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Americans are retiring to Vietnam, for cheap healthcare and a decent standard of living
LA Times ^
| DEC. 25, 2019
| RALPH JENNINGS
Posted on 12/26/2019 10:47:33 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT
After his military career, Rockhold worked as a defense contractor, operating mostly in Africa. He first returned to Vietnam in 1992 to work on a program to help economic refugees. He settled in Vietnam in 1995, the same year the United States and Vietnam normalized relations. He married a Vietnamese woman in 2009.
In fact, he liked it so much that he persuaded his mother to move to Vietnam from Santa Maria, Calif., also in 2009.
She came for the wedding, and decided to stay, he said with a laugh. She lived in Vietnam until her death in 2015 at 94.
Vietnam has relaxed visa rules to lure American retirees like Rockhold, along with their savings.
Remarkably, he said, some of his friends are Americans who never served in Vietnam. The cost of living is so low, he said. Its a communist country, but if I blindfolded you and put you in downtown Saigon, you wouldnt know it.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: california; expats; retirement; rvn; vietnam; vietname
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To: DUMBGRUNT
Awesome Example of In-Your-Face Communist Propaganda!
41
posted on
12/26/2019 11:23:12 AM PST
by
SuperLuminal
(Where is Sam Adams now that we desperately need him)
To: devane617
VN, just like the Caribbean islands and Mexico are ok until the third-world dictator decides you are not welcome and kicks you out while keeping your bank account. Which is why you keep your financial assets in the US, so that they can't kick you out without also losing your cash flow.
42
posted on
12/26/2019 11:28:14 AM PST
by
PapaBear3625
("Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -- Voltaire)
To: Leep
She moved at 89 years old...
43
posted on
12/26/2019 11:28:22 AM PST
by
MortMan
(Americans are a people increasingly separated by our connectivity.)
To: PapaBear3625
Yep, with proper risk management foreign retirement is a risk worth taking. That’s the upside of plastic money.
To: PGR88
I only got small bits of stories of how they suffered after 1975.They still fear the re-education camps which probably still exist.
They make them work in Nike shoe factories while listening to Colin Kaepernick tell them how bad America is.
45
posted on
12/26/2019 11:31:06 AM PST
by
oh8eleven
(RVN '67-'68)
To: NorseViking
Yes, it is a huge risk as things might get ugly in these places real fast. all in all you may have a huge marble floor oceanview penthouse with latest appliances for $200k and eat out on best seafood under a thousand per month for now. I would be leery of trying to own real estate in the Third World. Better to rent from a property owner who is connected to local power brokers.
46
posted on
12/26/2019 11:32:56 AM PST
by
PapaBear3625
("Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -- Voltaire)
To: PapaBear3625
OK, I assume you should never buy property and always rent.
47
posted on
12/26/2019 11:35:01 AM PST
by
devane617
(Kyrie Eleison, where I'm going, will you follow?)
To: DUMBGRUNT
Its a communist country, but if I blindfolded you and put you in downtown Saigon, you wouldnt know it.I bet I would. No thanks.
From Wikipedia: Vietnam
Firearms in Vietnam are restricted to the military and law enforcement agencies, with possession of firearms prohibited to civilians. The chief exception to this is for hunting and sporting purposes, requiring users to undergo mandatory background checks to be licensed.
To: DUMBGRUNT
My health care is extremely cheap - I haven’t seen a doctor professionally for years.
I last had health insurance in 1993.
Medicare Part B is something like $144.60/month for 2020, less if Medicaid help is available in your state.
To: DUMBGRUNT
but if I blindfolded you and put you in downtown Saigon, you wouldnt know it. Pretty much goes for anyplace if you are blindfolded.
50
posted on
12/26/2019 11:42:47 AM PST
by
eartick
(Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
To: DUMBGRUNT
A friend of ours retired to Costa Rica and he raves about the health care. World class and 75% cheaper.
51
posted on
12/26/2019 11:43:24 AM PST
by
Drango
(1776 = 2020)
To: bigdaddy45
Many expat retirees are now leaving Bangkok for Vietnam because of baht (currency) appreciation.
52
posted on
12/26/2019 11:43:55 AM PST
by
polymuser
(It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and so few by deceit. Noel Coward)
To: NorseViking
“foreign retirement is a risk worth taking”
I don’t even trust domestic governments.
To: DUMBGRUNT
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, any white person who visited Vietnam had to learn the phrase không phải Liên Xô (I am not a Soviet) because the Vietnamese people soon came to heartily hate the Soviet troops, sailors, technicians, advisers and chekisti who flooded into the country following the Communist takeover. Fortunately for Western visitors, this is no longer necessary.
To: PapaBear3625
I understand it but Turkey has a pretty decent record on the rule of law regarding private property. Also property taxes favor ownership vs rent. Their economy is pretty much dependent on German amd Russian retirees coming essentially to have a better life than they might afford at home for their social security. It is not a golden goose the Turks would kill that easily.
To: devane617
OK, I assume you should never buy property and always rent. I currently own my home, because I feel secure against arbitrary confiscation. If my state turns more Blue, that feeling might change.
56
posted on
12/26/2019 11:47:27 AM PST
by
PapaBear3625
("Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -- Voltaire)
To: Fiji Hill
Bull, the Russians and French are the most welcome. Although the hostility towards the Americans has long gone.
To: DUMBGRUNT
Its a communist country, but if I blindfolded you and put you in downtown Saigon, you wouldnt know it. The first time you stand up to government oppression, you'll know it.
58
posted on
12/26/2019 11:58:23 AM PST
by
OrangeHoof
(The Democrats - Unafraid to burn in Hell.)
To: OrangeHoof
All in all South Asia is for the folks who know what it is. Currently, Vietnam is much better than Thailand. More vibrant, more affordable and so on.
To: DUMBGRUNT
I didn’t think they were all that pleasant. Especially after they put an RPG in a friend of mine’s ACAV.
60
posted on
12/26/2019 12:09:11 PM PST
by
from occupied ga
(Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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