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Updated Sept 3
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Make your money go further by taking early retirement and living cheaply 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 Asian locations and destinations. 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 and preserve you wealth, some courage is required and it may not be easy doing this in your present environment.
Americans are probably unaware that what the USA is #1 for today are not all things to be proud of. For many, the so-called "American Dream" has become a nightmare and increasing numbers are actually giving up US citizenship after getting a new passport and moving to a country where they pay little or even no tax and they are no longer liable to file returns with the IRS. This is fully legal and they can still return to the US for visits. Read a 25-page free report by a former US citizen that explains step-by-step how the renunciation process works and the financial and other implications including benefits. There are also other options and alternatives discussed in this report.
If you cannot live well on what you earn, spend less! You could move to a country where your money buys more and earns higher interest – so you can live 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 among the best foreign retirement destinations.
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 and seniors without partners, 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 but wherever you are, TODAY is the first day of the rest of your life. We're into the final third of 2010 already and we wish you (and readers and subscribers old and new since August 2005), health, happiness, freedom and prosperity!
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. However, to improve your circumstances, you probably need to change the way you see yourself and life in general.
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. Most of Southeast Asia has no winter at all. Except in higher elevations where nighttime temperatures can drop to below freezing, all you can expect are a few cool evenings and crisp early mornings around the end of the year in the north of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, but little or no cold weather in the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. Are you looking forward to yet another freezing winter? Get some hints for living comfortably in the tropics and compare the temperature and current weather in popular SE Asian locations compared to, say, London, New York or 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.
Your dollar, pound and euro will buy more in Asia! Cheaper places to live, cheaper 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 current resources and foreign income can often buy 5 to 10 times more than in the USA, Canada, most of Europe and Australasia. Property purchase, lease or rental, domestic services such as cooking, housekeeping and gardening (quite the norm in many locations) and high quality medical care in several countries of SE Asia can be incredibly cheap compared to what you're used to – not to mention the lower prices of food and drink consumed at home.
And let's not forget eating out and both day and nighttime entertainment – especially if you are single! In quantity, quality and variety, there are places in South East Asia that have it all in abundance; places just waiting for you to come and enjoy all year.
So many great places to live, work and retire in Asia! Asia is the world's largest continent at 17 million square miles, and even with the highest population of over 4 billion, there's still enough space! How much do you know about Asia and its forty countries? To get your geographical 'bearings', click on the map to reach our new Asia Destinations page, with its interactive map of the whole of Asia. Here you can get comprehensive visitor information for all the countries that make up Asia. See also where Southeast Asia lies – the tropical area where most Westerners feel comfortable and the main reason so many of us choose SE Asia as our retirement location.
The best places to retire or live for part of the year is of course a matter of personal choice, and these are many and varied. However, there should be somewhere to suit everyone, whatever their financial situation or personal preferences. Popular Southeast Asia locations include the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (including Bali), Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Burma. They're all different and each contributes to the magic of South East Asia. Visit our pages with useful information for visitors and potential retirees. See the menu on the left.
In many of these places, expats and foreigners 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, New Zealand and even the west coast of North America.
What about Asian food? Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay, Indonesian and Indian dishes (as well as 'fusion' cuisine) are probably among your favorites 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.
So many new, easy ways of increasing 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! Join the hundreds of thousands of people earning their living from a home-based internet business. Many of them are simply promoting and selling their own or others' products and services – known as affiliate marketing. Read how you can cut down to just 4 hours work a week! With the right approach and techniques you could be earning extra annual income within a short time – anywhere. Programmers, authors, journalists, writers and others work online in different countries from their employers or as freelancers.
There is virtually nowhere in Asia you cannot use a computer or mobile phone for internet access 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 website without a computer or mains power if you are in range of a local cellular phone service – even in a relatively undeveloped countries like Laos or Burma! You can browse websites on quite basic handsets which are cheap to buy in many parts of Asia and 'wi-fi hotspots' are springing up everywhere.
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.
If computers and the internet don't appeal to you as business tools, then you could consider a part or full 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. Learn about offshore banking and how to protect your assets so you can survive and thrive in this time of economic crisis which is affecting people worldwide.
The price of gold exceeded $1,260 an ounce during June 2010. It lost $100 during July, but by August had recovered all but $15 of that. We believe gold will no doubt continue to rise year-on-year as it has for the past 20 years. Just one year ago gold was $950. Silver follows gold (somewhat erratically) but it is also on the rise and some think that silver will outperform gold as an investment in the near future.
Invest in or add to your gold and silver bullion holdings when prices fall back temporarily from new all-time highs, as it seems to do. You will profit in the near future as well as longer term. There's an easy, secure way to buy bullion with BullionVault.com.
You can also call the U.S. Gold Bureau free and get any questions you have answered direct before ordering your gold or silver coins or bullion. Call Now: 877-655-1247.
Live the best part of your life in exotic Asia – but 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 – just as you see in those 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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