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Make your money go further by taking early retirement and living in Southeast Asia
Beaches, water sports, golf, mountains, lakes, islands, warm weather, friendly people, great food, shopping at low prices; what more could you ask for? This is just part of life for ex-pats in South East Asia. The best places to retire now are away from home. Spend less, retire younger and live a happier, more relaxed life!
'Retirement' has several meanings and implications, but it is really about personal freedom. It means taking or regaining control of your life, having fulfilled most if not all of your obligations to others: employers, governments, family. 'Retiring' should mean the ability to focus more on YOURSELF and YOUR needs than the needs of others. Shouldn't you be able to retire young and healthy enough to enjoy the things that YOU still want to do? You will need control of your life to do that and that may require some big changes, and in order to achieve happiness, some courage is required and it may not be easy doing this in your present environment. Some have made an almost complete break, without burning their bridges, by moving and living abroad, and Southeast Asia is an ideal region for this. Why not you?
If you cannot live well on what you earn, spend less! You could move to a country where your money buys more – so you can live much better.
Retirement abroad in a year-round warm climate with lower cost of living sounds attractive, doesn't it? An early, cheaper, more comfortable retirement – and not just 'survival' – can be yours, even with limited resources, if you live part- or full-time in Southeast Asia. Thailand and the Philippines are not only exotic countries, they're ideal for long or regular holidays as well as for foreign retirement.
Surround yourself with the culture, traditions and charm of friendly, welcoming people. If you need to, you can earn extra income anywhere now with online business, stocks or forex trading and more, by computer or even mobile phone.
The best places to retire early, retire younger, no matter whether you are young and single, middle-aged or a senior without a partner, are in the tropics of Southeast Asia. Get out of the rat race, save money or earn more money. Do both! Enjoy a new lifestyle. We'll help you find the best places for overseas retirement by
Retiring in South East Asia!
For you it may be 'tomorrow' in SE Asia already (check the 24 hour clock) but wherever you are, TODAY is the first day of the rest of your life. For many, 2009 was stressful and difficult, but now it's over and although it's February 2010 already, we wish you and all our readers from 2005 to the present, a happy and prosperous year.
| SE Asia |
Are you satisfied with the way things are? Perhaps you are unhappy or just bored with your present existence that you call 'life'? Are you suffering from the loss of a long-time partner? Life for middle-aged or senior singles often isn't much fun. Even if you're young it's so easy to fall into a financial trap, with all the worry, stress and increasing pressure of trying to keep up with payments of every description. But to improve your circumstances, you probably need to change the way you think.
Are you making enough money for the things you need or want right now, let alone enough for the future? Have you or are you in danger of losing your home in the 'credit crunch'? Are you working two jobs or overtime to pay all those bills and taxes? Have you 'maxed out' your credit cards, paying higher interest rates and effectively increasing your debt? See our Credit Repair page for solutions.
How about the climate? Whether or not it's global warming or natural climate change, much of North America and Europe suffer unpleasantly long, cold, miserable winters. Southeast Asia has mostly no 'winter' at all except a few cool evenings and crisp early mornings around the end of the year in much of the region (nights can be cold in the mountains, though). Living in SE Asia you usually stay warm and never pay for home heating! Are you enduring yet another cold winter? Get some hints for living comfortably in the Tropics and compare the temperature and current weather in SE Asian cities with London, New York and San Francisco!
What about your financial future? Are your plans still 'on track' in spite of the turmoil of the markets and bank takeovers? Will your pension or retirement plan provide enough? These are valid concerns for most of us. Will you have to sell your house to survive, or will it be taken from you? If you start planning now, you will have more options. Beginning a new life in Southeast Asia is only one of them, and it would allow you to experience a lifestyle that most people only dream about, and at far lower cost than where you live now. Many foreigners from the West are already living or retired in SE Asia. You could join them and even start earning that 6 figure annual income mentioned above.
Your dollar, pound, euro or gold buys much more in Asia! Cheap places to live, cheap food and drink means you can retire on less money or retire young enough to fully enjoy life. Depending on where you choose to live, your existing resources and foreign income (including internet income) can buy more – from 5 to 10 times the value of similar items and services in the USA, Canada or Europe. Property purchase, lease or rental, food, drink, domestic services such as cooking, housekeeping and high quality medical care in several countries of SE Asia can be incredibly cheap compared to what you're used to.
