Challenges of Moving Countries for Retirement or Employment

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, BonVivant said:

A small town in Italy would bore me to death. Rome on the other hand….

Well of course ..you LIVE in the town and take the train into the city for fun

[+ Charlie]

21 hours ago, Charlie said:

Palm Springs is hotter than anywhere today: the temperature in my backyard is 118.

Update: the official high temperature in Palm Springs yesterday was 120, a new record for the date.

[+ José Soplanucas]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

Update: the official high temperature in Palm Springs yesterday was 120, a new record for the date.

We need a new emoji for the reactions.

[+ Italiano]

19 hours ago, BonVivant said:

It’s all good when you are a tourist or visiting for a few weeks. A small town in Italy would bore me to death. Rome on the other hand….

Bizarre. I LOVE Rome as a tourist but I could never live there. Chaotic, disorganized, nothing works, and...not really fond of Romans in general.

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, Italiano said:

Bizarre. I LOVE Rome as a tourist but I could never live there. Chaotic, disorganized, nothing works

Agreed. Probably one of the LAST places in Italy I would choose to live. But...to each / his own !

[Danny-Darko]

3 hours ago, Italiano said:

Bizarre. I LOVE Rome as a tourist but I could never live there. Chaotic, disorganized, nothing works, and...not really fond of Romans in general.

I couldn't agree with you more! Even the Romans say what you said!! Love the city and the people though. 

[pubic_assistance]

7 hours ago, Danny-Darko said:

Love the city and the people though.

Great city. I just can't imagine wanting to live there, when there are SO many other wonderful towns, cities and villages in Italy.

Visited the city of Lucca for the first time this year. THAT is a place to live ! so charming. The train system is fairly reliable, cheap and easy to use. SO you can day-trip anywhere you want when you need to get your freak-on, and need the big city ( Rome or Milan ) experience.

[+ Italiano]

13 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Great city. I just can't imagine wanting to live there, when there are SO many other wonderful towns, cities and villages in Italy.

Visited the city of Lucca for the first time this year. THAT is a place to live ! so charming. The train system is fairly reliable, cheap and easy to use. SO you can day-trip anywhere you want when you need to get your freak-on, and need the big city ( Rome or Milan ) experience.

Well, in Tuscany there are SO many absolutely charming place to visit and/or to live! Lucca is so beautiful. Same for Siena, Volterra, Cortona, Montepulciano, Arezzo, Pistoia etc etc,,,,,

[+ JamesB]

Head north across the border to Lugano. It's such a charming town that beautifully blends Swiss and Italian cultures. The picturesque landscapes, delightful cuisine, and great atmosphere make it a unique destination. I absolutely love that place and highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.

[Danny-Darko]

5 hours ago, Italiano said:

Well, in Tuscany there are SO many absolutely charming place to visit and/or to live! Lucca is so beautiful. Same for Siena, Volterra, Cortona, Montepulciano, Arezzo, Pistoia etc etc,,,,,

True but one factor us senior men need to figure into is the availability of quality health care and medica facilites like world class hospitals. Those things are rarely available in smaller towns and smaller cites even in Europe. Another factor is no matter how quiet and charming and quaint the place may be, will one have an accepting and supporting community and social life being a single gay senior? Those of us that like the younger men and hire will find that is more difficult in smaller areas and hard to pass as unnoticeable by the locals. There are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration when moving aboard. These or some of the main reasons I chose larger cosmopolitan cities outside of the USA. We take to good with the bad, but services and a social life are important especially when gay and single! 

[+ Italiano]

18 hours ago, Danny-Darko said:

True but one factor us senior men need to figure into is the availability of quality health care and medica facilites like world class hospitals. Those things are rarely available in smaller towns and smaller cites even in Europe. Another factor is no matter how quiet and charming and quaint the place may be, will one have an accepting and supporting community and social life being a single gay senior? Those of us that like the younger men and hire will find that is more difficult in smaller areas and hard to pass as unnoticeable by the locals. There are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration when moving aboard. These or some of the main reasons I chose larger cosmopolitan cities outside of the USA. We take to good with the bad, but services and a social life are important especially when gay and single! 

That totally makes sense. 

[Rudynate]

20 years or so ago, I gave retiring abroad a lot of thought, spent a lot of time looking at expat websites, etc. My husband nixed it - said he couldn't see us picking up and moving away from our friends and family and starting over when we were in our 60's or 70s.  A lot of times, he's more grounded in reality than I am, so I give a lot of weight to what he says on topics like this.   I have also gotten more clarity on what I want - I realized that I don't even want to live abroad permanently.  But  I would like to try being a part-time digital nomad - 3-4 months living and working somewhere else - I think about Thailand, Viet Nam, the Baltic countries, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico.   The window is closing though - I need to do it in the next couple of years, if at all.

