How to retire in USA being citizen.

[Number 6]

57 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Right now the Florida real estate market is hot! Due to the low interest rates, houses in my area have been selling in less than 2 weeks, one on my street just went for $10K above asking price in 3 days. Good market for buyers and sellers right now.  If the interest drops to zero, can refinance and get a hell of a deal.

I think the us market will implode. Official unemployment at 20%.

 

I watch Zillow. Coastal property not really budged.

 

My uncle is on the intercoastal. Nice place.

[Number 6]

18 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

I'm in the same kind of situation. Just retired to Thailand 3 yrs. ago with my Thai wife but a little younger (just turned 59 last week). I jumped out of the Silicon Valley rat-race with a decent nest egg that allows me to live quite comfortably here in lower Isaan. I couldn't do that in the US unless I lived way out in the rural hinterland, but that would seriously impinge on the lifestyle I currently enjoy. My wife and I are ramping up a little hobby farm that should provide a lot of food as well as healthy outdoor work, we're 25 min. drive the Buriram airport with 2 flights/day to Bangkok which then leads to anywhere in the world I want to go. Plus, I'm hoping to get a motorcycle soon, to get back into my lifelong hobby of riding again (although I'm no Harvey Mushman ????).

 

Unfortunately I developed an auto-immune disease just as I was selling up back in Calif. Had the disease initially diagnosed and treated at Bumrungrad and now at BKK hospital in Korat (2 hrs drive for me). The specialist I see in Korat is excellent and has even done a free phone consultation with me the last two weeks to adjust my meds, after having a procedure and a couple of in-hospital consultations with her. Total bill for her appointments are approx. $15US/hr. Meds from their in-house pharmacy initially totaled about $140 but she introduced us to another, excellent local pharmacy in Korat where I've saved a lot of money. This is literally pennies on the dollar compared to healthcare in the US, and both the facilities and level of treatment are as good as anything I'd get in Stanford/Palo Alto (at least for my condition).

 

I'm fortunate in that I'll be coming into an inheritance in about 2yrs time, which should allow me to purchase a modest house somewhere in a no income tax state (i.e. Nevada, or Texas) but every time I look on Zillow, it becomes less and less appealing. Sure, I'll probably sign up for Medicare when I'm 65 just to cover my bases. In the back of my mind, I might want to move back to the US for the last few years of my life (my wife is a naturalized US citizen so that helps) spending ½ a year in each place, as I'm not sure how well Thailand handles end of life situations for those without the support of a large extended family. But that's a ways down the road and I'm currently pretty content here.

Glad your enjoying it. I've been here too long and not looking forward to my fourth coup. The place just grinds now for so many reasons. If I don't move back we'll move South. Id prolly drink mysrto death in buriam like everyone else.

 

Best of health to you especially in these times

 

[wpcoe]

Back to health care, and Medicare in particular:

 

You can get (pretty close to) free care with some Medicare Advantage (MA) programs.  Several years ago when my mother lived in Hemet CA, I was visiting during open enrollment time (when you can change your health care provider without penalty) and saw an ad for an insurance broker who had a free seminar for seniors to compare the various MA plans available in Hemet.  They seemed unbiased, and I assume that was because they got paid from whichever provider you went with, but they had a check sheet for all participants to fill in as the seminar progressed:  costs for ambulance (quite a variety of coverage), routine exam co-pays, doctor & nursing fee coverage, etc, with a column for each MA provider.  We ended up changing Mom's care provider to one that fit her particular needs much better than her current provider.  It was obvious from listening to other participants that other folks made different choices based on their specific needs.

 

Bottom line was that she ended up with a MA plan that covered the vast majority of her needs with a few co-pays of about $15 or $20 for doctor visits.

 

Without a MA plan, "plain" Medicare is a loose net to catch some of the costs of senior health care but with lots of holes in it.  Finding a MA plan, usually with a local HMO or PPO, can provide far better coverage.

