Tuesday, January 24, 2012
“Retire in Paradise on $30 a Day”
The above was the message on the subject line of an e-mail I received today. I’ve seen that promise many times before. The e-mail itself starts out, “Six months from now, you could have your own beachfront bungalow… even a housekeeper and gardener… and plenty leftover for dining out, theater, travel…In the right places overseas, you can live not just comfortably – but well – for as little as $30 a day. No kidding.”
Do not believe this
Look, $30 a day is $10,950 a year. The lowest-cost places I know of are in rural Mexico and in rural Ecuador. By “rural” I mean living like natives, with few if any expats in sight. I know some married couples in both those countries who do live on that amount per year but they are volunteer missionaries experienced in self-sacrifice. Not one of them would dream of referring to their standard of living as “paradise.”
For the average couple who wish to live in a city with expat communities, $60 a day is a more realistic goal, and $90 a day is my recommendation.
Permanent residency will be required
First, forget about privacy. Second, you’d better be able to prove you have at least a certain guaranteed income each month. Third, you may have to invest in a business or —as in Ecuador — deposit at least US$25,000 in an Ecuadorian bank and leave it there as long as you are a resident. And fourth, you will not be allowed to take a job in your new country, with the possible exception of teaching English. (A friend of ours in Jocotepec, Jalisco, Mexico earns $5 an hour teaching English.)
However …
I am not saying you shouldn’t move to a foreign land—far from it! It’s a great experience —especially for couples with small children—but you must be willing to endure the culture shock, and not expect to live in paradise “on $30 a day.”
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Great post Luna.
ReplyDeleteDo you know that the average retirement payment in Germany is 800 Euro per month?
Yes, you can live on 30 US$ per month. Not in luxury but decent. And on 10 grant I can live in NYC if need be. Obviously I can live much more convenient in a place where 10k buy more.
We live on 30 bucks a day in the USA, and we have no debts and our house is paid for. Both of us had crappy jobs that didn't pay much either, but luckily my partner knows how to do a lot of things himself.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that you aren't allowed to get a job in a different country if you move there.
I disagree.
ReplyDeleteYou can live on $30 per day in certain countries, and I've done it in both Thailand and Laos. If I really wanted to live on a tight budget to pay off debt or save an emergency fund, I could live on half of that.
Consider that you can get a place for around $60 per month in certain areas of Thailand if you shop around and have simple needs. My friend from Norway rents a 2-bedroom house in the Northern Thailand countryside for $150 per month. A nice fully-furnished condo that borders on luxury can be had for $200 - $300; other Thai expats may argue with me but it's typically that they would rather take the easiest place that comes along rather than shop around.
Meals can be had for $1 - $2 each, if you so choose, and then you'll have money to splurge a few days a week on going out to somewhere nice. Many expats say that means eating local cuisine for every meal, which they raise their nose at. Well, that's their choice.
You can buy a motorbike for $1500 outright or rent one for $60 a month. Gas can easily be limited to $3 per week.
Or alternatively, you can live in a walkable area.
A nice car or a driver would kill the budget, but that's a choice.
I won't break down an entire budget, but I think you get the point.
Will you live a life of luxury for $30 per day? No, but everything we do is a choice. This choice is very doable for those willing to make sacrifices here and there. And when do the most sensible of us not make sacrifices to live within our means?
A budget-minded person could live a very nice, comfortable life in Southeast Asia at that level. In Cambodia, things are even cheaper.