Where in South America??

[BTB1977]

Chile, lived just out side of Santiago in Maipu for 4 years. But I would check out north of Santiago for warmer weather and less rain in the cool season.  

[rms499x]

In central america, there is quite a few nice small countries but packed with gangs, used to go surf there, got robbed every single time, the authority is a total joke, unreliable, panama was the most civilized one, but very business oriented, not sure as retirement paradise tough.

South america I would stay far away with 1 exception: Patagonia, but mind it's expensive, definitely not for everyone.

I had lived in many countries in South America and I don't want that experience again ever.

Thailand is a safe heaven compared to those countries.

Why not caribbean area, Curacao is a nice place as many other islands around, Grand Cayman is wonderful..

Another option is just keep moving from one place to another every 6 months or so.. believe me, if you think to settle down in south america you gonna need big balls, and great contacts, try Rio de Janeiro lol.

[rms499x]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

Some where in Argentina.

my choice would be only terra del fuego.

[wwest5829]

5 hours ago, Airalee said:

Colombia doesn’t have a tax treaty with America so you end up paying double taxes on your US income if you stay there more than 183 days per year.  So...as nice as it looks, for me it would be a no go.

https://www.taxsamaritan.com/us-expat-tax-in-colombia/
 

Lima, Peru looks interesting as does Montevideo, Uruguay 

Interesting as my understanding is that US IRS tax regulations allows claiming any foreign tax paid as a deduction against US taxes owed. I do this with my foreign stock tax payments.

[wolf81]

Many years before I moved to Thailand, I was always thinking at some point I would emigrate to Chile. One of the reasons were the good IT infrastructure, meaning it should be easy for me to find work as software developer. Or to work remotely.

Also central Chile has a Mediterranean climate. And also the country has deserts, snow, mountains ... a bit of everything.

So Chile would have been my first choice. But I never visited South America, so I can't tell from experience. Still on my bucket list.

[bwpage3]

23 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Peruvian food is amazing. My only experience there is Lima, which is a great city, but high crime, weird depressing weather, and largely filthy. I think Arequipa sounds interesting but it's very geographically isolated.

I think it is a given anywhere in South America should be outside of a major city for the reasons you mentioned.

[bwpage3]

1 hour ago, rms499x said:

In central america, there is quite a few nice small countries but packed with gangs, used to go surf there, got robbed every single time, the authority is a total joke, unreliable, panama was the most civilized one, but very business oriented, not sure as retirement paradise tough.

South america I would stay far away with 1 exception: Patagonia, but mind it's expensive, definitely not for everyone.

I had lived in many countries in South America and I don't want that experience again ever.

Thailand is a safe heaven compared to those countries.

Why not caribbean area, Curacao is a nice place as many other islands around, Grand Cayman is wonderful..

Another option is just keep moving from one place to another every 6 months or so.. believe me, if you think to settle down in south america you gonna need big balls, and great contacts, try Rio de Janeiro lol.

You use to surf and got robbed every single time? And you kept going?

Then you claimed to live in many countries in South America?

Yet recommend Curacao and Grand Cayman as places to retire not having a clue how expensive they are? Curacao is more expensive than the US. Grand Cayman: over 100% more expensive than in most European countries and the United States.

There are awesome affordable places to retire in South America that they love expats. Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador.

[wpcoe]

On 3/13/2021 at 3:20 AM, Jingthing said:

Mexico if you meant Latin America. 

 

Queretaro, Guadalajara, or too hot Merida 

Hey.  I resemble that remark.  ????

I've lived in too hot Merida twice now.  The most recent stint started last year February and this time I have permanent residency, which is a LOT easier that getting serial retirement extensions in Thailand.

Yeah, it *is* hot, but in the 15 years I lived in Jomtien I didn't have a very outdoorsy lifestyle, so the Merida heat isn't that much of a factor.  For me.  YMMV, for sure.   On the Yucatan peninsula there are beach communities (Merida is land-locked) that are cooler, but they don't have the reputation that Merida has.  it's super safe: very little violent crime.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

I think it is a given anywhere in South America should be outside of a major city for the reasons you mentioned.