 

[+ Charlie]

2 hours ago, Rudynate said:

20 years or so ago, I gave retiring abroad a lot of thought, spent a lot of time looking at expat websites, etc. My husband nixed it - said he couldn't see us picking up and moving away from our friends and family and starting over when we were in our 60's or 70s.  A lot of times, he's more grounded in reality than I am, so I give a lot of weight to what he says on topics like this.   I have also gotten more clarity on what I want - I realized that I don't even want to live abroad permanently.  But  I would like to try being a part-time digital nomad - 3-4 months living and working somewhere else - I think about Thailand, Viet Nam, the Baltic countries, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico.   The window is closing though - I need to do it in the next couple of years, if at all.

 

Do it NOW. It is not only a great educational experience, it will also give you a better feel for what it is like to actually live someplace, rather than just visit it. I love to travel, and I might have chosen to retire in another country if I hadn't already had the experience of living in a couple of countries for six months to a year, and understood what the drawbacks of permanent residence could be.

[Rudynate]

3 hours ago, Charlie said:

Do it NOW. It is not only a great educational experience, it will also give you a better feel for what it is like to actually live someplace, rather than just visit it. I love to travel, and I might have chosen to retire in another country if I hadn't already had the experience of living in a couple of countries for six months to a year, and understood what the drawbacks of permanent residence could be.

I lived in Germany for 3 years in the 70s.  I was in the military, so it wasn't the same thing as a civilian living on the economy, but I still got a taste of what it was like to live in a foreign country for a long period of time - I had an apartment on the economy and hung with Germans quite a bit, shopped in German stores, hung out in German clubs.  It was just great - loved it. At that time, I was struck at how different the middle-class standard of living was from ours in the US.  That has all changed now.

One of the things I most remember was when I went into a men's clothing store in Mannheim to buy a new winter coat.  A salesman measured me, and  then had an assistant go into the racks to find things that I would like and brought them back for me to try on. If I didn't like something, they would take it back.  The salesman would help me into each coat,  button it for me and turn the collar up and step back while I checked it out in the mirror.  Eventually, I bought one that I liked.  Quite an adventure for a 19-year old boy.

[Johnrom]

The good old days of great customer service !  

[Rudynate]

19 hours ago, Johnrom said:

The good old days of great customer service !  

When I was a young boy, my mother bought our school clothes in a nice men's store.   It was a small town where everybody knew everybody.  The salesmen were all old guys in suits and ties with measuring tapes around their necks.  The whole thing took awhile because my mother sat there chatting with the salesmen and smoking while we tried the clothes on.  She would write a check for everything and a couple of days later a delivery truck would pull up with our clothes wrapped in a big package,

[BonVivant]

1 hour ago, Rudynate said:

When I was a young boy, my mother bought our school clothes in a nice men's store.   It was a small town where everybody knew everybody.  The salesmen were all old guys in suits and ties with measuring tapes around their necks.  The whole thing took awhile because my mother sat there chatting with the salesmen and smoking while we tried the clothes on.  She would write a check for everything and a couple of days later a delivery truck would pull up with our clothes wrapped in a big package,

Those were the days… did they serve her a Martini too?

[Rudynate]

2 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Those were the days… did they serve her a Martini too?

Coffee, maybe.  She thought daytime drinkers were lushes.

[MscleLovr]

On 7/24/2024 at 8:11 PM, Charlie said:

Do it NOW.

I totally endorse what @Charlie wrote. Do it while you’re still healthy and feel fit and capable. 

If you wish to take ‘baby steps’, I’d suggest you first take a lengthy vacation say 3-6 months. You’ll get a good idea of the place you choose and can decide whether you want to visit for longer and travel within that country. 
 

FWIW

(1) I lived in San Francisco for over 2 years, even tho I’d always preferred Sourhern California  - I enjoyed my time in SF very much but my preference remains unchanged. 

(2) I lived in Buenos Aires for more than a year. I had some acquaintances there and I made a couple of friends, and I speak and read Spanish at what’s classed as ‘an advanced level’. Again I enjoyed that time and I had a lot of fun. But the problems of living there (bad pollution, high level of crime - I was not a victim, but I witnessed street crimes, general difficulties with banking and bureaucracy) led me to decide that was enough. 
 

(3) I lived in Amsterdam for more than a year. I made strenuous efforts to learn Dutch and that helped me immensely to make friends and access the quite distinct culture. I enjoyed it and it’s a useful base if you wish to visit Europe more widely

On 7/24/2024 at 5:44 PM, Rudynate said:

Thailand, Viet Nam, the Baltic countries, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico. 

I’d recommend the Baltic countries or Spain first as English is very widely spoken. It’s relatively easy to learn Spanish, and you could learn some basic phrases in the Baltic countries as it won’t be expected but it will be appreciated. And on a geopolitical front, I’d visit the Baltic countries before Putin decides to expand his territorial ambitions and embarks on another military adventure. 

[+ Italiano]

8 minutes ago, MscleLovr said:

I totally endorse what @Charlie wrote. Do it while you’re still healthy and feel fit and capable. 

