Cheapest Places to Live 2009

In a recent report we highlighted the fact that expats are feeling the pinch just like their peers onshore and back home, this credit crunch is biting the butts of us all it seems and eating equally fast into our disposable incomes and our savings.  Therefore, because you’re not immune to fiscal downsides, should you even consider an escape abroad?

Well yes, in our humble opinion and that of almost all expatriates surveyed by a leading international bank – because after all money isn’t everything!  These expats who were surveyed cited the fact that yes, times were tougher overseas in some ways because of fluctuating exchange rates and inflation, but that no, they were not returning to the UK any time soon because life abroad was just sooooo good!

This has led us to realise that what you perhaps need to know more than anything is where are the cheapest places to live in 2009?  After all, it’s clear that expats already abroad do think the grass is greener on most other levels apart from the fiscal one, so if we can help sort out your money woes, you can pack your bag and head out in search of a better life abroad.

Working Abroad and Living Cheaply in 2009

Well the good news is actually, almost anywhere is cheaper to live than the UK as long as you’re earning in the local currency!  So, let’s look at Europe first.  We’re all only too acutely aware that a British pound buys you pants all euros at the moment, which is making life abroad in Europe very hard for pensioners on fixed incomes for example.  It is equally hard for those who are earning in pounds perhaps, or watching their savings and investments dwindling in real terms as they are valued in pounds, and yet the investor is planning on spending the asset in euros.

However, never forget that even countries like Spain offer a more affordable quality of life in real terms for Britons who are earning in euros.  Therefore, if you’re going to be working overseas, make sure you’re going to be earning in a dominant currency in 2009.  You will then be far less impacted by the higher costs of living abroad.  Taking Spain as our example, nope, it is not cheap to go on holiday to Spain at the moment, however if you’re going to move to the nation to live and work, and you’re going to be earning in euros, you can find an affordable place to live within a reasonable commute time to your work and as long as you live as the locals do, shop where the locals shop and don’t hanker after British produce and imported goods, you’ll have the quality and standard of life you’re seeking for less.

Retiring Abroad and Living Cheaply in 2009

If you’re retiring abroad then you need to look at things differently and in the longer-term.  For example, if you’d planned on retiring to Spain then yes, you may be able to bag yourself a bargain property in relative terms in the Spanish market, but because the British pound has flagged against the euro, all the gains you’d make from the property crash in Spain you’d lose because of the currency issues.  What’s more, your pound based pension would get eaten up in everything from taxes to higher costs for food, drink and even your utilities if you remained in Spain.  So, how about looking at countries where we Britons are wanted in retirement – wanted so much that we’re offered the chance to live there tax free?

Both Malaysia and Belize have retired persons’ incentive programmes to attract the likes of Brits and Americans to their shores.  They will allow you to live there 100% tax free if you meet the criteria of their programmes – which are straight forward with you have to be over a certain age, earn a certain yet realistic and reasonable amount in monthly pension income and not be planning on working for a living in the new nation when you move there for example.

The cost of living in Belize in 2009 is far, far cheaper than the cost of living in the UK, and even when you add in a long haul flight to get there you will see that actually, you can live for far less in Belize than you could if you stayed in the UK.  A nation like Belize is also up and coming in terms of what it offers expatriates moving to live there – the cities are stunning and sophisticated, yet you can get so far off the beaten track that you can really get back to basics too.  And Belize is a stunning nation with a developing tourism market where we Brits can enjoy an excellent standard and quality of life for far, far less.

Cheap Destinations for 2009

Newly emerging destinations on the expatriate wish list are also worth looking at if you want a cheap cost of living – think about Morocco and Tunisa for example, both are relatively affordable on the day-to-day living scale, with properties and rental rates also within reach for most people.  Brazil is another country where the cost of living is within reach, and if you’re flying so far away then think about Argentina where property is for sale at a fraction of the cost it is in the UK.  The secret to finding a cheap place to live in 2009 therefore is to think off the beaten track a little, and don’t necessarily look to the usual expatriate haunts abroad.