete the 3 day weekend. so I know how you feel about our mutual sprawling and sometimes messy and chaotic home of California. In fact, I consider myself a Californian first, and an American a somewhat distant second.
10
Living abroad changes you and after four years I find some aspects of being an American slipping away. Once you master the language and absorb the culture the way you think and view things changes I live with one foot in America and the other more heavily planted here. For me the current situation in the US leaves with a feeling of finding refuge here. I tell my German neighbors that I remember America and they understand what I mean because also do they!
Looking across the pond sadly I see stagnation and division which reinforces my commitment more to here. Recently when I was renewing my residency card I was informed that I could apply for a German passport which effects a whole new set of tugs between my feet.
A positive is in Germany politicians work to improve the lives of their citizens and restrict attempts to dissocialize their safety net. If anyone tried to tried to cut retirement benefits or changes to the healthcare blood would run in the streets.
And as retirees we can live modestly and better than in the USA for the same money. Living abroad is not for everyone but if you like a bit of adventure in your life go for it what you put into it is what you will get back.
161
There are so many places to live, however, not all places are idyllic. Each and every place has its ups and downs. The question is, what are the opportunity costs in your choices? Living abroad isn't for everyone, for those who venture out, that's great. I traveled when I was younger, the opportunity costs were various, and now that I am older. i have a job that requires no traveling. if I want to travel for vacation, I want shorter trips, get back home and spend quality time looking at the birds and butterflies in my little garden.
21
It would have been a nice aside to mention the FIRE movement (Financially Independent, Retire Early) that's extremely popular amongst 20 and 30 somethings. Living abroad means you can FIRE with much less money in the bank, especially if you finagle the sort of career that you can do part-time, or from your laptop. We have two little kids and still have student loans to pay off, but our goal is to FIRE in about 10-12 years and then move abroad, at least part time. I would love for our kids to go to high school internationally so that they have a broader view of the world. Until then we will settle for summers traveling.
26
@ED DOC Thanks for mentioning that (and reading the story). The FIRE movement has great momentum--hope to include it in a future story. The landscape to cover remains vast! (and good luck with your own movement toward that).
8
@ED DOC if the student loans are federal did you consider placing them on IBR and moving sooner? You can exclude $100k in gross foreign income so you will not pay anything on the loans so long as your income meets that threshold.
1
@ED DOC, but there's a problem with FIRE. (As exists the problem with obscene executive compensation in the US.)
While your well-paid friends are retiring early, the homeless camps are growing. Looks like the inequity is simply too gross to accept.
And I know the immediate reply by the right. It's something like, "But there's NO LIMIT on money! Just because someone makes a million doesn't mean someone can't make more of their own!"
Well, the reality is simply the opposite: as top compensation has ballooned, average pay has stagnated, even gone backwards. So it would be nice if we lived in a fantasy world of overflowing prosperity, where the entry-level or low-skill job paid enough to buy real estate, the middle class were OVERFUNDED in their retirement accounts, paid vacation was becoming boring, and everyone had prosperity pouring out their ears.
NOT.THE.CASE.
So until we get EVERYONE prosperous, we simply cannot tolerate 20 or 30 somethings earning enough to retire before forty while the lowly workers of the country are working three jobs to simply make rent.
12
The grass is always greener on the other side.
40
@Richard B
Seems the expats profiled here are just fine with their new lawns. No need for sour grapes.
6
@Richard B It's the health care, not the grass, that attracts a lot of us.
9
@Richard B I like the saying, "the grass is greener where you water it". That said, some places really are better!
4
Medical care- my son cut his hand badly while in Mexico with college friends (too many Coronas during dinner prep...).
They tracked down a doctor who was eating dinner in a local restaurant. He took them to his office, cleaned the wound, sutured and bandaged it. When asked what the charges were, the doctor replied, “nothing- I am paid by the government.”
The three slightly-inebriated amigos left after giving him all of the money that they had on them- $17.00. He was grateful but perplexed at why they paid him.
I suggest a viewing of “Sicko” by Michael Moore. People in many countries are confused or amused when told Americans have to pay for health care.