Well I think it depends on the individual and what they're looking for. For example mega city Mexico City in Latin America rather than South America is a huge draw for certain kinds of expats, usually younger working ones. Pretty much all big cities have safer richer districts. 

I mentioned Colombia but if you're a younger party animal you'll still prefer Medellin to the coffee region cities. 

[Jingthing]

29 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

Hey.  I resemble that remark.  ????

I've lived in too hot Merida twice now.  The most recent stint started last year February and this time I have permanent residency, which is a LOT easier that getting serial retirement extensions in Thailand.

Yeah, it *is* hot, but in the 15 years I lived in Jomtien I didn't have a very outdoorsy lifestyle, so the Merida heat isn't that much of a factor.  For me.  YMMV, for sure.   On the Yucatan peninsula there are beach communities (Merida is land-locked) that are cooler, but they don't have the reputation that Merida has.  it's super safe: very little violent crime.

Yes and if you believe statistics Merida is one of the safest cities in all the Americas. The heat and humidity freaks me out though. Jomtien is not very humid. I don't even need aircon in my condo here.

All these choices are about tradeoffs. I mentioned Guadalajara before largely because I love the vibe there. Its not nearly as safe as Merida or Queretaro though.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Jingthing

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, wwest5829 said:

Interesting as my understanding is that US IRS tax regulations allows claiming any foreign tax paid as a deduction against US taxes owed. I do this with my foreign stock tax payments.

Depends on what tax treaties have been agreed to between the countries.  Thailand has one...Colombia does not.  And contrary to what some have said in this thread, all foreign income (including social security and pensions) are taxable income.  And if you don’t pay, the penalties can be quite onerous.

[Don Chance]

Not interesting at all to me. It is western culture, catholic. Very boring. Latinos, no thanks.

[wwest5829]

51 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Depends on what tax treaties have been agreed to between the countries.  Thailand has one...Colombia does not.  And contrary to what some have said in this thread, all foreign income (including social security and pensions) are taxable income.  And if you don’t pay, the penalties can be quite onerous.

“If you meet certain requirements, you may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign housing exclusion, and/or the foreign housing deduction. To claim these benefits, you must have foreign earned income, your tax home must be in a foreign country, and you must be one of the following:

• A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year,
• A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or
• A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.”

Edited March 14, 2021 by wwest5829

[Jingthing]

44 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

Not interesting at all to me. It is western culture, catholic. Very boring. Latinos, no thanks.

I wouldn't call Latin American culture boring. Nor is it a monolith. For example Buenos Aires so white and European compared to indigenous Bolivia and the Japanese in Sao Paolo. First world Chile. Progressive Uruguay. Political powder keg Brazil. But I understand what you're saying. Like the machismo <deleted>.  I would certainly miss a lot of Asian food in most places there.

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Jingthing

[JackGats]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Colombia tax depends on your specific situation. They won't tax foreign sourced pension income.

Could you give a source for that assertion? I researched the tax status of foreign pensions in SA some months ago and Colombia was not among the countries where foreign pensions would go untaxed. Such countries are Peru, Chile, the DR, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica.

[bwpage3]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I wouldn't call Latin American culture boring. Nor is it a monolith. For example Buenos Aires so white and European compared to indigenous Bolivia and the Japanese in Sao Paolo. First world Chile. Progressive Uruguay. Political powder keg Brazil. But I understand what you're saying. Like the machismo <deleted>.  I would certainly miss a lot of Asian food in most places there.

 

I much prefer the food in South America to Thai food any day. 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, JackGats said:

Could you give a source for that assertion? I researched the tax status of foreign pensions in SA some months ago and Colombia was not among the countries where foreign pensions would go untaxed. Such countries are Peru, Chile, the DR, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica.

How to expat youtube channel covers tax issues.

[Jingthing]

Just now, bwpage3 said:

I much prefer the food in South America to Thai food any day. 

Hard to say. Peruvian food is radically different than Argentinian food.. I love all good food. 

[Airalee]

35 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

“If you meet certain requirements, you may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign housing exclusion, and/or the foreign housing deduction. To claim these benefits, you must have foreign earned income, your tax home must be in a foreign country, and you must be one of the following:

• A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year,
• A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or
• A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.”