Let's not forget eating out and entertainment – especially if you are single! In quantity, quality and variety, South East Asia has it all, and it's just waiting for you to come and enjoy!
So many great places to live, work and retire in SE Asia! The best places to retire or live for part of the year is a matter of personal choice, and these are many and varied. There should be somewhere to suit everyone, whatever their financial situation or preferences. For many the best places in SE Asia are the Philippines and Thailand; others like Malaysia, Indonesia (including Bali), Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. They're all different, but they're all part of South East Asia.
In most of these places you can find safe communities with friendly people and a much lower cost of living, yet with the most if not all of the necessities and comforts of home. With discount airlines it's now possible to travel cheaply between these countries and beyond to India and the Middle East, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
What about Asian food? Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay, Indonesian and Indian dishes (as well as 'fusion' cuisine) are probably among your favourites already. There are so many different eating experiences available all over Asia and they're better than at your local Asian food restaurants. Living in Asia, you will get the real thing!
Does this all seem like a far-off dream? No way! Many countries of South East Asia are opening up and developing their facilities and communications, such as mobile phone and broadband internet access. With constantly improving technology, maybe even better than what you're used to. However, Asian culture, traditions and a more serene approach to life still remain, especially once you're outside the major cities.
This can be your life too, and with plenty of extra time on your hands, if you need to, you can earn extra income without stress, and with less effort than it takes now. Enjoy living in Asia, working or relaxing when you feel like it! Take back control of your time and your life.
There are many new, easy ways of earning extra income now, wherever you choose to live – for young people, middle-aged and even retired seniors. The Internet offers a multitude of different money-making opportunities working either from the comfort of home, an internet cafe – or even while relaxing by a pool or at the beach! Make money over the internet like hundreds of thousands of people do, 24/7, by promoting and selling products and services online. With the right approach and techniques you could be on your way to earning greater annual income anywhere. Computer programmers and others are able to freelance or work online in a different country from their employers, also known as telecommuting.
Today in many places in Asia you can use a mobile phone for internet and email. That's all you need these days to run a business or invest your money in various ways. It's possible to run a web site without a computer or mains power if you are in range of a local cellular service – even in a relatively undeveloped country like Laos! You can browse websites on a suitable phone, cheap to buy in many parts of Asia.
Stocks, Commodities, Futures, Options, Forex and ETF trading are popular pursuits and potential sources of extra income for retirees and others. While stock trading requires some upfront capital, and many people are afraid of stocks at present, forex trading doesn't require the market to move in a particular direction. You can trade currency pairs with $50 using a credit card or PayPal through a reliable broker. Note that with financial market trading, there is the risk of loss as well as gain. See our pages on these topics on the side bar menu at the left. Hot news is the result of the Forex Robot World Cup and ability to buy the best: HiRider as part of the FRWC's Royal Trader.
If computers and the internet don't appeal to you that much, then you could consider a part time job teaching English or voluntary work in local communities. Native English speakers are needed in many Asian countries to teach students of all ages, including business people. You could try running a business in the Philippines or Thailand, such as a restaurant, shop, bar or guest-house, but be sure to read our articles on business for foreigners first as these also risky pursuits.
Find everything you need to know about lifestyle and income in a pleasant environment on our pages. Become a free member and download useful resources on topics like offshore banking, property, forex, stocks and gold trading. Gold rose to over $1,200 an ounce in December; it's still in the $1,100s and is likely to rise further this year. Silver is also on the rise. Invest in or add to your gold and silver bullion holdings when prices fall back temporarily from their highs, as they did in January 2010. You are likely to profit in the medium and long term.
Have a look at what we offer our R-A subscribers at no cost. Apart from financial topics, there's also information about English teaching, internet business, computer tools and more.
Live the best part of your life in Asia with a taste of home. You can be retiring early and living in Southeast Asia not only more cheaply but more happily too. Explore new places, play golf on beautiful courses, play tennis, swim, dive, surf, sail; or just relax on the beach or by the pool – and yes, with that 'umbrella cocktail' in your hand as you see in ads for exotic locations.
Visit our Before You Move page and also check out some of the other topics on the side bar menu on the left. Use our online booking service, find Bangkok accommodation, get visas and travel insurance – whether you are flying from the USA, UK or other departure point.
Retire-Asia.com has everything you need for a brighter future!
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