535
@John E. So your suggestion is that physicians should be paid a low salary by the government, and be "on call" even during dinner, during which time they may be interrupted to go an take care of a patient? You're right, that's never going to fly in the US. Here, when specialists are on call, they get paid extra for that time, and generally an additional fee for having to actually go back to the hospital. When i'm off, I would like to be off, thank you very much.
24
@ED DOC
It's important to have boundaries to your work as a physician (or for any of us in any position) but the point of the story is that the system in Mexico allowed for a quick solution with personalized care at a very low cost. Our medical system is broken in the USA, so broken. My brother and his wife vacationed in England. She became ill, went to a local hospital, was treated for 2 days, and the cost? Zero! My brother and his wife are USA citizens with no British passports! Here patients have to decide to take either the heart attack prevention pills or their insulin because, frequently, they cannot afford drugs for both issues.
338
@John E. In 2013 my friend broke his collarbone in Spain while we were studying abroad. Upon admission to the “ER” they prioritized a wealthy clubgoer with an ankle sprain, then xrayed the wrong body part, then mixed his x rays up with another patient. Finally he was given some ibuprofen and told sleep it off. Not all care abroad is the same and I believe Spain is considered a first world country.
16
For Americans who (for what ever reason) decide to leave their are many countries who have immigration consultants who can assist you with applying to be a resident of the a country you pick.
8
There is no place like the USA and NYC
7
@Nycdweller Sorry, Paris is better (albeit still with tiny apartments). And we even have bagels and donut places now.
41
@Nycdweller
You can say that about many places.
And why would we want different places to be alike?
3
@Nycdweller
Really?
I lived over five years in NYC and prefer Mexico city. So, it is a matter of preferences.
4
"...they landed in Barcelona, without speaking a word of Spanish." Hundreds of thousands of residents in Barcelona don't speak Spanish, either, because Catalan is the dominant language. The writer really should know that.
237
@Richard Johnston
Not true. Every Catalan I've met also speaks Castellano. I live there 6 months a year, and getting by without speaking Catalan is no problem.
30
Catalan and Spanish are both spoken in Barcelona. I've encountered many people there who do not speak Catalan.
25
@Richard Johnston That is not accurate. Catalans do not speak Spanish because they choose to use their own language, Catalan. Spanish is mandatory as well for them, and they all know how to speak it. I believe that is what the author refers to. Few expats would choose to learn Catalan to communicate with local residents, as it is of little use outside Cataluña.
17
What is the difference between an Expat and an immigrant?
Color of skin? From a colonizing country and not?
28
Frankly, not a terribly realistic option for the vast majority of Americans. I had to chuckle as nearly every expat featured in this article was married to a spouse that already had citizenship in their newly-adopted country. And then the Barcelona expats who had EU citizenship through the wife's parents!
I lived in France for a year and it is not an easy thing to do. One is forbidden to work there...alas, my money eventually ran out and I returned to the US. I did not have the good fortune of a spouse with EU citizenship!
I am also struck by the obliviousness (willful ignorance?) of these expats extolling the virtues of AirBnB. Amazing how these arrivistes refuse to see how AirBnB has made their idyllic boltholes completely unaffordable, and homeownership impossible, for the locals.
486
@NYStriker We did it without the advantages of a spousal passport, family roots, etc ... it was a long bureaucratic grind but it can be done
20
@NYStriker A lot of AirBnB accomodation is still someone's spare room. I have stayed in AirBnbs in 10 countries in Europe staying with people who were just trying to make a bit of money on the side by 'renting' out an unused bedroom.
You are right with your concerns about people 'renting' apartments on the Airbnb platform which deprives locals of affordable rental accomodation. Many cities around the world are now addressing that concern.
14
Yeah and many people do not have jobs which can be done online.
12
In Barcelona they speak Catalan, not Spanish.
5
@Chris
I speak Spanish, vacationed in Barcelona, and found that the majority of residents in the central area of the city spoke Spanish. Possibly much more Catalan-only language in the countryside.
