It’s affordable, safe, exciting, exotic, and has terrific health care.

Last week I shared with you the top 20 picks for overseas retirement on a budget, according to Live and Invest Overseas.

Six of the countries are located in southeast Asia, which is the cheapest region of the world right now. These countries are:

• China
• India
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Vietnam

What About Residency?

Malaysia is the only country on this list to offer a retirement visa, called Malaysia, My Second Home.

Known as “MM2H,” the visa is good for 10 years and allows you to enter and leave the country as often as you want. It also lets you work part-time while you’re there. At this time, the visa does not lead to permanent residency, so if that’s your goal you should look elsewhere.

You don’t have to buy property to qualify for the MM2H. If you choose to, though, you’re required to spend a minimum amount which varies depending on location. For more details, visit the official website.

While it’s theoretically possible to get a residence visa in Thailand, it’s not practical for most people. (For one thing, they only give 100 of them each year.)

US citizens can stay in Thailand for 30 days without a visa if they arrive by air, but only 15 if they enter by land. That visa can be renewed by leaving the country and returning, but you can’t stay longer than 90 days out of any six-month period. If you’re over 50, you can apply for a one-year visa.

Expats in Thailand can purchase property, but not land. Buying a condo is straightforward, but if you want a house, you lease the land it’s on instead of owning it outright.

Other Asian countries are not so easy, however. In fact, gaining permanent residency is quite difficult. Additionally, restrictions on property ownership make it inadvisable to purchase property in India, China, Laos and Vietnam.

Why Asia?

So why live in Asia if you can’t gain residency or buy property?

Because you won’t find a lower cost, more interesting or exotic retirement anywhere else in the world! The region is quite safe, and you’ll find excellent — and affordable — health care in the major cities.

If you’re the kind of person who needs to put down roots, this won’t work for you. (But then again, if you were that kind of person you probably wouldn’t be reading about retirement in Asia anyway.)

The solution is to move around. Travel within the region is very inexpensive, so spend the time your visa allows in Thailand, then head to Laos for some relaxation. Enjoy the hustle and bustle of Vietnam’s vibrant economy, then head up into China.

In the past two weeks, I’ve met several people who are doing just that.

One couple has been retired for 30 years. They own a home in Argentina, but they spend very little time there. Instead, most of their year is spent in Asia. They believe Chiang Mai, Thailand, where they’ve been living part-time since 1988, is one of the best places in the world to retire.

Another couple started out a few years ago to travel around the world, but got to Asia and decided to stay. They’re back in the US now for a few months, but plan to head to Asia again after that.

A single young woman has been traveling extensively all over the world. I spoke with her last week, and she’s now planning a six-month trip to Asia with her 11-year old niece! They’ll start in Chiang Mai, which is one of her favorite places in the world and a place she feels very safe bringing her young relative.

These seasoned travelers shared some advice about where to go and what to see.

In China, Kunming and Chendu are welcoming and inexpensive.

If you want beaches, go to Vietnam or Thailand, particularly Hua Hin.

Want completely laid back? Then Laos is for you.

If you love big city life, pick Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia or Bangkok, Thailand.

If health care is your concern, the medical facilities in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are excellent. One of the Asia travelers I met was an RN in the US for 20 years, and he finds their medical care better than what’s in the US. If you’re in a more rural area, though, you probably want an evacuation plan in case you become ill.

photo by docnic on flickr

I don’t generally follow investment websites or blogs, but The Oblivious Investor caught my eye recently. Why? Because author Rick Todd rated some expat retirement destinations based on how much income you have to retire on.

photo by wirralwater on flickr

1. Costa Rica
2. Malaysia
3. Uruguay
4. Panama
5. Nicaragua

His top five picks for retirees with higher income:

photo by kokorowashinjin on flickr

1. France
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Portugal
5. New Zealand

Note that four out of the five “lower income” destinations are in Latin America, while four out of the five “higher income” locations are in Europe.

You can read the entire article here.

Guest Post by Mike Henry

Photo by Rudy Herman on flickr

As I write this, the movie Eat, Pray, Love is hitting the cinemas in the United States. I am sure most people are already familiar with the story.

