Cheap Places To Retire

By taking a quick look at the Big Mac Index courtesy of The Economist, it would seem that Thailand is the cheapest place to retire to. Of course, some people’s tastes may have graduated beyond that of a Big Mac and fries by the time they reach retirement age, so with this in mind, what other factors should one look at when searching for a cheap place to retire to?

Cost of property

I’m sure some people from over in Scandinavia may well look at the Big Mac Index and think that retiring to the UK would be cheaper, given how much cheaper the Big Mac is over here than over in say Sweden. But if they did this without considering the cost of housing, then they would be in for a nasty shock, as the UK has some of the most expensive housing in the world. If you want to retire abroad, to somewhere cheaper, then do some research into the price of property. You may well be pleasantly surprised to find that you can sell your fairly average four bedroom detached house in the UK and buy a lovely five or six bedroom palace with a swimming pool in a country with a nice sunny climate!

Cost of living

Clearly the Big Mac Index is not sufficient to make a proper decision on, to do this you will need to consider what the local costs are for groceries, utilities, taxes, petrol (assuming you will run a car), insurance and health care. As well as this, you will need to consider the impact of flying back to the UK every six months or so to visit relatives and/or friends.

Social cost

If you retire abroad, you may struggle with the language – especially if it’s somewhere exotic like Thailand – and it may be too difficult to learn. In addition to this, there may not be a large population of ex-pats, especially British ex-pats, so your social life may well take a hit. And unlike working abroad, you may not get the opportunities to meet lots of new people and therefore make new friends that easily.

Cheap Countries

I haven’t done much research into this, but if I were to, I would be looking at places that are still fairly backward compared to the UK. Think backpacking and gap years, as these places tend to be cheap enough that you can exist for less than £500 a month and still have a bloody good time.

For instance, South America, South East Asia, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are all popular back-packing destinations, so why not consider these as an ideal cheap place to retire to.

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