If not in your home country, then where do you plan to retire?

[Illiane_Blues]

I thought Uruguay is expensive?
If not it's worth looking into.

[buffalofan]

Regarding Mexico, Baja (except for Cabo) is appealing, but probably not as a full-time base. I would want to balance it out by also having a base with a little more going on. Mexico City is great, but the rents there for the neighborhoods I would want to be in are high for a retiree teacher (and insanely high when compared to the rest of Mexico). PV is popular but just too touristy for my taste. I have heard good things about Guadalajara & Guanajuato but have not yet visited these cities so hard to say if they would be suitable. Love Oaxaca city as a place to visit but I think it is just a little too small to live there - with that said you could live there very cheaply. I think coastal Oaxaca would also be worth checking out, but have not been there myself.

[ILMathTeachr]

buffalofan wrote:
I think coastal Oaxaca would also be worth checking
> out, but have not been there myself.

I honeymooned in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and enjoyed it very much 17 years ago, fwiw. (And yes, I checked the phone books while I was there; no Andy Dufresne nor Randall Stevens listed.Very disappointed. ;-) )

[PsyGuy]

@ILMathTeachr

You really think they (Andy) would have a (landline) phone?

[PTADV]

Portugal is one of the best countries to retire. The climate is mild, the cost of living is lower than in many Western countries, healthcare is excellent, and the lifestyle is relaxed and welcoming. Many retirees also appreciate the safety, friendly communities, and beautiful coastlines.

If you’re considering your retirement options, check out this guide on retiring in Portugal.

https://www.portugalresidencyadvisors.c ... -portugal/

[PsyGuy]

Id prefer Spain (theres a new digital nomad visa).

[Heliotrope]

Spain and Portugal are both great countries.
I wouldn't mind living in either Lisbon, Porto, Madrid, Sevilla or Valencia, or perhaps smaller cities like Coimbra, Zaragoza, Braga or Bilbao.
The Azores (Portuguese archipelago in the mid-Atlantic) also look amazing, although perhaps too remote for my liking.
I already speak Spanish, so Spain might be the easier choice of the two. Lisbon does look like the nicest city of the bunch, but all seem really great, with Valencia being the runner-up for the top spot.

But while both Spain and Portugal are now relatively easy countries to retire in, the quality of healthcare, COL and the ease of getting a visa might be very different by the time I retire. Also, the Summers in Spain (and I assume Portugal) are already brutally hot at times, and might be a lot harder to endure in a decade or two.
Even though I like to plan ahead, sadly I'll have to wait and see what the world looks like when I'm closer to retirement, but both Spain and Portugal are definitely countries I'll keep an eye on. It's really sad that neither countries has great international schools with a decent savings potential.

[kfssbjj]

Working overseas is a waste as you do not build state or social security benefits. I would rather work in the US and retire in Taiwan as they have the best medical system in the world.

[Heliotrope]

kfssbjj wrote:
> Working overseas is a waste as you do not build state or social security
> benefits. I would rather work in the US and retire in Taiwan as they have
> the best medical system in the world.

First of all, if you think teaching overseas is a waste, perhaps you joined the wrong forum?
And speaking for myself, the increased savings potential that working overseas has afforded me not only grants me a very comfortable lifestyle with lots of travel while working, but has also allowed me to build a sizeable investment account that will yield significantly more purchasing power in retirement than I would have had if I hadn't left.

I do agree that financially it's not the best move for every international teacher (many don't start saving for retirement until it's too late), but plenty of them make it work.
And of course money isn't the only reason why international teachers decide to go abroad. Some just want to escape domestic education, and some want to live abroad and experience different cultures.

Secondly, while Taiwan would be great country to spend retirement, it does not have a designated retirement/residence visa for retirees based solely on age and financial means, like (for example) Malaysia. This means you can’t just declare "I’m retired" and get a retirement visa to live in Taiwan indefinitely without fitting an existing visa category. Most foreign retirees in Taiwan are either married to a Taiwanese spouse or have an APRC after living in Taiwan (on a work or spousal visa) for 5 years.
You can instead do repeated tourist visas or visa-free entries, typically up to 90 days at a time. For this you'll have to leave and re-enter to reset the clock every three months, but this isn’t permanent residence, so it won't make you eligible for the Taiwanese national healthcare insurance.

[PsyGuy]

Thats a very American concentric position @kfssbjj. There are plenty of regions (E.G. the EUR) that provide a social pension scheme. Further, your not required (at least in regards to state DE pension schemes) to work the entirety of your life within the US DE system to become vested in those retirement plans, allowing plenty of opportunity to transition into DE.

TW ranks first on some reports, but there are other indices that place other countries ahead of Taiwan (E.G. AUS in one, Norway in another), the difference between them varies by about 1% or less among the commonly cited sources. TW is consistent for ranking high but its by no means an outlier. There are numerous locations with high quality health care.

