many of you guys are experienced globe trotters. apart from the UK--and the Philippines----if you could retire with your spouse anywhere in the world---where would you choose and--why ?
A female colleague of mine, in her late thirties / early forties and her husband have effectively semi retired to the Canary Islands. She had been doing admin and PA type work and he was ex navy having been based in Gibraltar for a number of years. They have kids approx 8 and 14 but decided to say stuff it and up sticks to the Canary’s for the weather and change of lifestyle. They rent their U.K. house out and rent a property over there. The kids are in the local school and she and her husband have “soft” jobs to help them with expenses (she cleans a few chalets for a morning each day and he drives a delivery van for Iceland over there). I think he has a Navy pension - not sure. Seems a good move to me as the Canaries climate is great. They left just a few weeks after the Brexit vote. I often wondered if that would affect them. But it didn’t stop them. But they are still there and settled. Sounds a good idea to me though there are many good alternatives.
I think perhaps Hong Kong... if I could afford it, as I like the place (lots to see and do, plus great infrastructure), and I have worked and lived there before with my family (first marriage). Maybe Singapore , as I've lived there too, but as a child. Both not far from the Phils.
Spain, but away from the coast (costas) where the Spanish people have no time for foreigners because of all the stories they have heard and horrible things they have seen.
Very similar story. A colleague (not known him that long as we effectively bought out their company) ex navy just gone to the Spanish interior with his wife. He was on one of these shows last year, the ones filming couples contemplating moving home abroad. It aired just a few weeks ago, the place was basic and located outside a small spanish village but they are made up. His wife has been there a few months, he went out last week, having got his redundancy.
As I'm not married , maybe I shouldn't really reply , but it's an interesting question bigmac . A few years ago , I thought about maybe retiring to Thailand . The food is good , the Internet and infrastructure is good , and it was comparatively cheap to live . From my last two visits , the exchange rate isn't as good , and it doesn't seem that cheap now, although it may be cheaper in less touristy areas . One of my favourite cities now , is Kuala Lumpur . I know some might not be comfortable with it being a Muslim country , but I've always found the people friendly and helpful . Food prices are similar , or in some cases less than Uk , infrastructure / internet is good . The location is good also , being four hours from Cebu , only an hour or so from Bankok, a quick hop to Singapore , and not far from Hong Kong . There are also cheap flights to places like Bali and Phuket . Taxis are cheap ( when you haggle ) and there is quite a lot to see and do there .
You can't bank on the exchange rate anywhere now, the issue is that these countries have suffered high inflation for many years at the same time as we have seen a currency devaluation of GBP against the Asian currencies, the net result is that we are getting closer together on pricing, that is globalisation for you, the downside for the locals is that nobody ever gave them a rise in wages so they end up with prices like ours but without the income. edit: right now things are a bit better in our favour but it won't stay like that.
I can't answer Malcolm, I am not married and my choice would be the Philippines. If I were to answer from a hypothetical viewpoint it might be New Zealand, not because I have ever been there but just because it looks nice
I loved New Zealand for a months vacation , I had always wanted to go there from a young age , and even hoped to emigrate there . After travelling around for a month , I realised that I could not live there . Incredible scenery , with mountains , rivers and waterfalls , but it was 30 -40 years behind the times . My son actually did emigrate there for a while , but his partner couldn't adjust to life there , and the cost of living was incredibly high compared with his wages . They came back to the Uk basically because they couldn't afford to live there . It seems a good place for people to retire to , but most younger kiwis that I spoke to , planned to move to Australia , or if possible the UK
France, somewhere in the Dordogne as the weather is good the food is good and the wine is excellent.....
not for me. happy to stay in the UK..but thinking of relocating off the island to be nearer to family.
Oh, I can recommend Yorkshire then, if you don't mind living amongst incoherent tight-fisted ruffians.
oh--theres plenty of those here where i live. many have extra fingers. both my wife and myself are regarded as foreigners.
Zürich, Switzerland... mainly because it’s part of “11 cities around the world where crime is low, hospitals are plentiful, and families can feel safe” (at least according to The Economist's 2017 safe cities index posted on businessinsider.com) Their economy isn’t bad either. Zürich is considered a leading financial center and residents have high quality of life. They have high level of investment in education and can also offer linguistic diversity (Although, I'm not yet married... kindly pardon me...)