The book’s author, Elizabeth Gilbert, is frustrated with her life in the United States and decides to take a year off traveling, spending time in Italy to eat, India to pray and Bali to find love.

I have been living in Bali for the past year and it is not surprising to come across many people (mostly women) who have come to Bali after reading the book. I haven’t had a chance to see the movie yet, but I am sure even more people will be drawn to Bali either for a short or extended stay.



Bali often has that effect on many people. People come only expecting to stay for a short holiday and then they find that they don’t want to leave!

I myself was looking for somewhere to live abroad and after spending some time traveling to Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia and some other parts of Indonesia, I finally decided I wanted to stay in Bali.

What’s So Special About Bali?

So what wanted me to live in Bali? Bali is a small island and you can travel from the south to the north in 2-3 hours. Bali lies just 8 degrees south of the equator ensuring warm weather throughout the year and is a mecca for surfers and fans of marine sports.

Bali has many picture postcard perfect scenes, from the beautiful sunsets to the magnificent rice field terraces carved out of the mountains.

Even though I have been here a year, I never get tired of the beautiful scenery.

Another thing which leaves a strong impression on people visiting Bali is the people. Balinese are mostly Hindu and preparing for and attending the many ceremonies is an important part of their lives. Religion, community and family are all important to Balinese and the strong community aspect of Balinese life, makes it an interesting and rewarding place to live.

In most western countries we have lost the community aspect to our lives and often people don’t even know who their neighbors are. This is one aspect of living in Bali that was unexpected for me, but it is one that I really enjoy. People seem to have more time for each other, even if it is just sitting outside chatting.

Different Timing

The whole concept of time is also completely different. Not only do Balinese use a different calendar, there never seems to be a rush to do things. This of course can be frustrating for many expats and it does take some time to get used to, especially if you are trying to run a business or build a house.

I think in western countries from a young age, we are taught to always make the best use of our time, whether it is going to school or at work or even in our social lives. It leads to people forever rushing around going from one appointment to the next. ‘Doing nothing’ is usually seen as wasting time and after moving to Bali it can take some time to adjust to a life where you don’t always have to be doing ‘something’.

Working in Bali

Other than a few English schools that employ a few language teachers and some five star hotels that have foreign executives, there are few jobs for foreigners in Bali. This means to live in Bali on a permanent basis you either need an outside income source like a pension or investments, or you need to run your own business.

Some foreigners have successful businesses exporting furniture and Balinese handicrafts. Many foreigners also have businesses catering to Bali’s tourism trade, which is the islands main source of foreign income. I run a few websites making money from Google Adsense and affiliate programs.

Since it’s not easy to find work in Bali, I wrote a free guide to how people might be able to earn a living. It is aimed for expats wanting to live in Bali, but much of the information could also be applied to any other country. It can be downloaded here: http://www.baliexpat.com/guides-and-ebooks/getting-started

Fortunately the cost of living is fairly low in Bali, if you move outside of the main tourist areas. Indonesia is a developing country, so internet is not that fast and it’s relatively expensive, but it is adequate for most people’s needs.

Some people move to Bali thinking it will be one long holiday and it will be just like living in ‘paradise’ and they are usually the expats who don’t end up staying long. I think Bali is a fantastic place to live, but like anywhere in the world, it’s not always a bed of roses.

As long as people realize that there will be problems along the way, you don’t constantly compare everything to back home and you have to adjust to a new culture and way of doing things, you can have a great life in Bali.

For a change of pace today, I thought I’d share with you some YouTube videos about expats and their new homes. A quick YouTube search of “expat” turns up over 4,000 videos. As you’d expect, some are good, some are terrible and most are in between. Some are slick, commercially produced efforts, most are not. The ones I find most interesting are individuals who shares specifics about their new homes.



I’ve chosen 14 videos worth a look. We’ll come back to this from time to time, so please don’t think I’m ignoring large chunks of the world.

