Best Places To Retire 2013

[JJReyes]

The Huffington Post published an article naming 21 cities as the best places to retire in 2103. Cebu is included in their list. There is no ranking.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/best-places-to-retire-2013_n_3460170.html

[FlyAway]

Just saw this on Yahoo. Cebu is there first listing followed by Chiang Mai Thailand.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-world-s-most-affordable-places-to-retire-161351982.html

 

The World's Most Affordable Places to Retire

Americans who dream of a retirement filled with sandy beaches, temperate weather and colorful local life may have another thing coming.

That's because a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security finds that 45 percent of working-age households have no retirement savings at all. The average figure for funds set aside by households nearing the end of their working lives was a meager $12,000. That's not enough to cover a single year.

If there is no change in their savings rate, many Americans may wind up living on monthly Social Security benefits alone. Monthly benefits now average just $1,262 -- an amount that doesn't cover housing costs in most retirement hot spots in the U.S.

But it is possible to retire with nothing more Social Security benefits if you do so outside the U.S. In some of the most affordable, but still appealing, cities in the world, an expat can live on just $1,250 per month.

Live and Invest Overseas, a publication and research firm specializing in overseas living, found six places where Americans could live well on the cheap. The company's Retire Overseas index uses 12 factors, including climate, whether English is spoken, cost of living, health care and infrastructure, to determine the best cities to retire.

In any of the six Asian and Latin American cities the index dubs most affordable, retirees can live in luxury -- and without breaking the bank. In these cities, $1,250 is enough to cover all your living expenses, from housing to dining to travel.

Cebu, Philippines

Cebu, a developed province in the Philippines, has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world: narrow coastlines with bright blue waters and limestone plateaus offset by rolling hills and rugged mountains.

Cebu is home to Mactan-Cebu International Airport, from which it is easy for retirees to fly back to U.S. And Mactan-Cebu makes it just as easy for family and friends to fly in for a visit. The cost of living here is extremely low, so your dollar goes four times as far. To top it off, the Philippines offers generous residency visas for retirees.

[OnMyWay]

The cost of living here is extremely low, so your dollar goes four times as far

 

Cebu is 1/4 the cost to live in the U.S?  Hmmm.......

[Ynot]

Interesting topic, at the moment in Australia, a person can claim the aged pension at age 67 (was previously 65). I suspect that as time goes buy the pension age will also rise as governments can no longer afford to pay a pension to the growing ranks of the aged where the taxpayer base is shrinking.   Nevertheless, the pension is about $ 550 a fortnight or just over $ 1,100 a month, which based on the above claim is sufficient to live on.  I know there are a lot of variables, depending on your tastes - champagne or beer, mine is spirits but not a lot.  So hopefully I should be able to live comfortably on somewhere between 1200 to 1500 dollars in low interest environment, and perhaps live more comfortably on 2000 dollars a month when interest rates recover.  Im looking at Cebu, maybe not Cebu City, perhaps regional Cebu an hour or so.  Not sure if I will rent or buy, but probably rent initially whilst I travel around to find a nice place to settle.  Unfortunately, my gf does not know Cebu that well other than Mactan Island where she works in a garment factory.   So we both will be learning about Cebu over the next 36 months (several trips a year to Cebu) whilst we decide where to settle.

[Dave Hounddriver]

The Huffington Post published an article naming

 

Arianna Huffington (née Stassinopoulos; born Αριάννα Στασινοπούλου; July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known for her news website The Huffington Post. At one time a liberal democrat[1][2] she later became a popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, after which she adopted liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s.[3] She is the ex-wife of former Republican congressman Michael Huffington.

 

 

So the Huffington Post is one American woman's view.  I wonder what sh would think of Cebu if she had ever been here.

[JJReyes]

So the Huffington Post is one American woman's view.  I wonder what sh would think of Cebu if she had ever been here.

 

The reporter was not Arianna Huffington. Travel writers seldom visit the places they write about. Most are freelancers who cannot afford the travel expenses. Publishers pay very little for their reporting. Travel writers read at what others have written and regurgitate the information. When I visit potential retirement places in the Philippines, I have my picture taken as a visual proof to the reader.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Interesting topic, at the moment in Australia, a person can claim the aged pension at age 67 (was previously 65).

 

Although that is true, it depends on when you were born from my understanding.

 

Nevertheless, the pension is about $ 550 a fortnight or just over $ 1,100 a month, which based on the above claim is sufficient to live on. 

 

Don't forget if you are living overseas you do not get the same full amount as you would if you stayed in Australia.

[Thomas]

champagne or beer

Or water or soda  :) 

So hopefully I should be able to live comfortably on somewhere between 1200 to 1500 dollars in low interest environment, and perhaps live more comfortably on 2000 dollars a month when interest rates recover.

Do you mean you have such amount in an Australian bank, expecting such difference in interest rate?

Well. Yes, probably A BIT recovery sometimes, BUT in the long run I believe the "kano countries's" national banks will continue to try to hold down interests to try to assist their national economy to recover - but in the long run fail - because countries as e g Asia 7 will continue to catch up.

But you don't need to stay at such low return.

E g you can compare the price development in e g stock markets in Australia and the Philippines. For some years Phili stock market has beaten "kano countries" with huge margin. (See other topics in this forum.)

Or you can check the alternative with "harvest sharing" (=One finance, farmer do the work and then they split the harvest.)

Or perhaps invest in my project, when I move there  :lol:    (Only partly joking, but perhaps I will fullfill the foreigners maximum part by myself depending of how big the start is and how much I get for my Swedish estate. Foreigners can have maximum 40% in the project type I think of mainly.)

[sam45]

 

Interesting topic, at the moment in Australia, a person can claim the aged pension at age 67 (was previously 65).

 

Although that is true, it depends on when you were born from my understanding.

 

 

 

Nevertheless, the pension is about $ 550 a fortnight or just over $ 1,100 a month, which based on the above claim is sufficient to live on. 

 

Don't forget if you are living overseas you do not get the same full amount as you would if you stayed in Australia.

 

Is that the same for US social security?  Don't get full amount?

[Ynot]

Jollygoodfellow is right, in regard to the Aussie Aged Pension. If you decide to move overseas then the medicare component is deducted from the pension so your pension is reduced. 

 

As for the vast difference in my retirement income, whilst interest rates are 4% then my income will be in the region of 56000 peso a month, however should interest rates go up to say 10% (they were once 18%) then my income will be in the region of 140,000 peso a month.  So depending on the interest rates, I may be able to afford champagne or at worst beer, and for those days im not feeling well soda or water.