17
@Chris I am a university professor in Barcelona and have lived here for more than 30 years. My PhD dissertation, presented at Indiana University in the 1980s, was on Catalan. Speakers of Catalan in Spain are bilingual (Catalan and Spanish). Speakers of Spanish in Catalonia may be bilingual, but many are not despite years of public schooling primarily in Catalan. It is not accurate to say that Spanish is not spoken in Barcelona, although it is accurate to say that the language native to the area is Catalan.
75
@Chris My visits to Barcelona where I communicated in Castilian show that this statement is false. From the Barcelona English Wikipedia page: “ Spanish is the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to the linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it is understood almost universally. Catalan is also very commonly spoken in the city: it is understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% can speak it, 79% can read it, and 53% can write it.”
1
Generally a good article for getting started in Expat Life.
I was an International Banker for many years and have been an Expat on and off for over 30 years. (Most recently China). I also write about financial topics for Expats, Digital Nomads and Travelers, and also give seminars to tell them the good, bad and ugly about Living Abroad. (livingagloballifestyle).
It should be noted that the financial aspects for US Expats Living Abroad has become more and more complicated over the last 10 years with the introduction of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).
Also Health Insurance has become a huge issue. The Coronavirus will intensify the situation as more and more countries may require proof of medical insurance before travel or living abroad. Most Americans don’t even think about Health Insurance for foreign countries until something serious happens.
Transferwise and Xoom are excellent products/services, if you can use them in the country you are moving to. There are also potential issues of currency and money movement controls and the impact on one’s U.S. Credit History to consider before moving abroad.
37
@LRM Wholeheartedly agree. Taxes and insurance are the bane of my expat existence. For now, mostly taxes. (And then there's that darned second-language learning!)
10
Excellent points!
We Americans often think living abroad is like an exile, missing out on all that we love in our wonderful country. We see our overall quality of life, our creativity, and our long history of attracting immigrants as proof that we live in a special country.
And I agree!
But like millions of other Americans, I have come to realize that other countries offer their own diverse, special attractions that can provide a great quality of life. For me, it’s an Andalusian seaside town backed by a mountain park, with a healthy lifestyle, friendly people, a good social life, and excellent national healthcare.
With imagination, a sense of adventure and a taste for travel, active retirees can find their their own individual paradise while using modern communications and occasional air travel to keep touch with their home country roots. You need an open mind about change and adopting to different perspectives but moving abroad might just enrich your life!
68
@Ron Adam
Hmmmm
I came to the U. S. long time ago; but now, two of my nephews chose to work in Netherlands, do they emigrated from Mexico... free health system, no income tax for five years so you can find your place, and better salaries than in Canada or the States.
5
This is my exotic expat life after six years in Prague: I get up, walk to work; respond to emails (I do like the six hour head start on the East Coast); go to some meetings; walk to lunch, run errands, go back to work, go to the gym, maybe see a movie, go home, cook dinner, go to bed. Repeat.
Changing the scenery doesn't necessarily completely change your life. There are things I love about Europe, but also things I love about the US. As someone said, the more places you go, the more people you leave behind. And that is the real expat dilemma: you can't have it all
669
@christopher from prague
So well put. Thank you.
37
@christopher from prague Well said. I'm from Seattle which is a pretty nice place. Where I live now (the cheap seats in Versailles, France) is pretty nice, too. I sum up my expat experience this way:
Love where you're from, and bloom where you're planted.
209
@christopher from prague
Yes, you're correct. For those fortunate enough to have the options, pick what matches your situation and personality and lean heavily on international air travel. It is very true, however, that technology makes it MUCH easier to maintain contact (personal and financial) than was the case 20 years ago.
23
There are few things more annoying than the American expat who constantly reminds all their friends back home that they are expats.
Social media seems to have made experiences (eg restaurants, travel) our social currency, rather than materialistic objects as in years past.
Articles like these quoting people who talk about making their lives more interesting are pretty cringeworthy.
If you genuinely want to travel or live abroad, then do so. But when you constantly remind everyone back home how special you are for living abroad, you have to ask yourself whether you genuinely want to do so, or if this is just another manifestation of your desire to accumulate social capital.
