Based on my past experience living in Guatemala for three months I have long thought that living in a foreign country would be a good way to live cheaply. This would allow you to live on a small retirement income or perhaps allow you to take an extended amount of time off each year. After my recent trip through Central America I have some more thoughts on this subject.
It is true that you can live on less in Central America. My experience in Guatemala though was that you usually would also have a lower standard of living than in the U.S. While trying to find a private apartment in Guatemala the only ones that I considered acceptable cost almost as much as I would pay here in Kansas City.
Since I am able to have a comfortable lifestyle here in the U.S. for about a $1000 a month it is difficult to save much money by living elsewhere. I often see ads for books or guides on how you can live in a foreign country for as little as $1000 a month which wouldn’t be a savings for me. That would only be a good deal for me if I had a better standard of living there or at least a different but similar standard of living.
One of my problems was that the places I was looking at were targeted towards foreigners and were priced accordingly. Generally, any goods or services in a foreign country that are being marketed to gringos will come with a gringo price tag. If I would have spent some more time searching for an apartment I probably could have found a better deal on a place that wasn’t being marketed for foreigners. This just takes more time and some knowledge of the area you would be living in would be helpful.
I still think that someday I will be living in Central America at least part of the year. This won’t be because it is cheap but because I like it there. My recommendation to anyone who is thinking of living abroad is not to live somewhere just because it is cheap. If you can find a place that is cheap and it is an area you want to live in as well then you have found a good combination.
Andy, thanks for your honest opinions about this. I like watching House Hunters International, and once in a while they find a great bargain in South America.
Maybe living in the US has more appeal because of your GF, just a thought. Maybe finding out what the most important things in your life are will help you plan out your future.
Andy,
Are you fluent in Spanish or is it reasonably possible for someone with limited Spanish to communicate in Central America? I’m curious if your interactions were somewhat limited and therefore your opportunity to live like a local likewise limited (wow…that’s a lot of “l’s”…lol).
This is a good post. I’ve been having similar thoughts lately about different parts of Europe. As you say, abroad might not necessarily be cheaper than cheaper parts of your home country. Its difficult to escape from the gringo prices, sometimes I dont understand how the local people can survive.
The other thing that strikes me is that if one can live comfortably in one’s own country then the added advantage to makint it work in one’s own country is that it is much easier if one wants to work say part time, it can be quite difficult to do this abroad, well for me anyway the language barriers would be a problem on the med for me.
Thanks for all the comments. I have limited Spanish which probably makes it harder for me to find the best deals. In the areas I’ve visited you definitely need at least limited Spanish like I have. I’m sure the average local isn’t paying the same rates for their monthly rent but I also have to consider the possibility that most locals live in far more primitive dwellings and/or share their living space with more people.