The Easy Way to Enjoy the Good Life in Retirement

The Best, Most Accessible Retirement Visas in Europe.  

We start today by quoting a recent story from The Motley Fool offering advice to Americans who have no nest egg and will retire totally dependent on their monthly Social Security check:

“Don’t underestimate the value of free entertainment. Staying busy is an important thing to do in retirement, and it’s harder to do it when you don’t have a lot of money. But if you do your research, you may find that you’re able to occupy your days without spending much money by visiting local museums on days they’re free for seniors or taking advantage of programs run by your town community center or library.”

Now, sure, that’s practical advice to a certain degree (though depressing as all hell when you think it through). I understand what The Fool is trying to do.

But still…

I never quite get why these kinds of stories don’t offer up the obvious solution: Live somewhere outside America where the cost of living easily fits within a Social Security check.

And I don’t mean “easily fits” in terms of simply surviving one day to the next. I mean living a full life. Having fun. The ability to afford an adventure. That opportunity to not only pay for life, but build a financial cushion because your monthly costs are well below the money Uncle Sam sends you.

Oh, and your healthcare will be magnitudes more affordable, too. Like “out of pocket” affordable.

There’s an idea in marketing circles that says people need to hear or read something 14 times before they act on it.

Which is why I write regularly about this idea of living overseas in retirement. I’m hoping that through repetition my message will reach the right person who needs to know options are available—that you don’t have to “occupy your days without spending much money by visiting local museums on days they’re free for seniors…”

I realize moving overseas in retirement will never sit well with some people for any number of reasons. They’ll just suck it up and live an underwhelming retirement because they don’t want to move away from the familiarity of the U.S.

So be it.

But they’re missing out on a far more comfortable, far richer, far more financially secure retirement.

I just finished writing a new book on second citizenship and second passports, and one of the sections is centered on the many countries that offer “retirement visas” or “independent means” visas. These are long-term residence visas that require nothing more complicated than proving you earn a minimum amount of income from pensions, Social Security, dividends, and interest—basically the categories of passive income retirees routinely collect every month.

You might be surprised by some of the countries on that list.

Sitting atop the list is Portugal, where I’m moving in a few weeks to begin my pursuit of Portuguese citizenship because the seaside Iberian nation is where I’d like to spend my retirement (which theoretically is just 10 years away now).

To qualify for Portugal’s D7 Passive Income Visa, you need only demonstrate you have monthly income of $760—or just over $9,000 per year. That’s less than half the average monthly Social Security check today. And if you’re a couple, you’re Social Security is likely in the $2,500 range, so Portugal will be even more affordable.

If that’s truly your entire nut for the month, you can live pretty well on that in Portugal. Even in the heart of Lisbon, I’ve seen very nice one-bedroom apartments for $700 per month (I’ve been apartment hunting recently in preparation for my pending more to Portugal).

You don’t need a car to get around the city, so that wipes out a ton of costs. Food is fresh and cheap. Farmers markets with straight-from-the-farm produce and right-outta-the-sea fish are everywhere. Adventure is around every corner just walking the streets and exploring a gorgeous Old-World city. No offense, but I’d much prefer to explore Lisbon every day in retirement than, say, Lima, Ohio.

Outside of Lisbon, it’s even cheaper.

And any lifestyle you want is available. Farm and vineyard living all throughout the interior. Mountains and hills and river valleys up in the northeast. Quaint coastal fishing villages or bigger seaside cities all over the southern Algarve and the coast north and south of Lisbon.

And Portugal is not the only option available to you.

France—France!—is yours for the taking if you earn just over $11,000 annually in passive income, or less than $1,000 per month. You’re not going to live in Paris, but I can promise you from experience that the smaller cities and towns and villages in the French countryside are beyond lovely. Again, highly affordable. And there’s great healthcare.

Mexico is also incredibly cheap.

And Costa Rica is just $1,000 per month for a retirement visa. Panama, too.

Then there’s Uruguay, a beautiful country… only $1,500 per month to qualify for a visa.

In my world view, no one should settle for a subpar retirement just because they were never able to adequately save during their working years. I understand that life gets in the way of the best laid plans, especially life in a costly country like America.

But my goal with this dispatch and others like it, is to share my message that “You have options!”

Fantastic, wondrous, adventurous options that make you feel alive and happy to be living your best life in retirement.

Motley Fool is partially right when it contends that “Staying busy is an important thing to do in retirement, and it’s harder to do it when you don’t have a lot of money.”

My goal is to tweak that sentence so that it reads: “Staying busy is an important thing to do in retirement, and it’s so easy to do when you’re living abroad, chasing adventure every day, and feeling confident in your financial security.”

Now that’s a Social Security-only retirement I can get behind.