Many people have a dream to retire abroad, but how do you get started?
This roadmap can help you to finally take action and make that dream a reality.
Table of Contents
The dream to retire abroad
Perhaps… someday… when I… wouldn’t it be nice…
Do these words always come to mind when you consider to retire abroad?
Perhaps your children have already told you that you have been saying for years that you will retire abroad.
Then you could finally learn that new language, soak up a new culture, enjoy more sunshine …
In fact, perhaps your children are straightforward and have also pointed out to you that you may never move abroad.
Why not? Because so far you have only expressed your dream in words.
Words. Not deeds.
All talk and no action!
So you can talk about it all you want, but as long as you don’t take action, nothing will change in your life.
Decide | How to retire abroad
The reason your children may be right that you may never retire abroad is obvious.
You have to make a decision for yourself, it has to be right between your ears.
It is necessary to move away from a hypothetical scenario, no longer consider it as something that might be possible.
Don’t think of it as something that “might be fun someday when you…”
If you really want something, you have to make a firm decision and go for it.
Strive for a new mindset where you no longer say “should I?” or “should we?” but where you consciously choose “I will” or “we will”.
Only when you have made this decision for yourself, only then will it be possible to really give your dream a chance to come true!
Research | How to retire abroad
Think carefully about all the important features your new home should have.
Each person is different and has his or her priorities.
Think, for example, about how important the following characteristics are to you:
- climate
- cost of living
- language
- closeness of family and friends
- healthcare
- taxes
- opportunity for culture and recreation
- safety and stability
Are you going on this adventure with a partner? Then you should also take into account the possibly different wishes of your partner!
Try to find a win-win situation, communicate with each other and seek a compromise.
Identify the most important features and use them in your search for your ideal destination.
Plan | How to retire abroad
Before you actually set off on your adventure, you have a lot to sort out.
Map out your life and think about the basic things and benefits you take for granted but cannot simply take to a new destination.
- Consider keeping your current home and renting it out. Or sell your home if you can use the money to buy something new in the place of your new destination. It may be that the sale of your house is taking a while… Then just rent it out while it’s for sale!
- Think of bank and credit cards that you can use abroad without extra costs. Be sure to compare all providers! There are huge differences in costs between different providers.
- Make sure you have online access to your banking, cancel account statements by post and make sure you know how to access them online.
- Find a solution for your mail, such as an entity (person or company) that receives your mail and forwards it to your new address, or scans it and forwards it via e-mail.
- Digitise your important documents and make several copies which you store in different locations (on your PC, smartphone, USB, external hard drive, online).
- Make sure you have international hospitalisation insurance so you can leave with peace of mind. You can later convert this to a local, cheaper insurance.
- Do a big clean up of your material possessions. Sell things or give away things you can’t take with you or that you no longer need. Rarely is it worth the cost of shipping your furniture and many other personal belongings to your new home.
Test | How to retire abroad
Set foot ashore and try it out on the spot.
You can spend years researching on the internet, but it can never outweigh spending time at your chosen location.
Rent for a few months first so that you can get a good idea of daily life.
A test of at least two months is very good to give you the feeling of living there, as opposed to just being there on holiday.
Take the opportunity to talk to as many other foreigners as possible and ask for their experiences and perspectives.
Trust your gut feeling [AVAILABLE SOON] and listen to your instincts during this period. No matter how beautiful it looks on paper, it has to feel right!
Leap | How to retire abroad
The American writer and humorist Mark Twain (1835-1910) said the following:
In 20 years’ time, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did do.
Once you are sure of the right destination for you, buy a single ticket, jump on a plane and move.
Then let your golden years of retirement begin!
Still saving for your retirement?
Are you still professionally active and not yet directly retired? But are you making an appetite for it? To be able to enjoy life during your well-earned retirement years?
Then the following offers of carefree investment properties may interest you…
They are completely hassle-free, you don’t lose any time or energy and they give you a decent return! And that is not the case with classic savings books these days.
Investment property offers without worries
With the following real estate investments, you can build up a carefree extra pension (applicable to people with different investment horizons):
- Invest in student rooms in Leuven with rental guarantee [AVAILABLE SOON]
- Recreational real estate as an investment with an initial yield of 7%, participation is possible from EUR 15,750
- German real estate with carefree rental guarantee as an investment
- Rental properties in Sweden [AVAILABLE SOON] which have already been rented out at +/- 7% return per annum – Interest master at your disposal
- Buy a second home in France as a mixed-use property (with up to 9% return and 6 weeks free private use per year as a bonus)
- Buying German property with a rental guarantee
Additional information on financial retirement planning with real estate
- Accumulating your own additional pension [AVAILABLE SOON]: 8 reasons to choose rental property
- How much savings capital is needed for my pension? [AVAILABLE SOON] Tips for correct assessment
- Saving with real estate for your retirement [AVAILABLE SOON] versus traditional forms of retirement savings
- Passively earning extra pension money with real estate? [AVAILABLE SOON] Frequently Asked Questions