According to the Retirement Readiness Survey created by the life insurance company of Dutch life, around 15% of American workers wish to retire in another country. Many retirees have already started doing it. As it turns out, more than 444,000 retired workers have earned Social Security Benefits after moving abroad in 2021, according to the SSA.
If you are someone that is an American ex-pat or is soon to be an ex-pat, you are in the right place! Today we will talk about some cities across the world that require less than $2,000 for the average living cost.
Top 10 International Countries With An Average Living Cost Under $2,000
- Melbourne, Australia – $1,968
- UAE – $1,899
- Stockholm, Sweden – $1,802
- Berlin, Germany – $1,761
- Montreal, Canada – $1,727
- Tokyo, Japan – $1,698
- Rome, Italy – $1,546
- Madrid, Spain – $1,445
- Lagos, Nigeria – $1,417
- São Paulo, Brazil – $948
Besides living costs, there are several other factors that one needs to consider before retiring in another country. Below are some of the things to consider. Keep reading!
Visa Requirements
If you decide to move to another country after retirement, you must check out the visa requirements of every single country you are considering. Getting permanent residency in another country is not as easy as getting a visit visa. A 6 to 8-month visa is generally inexpensive and easy to acquire.
However, before applying for permanent residency, one needs to know that it is much more expensive and also involves a much longer process. Another thing to note is that many countries have a requirement of living on their soil for a few years before getting your permanent residency.
Property Ownership
It is important to note that the real estate business and house shopping standards are very different in other countries compared to the United States. Some countries require a person to have permanent residency to buy a house, while others seem to have restrictions on where a foreigner is buying a property.
Make sure to get all of the requirements down, so you don’t have to face any complications later on.
There’s no doubt that securing finance and buying a house abroad can be a huge challenge, but if you do end up buying one in another country after you have retired, it is probably wise for you to get estate planning documents such as trusts, wills, powers of attorney, etc.