I dont disagree with @Heliotrope in the locus of his claims. TW doesnt have an easy retirement visa compared to the ones cited. That is more problematic, but its not a critical flaw.
First, TW does have a "Gold card" visa, it allows residency and participation in the TW NHI (among other benefits) and isnt tied to a particular employer. It is however restricted to those who are in specialist fields, but edu is one of them.
Second, the most common method is starting a business in TW or opening a rep office of an existing business in TW. This allows you to employ yourself as the designated agent and participate in NHI. The requirements arent arduous either, an online tutoring company would be sufficient and since your income would be entirely retirement you woudnt run afoul of any profit or sales restrictions.
Third, semi or pseudo retirement is also an easy possibility. There a very high demand for ETs in the ESOL field. You could have a job with the 15hrs. minimum at some ES within a week or so of job searching in TW. Recruitment agencies in TW are constantly recruiting with high demand (though it fluctuates) year round. This would allow you to participate in NHI with a minimal time commitment.

[Heliotrope]

PsyGuy wrote:
> Thats a very American concentric position @kfssbjj. There are plenty of
> regions (E.G. the EUR) that provide a social pension scheme. Further, your
> not required (at least in regards to state DE pension schemes) to work the
> entirety of your life within the US DE system to become vested in those
> retirement plans, allowing plenty of opportunity to transition into DE.
>
> TW ranks first on some reports, but there are other indices that place
> other countries ahead of Taiwan (E.G. AUS in one, Norway in another), the
> difference between them varies by about 1% or less among the commonly cited
> sources. TW is consistent for ranking high but its by no means an outlier.
> There are numerous locations with high quality health care.
>
> I dont disagree with @Heliotrope in the locus of his claims. TW doesnt have
> an easy retirement visa compared to the ones cited. That is more
> problematic, but its not a critical flaw.
> First, TW does have a "Gold card" visa, it allows residency and
> participation in the TW NHI (among other benefits) and isnt tied to a
> particular employer. It is however restricted to those who are in
> specialist fields, but edu is one of them.
> Second, the most common method is starting a business in TW or opening a
> rep office of an existing business in TW. This allows you to employ
> yourself as the designated agent and participate in NHI. The requirements
> arent arduous either, an online tutoring company would be sufficient and
> since your income would be entirely retirement you woudnt run afoul of any
> profit or sales restrictions.
> Third, semi or pseudo retirement is also an easy possibility. There a very
> high demand for ETs in the ESOL field. You could have a job with the 15hrs.
> minimum at some ES within a week or so of job searching in TW. Recruitment
> agencies in TW are constantly recruiting with high demand (though it
> fluctuates) year round. This would allow you to participate in NHI with a
> minimal time commitment.

I'm was going by his plan, which was work in the US and then stop working and retire in Taiwan, but if you instead work there for 5 years, you can indeed obtain permanent residency. And you're right: it doesn't have to be full time work.
I wouldn't try the Gold Card route though: while it does include education, it's not meant for your typical teacher (I know someone who tried and failed). Apparently (for edu) it's meant to attract university lecturers, school leaders, senior curriculum designers, published authors and senior trainers. But if @kfssbjj happens to be any of those, it's a viable route to permanent residency. It's renewed every three years, so if they renew you once you'll be eligible for the APRC after a total of five years.

I know two teachers who are planning to try to have their last teaching post be in Taiwan, so they will qualify for permanent residency just before they retire.

Not sure if Taiwan's healthcare system will still be as great 10+ years from now, as Taiwan is on the threshold of being a super-aged society, which will make it increasingly harder to finance and staff. But for now it is still pretty great compared to almost all other countries (indeed some countries are just as good or even better), and Taiwan is an attractive place to live for plenty of other reasons.

[PsyGuy]

@Heliotrope

The OP can form a TW Representative Office, and employ themselves as the manager and agent. The capital requirement is about USD$16,000 and thats capital invested not costs. Representative Offices are not permitted to generate profits or engage in sales, so theres no tax liability or expected profit and losses to be filed. The OP can live off their retirement, participate in NHI, and after five years apply for PR (APRC), and thats real retirement, aside from filing and maintaining documents they dont have to 'work'.

I know three ITs that applied for the Gold card one was granted it, one was denied and one withdrew their application (the application could have gone either way). The one that was granted it had an M.Ed from a very average university, and a credential, but they did have the CSML (Certificate in School Management and Leadership) from Harvard, even though they were a classroom IT and not in leadership.

I have nothing against TW, it has its pluses and minuses, just that there are plenty of good reasons and for some factors better reasons (and worst) for other regions as well. TW just isnt the gold ring across all categories.

[Jinx35]

I have been living and working in Turkiye for 8 years and hope/plan/intend to work here another 7 years and then retire here as well. :)