126
It is a good practice for one’s mental and spiritual health not to attribute malice to people when they might have other motivations. I live overseas and frequently post about it on social media. I do this for several reasons:
1. To stay in touch with friends and family back home,
2. To share what I have learned about the places and cultures we visit (I used to be a teacher and love to share knowledge and experiences, and scores of my friends have said they appreciate these posts),
3. To provide another perspective on such US issues as healthcare, and
4. To express my love of natural beauty through photography.
Perhaps the people you are writing about have similar, equally benign or even kind, motivations.
109
@Expat
Possibly for some people accumulating social capital is a part of ANY of their behaviors. And yes, I absolutely agree that Vloggers' posts online about their travels can become tiresome. But remember that people travel to stretch themselves and this process is exciting, humbling, life changing, and when we awaken to a more expansive life than we had previously it is a natural desire to share the experience. Most of us know that trying to communicate with folks who prefer to "stay home" does not go far anyway since most do not want to hear long winded stories about traveling. Generally "ex pats" end up talking just among themselves.
25
Well-educated professionals streaming out. Uneducated, unskilled poor flooding in. Win-win.
6
@God Looks like the well-educated professionals streamed in, married here, finished professional training, streamed home. Go to any ER. Or clinic. You're going to see a lot of educated professionals born in other nations working and taking care of made-in-Americans and everyone else.
66
@God..... Deer Gawd, with the poor and dispossessed separated and caged at the border, the uppity and educated leaving in droves and a flood of oligarchs "investing" their laundered money in MAGA...you will truly inherit the win(d).
38
The love of new (life style, culture, food, people, etc.) drives Americans abroad. But first, learn one or more foreign languages, and learn to speak them without the American accent that denatures the pronounciation of the foreign tongues. Good luck!
13
Fully agree! That's why I speak six and pick up local lingo in countries where I don't. Such an important part of respect for other cultures I think.
12
@Tuvw Xyz
If one has moved to another country after the age of circa 11 years, good luck about eliminating an American accent. It rarely happens. Of course people appreciate it, if one speaks the native language well, but forget about losing your accent.
7
"Two years ago, Chuck Burgess and Kerstin Michaelsen were comfortably set up in New York City with good careers, a home in Manhattan and another in the Hamptons."
STOP RIGHT THERE - HOME IN THE HAMPTONS?
Oh well - another 99% of you need not read this one.
965
@rob blake
Studying how other people make the move abroad helps me focus as I make my decisions. For example, Mr. Burgess and Ms. Michaelsen decided to sell their U.S. properties. I hadn't considered selling my one home, but perhaps I should. Similarly, they are using financial service apps I never heard of and so perhaps I need to get up to speed. I can learn from people even if they are far wealthier than am I.
45
Yes, @rob blake ~
We must here be reminded of the constituency of our rather large private multinational corporations, which in turn provide for the current existence and form of The New York Times!
After all, Chuck and Kerstin want to see themselves in a 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' write-up in "The Newspaper of Record" as much as any other wealthy middle-age couple with enough money to turn the entire world into an extension of a trip to Disneyland.
23
@rob blake - that was my very first thought.
25
Dear Ms. Bortolot: In Barcelona the predominant language is Catalan not Spanish. You should study Franco's repression of Catalonia and the recent attempts at secession by Catalonia.
17
@joseph gmuca Thank you for reading the story and for your comment. The folks I interviewed are aware that Catalan is the dominant language there (as am I)—and we talked about this in our interviews. But they, and other Americans living in BCN whom I spoke with chose to learn Spanish.
35
I'm an expat myself, and I have to say this article is spot on! Technology definitely lets this happen. I started an online Spanish teaching company called Hablamos Today, and I'm glad I did it!
11
I loved reading this and it sounds wonderful - for others. We have large extended families, three adult children and three grandchildren very close by and I would never, ever move away from them. We socialize with our extended families and nobody ever moves too far away - Rhode Island is the furthest.
We do hope to do some travelling. I am concerned about the political climate in this country but at least I live in Massachusetts. Good luck to those who do this.
