Cheap retirement locations
Retire Cheaper in These 5 Spots
You have probably been looking forward to retirement for, well, ever. But the reality is, you're still going to need a place to live, and depending on the city or country in which you reside, the costs can pile up. US News and World Report has come to your rescue with suggestions for five cheap retirement locations, although some might not sound too appealing (Columbia, for example).
Cost of living in places like South and Central America and Asia is so low that you could get by on less than $500 a month in rent. The top five cheap retirement locations according to the article's author are: Leon, Nicaragua; Medellin, Colombia; Las Tablas, Panama; Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Languedoc-Roussillon, France. The cheap rent goes hand-in-hand with the low cost of food in many of these areas.
While the author does touch upon the quality of living in some of these spots, one commenter points out that living this cheaply in Columbia means possibly living in a dangerous area. She said that higher-quality housing starts at $2,000 a month, far more expensive than the author's $210 to $800 price range.
In the end, how and where you want to spend your retirement depends on you. While saving is important, you probably don't want to spend your golden years living in a shack and hearing gunshots outside your window.
"Housing is likely to be one of your biggest retirement expenses. One way to approach your search for the ideal overseas retirement haven is to focus on retire-overseas choices where housing is cheap..."
