Perpetual
Traveling 101
By Lief
Simon
|
|
| When relocating abroad,
should you rent or buy?
The question came up over dinner
with friends last week. We were talking about the increasingly popular
concept of perpetual travel during retirement. In that context, does it
make sense to own anywhere? Maybe choose a "home base" and invest in a
"home" there…while renting in all the other locations where you want to
spend time each year?
Owning has advantages. You can leave
personal items from visit to visit. You can have your own set of keys and
come and go as you please. You don't have to worry about checking in or
out.
Of course, owning comes with responsibilities,
too. You've got to pay your bills when you're somewhere else, and if a
faucet starts leaking while you're thousands of miles away…who you gonna
call? Maintenance, repairs, improvements…some people don't want the hassle.
They would rather leave all that to a landlord and just enjoy themselves
while they're in residence. Of course, you could always hire a handyman
to make repairs for you…
In truth, renting probably requires
as much administration as owning. You have to find a place, send a deposit,
check in, check out, and call the landlord for help when something breaks.
The big advantage of renting is the flexibility it gives you. You can change
your destination from one year to the next. Maybe this year Paris seems
too expensive…and you'd rather go to Buenos Aires instead…
I have friends who've spent two decades
perpetually traveling the world in retirement with no home base at all.
Renting has allowed them to roam free with none of the responsibilities
of ownership. They move from country to country without restriction and
can decide on the fly where to go next.
However, living with no home base
isn't for everyone. Some people don't feel comfortable without some roots
somewhere. If you know you'd prefer to have a home base long term, even
if it doesn't turn out to be the place you spend most of your time, you
can establish that base in advance of your "retirement," even while you're
still working. In fact, it could be the home you're living in now.
After you've decided if you want
a home base, or not, long-term…and you've established it…the next step
is to consider how much time you'd like to spend in each of the other destinations
on your perpetual traveling list. Maybe you'd like to spend six months
in the U.S., then six months in Uruguay, say. In that case, you'd probably
be best served owning in both locations. |
This article is
excerpted from International Living Newsletter - You can subscribe to International
Living to receive their great newsletter delivered right to your door |
|
|
|
Retire
Overseas!
Learn about
the world's six best places to live or retire.
Live like
royalty on $17 a day.
Own an exotic
beachfront getaway for $35,000. Or a romantic pied-a-terre for under $60,000.
Enjoy fine restaurant dining for $7 per person. Employ a maid or gardener
for $2 a day. Buy comprehensive health insurance for $20 per month. Get
the details in your FREE report now.
|
|
|
|
|
If your plan is to spend three months
in each of four places, on the other hand, you need to do some math. You
can spend $4,400 to more than $6,000 a square meter to own something with
an ocean view in Miami. Depending on your chosen "retirement" destinations,
you could use the half-million dollars or more that it would take to buy
a 120-square-meter apartment in Miami with an ocean view to buy four 60-square-meter
apartments, one in each of your four retirement spots.
Or you could buy in two spots and
rent in the other two, etc.
As the debate carried on the other
evening, our dinner companions seemed to talk themselves into the idea
of establishing one home base and renting wherever else they decided they'd
like to spend a few months at a time each year. These Americans are still
deciding where to establish their home base, but it probably won't be in
the States.
Kathie and I decided long ago that,
long-term, we would like to spend time in Europe and Latin America each
year, following the seasons. We prefer to own so that each place can be
made a home no matter how much time we spend there. As owners, we'll contemplate
renting out some of the properties when we aren't using them.
The key to a multi-country retirement
is planning ahead…buying, if that is your goal, before you actually retire,
as your budget and cash flow allow and, critically, as the particular markets
on your list offer good buying opportunities. You want to identify the
places where you'd like to be and to begin establishing yourself as far
in advance of your actual move as possible. Get to know your way around,
establish contacts, make friends…
So that when the big day arrives,
and you're ready to cut your ties, you've got a ready-made new life overseas
waiting for you.
Lief Simon
For International Living
P.S. Our friends made the point that
they're holding off buying in Paris, which they think may be their ultimate
home base, because they don't think that market will see any significant
appreciation in the foreseeable future. Buying property for retirement
is different than investing in real estate. Don't consider your home base
as an investment…it's a home. Sure, it would be great if it appreciated
in value, but if you plan to maintain and use your retirement home base
throughout your retirement (that is, until you die), then appreciation
isn't the major consideration.
..
|
