That sounds shady and can't be the norm. EU is a terrible (probably the worst) destination for traders at this point. Thailand might've had a coup but people who say it has crappy infrastructure are still living in the 80s. Marc Faber resides in Chiang Mai as do plenty of others. In most countries with bad infrastructure there are spots which can offer very comfortable living. Without having visited any, the best places are probably Bali, Malaysia, certain cities in Philippines. That's considering you don't like to show off wealth and don't treat the locals as crap. Canada is ridiculously expensive and for someone who at least wants moderate weather it's terrible.
i have to contest this... Costa rica. is relatively one of the most stable Latin America countries.. gets the most tourists from US/Canada.. the flip side is . it is expensive. i find meals in costa rica- road side to be comparable to US prices. ha ha. Crime is costa rica is far less . but their neighbors. .honduras. ,etc. gives me shivers. that they are so close to lot of violent places. you can live a relatively peaceful life as a pensionado. there and lot of perks. etc. . u can google it. .many forums on costa rica.... the best is . it is only a 3 hour flight to TEXAS.. so when you want. you can be in the USA. pretty quick... that being said,. i wish there were more inexpensive places in Mexico for us to consider.. their proximity is their advantage. but so is the same for all the DARN CARTELS there...
A lot of expats in Thailand are either married to Thai women or are there for low cost lifestyle. Marc Faber is worth at least $100 million, do you know how far that goes in Thailand in terms of safety, security? Keep in mind in a politically unstable country you may end up being a victim even if they have low crime. National borders are not for super rich but for middle and lower classes... One of the hardest countries in the world to get a visa is the US and you can get work visa for US if you are going to trade your own money...
I was addressing the infrastructure issues eg on the West coast of Costa Rica most towns have dirt roads ( other than downtown) and in a tropical country where it rains a lot dirt roads are almost impossible to navigate especially without a 4WD... Besides Latin America is not a strong benchmark for stability.
Uh ?!? I ticked a bit reading Dealmaker opinion's on cost of life in Switzerland vs tax savings (if you make enough money, the difference in costs of living become less noticeable compared to one's income ), but now Canada ?? Pretty cheap country believing the studies about Cost of Living. It's a thread about moving to 0% cap gain tax country for succesful traders, not on how to get 50cents noodle soup. Dealmaker has a good point about safety in Thailand btw, the rate of suicide is pretty high, especially the rate of suicide with one's hands tied behing their back. A peculiarity of thai forensic police, they see a lot of suicides where others see murders. One of the reasons I left that country is I didn't feel safe there. I would feel even less safe now. Surprised noone mentioned girls yet - I like mine young but fair skinned and at least moderately sophisticated, actually nowadays it seems the cheaper girls are supposed to be the less I get laid. I'll take London or Paris anyday above Bangkok or Manila on that regards (I need to thank again the guy on this forum who introduced me to Seekingarrangement.com , a goldmine if there ever was one) at least Chiang Mai has northern fair skinned girls but I doubt it's a mecca for wealthy expats ( I hardly know the place though). Basically expatriation and tax savings are very interesting topics but if one is doing moderately well it goes well beyond the cost of survival items.
Costs are always important for some us, it's not about 50 cent noodles. Canadian real estate is in bubble territory. As far as I know Canada isn't a 0% cap gains country while Thailand actually is for now. It's not a question of being able to afford something but building up the account while living a decent life. Otherwise Dubai and Singapore would be ideal candidates.
My understanding from a client: You will want to live in a gated community. Real Estate prices are more expensive than some US states. Utilities are more expensive than many US cities. Electricity can be erratic short- term but good battery back-up solves most of those issues. Reliable, high speed internet to mainland brokers is an issue. The new tax laws were enacted because of a huge exodus of educated PR's to the mainland looking for opportunities, and there has been a correlated spike in crime. You will also need to know Spanish for practical communications in terms of daily interactions for shopping, dining, etc.