 

Years before this seminar, when my father had chest pains and called an ambulance to drive him 15 minutes to the hospital, the bill was $800 for the ride.  No care given in the vehicle nor at home.  Just transportation.  That was over 15 years ago.  I can only imagine what that would cost today.  Some of the MA plans at the seminar only covered $100 of ambulance costs.  That would leave a HUGE bill for seniors to pay.  It pays to shop around.  I would recommend a local insurance broker.

[moontang]

This was our house in Miami, we sold when we moved to DC.  No where near the beach.  It is predominantly Venezuelans, now.  Pretty basic house...400k, and the job market is a bad joke down there, compared to DC.  A Cuban friend took a union job in Vegas and had to leave Miami, which they loved, but he said pay and benefits in Las Vegas, with Wyn, were much better than anything he would ever get in Miami.  

[olfu]

^{Ok. Lets discuss American females. As I strongly support evolution I manage to figure out American females jump up on evolutionary ladder and become new species called fee-males and my real life experience support this idea. As any regular guy I try to get laid regularly and I can claim I failed miserably in US and moved to greener pastures called Thailand and Philippine  where grass indeed greener. I was really surprised with my bad luck in US so I ask around and got same answer--I have to be rich to date and it take about one year. Strangely 30 years later I cannot prove I am wrong.}

[Hank Gunn]

45 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

Glad your enjoying it. I've been here too long and not looking forward to my fourth coup. The place just grinds now for so many reasons. If I don't move back we'll move South. Id prolly drink mysrto death in buriam like everyone else.

 

Best of health to you especially in these times

 

Yeah, I hear you. So far, for me, the only hassle has been this shutdown/quarantine thing from this crazy coronavirus thing, which is apparently just as bad in the US (as far as restrictions go) but that has more to do with the virus and less to do with Thailand. Even though I like it here so far, I've kept all my funds in the US and just transfer over money for living expenses. I have committed to a truck and recently a car for my wife, so she has some autonomy and I don't have to be her chauffeur. Also, I did buy a new house here in a moo ban in town, but that was seen as a gift to my wife, who really saved my bacon back in the crash of 08-09 and it came from an investment that came to fruition that I hadn't planned on, so outside of the retirement budget. 

 

As for drinking myself to death, as I mentioned on the alcohol ban thread, I got most of my drinking out of my system in my late teens to 20s. I sure do enjoy a cold beer or two every now and then, especially when it's 18C (100F) but it doesn't bother me that much to not have it. I'm kind of an outgoing introvert, if that makes sense. (In small groups or anonymous forums I can be outgoing, as can be seen by the post you responded to and this one here, but I'm not a big gathering type of person and am happy sitting at home on the computer or reading a book.) I was very aware of the trap many westerners here in Thailand fall into: Roll into a bar/pub around 10-11am to have a couple of beers, have lunch with another couple of beers, and by 2-3pm are pretty hammered. Thankfully that has no appeal to me.

 

Even before my diagnosis, a big reason for my leaving the rat race was for both better physical and mental health. Going low carb and riding my bicycle regularly, I've lost about 60 lbs since retiring here to Thailand. I have a 30 km loop I do M-F, which leaves Sat. or Sun. for the 45 min. trip to my wife's village to check on the aforementioned hobby farm and a lunch with the family. I usually get up between 7:30-8:30am, have a couple of coffees, and am then off on the bike, back home by 12noon or 1pm. After a late lunch, I'm on the computer reading, watching Netflix or YouTube, or reading a book. That keeps me out of the bar scene.

[ericthai]

14 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

My ex has a $60,000 after tax income in NJ and cannot make ends meet....she has no mortgage or car to pay for either so I think $3000 monthly income is way too little.

Wow, $5K a month net with no car or mortgage payment, she has problems!!!  

[Number 6]

23 minutes ago, ericthai said:

Wow, $5K a month net with no car or mortgage payment, she has problems!!!  

NJ is a hell hole and expensive. She could have a ridiculous mortgage and car loan. That could do her over 3k right there. 500 week on absolutely everything else. Easy.

 

But some people are just horrible with money and refuse to sacrifice.

 

For starts move the hell out of NJ!!

[Crazy Alex]

23 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

texas, new mexico, arizona.   buy a house in a small town for $25k.

