As tax time approaches many of us may think that it might be an option to live outside of Canada. My friends and I were talking about that recently. By moving to another country the idea is that you could instantly increase your retirement spending power. My neighbour lives in Costa Rica for a time every year and claims it is far cheaper than living in Canada.
In Canada, we have many seniors, who we call Snowbirds, who travel south for the winter. Canadian law allows us to stay out of the country for up to almost 6 months without losing our health benefits. Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Panama all enjoy far better climate than we do, and much lower costs of living.
According to International Living Magazine, you can live on one-half to one-third what you could in any Canadian city and have a good lifestyle in any one of their top places to retire to in the world. Here is a partial list of places they recommend Peru, Spain, Nicaragua, Portugal and the number one place in the world to retire is Costa Rica. For the full list go here
The federal government offers primers on retiring abroad (https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad and find the link “Retirement Abroad”). This government site also offers many other great sources of information about living and retiring abroad. For example, they have some interesting information about coping with Culture Shock and paying taxes.
Another source of information is The Canadian Snowbird Guide by Douglas Gray. As we talked about the idea of retiring in another cheaper country, a friend suggested that it may be a good idea, but until you have lived in another country for a while, it might not be a good idea to pack up and leave permanently. His suggestion is to try out a destination before making any permanent decisions. Rent a home for a year and see what daily life is like. If it matches or exceeds your expectations, you may be able to afford the retirement of your dreams on far less money than you expected.
In Canada, we have many seniors, who we call Snowbirds, who travel south for the winter. Canadian law allows us to stay out of the country for up to almost 6 months without losing our health benefits. Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Panama all enjoy far better climate than we do, and much lower costs of living.
According to International Living Magazine, you can live on one-half to one-third what you could in any Canadian city and have a good lifestyle in any one of their top places to retire to in the world. Here is a partial list of places they recommend Peru, Spain, Nicaragua, Portugal and the number one place in the world to retire is Costa Rica. For the full list go here
The federal government offers primers on retiring abroad (https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad and find the link “Retirement Abroad”). This government site also offers many other great sources of information about living and retiring abroad. For example, they have some interesting information about coping with Culture Shock and paying taxes.
Another source of information is The Canadian Snowbird Guide by Douglas Gray. As we talked about the idea of retiring in another cheaper country, a friend suggested that it may be a good idea, but until you have lived in another country for a while, it might not be a good idea to pack up and leave permanently. His suggestion is to try out a destination before making any permanent decisions. Rent a home for a year and see what daily life is like. If it matches or exceeds your expectations, you may be able to afford the retirement of your dreams on far less money than you expected.
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