Latin America

1. Retire Early in Mexico

2. Live, work and retire in Mexico. This video looks specifically at Merida, on the Yucatan Peninsula.
3. Living in Mexico, Moving to Mexico and Retiring in Mexico. An American couple moves to San Miguel de Allende.
4. A Retirement in Panama: Everything Under the Sun. This is a professionally created video by International Living.
5. Ecuador – One Man’s Dream
6. To Live in Cuenca, Ecuador
7. Cuenca Day and Night
8. Costa Rica Expat interviews w/Wayne

Asia

1. The Expat Life: Dumpling 101 An adventure in Chinese cooking. This is a really cute video of a US expat in China trying to make Chinese dumplings, to his daughter’s disapproval.

2. Life in Korea. The first month’s of a young American teacher’s adventures in Korea.
3. Life as an Expat in Thailand: Getting a Job
4. How to Live and Work as a Teacher in Thailand
5. Why Malaysia? A British expat explains his reasons.
6. Expat Women in Hong Kong Society. This video gives a glimpse of the down side of expatriation — what do you know when the society you’re living in doesn’t want to mingle with you?

So, you’ve decided you want to live in Asia, to travel to exotic locations, eat incredibly spicy food, and generally enjoy life in a culture that’s completely different from what you’ve grown up with. But you have to be able to afford it.

Previously, we’ve discussed teaching English as a second language as a way to finance your life abroad. Not surprisingly, the greatest demand for English teachers is in Asia. If you have a Bachelor’s degree in just about any subject and some specialized training, you can find a job teaching English in almost every Asian country.

“Young Americans Flock Overseas to Teach English” is the headline of a March 1 article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Job boards for English teachers in China, Japan, S. Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are bursting at the seams, but if you’re adventurous, you can also find jobs in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. I even saw some listings in Tibet!

First Step – Choose Your Training

While some English-teaching jobs abroad require only that you be a native English speaker, others expect at least a bachelor’s degree in some subject, and the best insist on certification.

And here’s the bugaboo. There seems to be a large difference of opinion as to which types of training and certification are the best. Acronyms like TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), ESL (English as a Second Language) and TESOL (Teaching English as a Second or Other Language) fly about. Every school promises that its program is the best, the most widely accepted.

A discussion by actual English teachers at Dave’s ESL Café, a favored source of information for all things ESL, casually dismisses all training except CELTA, SIT and Trinity. Unfamiliar with all of those terms, I decided to do some research. Here’s what I found.

CELTA

The CELTA certificate is issued by the prestigious University of Cambridge in England. Although actual courses are offered by many different institutions in different countries, the courses must be validated by Cambridge. Setting CELTA apart from many run-of-the-mill English-teaching courses is the required practicum – students must successfully complete six hours of practice teaching to real English language students, and the overall course is at least 120 hours.

Teaching House offers CELTA classes in New York, Boston, Miami and San Diego. Another CELTA provider is Bridge TEFL. They teach US classes in Denver, CO. Other locations include Central and South America, as well as locations in Europe, Turkey, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Russia and China.

SIT

SIT stands for School for International Training, which offers master degree programs in teacher education and intercultural management. It’s located in gorgeous Brattleboro, VT, but doesn’t offer the English teacher training there. Instead, it partners with other schools, like Global TEFL, which holds classes in locations like Chicago and California and TESOL Training Worldwide, which offers courses in places like Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico. They also require 6 hours of teacher training in adult ESOL. According to their website,

“The School for International Training’s TESOL Certificate is a 130 hour course which provides participants with professional knowledge and skills in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as well as tools for their own reflection and growth as teachers. It is designed to be offered intensively in four weeks or extensively over a longer period.”

Trinity

Trinity refers to another English school, Trinity College, which issues the certificates. This is not a terribly practical choice for a US-based student, as the only courses offered in North America are in Canada. However, if you want to take the course in Malta, Uruguay, New Zealand or Iran, you’re in good shape.

Others

All three programs share the two common requirements of at least 120 hours of course work, combined with at least 6 hours of practice teaching. There are other schools which offer courses that meet these standards, but without the prestigious certificates.

