Thread: Which country do you want to retire or relocate to?

Originally Posted by wjblaney

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I've already retired in Thailand, so I guess the question is moot for me.

I presume you have a Thai retirement visa. So do I. I've been retired in Thailand for the past couple of years. I still consider my options open. For a Thai retirement visa I have to prove that I have income in the amount of approx. $2000 USD/mo. or have approx. $25000 USD in a Thai bank account. There are 3 types of residence visas you can obtain in Ecuador: 1) proof of $800/mo. in income to obtain a Pension's residency visa. 2) Buy a CD worth $25,000 from a lending institution approved by the Ecuadorian government to obtain an Investment visa. 3) Buy a home with a tax value of at least $25,000 to obtain a Real Estate visa. Consider this also (from Expat 101: Ecuador Visas Made Easy)

If you are 65 or older you are eligible for phenomenal extra benefits—free medical care and medications, half-price bus transportation anywhere in the country, half-price tickets to movies plus sporting and cultural events, discounted airfare, a free landline telephone, and refund of your 12% IVA (VAT) tax.

Actually, I have Non-resident O, multiple entry, one year based on marriage to a Thai national. No need for proof of funds unless I apply for an extension. Since I take a trip every year back to the States to check up on my 94 year old mother along with visiting with my kids and friends, I just apply for a new visa from the Consulate in Los Angeles.

Most Jeddah expats would probably know of the Bakers.

Comment at the bottom of the article by their son.
They just love Jeddah, and so do I. What I wouldn't do for a Broast and to be diving at 'Silver Sands' right now.

ls01 | LifeStyle | Saudi Gazette

After working in Jeddah for 29 years, Clem Baker and his wife, Trisha, retired back to England in 2006. However, unlike the majority of Westerners who leave with their “Exit Only” visas, the Bakers return to Saudi Arabia twice a year for holidays. The Bakers, who come from Northumberland in the north of England, first came to Jeddah in 1977. When I asked Clem what brought them to Saudi Arabia his answer was a single word: “Money!” At first he came out without his wife and two sons, but on their first holiday visit, they all fell in love with Jeddah and moved out here. After a two -year contract installing telephone exchanges, Clem was employed by Saudia in the communications department. In between the change of jobs, Clem wanted to take his car back to the UK. He asked some of his colleagues the best way to drive back. “It’s easy,” they told him, “you just drive straight up the Medina Road, and keep going!” And that is exactly what he did. What he didn’t realize was that at the Saudi border, his number plates would be removed. He wrote the numbers on two pieces of cardboard and put them in the windows and drove all the way through Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Europe like that, with no problems at any borders. “In fact,” he said, “at the border with Yugoslavia, I got gas coupons because they were trying to encourage tourism there.” The family returned a short while after that and moved into the Sharbatly Compound. In those days, Saudia City was still under construction. Clem remembers the first time he came into the compound area: “We were driving past Saudia City and there was a sign saying “House Sale”. We came into the South West area of the compound and went into this house and bought about twenty LP records, mostly Country & Western from some American that was here. There was a water cooler on the table and it had a price tag on it and the woman of the house was selling glasses of water for SR.2 to people who were coming to their house sale!” By 1982, Saudia City was complete and along with all the other expatriate airline staff, they moved into the new compound. “In those days, there was no wall around Saudia City and the road that is now Malek Road was just a hard packed dirt road. We used to drive straight across the desert to the creek. We would just park the car on the side of the creek somewhere, because there were no buildings in those days, and stay all day.” Clem remembers that 25 years ago, only the basics were available in the shops. “We would come back from the UK with our cases full of everything we needed. Now, for the last 10 years, it has been the opposite way around – we come here with empty cases and fill them up to take home. Things are a lot cheaper here than in the UK, especially with the riyal exchange rate. Food is much cheaper; fruits and things like schwarmas, and broast. A schwarma in the UK costs you about SR.20 and here it is only SR.3, and gasoline is very cheap – but unfortunately we can’t take those things with us!” In the past, communications were also very different. “There used to be an international telephone exchange at Bab Makkah and they had kiosks with queues and queues of people because you could only make calls through the operator; you didn’t have international access from your home phone and you had to book your call. Not many people even had phones in their homes. It was very difficult even for a business to get a phone. We had no TV and the highlight of a week on some compounds used to be renting a projector and a film from Downtown and organizing a film night. There weren’t any public cinemas, but the compounds had virtually public cinemas.” He recounted another favourite memory: “There was a big rainstorm in 1978 or ’79. I was working afternoon shift in Bab Makkah and one afternoon, the sky went black as though it was night time. I went to the school to collect our children and at first I thought someone was throwing stones at me – but it was hail stones, BIG hail stones. On my way back, the water started to build up at Kilo 6 and after I got through Bab Makkah, I had to roll my trousers up because the water was inside the car. Other cars had stopped and people were sitting on top of them. There wasn’t much drainage in those days and along the pavements in Bab Makkah there were a lot of man holes without covers where they were putting in cables and so forth and I saw a man walking up to his knees in water with his thobe pulled up. All of a sudden, he completely disappeared. I stopped and waited until I saw him come up again, so he survived it. Then I got into work and one of my Tunisian colleagues was sitting there with all his clothes over the back of his chair drying out because he had done the same thing!” Clem has also taken advantage of the improved medical facilities in the Kingdom to have laser surgery on his eyes. A few of his old working colleagues told him that they had had the procedure done and when he asked how much they had paid for it, he was surprised to find that it was about a quarter of the price quoted in the UK. If there had been an opportunity to buy a home and retire here, Clem was emphatic that that they would have done this. They come back here every six months, usually for 1 – 2 months, sponsored by Saudi family friends. “When we visit Saudia City, we get a great reception. It’s not just good to be back here – it’s great! We would love to bring friends out to visit but it is too difficult. They would love to dive here. It is a great shame that they don’t allow tourists to come. If they opened their doors, there would be a great market here, especially the diving.” During their years in Jeddah, a lot has obviously changed. “But,” he said, “the changes have all been for the better. What I do miss are the gatherings of the expats that they used to have – now they are very limited compared to 20 years ago. In the old days there was also a theatre that we used in about 1978, quite close to Balad, near the Lagoon. A building there was a proper theatre and we had a Pantomime there. I would also like to think that the Government will take care of the old buildings in Balad and keep them up to scratch rather than let them fall to pieces, which seems to be happening. I went there recently and there are some that are just dropping. They could have them looking nice. I would like to see them try to preserve more of their heritage.” During their years in Jeddah, Trisha worked at the Continental School as a swimming teacher. After so many years abroad, neither of them settled well in the UK when they retired. They missed the weather, their friends, the life style and the beach. They had a lot of Saudi friends and most of Clem’s work colleagues were by then Saudis and not expatriates. “Once we left on an Exit-Only visa, we wanted to come back because we have lived more than half our lives here. We consider that Saudi Arabia is home. When we flew out this time, as we circled over Jeddah to come in to land, Trisha said: “We are home again.’”

I don't want to bother talking about the USA on this thread so this video says enough. Very clever lyrics and a damn good song, if you listen with headphones and like Neue Deutsche Härte (dance metal).

Originally Posted by Dragonfly94

Any Islamic country is obviously not an option being automatically a shithole

I will retire to Dar al-Tawhid where I will give bay'at to Abu Bakr Al-Quraishi, Amir al Mu'minim, and perform Dua in Khorasan so that my children may take ghanima in Dar al-Harb, and only Al-Mutakabbir Al-`Alim knows the future and protects the righteous.