Are you perhaps at a stage in life when you’re fortunate enough to be able to consider how you want to spend your retirement years? Maybe you’ve already reached retirement and you’re contemplating your options seriously now you have more time on your hand to do so?
Perhaps as part of all this thinking time you’re wondering about whether it makes sense for you to retire abroad or not? After all, it’s certainly a popular option for today’s baby boomers because international travel is so much easier and more affordable than ever before.
If you’re not sure whether living overseas would suit you or whether you’d get what you want from a new life abroad in retirement, we’ve produced a report to help you determine whether a life overseas is right for you at this time in your life. We will look at the pros and the cons as well as the things you need to think about personally to determine whether a new life abroad is the right path for you to take or not.
If you’ve not spent your entire life dreaming about a new life overseas and it’s only really now that you’re thinking about it seriously, you certainly have a lot of catching up to do in terms of working out whether life as an expat is right for you or not. A lot of people relatively suddenly contemplate the option of relocating overseas the nearer they get to retirement. In part perhaps it’s a knee jerk reaction for those who cannot wait to get out of the working environment and as far away from the everyday reality of their current life as possible!
However, a great deal of very serious thought needs to go into determining whether is does really make sense for you to retire abroad or not before you begin planning your relocation in depth! So, let’s lay out the top 10 pros and the cons of retiring overseas first, that way you can quickly assess whether the idea could be a goer for you or not.
The Pros of Retiring Abroad
1) You can go in search of better weather
2) You may be able to achieve a better quality of life abroad
3) You may be able to find a more affordable cost of living overseas
4) You can perhaps fulfil a dream of owning a villa or apartment overlooking the sea
5) You may enjoy better health as a result of living in a more temperate climate
6) You can perhaps enjoy better cuisine overseas
7) If you’re living in a better climate you can enjoy more outdoor pursuits
8) You can absorb a new language and culture and expand your horizons as a result
9) Perhaps you can take your family with you and introduce them to a new and better way of life
10) You can enjoy access to a wealth of offshore and expatriate financial advantages that have the potential to make your wealth go far further
The Cons of Retiring Abroad
1) You will leave your established network of friends and acquaintances behind
2) You may miss being in close, daily or regular contact with your family
3) You won’t necessarily be able to see your grandchildren growing up
4) Your new life abroad will bring a lot of unfamiliarity into your world and result in you feeling unsettled for a period of time whilst you adjust to your new life
5) You may have to learn a new language and adjust to a new religion being dominant perhaps
6) You will have to work hard to make new friends and fit into a new and foreign community
7) Perhaps you won’t have free access to such good healthcare as you can get in the UK
8) Your British State Pension may be frozen depending on where in the world you retire to
9) If you make the move and commit to a new life abroad but discover you don’t like it, or if circumstances dictate and you have to move back home, you could lose out financially speaking
10) The reality of your new life may fall far short of the dream and leave you facing a retirement of dissatisfaction.
How Can You Decide What’s Right for You?
There are many things you can do to help you work out whether retirement abroad is right for you or not, and here are the top 10 things you can consider doing to help you work out whether you would like to live overseas in retirement or not: -
1) Speak to your spouse or partner about their gut feelings and see whether you share common ground
2) Discuss your thoughts with your close family – remembering that they will also have a very strong agenda to perhaps persuade you to stay!
3) Speak to friends about what they feel about living abroad, ask anyone you know who has lived overseas for their experiences and views
4) Get on the Internet and see if you can find fellow individuals contemplating a retirement abroad on expatriate forums for example – discuss your thoughts with these people and welcome their feedback
5) Go overseas to a country you may be considering living in, spend a few weeks there out of the peak tourism season. See how the place changes from when you’re just holidaying to when you’re thinking of living there
6) Draw up your own personal pros and cons list, detailing all the things you can think of in support of and against a move abroad in retirement
7) Compare your list with that of your spouse or partner’s if you have one – see which view is perhaps dominant
8) If you personally know anyone who has moved abroad and is living overseas as an expatriate, consider asking them if you can visit. You can then witness first hand how their life has changed from when you knew them when they lived in the UK
9) If you’re starting to err on the side of wanting to retire abroad and you have a location in mind it’s time to spend even more time in the country, consider renting a property for a couple of months – ideally at a couple of different times of the year – and get to know more about what it’s like living abroad rather than just holidaying there
10) Whilst you’re overseas seek out expatriates and ask them for their opinions, advice and any feedback, whether it’s good or bad
Finally, whilst your family may be against you going and you may meet those on forums or abroad who pour cold water on your idea, if you’re still dead set on moving abroad realise that everyone has their own agenda when seeking to advise you. The bottom line is, you and your partner or spouse have to be 100% sold on the idea and happy with the thought of living abroad in retirement. If you are happy, then it’s time to make a plan and get moving!