 

in texas, no state income tax, homestead exemptions to limit property taxes.

And the most expensive component of property tax, the school tax, is frozen at age 65 level.

[Number 6]

Anyway, sorry I hijacked the thread. Let's bring this back into focus.

 

Of course, all bet are off with Corona virus.

 

In our favor, falling home prices and interest rates. With that potentially lower property taxes.

 

Medicare at 65 if it doesn't blow up.

 

Downside

 

Covid

Unemployment

Low interest rates

Dicey stock market

Potential crime, food riots

Health care overwhelmed

 

Much of above will be seen in Thailand as well

 

I'm just tired of military governments, coups, country going nowhere. The increasing jingoism in the rhetoric of public officials. I know when I'm not welcome. We're now effectively under martial law from 10-4. This nonsense will be endless mark my words.

 

I'm treated well at work by admin, teachers and students. No issues in Bangkok. Still the writing on the wall and this covid thing just has begun. I really felt very poorly toward officials when blaming the Thai situation on farang. Something inside me broke a little when that government official was caught sending stolen masks to China.

 

[ericthai]

19 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

NJ is a hell hole and expensive. She could have a ridiculous mortgage and car loan. That could do her over 3k right there. 500 week on absolutely everything else. Easy.

 

But some people are just horrible with money and refuse to sacrifice.

 

For starts move the hell out of NJ!!

He said she has no mortgage or car payment. 

[elgenon]

On 4/6/2020 at 12:38 AM, Pedrogaz said:

My ex has a $60,000 after tax income in NJ and cannot make ends meet....she has no mortgage or car to pay for either so I think $3000 monthly income is way too little.

What the heck does she spend $5,000 a month on? Too many bfs?

 

I can easily live in California on less than $3,000 a month with no mortgage or car to pay for. 3 short blocks to the beach.

 

If someone has to pay rent, that is a whole different story.

[TGIR]

6 hours ago, elgenon said:

What the heck does she spend $5,000 a month on? Too many bfs?

 

I can easily live in California on less than $3,000 a month with no mortgage or car to pay for. 3 short blocks to the beach.

 

If someone has to pay rent, that is a whole different story.

$3k three blocks to the beach.......not in California!  How much you think that house would cost you?  Even if you and the wife are over 65 you still have to have additional health ins. on top of Medicare, property tax up the wazoo, a lot more than here for gas & electric, insurance, more for food.......I don't think it can be done.  Maybe if you live a very quiet life and your hobbies/entertainment is at home...

 

I've got a good 3 br 3 bath condo actually ON the beach here, brand new SUV, playing cheesy Palm Hills 5/6 times a week and can do it for about 90K baht (60K a month for the golf).  Could maybe do that in Kansas or Okla. but not Ca.  Of course there is the cost of golf as noted......but I've got nothing else to do but read and watch TV so what would be the sense of living like that?  

[TGIR]

On 4/6/2020 at 2:01 AM, moontang said:

how about 14,900....https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/337-E-Maxwell-Ave-Raton-NM-87740/121548127_zpid/

I lived in a house like that 50 years ago.....not looking to go backward like that!

[TGIR]

On 4/6/2020 at 2:48 AM, The Theory said:

He is actually right. There are some one bedroom manufactured houses + own lot. There are cheap houses in CA as well, but I definitely won't fit that kind of neighborhoods. 

Agreed.......that's something one might have considered when they were first out on their own, not when you're in your seventies as I am.

[TGIR]

On 4/6/2020 at 1:51 AM, ChouDoufu said:

yes.  serious.  many small towns losing population.  kids head to the big cities for school or career, don't come back.  many houses empty.  expect more to pop up when the full effects of the oil bust are felt.

 

i bought mine in 2000 for $10k.  small house, 10 years old, 900 sq.ft, in good shape.  i know of two for sale now for $20k.  checked a few websites last night, cause why not, found 250 acres and a cabin (probably a dump) with well and electric for 100k.

I suppose you're right.....I've lived in California most of my life and I never lived anywhere in property was that cheap.  So what state are you in?