If you wish to take ‘baby steps’, I’d suggest you first take a lengthy vacation say 3-6 months. You’ll get a good idea of the place you choose and can decide whether you want to visit for longer and travel within that country. 
 

FWIW

(1) I lived in San Francisco for over 2 years, even tho I’d always preferred Sourhern California  - I enjoyed my time in SF very much but my preference remains unchanged. 

(2) I lived in Buenos Aires for more than a year. I had some acquaintances there and I made a couple of friends, and I speak and read Spanish at what’s classed as ‘an advanced level’. Again I enjoyed that time and I had a lot of fun. But the problems of living there (bad pollution, high level of crime - I was not a victim, but I witnessed street crimes, general difficulties with banking and bureaucracy) led me to decide that was enough. 
 

(3) I lived in Amsterdam for more than a year. I made strenuous efforts to learn Dutch and that helped me immensely to make friends and access the quite distinct culture. I enjoyed it and it’s a useful base if you wish to visit Europe more widely

I’d recommend the Baltic countries or Spain first as English is very widely spoken. It’s relatively easy to learn Spanish, and you could learn some basic phrases in the Baltic countries as it won’t be expected but it will be appreciated. And on a geopolitical front, I’d visit the Baltic countries before Putin decides to expand his territorial ambitions and embarks on another military adventure. 

Spain is a BEAUTIFUL Country

[Rudynate]

4 hours ago, MscleLovr said:

I totally endorse what @Charlie wrote. Do it while you’re still healthy and feel fit and capable. 

If you wish to take ‘baby steps’, I’d suggest you first take a lengthy vacation say 3-6 months. You’ll get a good idea of the place you choose and can decide whether you want to visit for longer and travel within that country. 
 

FWIW

(1) I lived in San Francisco for over 2 years, even tho I’d always preferred Sourhern California  - I enjoyed my time in SF very much but my preference remains unchanged. 

(2) I lived in Buenos Aires for more than a year. I had some acquaintances there and I made a couple of friends, and I speak and read Spanish at what’s classed as ‘an advanced level’. Again I enjoyed that time and I had a lot of fun. But the problems of living there (bad pollution, high level of crime - I was not a victim, but I witnessed street crimes, general difficulties with banking and bureaucracy) led me to decide that was enough. 
 

(3) I lived in Amsterdam for more than a year. I made strenuous efforts to learn Dutch and that helped me immensely to make friends and access the quite distinct culture. I enjoyed it and it’s a useful base if you wish to visit Europe more widely

I’d recommend the Baltic countries or Spain first as English is very widely spoken. It’s relatively easy to learn Spanish, and you could learn some basic phrases in the Baltic countries as it won’t be expected but it will be appreciated. And on a geopolitical front, I’d visit the Baltic countries before Putin decides to expand his territorial ambitions and embarks on another military adventure. 

My first foreign language was Latin.  It's such a clunky, complicated language that, after that, modern languages are a piece of cake.  I soaked up French like a sponge.  German was more challenging but taking an intensive course in Germany gave me a real boost.

[CuriousByNature]

5 hours ago, MscleLovr said:

I totally endorse what @Charlie wrote. Do it while you’re still healthy and feel fit and capable. 

If you wish to take ‘baby steps’, I’d suggest you first take a lengthy vacation say 3-6 months. You’ll get a good idea of the place you choose and can decide whether you want to visit for longer and travel within that country. 
 

FWIW

(1) I lived in San Francisco for over 2 years, even tho I’d always preferred Sourhern California  - I enjoyed my time in SF very much but my preference remains unchanged. 

(2) I lived in Buenos Aires for more than a year. I had some acquaintances there and I made a couple of friends, and I speak and read Spanish at what’s classed as ‘an advanced level’. Again I enjoyed that time and I had a lot of fun. But the problems of living there (bad pollution, high level of crime - I was not a victim, but I witnessed street crimes, general difficulties with banking and bureaucracy) led me to decide that was enough. 
 

(3) I lived in Amsterdam for more than a year. I made strenuous efforts to learn Dutch and that helped me immensely to make friends and access the quite distinct culture. I enjoyed it and it’s a useful base if you wish to visit Europe more widely

I’d recommend the Baltic countries or Spain first as English is very widely spoken. It’s relatively easy to learn Spanish, and you could learn some basic phrases in the Baltic countries as it won’t be expected but it will be appreciated. And on a geopolitical front, I’d visit the Baltic countries before Putin decides to expand his territorial ambitions and embarks on another military adventure. 

I have heard that parts of the Balkans are very nice places to live or visit for extended periods, such as Slovenia and Croatia.  I have not been to either, but everyone I know who has gone found no issues with the language because most of the population has at least a working level of English - except perhaps in the most rural areas.  I'm not sure what the medical system is like in either place, but I would imagine it may be better in Slovenia than Croatia.  Balkan food can also be very tasty!