We are going to make a exploratory look at Uraguay, Argentina and Chile in the next few years for retirement.

We had thought that we would retire in Australia, but the cost of living will eat us alive. We did 3 wonderful years there, and while we like it a lot, we can't see how we would survive. Australia requires almost as much for a retiree to invest as Switzerland does.

My wife is fluent in Spanish, I speak passible Spanish and we are thinking hard about looking in Argentina, Chile and Uraguay.

Our kids will be in middle school, they have already lived in 3 countries and will want to stay with us in the area.

I like Wyoming weather, my wife likes more like Arizona.

What are some good resources?

If you like catching salmon and huge brown trout, Chile is hard to beat. Just study a map of the seismic zones.

I have a friend who lives half the year in Chile and half in the states. He's been trying to sell his properties in Chile for several years and move to the states full time. He said Chile is a beautiful country. The problem is high theft and the laws cater to the natives. Your rights are similar to a third class citizen. If you decide to do it, make sure to rent for three years minimum before you buy and be stuck with a property you can't sell. Just personally, I would pick Argentina instead. Uraguay hunting is limited in comparison.
Have you considered New Zealand. Year round hunting and fishing opportunities etc..

In the states, look at mountain towns like Prescott AZ. about 5,000 feet elevation, good weather and friendly people. If you get into archery, you will have unlimited hunting.
Another town is Cedar City Ut. with similar attributes.
Best of luck to you.

New Zealand wants as much money as Australia does to invest.

A bow is about as interesting as a shovel to me. I used to shoot competitve archery in junior high and high school 25 years ago. I just am not interested in it.

I understand. Take your annual vacations to those countries of your interest and see what transpires.

I spent most of my adult life living and/or working in Latin America. In my current job, I still spend a lot of time working there. My wife and I are both fluent in Spanish. I love Latin America, the people and the culture. However, there is no place like the good old USA. We have our problems but everyone else has more. To live a lifestyle in LATAM comparable to what most of us are accustomed to in the US is quite expensive. Feel free to PM me if you would like to pick my brain on the topic.

Safe travels...........Larry

I loved living in Chile and spent a couple of years there. However, this was in the 90's and I am sure things have changed. However, I would never live there with my family. As 99% of the people are great, the 1% would be a threat. Very political and there is/was a lot of resentment towards Americans.

Cheaper is not always better IMO...

I will pay the extra to live in the states for sure!!

Small town USA
Lots of these countries sound and look great until you have to live there full time
Then you get cured real quick and go back to good old US of A

the only Spanish speaking country i would live in is Costa Rica. i love the place.

I live in a small rural city in the middle of Pampas ,we ride horses ,hunt year round ,drink chat and prepare asados in the Medical Officers Club .Our birds seasons are year round ,we fish too ,have several farms and live like old colonial days .Very quiet .Patagonia is better yet almost not people and beautifull scenary .We have an island there .I travel once a year to visit friends and family in USA , Europe and South Africa.I love my family friends and life .

I have owned a small farm in Uruguay since 2004.I am there about 10 weeks per year. Contact me whith any questions you have.

I live partof the year in Punta del Este ,Uruguay great country .

I might be too idealistic for many to think about.

We have lived all over the world, just part of life I guess.

For me, it would have to be in argentina and in the more southern provinces. My very favorite would be Rio Negro. Four seasons, beautiful country. Were I a bit younger I would head for
San Carlos de Bariloche or any of the small pueblos along the lake, Lago Nahuel Huapi.
The norhtern provinces also have a lot to offer but I want four seasons. Google San Carlos de Bariloche. If you have a guest house, write me...

Considering that Argentina has a habit of bank account confiscation, I would avoid it unless you just like handing your money over to governments.

Uruguay and Chile are MUCH safer havens. But if you like earthquakes and volcanoes, then you will love Chile hands down.

I wonder what the cost would be to own a South American farm- 60-100 acres. It's an interesting prospect. I looked at a game farm on the other side of the world, Namibia. I was surprised at how inexpensive it was.