[ChouDoufu]

1 minute ago, TGIR said:

I suppose you're right.....I've lived in California most of my life and I never lived anywhere in property was that cheap.  So what state are you in?

none physically.  sold everything and moved to asia in '05, got $40k for the house with the improvements i added.  texas was my last physical address, so still have texas as tax home of record and for absentee voting.

 

file federal tax forms with either thai or chinese address.  already filed this year without refund info, waiting for irs to open their web portal in a week or so to enter direct deposit info for stimulus allowance.

[bwpage3]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:12 AM, Number 6 said:

I think the us market will implode. Official unemployment at 20%.

 

I watch Zillow. Coastal property not really budged.

 

My uncle is on the intercoastal. Nice place.

No the unemployment is not at 20%

 

There are over 6,000 new houses being built in our county alone.

 

The golf course has over 1200 itself going in

 

Does this sound like an imploding market with interest rates at <3%

[bwpage3]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:09 AM, Number 6 said:

This is exactly what I'd hoped to do. Are you in the coast? My wife loves the US but we're making good money here. Five years.

We are 10 miles inland from the direct coast. Have everything we need within 2 minutes of our house. 4/2/2 2400 square feet, 1/2 acre.

[sirineou]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:09 AM, Number 6 said:

This is exactly what I'd hoped to do. Are you in the coast? My wife loves the US but we're making good money here. Five years.

I also Highly recommend Florida for those of us married to Thais. 

We live 7 miles from the beach, the weather is very close to that of Thailand,  we have papayas , mangoes, banana trees . kaffir limes, lemongrass, etc in our garden. There is a large Cambodian supermarket five miles from our house, with anything Thai your wife will need. There is a large community of people from Thailand,  Cambodia , Laos., and Vietnam. 

With Buddhists temples and all the associated festivals. They all support each other and your wife would not have trouble finding a lob if she wanted. 

  Personally I feel we made a mistake moving here because my wife likes it so much here, now she does not want to move back to Thailand where we build a house with that in mind. 

If you ever decide to move in the area PM me. 

 

[bwpage3]

24 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I also Highly recommend Florida for those of us married to Thais. 

We live 7 miles from the beach, the weather is very close to that of Thailand,  we have papayas , mangoes, banana trees . kaffir limes, lemongrass, etc in our garden. There is a large Cambodian supermarket five miles from our house, with anything Thai your wife will need. There is a large community of people from Thailand,  Cambodia , Laos., and Vietnam. 

With Buddhists temples and all the associated festivals. They all support each other and your wife would not have trouble finding a lob if she wanted. 

  Personally I feel we made a mistake moving here because my wife likes it so much here, now she does not want to move back to Thailand where we build a house with that in mind. 

If you ever decide to move in the area PM me. 

 

Have to agree with everything.

 

There is everything here a Thai would ever want; my wife will never return to Thailand.

 

Simply loves it here.

 

 

[Number 6]

@sirineou

@bwpage3

 

It gets more likely by the day. Large part will be which economies less ravaged.

 

Wife has been to states half down times totaling four months perhaps. We're both making better money than we'll make in US especially now. Waiting on 62.

 

I'd prefer going back to CA but the housing is so expensive, taxes.

 

We've been to Florida twice visiting relatives. They have / had really nice places so I can't compare to that lifestyle but I cannot get my head around moving to any other place except coastal Maryland.

 

Thanks

 

 

[sirineou]

22 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

@sirineou

@bwpage3

 

It gets more likely by the day. Large part will be which economies less ravaged.

 

Wife has been to states half down times totaling four months perhaps. We're both making better money than we'll make in US especially now. Waiting on 62.

 

I'd prefer going back to CA but the housing is so expensive, taxes.

 

We've been to Florida twice visiting relatives. They have / had really nice places so I can't compare to that lifestyle but I cannot get my head around moving to any other place except coastal Maryland.

 

Thanks

 

 

We all have attachments to a particular area, and I understand yours.

 I can't say that I know much about Maryland other than that I drive through it ro get to FL from NY . and that there is a speed trap on I 95  where the speed limit drops from 75 to 55 and they have speed cameras, So I got a ticket in the mail . Grrrrrrrrr.

