Top Places to Retire 2021 for under 2500 USD per Month

[TotallyOz]

Missing is Thailand.  But, tons of friends have retired to both Costa Rica and Mexico and loved it. Here is the full list with a lot of Central and South American countries.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/best-budget-friendly-places-to-retire-in-2021-report.html

[Riobard]

Another factor:

[Guest]

12 hours ago, TotallyOz said:

Missing is Thailand.  But, tons of friends have retired to both Costa Rica and Mexico and loved it. Here is the full list with a lot of Central and South American countries.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/best-budget-friendly-places-to-retire-in-2021-report.html

They don't tell us what other places were considered and rejected.   

Going to the underlying source is slightly more informative:  https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=pr-organic&utm_campaign=press-release

International living even have a nice table (below).      How much effort went into ensuring accuracy is another issue.

If we take, for example, "Visas/Residence", Thailand which has Retirement Visas which effectively allow permanent residency scores 57, whilst Vietnam which had no such scheme scores 60.  Meanwhile, as far as I know, to get residency in Portugal (score 64), any non-EU resident needs to take advantage of their "Investor" schemes, which are more expensive.   So I don't see how it's ahead of Thailand.

Then we have healthcare.  Thailand scores 80.   That's exactly the same score as Cambodia.     The authors must have some unique insight into Cambodia, as most other sources describe the healthcare as very poor and often say you want to be evacuated to Thailand in an emergency.    I wonder where the Phnom Penh equivalent of Bumrungrad is ?

I suspect a phrase borrowed from another field is applicable here. "Do Your Own Research".

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoon]

Excerpt from the link basically says its an opinion index. 

 

"Our index is informed by hundreds of opinions and real-life experiences—information—compiled by our trusted sources in the best retirement destinations across the globe. We think of it as a tool for you, our reader. A way for you to quickly compare and contrast your best options and begin to narrow down your choices.

We have our people out there pounding the pavement in attractive overseas communities we know you should consider. They’re reporting back to us with insights, and information about what’s really going on. They’re not beholden to relocation service providers or real estate agents or tourism boards or economic development organizations. They work for you.

In no way is our Global Retirement Index meant to be a scientific output. It’s designed to be a useful tool for people, constructed out of real-world, on-the-ground information interpreted through a lens of well-informed experience and opinion.

Our sources are living in the places where they’re gathering their intelligence. And we trust their judgment. If they say the healthcare is good, or that a meal for two in a nice restaurant costs $20, then we believe them."

 

I personally can vouch that living in malaysia is cheap. Living in vietnam for a year before, it can be cheap as well, if u are willing to eat at local eateries. Thailand is getting more expensive due to their strong baht but there are plenty of cheap option away from major cities for sure.