But, not sure if the risk is worth the reward.

Owning homes and other residential assets generally is not an issue in most countries as the US citizen. The problem comes in attempting to open a bank account as a US citizen. Many countries will not take your money as it opens them to inspection by the US State Department and Treasury. No bueno.

Owning farm land is fraught with even more resistance as farms are seen as Sovereign land. For instance the reason why Namibian farmland is so cheap is the government can decide they want the property for resettlement. If it happens, you are SOL; you will be forced to sell the property and any improvements therein are lost.

Our wonderful government has made it very difficult to own anything outside this country. Also, your tax reporting becomes quite a nightmare. Expect to shell out a bunch of $$$$ to CPAs to ensure you are in compliance. Before you go down this road, sit down with a tax lawyer who deals with international business. They can give you the skinny once you decide what and where.

At the end of the day, lots of folks simply decide to rent foreign property for an extended time and forgo the ownership nightmare.

Long long ago, it was simpler to form a native corporation or an Panamanian one and have that own the local real estate

The talk of land confiscation in Namibia is heartbreaking. Where has it ever worked?
That said, if my people were Herero, I would likely still be furious with the Germans.
Back to Latin America, I have a friend who is a retired flight controller and he is very happy in Costa Rica.

Here we still live like old Kenia days ,we can hunt year round land is still not ver expensive ,we can play polo have horses ,mny dogs and servants for nothing ,fishing is great ,and in rural cities security is very good ,and everybody has a gun .Wines are great so beef ,beers are very good too .if you enjoy the outdoors Argentina is a great place .
Cheers Juan

quote:

Originally posted by juanpozzi:
Here we still live like old Kenia days ,we can hunt year round land is still not ver expensive ,we can play polo have horses ,mny dogs and servants for nothing ,fishing is great ,and in rural cities security is very good ,and everybody has a gun .Wines are great so beef ,beers are very good too .if you enjoy the outdoors Argentina is a great place .
Cheers Juan

X2

Should you decide to retire there, there are a lot of requirements for US citizens with foreign bank accounts to report to US authorities. These are quite onerous. It is easy for one to find themselves in serious violation with massive penalties. Be careful.

I have spent over half my life as an ex-pat. Everyplace has problems, you can't run away from them but you can try.

We have areas we like, and lots of areas we don't in America.

Thanks to the refugee crisis Europe is different this time than it was when I lived here 2003-2007.

Mostly I worry about my children.

With a few dolars you live like a king here ,trust me ,everyone is invited to share and asado at my house .
Cheers Juan

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Small town USA
Lots of these countries sound and look great until you have to live there full time
Then you get cured real quick and go back to good old US of A

People are sold on the idea their retirement will be a fairy tale, not so. At some point, you're gonna get sick and need the services of first class medical care. You ain't gonna find it, in the hills of some third world country. Even our Canadian snow birds, keep one foot at home, so they can scurry back home, when they get sick.

Grizz

Have not lived out of America but travelled due to business and other reasons many, many places and always glad to be back in "the States." With the distinct possibility of serious threats coming our way in the future(possibly near future) I would opt to stay here. Check out Monroe County, WV for land/farms, rolling hills, bordering on Virginia, remote but not remote and if you fancy the finest in southern luxury only a few miles from The Greenbrier Hotel. If you prefer higher elevation check out the area in Pocahontas County, rugged country with some of if not the most popular ski slopes in the East. Good hunting, deer and bear, birds, etc. Friends have cabins, houses in these two areas and also have those from foreign lands move there for it is secluded and not bothered by anyone yet medical treatment when needed is not a hassle. West Virginia is a no permit needed State for handguns, liberal hunting seasons, and excellent trout fishing as well. Yes your friends will call you a "red neck" and look down on you, but like my friends who have "migrated" to the Mountain State just smile and don't encourage any others to move in on them, want to keep it just the way it is. Just a suggestion.

I have lived in Maine, Washington, Washington DC, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, California, Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona and spent over 12 years of my life overseas in 8 different countries.

