Not everyone is cut out for life in the tropics or the developing world. Some people considering retirement overseas would opt for Europe if that were a realistic and affordable option, and it can be. In the current climate of crisis, economies, markets, and values are down as they have not been in decades in some of Europe's most appealing places to spend time and retire.
It could be the dollar will be stronger the the Euro in the future but the US no place to be if you have retirement funds to protect. How California in particular is going to avoid a big crash, I have no idea. --TS
The big problem is that buying a home for $100,000, or even much more, grants no residence permit, meaning that an expatriate is treated like a tourist, given a max stay of 90-days, extendable to 180 days.
Unless he marries a local, invests in a business, or has a monthly retirement income over a specific threshold, which is $1000 in Costa Rica, $2000 in Brazil and god-knows what in Europe.
Posted by: Jimbino | November 14, 2012 at 12:51 PM
I'd be wary of buying in Spain where there's been a lot of publicity about insecure property rights. I've not seen the same complaints about Italy or Portugal.
Posted by: dearieme | November 14, 2012 at 04:28 PM