Unfortunately, that doesn’t include every country.  From my understanding and research, you can deduct taxes that are paid in Colombia on income earned in Colombia from your US tax return.  But it doesn’t apply to income earned in the US (dividends/capital gains/pensions/rent) as far as the Colombian tax authorities are concerned.  Colombia even has an implied minimum income for expats.  There is also a wealth tax on worldwide assets (above about $1,000,000 USD). There are many websites that discuss this unfortunate situation.  DYODD

[Airalee]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

How to expat youtube channel covers tax issues.

I’ll take what KPMG tells me over some “how to expat YouTube channel”

[gamini]

Argentina. Where polo is near en par with football. I met, played, and made friends with wonderful Argentine polo players. I would like to spend my last days watching them play this wonderful sport. 

[Iron Tongue]

Argentina, no question.  Cost of living in Beunos Ares is very compatible with large cities in Thailand, and it is a European city in feel.  Plenty of good steaks and wine and activities.  City living, open spaces and clean air when you travel.

If the question includes Central America, then I'd throw in Costa Rica for consideration.

[moontang]

I probably should have added that I would likely start out as a snowbird escaping some pretty harsh Wyoming Winters.  My Spanish language skills are far better than my Thai, even after seven years of living here full time, and visiting since 1998.  Portgugese and French.. almost none.  Quite interested in Argentina.. I know a few that say the Argentinian steak places are better than the best in the US. 

[tonray]

Alabama

[VocalNeal]

I liked Brazil. But I lived inland in Ipatinga, MG. Pleasant enough. Not a huge city but restaurants/bars enough. Buses , hospitals, all mod cons. Has an airport. But then most decent sized cities in Brazil do. Has a good soccer team and stadium. Has a Kart track, model aircraft field ( one needs hobbies), water park/resort/club for the summer.

I've only briefly stepped into Uruguay but liked the laid back feel. Never hear much in the news about Uruguay. Which in my mind is good.

[Deli]

Colombia or if you want it cheap, Nicaragua.

I don't recommend Costa Rica, nothing good there.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I liked Brazil. But I lived inland in Ipatinga, MG. Pleasant enough. Not a huge city but restaurants/bars enough. Buses , hospitals, all mod cons. Has an airport. But then most decent sized cities in Brazil do. Has a good soccer team and stadium. Has a Kart track, model aircraft field ( one needs hobbies), water park/resort/club for the summer.

I've only briefly stepped into Uruguay but liked the laid back feel. Never hear much in the news about Uruguay. Which in my mind is good.

Uruguay would be high on my list if I qualified for their retirement visa. 65k baht pension based retirees in Thailand will qualify. They don't have a show money in the bank option as some Latin American countries do such as Ecuador and Mexico.

About Argentina and yes I've been there I think there are good reasons why it isn't very popular with retired expats. For examples too much bureaucracy with the visa process, overly restrictive banking regulations for foreigners, and a history of swinging between predictable financial crises.

Americans in particular need to determine if they will be able to open bank accounts abroad in any country because many international banks are refusing because of reporting regulations. 

In some countries you won't need a local bank account but in others it will be necessary for visa reasons, etc.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Jingthing

[moontang]

2 hours ago, tonray said:

Alabama

Was actually born in Miami... there is more South American culture there, than many places in South America. My old hood is all Venezuelans.  

[Eindhoven]

On 3/13/2021 at 1:13 PM, Jingthing said:

Peruvian food is amazing. My only experience there is Lima, which is a great city, but high crime, weird depressing weather, and largely filthy. I think Arequipa sounds interesting but it's very geographically isolated.

 

Huh? What? Depends where you live. I took a penthouse and various other properties in Miraflores. I walked to and around the surrounding districts.

Though of course if there is a perception, then you feel might uncomfortable anyway. I walked everywhere day and night and didn't feel uncomfortable, even when walking through what looked like low income areas.

But then I specialise in exploring interesting areas.

Cannot say I had a problem with the weather, even though it is strange. You think it's going to rain but it never does. 

Filthy? Not where I visited.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Eindhoven

[cheshiremusicman]

After watching Anthony  Bourdains travel programmes ( No reservations) I would choose Uruguay - low crime rate, nice climate and decent hospitals etc.