One of these is the ITTO (International Teacher Training Organization), which offers a similar program, albeit with slightly larger class sizes, in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru, as well as Prague.

So what’s a prospective English teacher to do? How do you wade through the quagmire of offerings? We’ll explore this further in another installment.

Do you have experience as an ESL/TESL/TEFL teacher? Considering teaching English overseas but have questions? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Just click the comment link below.

In the Expat Web group on LinkedIn, a member asked recently, “As an Expat, which countries do you think have the best and worst healthcare systems?”

Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Malta and France all received positive comments. One poster said Japan’s was “the worst I ever experienced.” The US was mentioned favorably, but “only if you have good insurance. Prices are about 5 to 10 times the costs of France or Belgium.” This kind of anecdotal information is interesting, but not all that useful.

Of course to most expats and would-be expats, especially those of us who are approaching retirement age, health care is an important consideration in where we choose to live. What is its quality? Is it at least as good as what I’m used to? How expensive is it? How accessible is it? Will I have to be in a major city to have quality care available?

So what’s a concerned health care consumer to do?

There’s an interesting bubble chart on the Columbia University website, showing the average life expectancy and health care spending by country.

The US is way off by itself as the biggest spender. But our life expectancy (77 years) lags behind Japan (85), Switzerland, Australia, France, Canada, Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Austria, Korea, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg and Denmark, all of whom spend considerably less (around half!) than we do per capita.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has published a listing of medical care by country. Compiled in the year 2000, it’s a bit outdated, but might provide a good starting point. You can see it here.

A Few Considerations

First, I think it’s safe to assume that the care you’ll receive in rural areas will not be as up-to-date or comprehensive as the care you can receive in major cities. That’s true in the US just as much as anywhere else.

If living in a bustling metro area is not your taste, how fast and easy is transportation to those areas you’re considering? Use your common sense – if your dream retirement is on a remote beach or mountain-top retreat that’s an 8-hour drive over mostly dirt roads to get to the nearest city, that will be an issue in accessing quality health care. If it’s an hour or two over good roads, you’ll have significantly better access.

Are there hot spots of medical tourism in the country you’re considering? If so, you can be pretty well assured those doctors will speak English, have up-to-date training and use modern equipment. According to Business Week:

“The low cost and high quality of medical service is a big selling point for Singapore and Thailand, which have heavily promoted medical tourism in recent years. Hospital costs are as much as one-half what they would cost in the U.S.” Read the entire article here

Other popular medical tourism destinations include Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea, India and Israel. There are plenty of websites which discuss medical tourism, as any Google search will show.

Once you’ve narrowed down some possible destinations with health care facilities that will meet your needs, conduct your own research. When you visit the area, ask a lot of questions, find out what other expats do for health care, visit the hospitals and clinics if you can.

Ultimately, as with any other aspect of your move, you need to just do it.

International Living’s annual Quality of Life Index. Every year, IL produces a Quality of Life index, which usually differs quite a bit from their recommendations on best places to retire. France has topped the list for several years running.

1. France (was #1 last year as well)
2. Australia (moved up from #5 in 2009)
3. Switzerland (down one spot)
4. Germany (up from the #8 spot in 2009)
5. New Zealand (up from #9)
6. Luxembourg (down from #4)
7. USA (down from #3)
8. Belgium (down from #6)
9. Canada (a big jump up, from #19)
10. Italy (down from #7)

Top Ten Retirement Havens from Live and Invest Overseas

1. Argentina
2. Belize
3. Chile
4. Croatia
5. Dominican Republic
6. France
7. Malaysia
8. Panama
9. Uruguay
10. Vietnam

Mercer’s Best Cities for 2009:

1. Vienna, Austria (1st)
2. Zurich, Switzerland (2nd)
3. Geneva, Switzerland (3rd )
4. Vancouver, Canada (tied 4th)
5. Auckland, New Zealand (tied 4th)

Forbes list of The World’s Most Expensive Cities to Live. According to Forbes, the 10 most expensive cities are:

1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Osaka, Japan
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Hong Kong, China
6. Zurich, Switzerland
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. New York, USA
9. Beijing, China
10. Singapore

2009 Best Retirement Havens, according to International Living:

1. Cuenca, Ecuador
2. Merida, Mexico
3. Coronado, Panama
4. Punta del Este, Uruguay
5. Calitri, Italy

So there you have it. Some highly respected lists from 2009, and one for 2010.

