Certainly easier with alcohol or other shyness removing drugs (aka nicotine). I like the meetups in pubs but I also don’t mind drinking. But I can see how introverts struggle with making new connections as I consider myself to be one until the second or third beer…
I mean I met @Sparta and @Alvo in the meetup in Zurich and still somewhat regularly am in contact with them outside of the forum.
Should we start a topic for this? I find that apart from our “natural” network (family, childhood + college friends), the swiss way to do it is through associations, so:
Business associations/unions: some (most?) crafts like to lobby, joining the association means meeting with people in the same or related trades but in different positions, this can help furthering our careers.
Sports/culture clubs are a good way to get deeper ties with the locals.
Joining a party/association and delve into politics is also a way to widen our network. It gives us access to all kinds of people, including wealthy and/or powerful ones.
Taking another part in an other kind of association also works to extend our network (mostly lobbying around a common interest, speaking of homeowner/renters/charities, etc.)
In order to change an existing relationship into friendship, I find that inviting people to events I organise (can be as easy as the friday glass or involve more preparation with dedicated activities) helps to broaden the range of interests we speak of and might share, enabling for deeper relationships to flourish.
I like the idea you put forward, that events should turn around an activity/theme and that then, people get to mingle together.
Speaking for myself, most of my network comes from family, school, professional links we’ve deepened (ex-colleages, partners, member of an association), scoutism and politics.
Economic freedom is vastly overrated in retirement. Retirement by definition entails that you’re not economically active. Also, tax regimes can differ significantly between economic activity and retirees.
In screening for suitable countries, I’d just look at the following pretty objectively determinable criteria:
Even though I’ve never been homosexual or smoked pot and don’t intend any, these would be very good predictors for which country I could imagine moving to and settling in. Much more accurate, in fact, than more complicated indicators or economical figures.
The rest just comes down to whether I can afford living there (cost of living and social insurance) and whether the country lets me in and settle according to its visa policy. And the weather, of course, according to personal preference.
That rules out a lot of countries, including the US. Maybe for big countries it matters to look at the region? For example Medellín (Colombia) is now pretty safe, especially in Poblado. Calí and Cartegena not so much.
Some countries are late to legalize same sex marriage: Switzerland as well
Interesting group of criteria. Portugal would be a good bet then, all drugs are legalized for quite a while now.
I think economical and political stability is very important.
That probably takes out of the equation all of South America apart from Uruguay.
What about inflation levels?
Sure, a general overall “economic freedom” score does not tell the whole story. For example Denmark has a high score, but I guess it’s rather thanks to the ease of doing business than low taxes. Still, I think the level of economic freedom is a good long term prosperity predictor. You want your retirement place to be blooming with business, so that they don’t come for your money.
Obviously. If you’re filthy rich, you can move a gated community with low crime. On the other hand, many and/or rural communities will have low homicide rates as well. Since I’m not rich and won’t be, I’d tend to look for countries - or areas - that are relatively safe on modest means. Overall, I don’t think most urban areas in the U.S. aren’t particularly great retirement destinations (and that’s not only due to the often high homicide rates).
High inflation doesn’t necessarily work against you but can work for you, since you have internationally diversified investments in other currencies. Higher inflation should tend to make living cheaper - as long as it doesn’t become so rampant to to cause economic despair and crime.
Economic stability isn’t that much a problem, since you don’t have to make and earn a living in retirement. Moderate economic instability or difficulties should often work in favour by making domestic goods and services more affordable for you - who, as a retiree, holds foreign assets.
Again, there obviously will be a breaking point above which it “spills over” to economic despair or huge inequality. But they still aren’t necessarily an issue, as long as it doesn’t lead to elevated levels of crime that could harm me personally. And that’s what the homicide factor accounts for.
Side note: There is, I think, a great cultural influence to that. There are countries that are relatively tolerant and “elastic” to economic hardship with respect to crime. I.e., where economic hardship and (sometimes huge) inequalities do not translate to high homicide rates and safety risk - such as India, for example.
Authoritarian and oppressive regimes can be awfully politically stable.
Italy (as reported in the media today, incidentally) on the other hand is awfully unstable politically - but doesn’t strike me as a bad retirement destination.
You can think of attitudes and legislation pertaining to homosexuality and recreational drugs as good proxy indicators for personal freedom and individual liberty in a society - both of which I value.
Both aren’t only indicators of individual rights but also reflective of progressive societal values.
They will often highly correlate to economic freedoms as well - but I think the latter (economic freedom) shouldn’t be prioritised over the others. And doesn’t need to be, especially in retirement.
Agreed. If a country is in financial problem they could raise taxes and why not start with taxing more for foreigners? If you look to settle down for good, then this is an important factor to look at. If you don’t mind relocating again it might be a different story.
Most countries’ populations are mostly own citizens.
And these are for whom the tax laws are generally made.
They don’t bother going after a few foreigners having retired there.
Could they enact “special” laws targeting mainly or only foreigners? Theoretically - but…
Laws such as EU law often prevents countries from discriminating against other EU nationals.
Also, why would they scare away well-off foreign retirees contributing to the local economy?
The reality is that most countries (if anything! And including Switzerland) have enacted laws to attract foreigners by preferential taxation and / or visa policies for foreign well-off retirees, and punish them.
They don’t have to go for foreigners, they can simply go for high wealth residents. But if you go to a place which has special conditions for foreigners, then it will naturally attract more of them. And this preferential treatment might get cancelled one day.
Very interesting – having fired with a decent NW, i had some similar thoughts. So far I didn’t force myself to come up with a more structured plan (cost of housing, tax, etc) because I sense that factors like grandparents, language, etc matter actually quite a bit in the end. There is also the point of saying “enough is enough – this level of nw is fine and i am ok with X % taxes”.
Separately, in light of corona and the possibility of similar future events, I am also wondering whether it would make sense to buy additional vacation homes elsewhere. Imagine having a small flat in NZ – I think that would be immensely valuable.
Wealth taxes haven’t been particularly high, popular or long-lived around the world (though a 1% wealth is relatively high compared potential withdrawal rates).
There’s capital gains taxes but these rather impact domestic investors in the accumulation phase. Take Austria for example: They make virtually “sell” your assets upon leaving the country and - eventually - tax you for capital gains on these virtual gains.