I have never once felt comfortable in the South or Appalachia. We have bad experiences in churches and out of them. Even in California in the Mojave Desert I could drive 20 or 30 minutes and shoot to 3500 yards. Hard to find that back east.

New Englanders have been very friendly, my fellow Westerners have welcomed me home from my travels every time I have been overseas.

Who knows where we will end up. Every

A friend was looking at moving to Isla Mujeres,Mexico. He was going to be required to be in the U.S. once a year to keep his U.S. citizenship. He was going to fly to Miami once a year to keep it. Would you be in the same boat?

Never heard of that before.

I don't think anyone can take away your US Citizenship.

I have heard of losing your residency and citizenship eligibility for not returning to the US annually (my sister in law lost it) but not citizenship. Me and other members of my family have stayed outside the US for more than a year with no problems.

There might be something to that. I know a lot of retired Americans that live over here in Germany (heeps).

My nephew lives in Colima Mexico, married to a Mexican with 3 children and he is on Visa and has to renew it and show up in the US once a year. I have spoken to him about getting out of there for fear of Kidnapping either him or his children. He does show concern when he travels, stays on main highways and only travels during daylight....not my cup of tea

quote:

Originally posted by raamw:
My nephew lives in Colima Mexico, married to a Mexican with 3 children and he is on Visa and has to renew it and show up in the US once a year. I have spoken to him about getting out of there for fear of Kidnapping either him or his children. He does show concern when he travels, stays on main highways and only travels during daylight....not my cup of tea

Hmm, do you go into Chicago at night?

I don't drive into parts of LA I am not familiar with at night. We don't stop in truckstop towns in the Mojave desert at night.

22 kids died in Britain last night at a concert. About the same number of people were murdered in America in an average day.

Doing stupid stuff anywhere can get you killed.

What scares me about South America is no matter where you go you are going to have to pay a certain percentage of your income for protection. You have the same issue here in the US but in the form of taxes. I would also consider access to good medical facilities because you will not always have your health.

Whether it is the cartel or a government, you will have to pay someone. I have done a good bit of traveling and feel fortunate to have the opportunities we have here in the U.S. That said, my entire family was looking at alternatives during this last election. We can not sustain with another increase in death or property taxes. Land is important to us and the thought was that we would sell out and move if we could not afford to keep it here. We discovered that owning land in many foreign countries is not as easy as it seems.

Northern panama near David looked pretty nice to me.

Ocean, mountains, greenery, tropical but not as bad as Florida. Very pretty.

After 65 you will be in us for healthcare as Medicare is not international.

I think panama with 3 hr flight to Florida or Texas is a pretty nice place.

Only think appealing about living international for me is cheap labor - someone to maintain prosperity and do housework. Labor in us is very expensive. Everything else is very cheap.

Mike

Well it sounds like you like Germany and the climate, but have reservations about safety. Have you ever visited/considered the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia/W. Va. Also the Harrisburg/Gettysburg area of Pennsylvania? Very similar to Germany in land forms and climate. Rolling country, rocky rivers and wide open spaces. Easy access to city centers if you desire that.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
There might be something to that. I know a lot of retired Americans that live over here in Germany (heeps).

Buy a house on a high hill, that way you can watch a yearly revolution!

Ain't no place like home! Texas Big Bend around Alpine or Ft. Davis is Gods country. Shootouts for cussing in front of a woman or not taking your hat off in a restaurant, but no revolutions!

Food for thought
http://www.vocativ.com/underwo...-kidnapped-vacation/

Reading this thread sure makes me appreciate everything that I have here in the STILL FREE STATE OF MONTANA!

Spent some time in Buenos Aires this past month for work. Buenos Aires is one of my favorite cities and I lived there 2 years. Apart from it being so cold, I had a great time and the new government has made a difference. The city has cleaned up tremendously and our branches are growing. If I chose to live in Latin America again, Argentina would be at the top of the list.

My wife and I have discussed moving back down south many times. However, having lived (not visited, actually lived) in several Latin American countries, we are more comfortable in the US as we get older.

Safe travels.............LL