Best wishes for a happy expat New Year!

According to Forbes.com, Bahrain scored the top spot in HSBC’s recent survey of 3,100 expats. They admit this might be a fluke — only 31 responses came in from Bahrain, compared to 450 from the UK, for example. But it’s an interesting list, nonetheless. Canada moved down from its No. 1 spot last year to No. 2, followed by Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, and in the No. 10 spot, the US.

Read the article here, and see the scored list of countries here.

Live and Invest Overseas publisher Kathleen Peddicord has named the Top 10 Retirement Havens for 2010, and the list includes some surprises.

Panama occupies the top spot, and Peddicord comments that “this country manages to become more appealing all the time.”

Vietnam

Her Top 10 picks include:

1. Panama
2. France “World’s best quality of life, world’s best health care, world’s best infrastructure, world’s most romantic city”
3. Uruguay for “The banking, residency, and tax advantages of Panama without the chaos or the construction dust.”
4. Dominican Republic. “Easy foreign residency, favorable approach to foreign taxation, and, right now, a down real estate market that has created great crisis buy opps”


5. Argentina, which has “the most cosmopolitan city in Central or South America. . . . If you want to live a life filled with art and history, culture and interesting company, but you can’t afford Paris and its euro, look to Buenos Aires.”
6. Malaysia, specifically Kuala Lumpur
7. Chile, a new addition, for beachfront, First World services, and lowest violent crime rate coupled with the highest GDP per capital in Latin America.
8. Belize, “safe stable and English speaking.”
9. Croatia, where “both nature and man have worked together over many centuries to create something very special, almost magical”
10. Vietnam, for its “temptingly low cost of living” and youthful population and energy.

Panama’s placement is no surprise, nor is France’s in the no. 2 spot. Uruguay, Malaysia, Belize, Croatia and Argentina have been in the forefront of expat retirement destinations for several years. Surprise additions — at least to me! — to the list were Chile and Vietnam. While I’ve been aware for several years that Vietnam’s economy was growing, and I’ve had a personal interest in the country, I was surprised to see it emerge on a “Top Ten” list. And, I have to admit, I’m not at all knowledgeable about Chile, although I feel as though I know a reasonable amount about most of the other South American countries.

I will watch the forthcoming information about those two countries with great interest.

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute is multi-layered expat novel, which was made into a TV mini-series in 1981. It has been one of my favorites for a long time, not only because of the expat themes, but because it also features a strong female protagonist who overcomes some truly daunting obstacles. Author Nevil Shute is interesting in his own right. A prolific author, with over 20 novels to his credit, Nevil Shute Norway was by profession an aeronautic engineer and pilot. Shute became an expat himself. He was born in 1916 in London, and emigrated with his wife and daughters to Australia in 1950 following World War II. His books strongly reflect his love of airplanes and flying, and his adopted country. He died in Melbourne, Australia in 1960.

London, After World War II

The book is divided into three distinct sections: London just after World War II, Malaya during the War, and subsequently in Malaya and Australia. When we first meet her, Jean Padgett is a young woman, living by herself in London after the end of World War II. She receives a letter from solicitor Noel Strachan who informs her that her uncle Douglas Macfadden has died, and that if she can prove she is his niece she may be entitled to part of his estate. Jean meets with Mr. Strachan and discovers that Mr. Macfadden, whom she barely remembers, was reasonably well off and has left her his entire fortune. However, being a confirmed bachelor and not trusting a woman’s ability to handle her own financial affairs, Jean’s legacy is to be held in trust for her by Mr. Strachan and his partner until she reaches the age of 35.

