Barry Golson, a writer and one-time magazine editor (Playboy, TV Guide, etc.), and his wife, Thia, built their retirement dream home in Mexico, an adventure chronicled in his 2006 book, “Gringos in Paradise.” More recently they’ve collaborated on a general guide, “Retirement Without Borders: How to Retire Abroad in Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, Panama, and Other Sunny Foreign Places” (Scribner).
I asked Barry about the pleasures and pitfalls of retiring to another land.
In your book you say that retiring abroad just for financial reasons is usually a mistake. What’s a better reason?
I think the main one is adventure. Something new, new friends, a new environment. Somewhere down that list should be cost of living.
And it sounds like much of the world is still affordable if you’re willing to live fairly modestly...
Yes, especially Latin America, where the cost of living can be half the U.S. level or under. You can rent a small house in Chapala, near Guadalajara, for $500, and gardener and maid service is very affordable. Even in Europe, where the dollar is weak, avoid the expensive places where everybody else goes. So instead of Provence or the Riviera, try Languedoc-Roussillon. Instead of Tuscany, try Umbria. You can find places that are even cheaper than the United States. In fact, right now is a really interesting time to consider going to Europe. The price of real estate has fallen perhaps even more than here. In Spain, for instance, house prices have dropped between 50 and 60 percent.
Even though there may be bargains, do you still recommend renting over owning?
In the book, I say rent instead of buying. Now I’d say rent well before you buy. Rent for a year and really get your feet on the ground. Then think about buying or building... and think hard! We had a great time building our place in Mexico, but I’m not sure we’d do it again.
Renting also makes it easier to pack up and try another country if the first one doesn’t cut it...
Or to go somewhere for a couple of years and then return to the States. That’s a nice thing about being an American or a Canadian—you can come back.
What about hedging your bets and maintaining homes in the U.S and another country?
That’s what we do, for example. Our part of Mexico gets unbearably hot between June and October, and that’s the perfect time to be back, let’s say, in New England. People can often afford to do both, especially if they’re renting on at least one end.
How would you advise someone in his or her 40s or 50s who may want to do this one day?I’d say instead of vacationing in the same place every year, use that time to visit different places. Check your fantasy file, and if you’ve always dreamt about Italy, for example, go there for a couple of weeks. While you’re there, don’t just see the sights, but talk to other expats and get a feeling for what it was like for them to move. The main advice is, do your checking beforehand. Don’t rush headlong into it, don’t leave your brains at the border. You really need to know what you’re doing and where you’re going.
—Greg Daugherty
Greg writes the “Retirement Guy” column each month in the Consumer Reports Money Adviser newsletter.
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