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Joined: Oct 2000
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Originally Posted by Yahoo! Finance
How to Retire Comfortably for Under $1,500 a Month

Jason and Elizabeth Pearce moved from Canada to Belize three years ago. They bought a piece of property on the sea. A year later, they built a house. Today, they live in a beautiful Santa Fe adobe-style home with gardens all around.

The pair lives very comfortably, without wants or financial worries. They've had no trouble making friends in their new community because the folks in Belize speak English. They eat out three or four times a week. They barbecue lobster and filet mignon at home. They have reliable Internet to keep them connected to the outside world. By choice, they do not have a television. "I used to think that the news was important," Jason explains. "But not anymore." The retired couple has a maid and a gardener, each of whom visit once a week.

And here's the best part. Jason and his wife are living on their Social Security income alone. In fact, they're living on Jason's Social Security income alone. Elizabeth's Social Security check goes into savings each month.

Everyone's spending habits are different, but here's a sample monthly budget for a couple living a comfortable expatriate lifestyle in Belize:

--Rent: $300
--Utilities, telephone, and Internet: $500 (Your biggest expense in this country.)
--Groceries: $150
--Health insurance: $50
--Entertainment: $100
--Car expenses: $300

One of the most appealing things about Belize as an overseas retirement choice is that it can make sense even if you're nowhere near conventional retirement age. Through Belize's Qualified Retired Persons program you can establish foreign residency as young as age 40.

Belize is a beautiful little country. It's a peaceful, eco-tourist retreat home to more than 540 species of birds, 4,000 species of flowering plants, and 700 kinds of trees. Nearly 40 percent of the country is protected as parkland and natural preserves. Belize boasts the second-largest barrier reef in the world. This incredible underwater resource teems with colorful fish, coral, and unusual marine life, making the waters off this country's coast a fisherman's and diver's paradise.

Despite all these natural attractions, Belize has managed to remain largely off the world's radar. It's a small country of about 350,000 people. It's also a young country, having gained independence from Great Britain in 1981. There are a lot of market niches waiting to be filled. Living here, you'll discover that life can be not only super affordable, comfortable, and adventure-filled, but also full of potential.

Retirees in Belize are finding many interesting and sometimes lucrative ways to fill their days. Lara Lennon moved to Belize from Philadelphia in 2006 and developed a luxury swimwear line, Lemon Crush Belize. "Sitting on a friend's porch in San Pedro chatting about this and that in our tropical lives, I realized something: There existed nowhere in Belize a place to shop for dress bathing suits, the kind glamorous enough for a beach wedding or special enough for a honeymoon," Lennon says.

Lara's swimwear is now featured in luxury boutiques in Belize and internationally. Starting a business takes drive and determination, Lara admits, but she has found the experience in Belize rewarding. "Best of all, I'm right where I want to be--with my friends on a Caribbean island, enjoying life," Lennon says. "Only now in better bathing suits."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/How-to-Retire-Comfortably-for-usnews-2643852806.html?x=0


Gives a nod to Lara too. Can't say I agree with the monthly budget for a couple LOL. But I do agree that its a beautiful place to retire!

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 176
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Yes it depends on how you live.
If you live in SP I would recommend at least double that.
I have issues with these international magazines advertising places to retire for so cheap most of them are giving a budget for an 18 year old back packer. Most people that retire want to have a decent place to live and eat out a few times a week.


mary
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 6,267
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Amen Mary ....... $50 a month for medical insurance was a strange item - and $150 a month for groceries for two ...... sorry, not realistic unless you live on a farm with your own chickens etc.

Joined: Jul 2006
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I want the $50 per month health insurance deal.

Joined: Oct 2007
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I think they are using prices if you live in the jungle and eat leaves and berries.


mary
Joined: Jul 2006
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That has to be a 1/4 m $ piece of beachfront property minimum not including the house and pool.
I doubt if you could rent that for $300 a month.
Maybe they meant $3000?

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 176
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No they mean $300 that is why so many people come to SP or other parts of BZ stay only a few months then return home. Most come under the impression they are going to retire on $1,500 a month and are disappointed. I have read many retirement magazines and all give an unreal view of most places to retire. I have NO idea why they do this.


mary
Joined: Mar 2006
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I don't remember it saying in the article these people live on Ambergris. Maybe they live in a tent in a swamp somewhere on the mainland and raise their own cows for fillet mignon? smile

Joined: Nov 2000
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They obviously aren't into having any cocktails either.


A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?

Joined: Jul 2006
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JZB---they did say San Pedro at the end of the article.

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