The only advice I have is that ,Any decision you make needs to also be good for your wife , because trust me, if she is not happy, she will make sure you are not happy also.

Good Luck 

[Damrongsak]

7 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Have to agree with everything.

 

There is everything here a Thai would ever want; my wife will never return to Thailand.

 

Simply loves it here.

 

 

My wife spent a month with an old retired friend right by Tampa this past winter.  She loved it.  Thai temple nearby with an active community center and food, food, food!  Fresh fruit and vegetable farmer's market fairly close.  Not far from the coast and gardens galore. Her friend moved down from NJ and bought a little hovel, but it works for her. 

[Damrongsak]

11 hours ago, TGIR said:

I lived in a house like that 50 years ago.....not looking to go backward like that!

My first house purchase in New Jersey back around 1987 wasn't much more than that.  It was a tiny weekend cottage in a lake community and built in the mid-late 1920's.  Paid about $90,000. and interest rates were double-digit.  Sold it two years later for $120,000.  Insane.  Lost a bit of money over 6 years with the second house and moved to Virginia. 

[Gumballl]

It was interesting to read the anecdotes.

 

I am looking at the sunset of my career (or should I say, the desire to stop working). I still have approximately 10 years left. I still have a mortgage on my property, but I have no plans to retire where I am currently at (in Maryland). The property taxes are nothing to sneeze at.

 

My mother (and step-father) live in a rural area that is very inexpensive. However they suffer the lack of quality medical care, and pretty much everything else, unless silence is considered gold. That environment is not for me.

 

I have been (and lived) in FL. Big state; lots to see and do. But it does have its negatives. I prefer a dry and warmer climate, for example the southwest of the US.

[Crazy Alex]

3 hours ago, sirineou said:

We all have attachments to a particular area, and I understand yours.

 I can't say that I know much about Maryland other than that I drive through it ro get to FL from NY . and that there is a speed trap on I 95  where the speed limit drops from 75 to 55 and they have speed cameras, So I got a ticket in the mail . Grrrrrrrrr.

The only advice I have is that ,Any decision you make needs to also be good for your wife , because trust me, if she is not happy, she will make sure you are not happy also.

Good Luck 

If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.

 

Happy wife, happy life.

[Number 6]

3 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

My wife spent a month with an old retired friend right by Tampa this past winter.  She loved it.  Thai temple nearby with an active community center and food, food, food!  Fresh fruit and vegetable farmer's market fairly close.  Not far from the coast and gardens galore. Her friend moved down from NJ and bought a little hovel, but it works for her. 

Some years back I'd read about Tampa and Thai temple. Really had my eye on it but the neighborhoods looked dubious. Could on!y see renting, not settling. I think the east coast cooler, better people. Tampa is quite sketchy. Personally I have completely eliminated Tampa from possibilities. It's not the FL of my dreams.

 

The fishing seems to be better in the gulf. Wife loves idea of free seafood. Loves crabbing in MD - free big crabs!

 

At least her friend got out of jersey.

[GinBoy2]

This is so difficult to generalize.

 

I personally don't like FL, the climate doesn't work for me. We visited last year, and even my Thai wife was kinda indifferent to the place.

 

My youngest daughter lives in San Diego, where I'd lived for many years, and my wife, like me thinks the climate is close to perfection, but the cost of living and the TRAFFIC is really hard to take.

 

My other two kids, my Thai one and American one live in Denver, which is pretty similar to where we currently live in South Dakota, except it's more expensive, and once again with more traffic.

 

Curiously it's funny how many Thai people actually love real seasons, and snow! 

 

My wife, who grew up in Chicago actually sees our winters here as rather mild!

 

As for housing costs, I think a previous post said something about $25K. Well you couldn't buy a clapped out mobile home for that here. But $100K will buy a decent apartment or townhouse.

 

But Momma is happy here so I'm pretty happy too

[moontang]

Nice 1899 bungalow in Centerville, SD...detached garage on a quarter acre..natural gas service.  Under 30k.