I'm looking for a place to retire - Page 3

Most of your requirements would be met in Cambodia where more and more tourists are coming every year , you could survive quite easily on your budget of $1,000.00 and there are many apartments in your price range . I know ( kind of ) a young lady who has a humungous apartment with built in oven and the whole nine yards , cost to her is $200.00 a month plus utilities , furnished,and very close to a lake . Sihanouk-ville in the south boasts several beaches with good swimming in warm water , one is almost deserted but with food etc available and the water has practically no efluent discharged into the water which is more than you can say for most asian beaches , especially Thailand .
This is a strugling nation so you need not be looking for the Ritz or 'Pristine 'anything . Visa is renewable every 6 months , at this time for $160.00 . The riverside in Phnom Penh is a haven for more monied foriegners , but meals can be had for $3.00 or less , if you eat 'Native 'meals are around a $1.00 .This is a none rush , laid back society where your nerves will not be frazzled on a daily basis , but it will take a little adjusting . Colin

I've talked to a lot of peoplel who felt they were hassled all of the time. I'd be concerned about medical care. I have a feeling it isn't a good place to have a heart attack. Not that there are good places, but there are places where an ambulance can get you to a good cardiac unit fairly quickly, which is critical.

Depends what is meant by being hastled , if you mean young people trying to sell things to go to English school or the maimed or elderly looking for a handout ( there are no government programmes ) then yes i guess you get hastled , but this is concentrated mostly on the riverside . Moto-taxes and tuk-tuk drivers are vying for buisness , there are too many of 'Them 'and to few of 'Us ' , depends on your outlook and where you have been before .
There are American style hospitals here such as Calmette Hosp. American Medical Centre and Hotel Cambodia with good facilities and an ambulance service . There is also Tropical+Travel medical clinic run by a widely experienced dr Scott and SOS hospital to name a few so it is not that back-woodsy .I am not trying to 'Sell 'Cambodia , mine is only in response to your 'Cheap place to retire to ' , it suits me and my budget nicely thank you very much so i tend to turn a blind eye to what i may have been offended by in Canada , i just want to be content with my 'Golden Years " with what i have in my pocket . Colin

One of the things I'm trying to take into consideration is what I think I can adjust to on a longterm basis compared to what I'm willing to adjust to on a shorter time frame.

What I've learned by staying a couple of places for several months is that a lot of things don't start bothering me until I've been there for a while. The hassling of street vendors is on my list of things I don't want to live with on a daily basis, thus eliminating many parts of Asia and Central America.

Thank you for the suggestion, though. The more places I consider, the better defined my ideas become.

Hi Synthia,

You can probably retire on $1000 a month in Argentina, but probably not so easily in Buenos Aires. In the city where I live, we have beaches, English cable, high speed internet, nice weather, and 1 bed apartments for about $250 per month. Utility bills are very low in comparison to the USA and Europe. There is also a good medical structure and we (a family of five) have a top plan and pay 400 pesos a month ($130).

The most important aspect, is that everything is in walking distance - saying that, taxis are extremely cheap and we hop in and out of them. Comparing BA to Mar del Plata, the restaurants and entertainment here are definately much cheaper and the same can be said for real estate.

If you would like more information, I do have a personal website

Is it hard for foreigners to rent in Argentina? I've read that you need a local guarantor for anthing that isn't a short-term serviced apartment.

You are right about a guarantor, but in some circumstances paying six months or a year in advance will be acceptable. I have lots of contacts here in Mar del Plata, so if you want any help, please let me know.

Lots of British retire here in Malta and since they joined the EU lots of other nationalities are mixing in. With regards to 'city life' .... naaah... otherwise it comes quite close to what you wish for

I'm American, so I'm dealing with dollars, and not very many of them, so Malta is probably out for me. I must admit Mara del Plata sounds appealing.