| Overseas
Retirement - Your Concerns |
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| Safety |
| - Often
the first concern of those considering overseas retirement regards safety.
Is it safe, will I get robbed, kidnapped, cheated? As ironic as this
may sound to you, it is the USA that is one of the most violent and unsafe
nations in the world, and in a very odd way, one of the least free. In
most nations chosen for overseas retirement there is less violent crime
and a greater latitude of freedom than currently exists in the United States. |
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| That is not
to say there is no crime even in the safest of nations. Sweden has
crime, Japan has crime, even Switzerland has crime; but in each of these
nations there is very little 'violent' crime. Even in nations that have
a reputation for violent crime, such as Brazil; the violent crime is isolated
to a few select cities. Children hitchhike with their surfboards
in Florianopolis, Brazil; there simply is nothing to fear in doing so.
Getting robbed in Rio de Janeiro is almost enviable. The two cities
are almost a thousand miles apart. |
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| There is more
violent crime in Washington DC in one day than there is in the entire nation
of Panama in an entire year. |
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| Where? |
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| So, you may
be asking, how are you supposed to know which locations are safe and which
are a danger. That is the purpose of the EscapeArtist.com Overseas Retirement
Reference Library. The Reference Library has more articles, reports and
resources than you could read in ten sittings. |
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| Generally
speaking the nations of Eruope tend to be the safest. They are also the
most expensive, and in some ways the most restrictive. While many USA retirees
do move to Europe, most are moving to the Caribbean and Latin America.
I can speak from personal experience regarding Latin America. I am 68 years
old and I've been living Latin America for 12 years. While I keep a base
in one nation (Panama) for business purposes, I have houses in three separate
Latin American nations and in twelve years I have never experienced one
incident of crime directed against my person. |
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| The reason
most USA retirees chose Latin America is two fold. Proximity to the USA
is a big plus for most Americans, one can flly from Costa Rica to Miami
in a few hours. The same can be said about many parts of the Caribbean.
The second reason is price. The cost of real estate and the cost of living
is many times lower in much of Latin America than it is in the USA.
(This cannot be said about the Caribbean, although the Dominican Republic
is still a bargain.) |
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| Other Places |
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| Australia
and New Zealand have great appeal; but they are not the best choice as
retirement nations. Entry into Australia and New Zealand is biased
against retirees; both nations want younger, productive emigrants.
That doesn't rule them out. If you qualify, by all means consider
Australia and New Zealand. People are retiring at younger ages and
if you are young enough to qualify for these nations you might do well
to consider them. Again, you will find information in this reference
library which will help you make your decisions. |
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| South-East
Asia has become a popular destination, especially Thailand. Eastern
Europe is much less expensive than Western Europe, and Croatia, Montenegro,
and other Baltic nations are excellent places to live. Many Western Europeans
have moved to Eastern Europe or bought retirement homes there, and in so
doing have pushed the prices up; not to the level of Western Europe, but
higher than prices in Latin America. It should also be pointed out that
in Europe one finds better food, a more pronounced culture and a wider
range of intellectual activities than one does in Latin America. If you
can afford it, then consider it, because while these attributes come at
a cost the differences can be considerable for those who love the European
lifestyle. |
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| How To Use This Website |
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| First, a word
of advice on what not to do. Do not output large amounts of money
to anyone for assistance, or for placement in a 'perfect' haven.
Read through this library; seek out articles and reports that are about
one or two of your chosen desinations. Read them. Some of our material
is good, some excellent, some rather poor, and some dated. The quality
of the information is based on its value to you. You will find more information
here than you could find in ten books, or by contacting ten foreign embassies.
What you are seeking is information, and most of the information in this
library is written by those who have moved overseas and who know things
from having lived in a place that the embassies and the salesman didn't
tell them before they moved there. |
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| Keep Your Powder Dry |
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| Again, do
not output large sums of money. Once you have narrowed your search to one
or two nations; visit the nation(s) you've decided on and spend some time
there. You can 'house swap' in many nations, swapping houses for a fixed
period of time with someone who wishes to do so. If that is not possibly,
seek a furnished apartment that has a reasonable monthy fee. We have house
swaps and overseas rentals in our real estate section. Do not make
the mistake of buying the first thing you see without a full understanding
of the country in which you are doing the buying. Nations oveseas
have 'neighborhoods' just as cities in the USA has neighborhoods. You definitely
don't want to buy where no local would buy; and this sort of thing does
happen. |
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| Subscribe To Our Free Magazine |
| The best way
to get the most current information is to subscribe to our free eMagazine.
We have a hassle free unsubscribe policy, and we do not spam, period. We
also have a for pay subscription magazine. Click
here for details on both. |
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| Library Index |
| Below is the
Library Index; there are a number of different options and a number of
different access points. Access to the library is free of cost. Note that
there are complete reports for many nations and subjects; which are promoted
by way of the advertisements you see above. The cost of these reports is
minimal; in most cases the fee is $20. If you have made a decision on a
secific nation; the reports will provide a great deal of information that
will save you time, hassles and money. |
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| Take Your Time |
| Take your
time. You are encouraged to return to this library again and again.
As there is no fee, you have every reason to do so. |
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