During the War

Jean shares her history with Mr. Strachan over the next several months. He learns that she lived as a young child in Malaya (modern-day Malaysia), where her father worked in the rubber industry. Jean and her brother Donald learned to speak Malay, and their mother encouraged them to continue using the language even after they went to England to attend school. After finishing school, Donald got a job in Malaya, and Jean went to live there as well in 1939, working as a shorthand typist. War had broken out, but the family felt Jean would be safer in Malaya than in England.

However, Malaya was taken over by the Japanese. Jean’s evacuation to Singapore was slowed down when she detoured to help a family with three young children, and she was captured by the Japanese along with others who had not made it out in time. The men and older boys were removed to a prisoner of war camp, but there were no accommodations for female prisoners or children. Instead, the Japanese Captain ordered them to march, under guard, to Kuala Lumpur, from whence they would be transported to new prison camps being built in Singapore.

There was no prison camp for women, in Singapore or anywhere else, and the group was marched from one end of Malaya to the other. After months of forced marches, near starvation and lack of medical attention, and during which two-thirds of the original number died, they found a safe haven in a small village. Their Japanese guard had fallen ill and died, and Jean persuaded the headman of the village to let them stay and help with the rice planting in exchange for food and shelter. They stayed there for three years, until the war ended.

At one point during their travels, the women and children had come across several Australian prisoners who were driving trucks for the Japanese. The men felt sorry for the women, and obtained some food and medicine for them. One of the men also stole several chickens for the women, and when the theft was discovered, he was punished so severely that he died while the women were forced to watch.

After the war, Jean returned to England, went to work for Pack & Levy, a firm that made high-end shoes and handbags, and tried to forget her war experiences. Her brother Donald had died while a prisoner of the Japanese, and their mother had also died.

After the Legacy

Jean leaves her job and goes to Malaya to dig a well as a way of thanking the village that sheltered her during the final three years of the war. While chatting with the well diggers, Jean discovers that Joe Harman, the Australian prisoner who had stolen the chickens for them, had survived his ordeal and recovered after months in the hospital. She decides to travel on to Australia to see for herself how he is doing.

Jean and Joe are reunited, after a few twists and turns, and fall in love. Jean never does return to England but marries Joe. After learning how girls from the small Outback town near the cattle ranch that Joe manages leave home and move to cities thousands of miles away because there is no work for them, Jean starts a business employing a few young women to make fancy alligator shoes and handbags like those she became familiar with while living and working for Pack & Levy in London. This starts a snowball effect: instead of leaving for the cities, the girls who work for Jean stay in town, get married, and start families. They leave their jobs, and more girls come to work for Jean, which attracts more stockriders and other male workers to the town. Jean opens up an ice cream shop to give them someplace to spend their money. The shop employs a few more girls, attracting more men to the area, and giving Jean ideas for more businesses. The town is gradually transformed from a dusty Outback hole to a vibrant little community, with plenty of entertainment for the young families. The initial source of all this growth is Jean’s inheritance, doled out to her in small pieces by Mr. Strachan according to the terms of his trusteeship. Ironically, the Macfadden family money was earned by a grandfather, who worked in one of the “gold towns” of the Australian outback, towns which had boomed during the country’s gold rush, and then gone bust.

Postscript

Fascinating to me is the fact that the middle portion of the story is based on a true circumstance, and the author explains in a note at the end that he expects to be “accused of falsifying history.” In fact, he states, the forced march of the women happened in Sumatra in 1942, not in Malaya. According to Shute:

“A party of about eighty dutch women and children were collected in the vicinity of Padang. The local Japanese commander was reluctant to assume responsibility for thse women and, to solve his problem, marched them out of his area; so began a trek all round Sumatra which lasted for two and a half years. At the end of this vast journey less than thirty of them were still alive.”

“In 1949 I stayed with Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Geysel-Vonck … Mrs. Geysel had been a member of that party. … In the years that followed Mrs. Geysel marched over twelve hundred miles carrying her baby, in circumstances similar to those which I have described. She emerged from this fantastic ordea undaunted, and with her son fit and well.

“I do not think that I have ever before turned to real life for an incident in one of my novels. If I have done so now it is because I have been unable to rsist the appeal of this true story, and because I want to pay what tribute is within my power to the most gallant lady I have ever met.”