<\/p>\n
Recent comments\/postings have prompted me to put up this
\npost. <\/p>\n
Regarding retirement in other (cheaper) countries:<\/p>\n
Like many Silverhaired members, I was attracted by the
\nwonderful prospect of “doubling my retirement funds”. Imagine this – Take my Singapore
\ndollars, change them into ringgit or Thai Baht or Rupiahs, tah-dah, I have
\ntwice\/thrice the amount of money – to spend in these countries. I can buy a cheap(er)
\nproperty, employ a cheap(er) maid, eat cheap(er) food…. You get the idea –
\nliving cost is a lot cheaper in these other countries.<\/p>\n
What’s the catch?<\/p>\n
WHAT’S THE CATCH???? <\/p>\n
Our neighbouring countries are “politically and economically
\nless stable”. <\/p>\n
Yes – go ahead and have a good laugh. I have modified this
\nstatement to be “politically correct”. <\/p>\n
Yep – I don’t want the gahment OR other countries’ gahment
\nto hantum me. <\/p>\n
But seriously – back to point one –<\/p>\n
Several months ago, I tried to organize a day trip to recce
\nJB for retirement living. The response
\nwas quite dismal. Only four people put up their hands. The trip was
\ncancelled. These are the mistakes I have made –<\/p>\n
MISTAKE NO. 1<\/p>\n
I was misled by the NATO people.<\/p>\n
People kept talking about “retiring in another (cheaper)
\ncountry”. Do they really want to do something about it? I guessed not. When the
\nopportunity arose for these people to check it out, only five people (including
\nme) were seriously interested. <\/p>\n
MISTAKE NO. 2<\/p>\n
I tried to draw a lively discussion on the (THAT) forum, by
\ninviting people to share their experiences on line. People were shy. If they
\nshare their bad experiences, they feel embarrassed. If they share their good
\nexperiences, they fear that they will draw unnecessary attention upon
\nthemselves. <\/p>\n
BUT – they did write to me privately – and I thank them –
\nthank you for sharing.<\/p>\n
These pointers are gleaned from their personal feedback to
\nme (not in any particular order) –<\/p>\n
The immigration ppl will play tricks on you; make you “do
\nnaked squats”, will not stamp your passports…<\/p>\n
Don’t show off your Rolex watches; don’t drive your
\nSingapore registered cars; don’t open your mouth to speak (they’ll know you are
\nSingaporean).<\/p>\n
Live in “gated, and gurkha-guarded communities”.<\/p>\n
“Live in” – literally. DO NOT leave your property
\nunattended. When you buy the property, live in it. <\/p>\n
It is NOT a good idea to buy a property and then leave it
\nvacant. <\/p>\n
To really have a good idea about how you will adapt to the
\nforeign country:<\/p>\n
Rent a unit for one
\nyear. Live in that country for one year. If you enjoy your stay, then you may
\nconsider buying a property. BEFORE YOU DO – ensure that you know everything you
\nneed to know about “foreigners buying a local property”. Ask for detail. If you
\ndon’t understand a vague print, use a magnifying glass. DO NOT be intimidated
\nby legal jargon. You have the right to understand the terms in layman language.\n<\/p>\n
Do not buy a foreign property for the purpose of renting it
\nout. It is NOT easy to rent it out.<\/p>\n
Do not buy a foreign property for use as a “vacation
\nhome”. DO NOT leave your house vacant.
\nThieves will break in.<\/p>\n
Some of us have already moved to JB, successfully. They say,
\n“Blend in, don’t stand out.” <\/p>\n
Thus, you
\nwill not see them waving a red banner with yellow print proclaiming, “We are
\nSingaporeans living in JB.”<\/p>\n
End of their feedback. <\/p>\n
Silverhairs members have toyed with the idea of retiring in
\nChiang Mai, Yunnan, JB, Penang, Batam, Bandung… <\/p>\n
The most important consideration – are you willing to leave
\nyour family and friends in Singapore?<\/p>\n
Even if the answer is vaguely “maybe….” I’d encourage you to spend a little more time to re-evaluate your
\nstrategy. <\/p>\n
That was all I wish to share with you.<\/p>\n
I wish you all the best. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recent comments\/postings have prompted me to put up this post. Regarding retirement in other (cheaper) countries: Like many Silverhaired members, I was attracted by the wonderful prospect of “doubling my retirement funds”. Imagine this – Take my Singapore dollars, change them into ringgit or Thai Baht or Rupiahs, tah-dah, I have twice\/thrice the amount of … Continue reading “But seriously …. are you serious?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16326,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,37,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections","category-shc-monthly-gatherings","category-6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverhairsclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}