Retirement on the horizon? Planning to move? Where?

Mz. Lady

Mz. Lady

New Member
Location
Arizona. South Carolina next? Mexico next?
I hope to retire at the end of this year and would like to move out of Arizona. I keep seeing videos on YouTube about how one can live on social security in Mexico, better than in the US. I feel the pull to go south of the border, more for a sense of adventure than finances; but have some apprehensions. Has anyone moved to Mexico, but returned to the US? What was the reason? If retirement is on the horizon for you, and you are thinking about moving, where are you thinking about going and why?
 

I wish I could offer personal experience, but from my research the cost of housing and the cost of living is certainly less expensive than in the US. From my visits there, the Mexican people are gracious and welcoming, and many in expat areas speak English.

I have a good friend who has a time-share condo in Puerto Vallarta. She loves Mexico because she lives in Seattle where it is constantly rainy. She just returned and said she would never move to Mexico because it is so darn hot. And it's a humid heat, not what you are used to in AZ.

Lots of things to consider.
 
If you're thinking about retiring in Mexico, check out the Lake Chapala area on the internet.
Very popular place for North American Expats. Climate is ideal with an average temp of 72 degrees year round. You're not on the ocean there but you are close to a lovely large lake if aquatic recreation is important to you. If your research on Lake Chapala tweaks your interest you might want to consider renting a vacation property there for a month or two before making any permanent commitment. That would give you an idea of what life is like there and time to look around at properties for sale if you're still interested.
 
I love Nevada so I am not going anywhere. Plus I have lived in 5 states and am sick of moving. If money was a concern I would move to a lower cost of living but wouldn’t move to another country.
 
Mz. Lady said:
Thanks for all of your input, bit no one addressed the second part of my post: "If retirement is on the horizon for you, and you are thinking about moving, where are you thinking about going and why?" (in the US)
Click to expand...

For me, retirement is no longer on the horizon, it is now fading into the past. In fact I'm a bit shook up that what used to be the attention-monopolizing future goal of retirement, and then the happy 'I retired last year' is now 'I retired two years ago', and before I know it retirement will be a dot in the past. It's a little disconcerting.

Before I retired I was watching YouTube videos about living in Mexico and other Central and South American locations. I had the vague intention of spending two or three months in Mexico and having Mexico as a backup if my finances were too low. I thought maybe I could alternate between the US and Mexico to extend my retirement funds without totally giving up living in my native country. (Also I lived abroad for 6 years when I was younger and experienced culture-shock, which is unpleasant)

I didn't think I'd be able to afford to live anywhere nice, but while I was frugally-traveling around the US after retiring, I discovered that the very expensive Washington DC area that I lived in and loved when I was younger, was actually affordable as a senior. I moved to a 55+ community and we don't have to pay the school part of property taxes, and we get a senior discount off our state taxes, and many of the condos are very affordable. So I only had to spend 40% of the money from selling my house in Nebraska to downsize to the condo, and most of the rest of the money went into beefing up my retirement fund (pushing it from a hold-your-breath-eyes-squeezed-shut level to an OMG-I-can-breathe level).
 
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