69
@Maureen
At last, an advantage to being a divorced Boomer with no kids and a small family remaining.
4
@Maureen Yes, these are the good reasons people do not leave. Also, some US cities offer a lot of culture, education, diversity, and values very similar to Europe's. Boston, Massachusetts, for example.
1
My wife and I have been thinking about an international move now that our kids are off at university. The biggest headache for me is trying to figure out the immigration and financial (tax) piece. This article serves as motivation to get serious on my research.
20
@LexDad The financial and tax parts are indeed the trickiest. I was someone who did my own taxes for 30 years. I now have an accountant in the US and another in Europe.
15
@christopher from prague
And you are no doubt paying a great deal of money to those accountants. Any US citizen considering moving abroad should take the tax regulations and reporting requirements VERY SERIOUSLY.
2
Unless I overlooked a section of the article , I saw no mention of HEALTH INSURANCE. Are these expatriates enrolled in the health plans provided in their new home countries , and if so, how? If not , how will they be covered when anything goes wrong health- wise?
50
@Phillyshrink Thanks for reading and for your question. We have a notation on this in the companion piece (link in the story) that addresses health insurance, which varies by country of destination.
17
@Phillyshrink Even if a person is not covered by health insurance, the prices for medical services in other countries are a fraction of what they are in the U.S. A friend of a friend once had her eggs frozen in a South American country for one-sixth what it would have cost her in the U.S., for example. Another friend fell ill with pneumonia in Denmark. The doctor visited her in her hotel room twice and prescribed antibiotics and other treatments. It cost her $250.
92
@Phillyshrink My health insurance premium for my family of three is now $36,000 per year. Let that sink in. That is the premium. It is by no means a plan that covers everything, there are deductibles and co-pays, exclusions and networks. If I was hospitalized I could easily be out of pocket another $10,000. Health care in this country is going to produce an existential crisis in the very near future.
649
Interesting that Ms. Duberman says that she and Mr. Fink aren't saving anything. What is going to happen when one of them gets seriously ill (please note, I'm saying WHEN and not IF)? And what about her father? Is he independently wealthy and able to afford help in the home when he needs it? Who's going to be there to make sure his care is adequate and he is not being abused, robbed or otherwise taken advantage of? It's fine to live abroad when one is young or has no parents about whom to worry (or is estranged from family). But the issue of eldercare and illness always rears its head. And, if not a citizen of that country, the ex-pat will have a problem with medical care costs. As one who has cared for aging parents, I can tell you it isn't necessarily a short-term situation: we cared for my 90-something father for two years when his health failed and have been caring for my 90-something mother for the past four years since his death. It's been a six year journey so far, making sure the aides don't steal, going to doctor appointments, doling out the medications, etc. Best of luck to those without these encumbrances. But for those who do, there are downsides.
42
@BA With all do respect you are making assumptions based upon a speculative, uninformed, jaundiced and fearful perspective. First of all I'm sorry for the difficulties you've been presented with but the community here has a well established expatriate population which offers mutual support and abusive, indifferent, and dishonest eldercare does not have a place in this culture. Secondly, the cost for healthcare here is a fraction of what it is in the U.S. and the quality is first rate and readily available without wait times. If something major happens which would incur higher cost I'm covered by Medicare in the States.
P.S. the system here is more enlightened than some places(hint, hint). They have nationalized healthcare at very low cost(based upon one's financial resources) which non-citizen residents had been entitled to. The system is presently being reworked(regarding non-citizen coverage) but we had been covered by it for two years and they'll eventually have it figured out.
85
@Richard Fink A friend spends three months a year in Costa Rica in a complex where many older people are cared for. The attitude of most other nations toward the elderly is far, far more respectful and caring than in the U.S. Many Americans have retired to Costa Rica because the cost of care is so much lower. (If my family's experience is any example, few people receive visitors in extended care anyway, as one doctor said, "Most of them are just hung out to dry.")
43
@annabellina Absolutely correct. We've never visited Costa Rica but have heard many good things. I'm under the impression that it's cost of living is s bit higher and the climate here is exceptionally superb.
15