Posted on 07/17/2017 12:46:44 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org.
I’m seeing a yearning of many people around my age to return to a simpler time, like when we were growing up. My evidence: the hundreds of interviews I’ve done for Best Places in the World to Retire and the studies we did in which we asked expats about their lives abroad.
Interestingly, many Americans and Canadians have not only moved abroad partly to search for a life reminiscent of an earlier time, but quite a few tell me that they’ve found it — and in some very unlikely places, including Mexico, Panama, Belize and Nicaragua.
Here’s what they told us: Less government involvement
It may sound odd that the government in countries considered to be socialist would have less government involvement than in the U.S., but in the day-to-day lives of the locals, it’s true. Whether these governments would want to be more involved or not, they simply don’t have the resources to do so. That means locals find themselves doing some things that the federal and state governments often do in the U.S.
“Having the government less involved creates an entirely different dynamic than north of the border,” explains Dr. Santiago Hernandez, formerly from the Chicago area and now practicing in Ajijic, Mexico, on Lake Chapala. “If there’s a problem, most locals don’t expect the government to fix it, so they either live with it or fix it themselves. This creates more community cohesion and a feeling of involvement and belonging.”
While this is true of locals, it is even truer among expats, especially the “fix it themselves” part.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
do expats not have families here in the USA?....do they just leave their mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews and CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN???
For some the answer is they enjoy living somewhere exotic and different,. For others the answer, to your question is, no. No they do not.
Yeah, it's beautiful country nearby. Right now, it's just conceptual as I have at minimum 3 1/2 years before I can retire. My daughter has plans on going to work for a company here in Rochester that has a location in Parker, so she can transfer there, and my older son is a building maintenance mechanic and can find work anywhere. I lost my wife and the kids, their mom, to cancer last month and just planning for this move to Castle Rock is giving us all something to look forward to. It's been a tough time lately.
Do you travel to the interior of Maine much? I still see candles in the window at night in old cabins. Don’t mess with those Carolyn Chute folks - and, sorry, they do exist. I’ve seen more rebel flags in interior Maine than I have in South Carolina.
I live here...
99 year lease. This “private” seems to be more secure from seizure than it is in much of the US, though. The American idea of private property has eroded an awful lot to the point that you don’t own it. The government owns it but have some rights of occupation. The government tells you how you can use your land, what you can build on it and how you have to build it. In VN you don’t “own it” but you build what you want to build and are not subject to fees and the EPA and there are no Environmental groups or “rights” groups to interfere, no local ordinances and no HOAs.
I don't eat "out" that much.The lady who's family I stay with cooks deliciously. The first time I was there what was prepared for me was different from what the family ate and I was fed first. I had to insist that I got what the family got or conversely the family got what I got. I paid for it, of course. In 2003 they were very poor. Anh was nonplussed. I was both an American guest in a place that had not seen an American or any other foreigner in 30 years and I was of an age that got special respect. But she complied and we all ate very well- still do and we all eat at the same table at the same time.
I took them to a real upscale restaurant in Nha Trang once but Anh was not happy. That was kind of usurping her job, so I didn't do that again. Anh had made a deal with Thông when they married. She required that she would never have to work and in return she would keep the house perfectly. She does that, except that in the poverty days she and her sister spent many hours doing "in home" work, preparing raw food stuff for sale and taking it to market, making mango fritters and shaving rau muống(don't ask) but she has never worked for someone else.
I thought I was going to be an expat for real with wife along (she told me she was ready to go if...) and everything, but Trump won the election and we got a reprieve. I will shortly be back there, this time for a more extended stay. My granddaughter wants to go and with homeschooling that is possible. She is 11. Time for a bit of Geography and Comparative Culture.
Dad and Sis are on their own. I already gave the stepson more than he received from his mom and dad. And he is my executor.
No other issues, my Daughter has very large silver spoon.
Thank you.
A dear friend of mine is from Thailand and has been here over twenty years.
But in two years time she will be old enough for social security and will have her pension. She has had enough of Massachusetts people, the weather, and the taxes. She is going back to Thailand where she owns a home and has lots of family.
She told me what she is paying in Massachusetts property taxes, forced flood insurance ( on top of her house insurance), the regular house insurance and it’s close to $19,000.00 a year.
She is so happy she will return to Thailand and I wish her well. An unfriendly place like Massachusetts with about 4 months of nice weather and oppressive taxes... yeah, I’d leave too.
I could fade into the sunset in Thailand with what I’ll get in a few years with only social security, never mind my life’s savings. Could put away all my life’s savings for our remaining son.
But there are catches - visa issues, periodic reporting every 90 days and such. Not at all like illegal immigrants in the USA. No benefits, no protection of law.
And we already own a paid-for house or two, or she does.
Ugh. Very sorry to hear that.
Best of luck with the plan.
Thanks! It gives us something to look forward to.
After my recent trip to Spain, I definitely want to live there for at least a few years. I am looking at the Costa Brava Region, maybe around the Girona area.
The Mayan Riviera is in Quintana Roo, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea.
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