A friend of ours is considering retirement in the immediate future. She has come to the conclusion that she will run through her savings if she continues to live in Mountain View. She could move to Arizona or Florida, but she is adventurous and where’s the adventure there? She is considering retirement abroad, perhaps Thailand or Central America.

I’ve recommend www.escapeartist.com to her. This is a very informative and frank website that has ex-pat posts from around the world. It describes “how to” and the pitfalls in retiring in specific countries. There are wide ranging stories, from the joy of re-discovering yourself to the trials acclimating to a new culture. One story I will never forget tells of a guy who pissed-off the government while building a custom home. Construction was a long drawn out process. Shortly after moving in, government agents ransacked the home in the wee hours looking for drugs (or retribution).

I am not affiliated with escapeartist.com and have no reson to recommend them other than I enjoy the information provided. If you are considering moving to a foreign country, look into the information escape artist has available by country.

For example, Costa Rica law provides for squatter’s rights. In most instances, you will have no trouble purchasing property in Costa Rica, but…. If you do not visit your property every other month or have a reliable on site “grounds keeper”, you could lose your property to a squatter. There are even tales of real estate agents using squatter’s rights to steal back properties they just sold. I expect these are “bear stories”, there’s some truth there but not much. Still why take chances. Another example in Panama, Bocas Del Toro where a guy owned particularly nice ocean side land that a developer coveted. The owner was forced out by that developer and corrupt government official(s).

I will not retire to a foreign country, I enjoy the San Francisco Bay Area far too much to move. Also, there is the advantage of living in a country governed by laws.

Ron