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"They bought the four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom unit, measuring about 1,840 square feet along with a separate veranda, for about $250,000 in 2011." I'm sure it's a
by pcurve 7y ago
"They bought the four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom unit, measuring about 1,840 square feet along with a separate veranda, for about $250,000 in 2011."
I'm sure it's a very nice place, but that sum is nothing to sneeze at. I wonder how much it costs now, and what is monthly expense is.
Good thing is, American government has sensible reciprocal arrangement with many countries that offer national pension system that you don't necessarily have to wait until you hit full retirement age to live abroad and collect social security checks from there.
- TurkishPoptart 7y ago>Good thing is, American government has sensible reciprocal arrangement with many countries that offer national pension system that you don't necessarily have to wait until you hit full retirement age to live abroad and collect social security checks from there. I did not know this. How does this work?
- pcurve 7y agoWe have agreement with the following countries. (Vietnam isn't one of them) https://www.ssa.gov/international/agreements_overview.html https://www.ssa.gov/international/agreements_overview.html In a nutshell, all national pension systems work pretty much the same way in that, the longer you put into it, the more you get out. There is also minimum that you have to put in. For the U.S., it's 40 points (or 10 years). Let's say you work 9 years in the U.S. but then decide to pack your stuff up and move to one of the above listed countries. You will get credit for 9 years worth of work and not have to start over in your new country (and the other way around too) I'm actually conflating two different topics... one is reciprocal arrangement in terms of pension point system. Another is, just being able to collect pension from abroad, which is actually not a big deal at all. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/110614/how-can-i-receive-my-social-security-benefits-if-i-want-retire-outside-us.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/110614/how-can-i-re...
- iudqnolq 7y agoI'm surprised by how well written the social security administration article is. I found it interesting and readable enough to read all the way through, which I absolutely wasn't expecting. Our tax dollars at work, I guess.
- chrisseaton 7y ago> for about $250,000 in 2011 I can't tell if the LA Times are thinking this sounds cheap or not?
- labster 7y agoAnyone from the LA area knows that 250k for 4 bedroom is super cheap. In my area, 2 bedroom starts at $550k.
- Scoundreller 7y agoDunno about LA, but $250k went a lot further in 2011. In many crash-afflicted areas, prices are double what they were in 2011.
- Consultant32452 7y agoTrue, but I feel you can do a lot better without having to move all the way to Vietnam.
- toasterlovin 7y agoLA is insane. You can easily spend more than $250k in South Central.
- starpilot 7y agoYeah that price is similar for places you can find in the rural midwest US.
- MaupitiBlue 7y agoSuburban / Ungentrified urban Midwest
- bobthepanda 7y agoThe rest of the COL is pretty cheap as well: > The children were born via caesarean section; the procedure, including a four-day hospital stay, cost about $1,200, far less than it would have in the United States. > Monthly expenses here rarely exceed $2,000, even to live in a large unit like Rockhold’s, including the help of a cook and a cleaner. Getting staff for that price in the US is next to impossible.
- axaxs 7y agoYeah, but you can't find an 18 year old woman to marry you as a modern day indentured servant in the midwest. Ninety percent or so of the old white men I encountered in SEA had his arm around some poor childlike girl.
- fxtentacle 7y agoWhile that is a horrible thing to say, I wouldn't disagree. I also saw some rather worrying couples when I was living in Saigon. That said, some Asian women also just look young even at a surprisingly high age. I recently had Germans mistake my Asian mother in law to be my younger sister. But sure, it is a big plus that in Saigon the $2k in retirement money pay not only for one person, but for an entire family. So if you're old and lonely, that might be a very attractive reason to go.
- axaxs 7y agoAbsolutely, but I hope my comment was not taken as an endorsement by any means. I don't think most folks know how rampant it is. It was something I had read about and knew existed, but seeing it in person is eye opening. I know it's not my business and I shouldn't care, logically, but it makes me disgusted in some way every time.
- campee 7y agoI think I'd rather live in a small town in Iowa than Vietnam for that price.
- peteretep 7y agoI can only speak to Bangkok, but life in Bangkok will be cheaper, safer, more convenient, the food quality will be higher, medical and dental care will be much higher standards, public transport is better, than in Iowa. I’ve spent less time in Vietnam, but it seems to be hot on the heels of Thailand.
- pseingatl 7y agoBangkok ain't cheap. The current Thai government discourages retirees. Those who have already retired there are moving to Vietnam, Cambodia or the Phils.
- Barrin92 7y agoMay I ask why that is? I've travelled a fair amount of Asia and Africa over the last decade and I have to say many places are significantly more exciting than a rural or small town in the US. I have not so much personal experience with the US, but my family is from a rural German region and if the US is anything like it (and I suspect it's not too far off), there are many more exciting places out there. The cuisine and the culture in much of the developing world are superb, the cities are dynamic and young, transport and services are cheap, in contrast, going back to my parent's village feels like going to a whale graveyard. Now I'm far from retirement age and maybe I'll mellow out a bit but many western small towns I've seen are outright depressing to live in (and at this point lack basic services and public transport).
- glofish 7y ago> Now I'm far from retirement age that's why you feel this way. After you lived a life and developed social ties and relationships in place it would be impossible to rebuild those in a radically different country. Statements like "Retire to Vietnam!" are mostly absurd nonsense - really to go to a place you can't even read the signs?. The most valuable asset one has are the social ties - far easier to live in a boring German village where you know most people than in the most dynamic place on Earth where you never lived before.
- colechristensen 7y ago$250,000 is more or less the median price for a house that size in Ames, IA, a university town which regularly shows up on various "Best Places to Live" lists.
- technofiend 7y agoNo doubt based on that recommendation Ames is a great place to live, but you're still in the American healthcare system which could financially drain you dry from one major medical incident. The article specifically mentions cheap healthcare as the other draw besides cheap cost of living.
- colechristensen 7y agoI don't really understand this. Max out-of-pocket for insurance plans now is very reasonable. If you can afford a $250k house, you can afford the max out-of-pocket cost for many many years.
- chrisseaton 7y agoDon't you also have to pay the actual insurance premium as well? Before you even get to the out-of-pocket costs? I have friends in the US who pay thousands a month for health insurance premiums.
- colechristensen 7y agoAll except the smallest employers are required by law to provide health insurance to full-time employees and may have employees contribute up to only 10% of their household income. I did some random shopping for a typical family of 5 and found a max rate of ~$1600/mo for insurance premiums. You would only pay this if you were self-employed, part-time employed at a pretty shitty job, or unemployed and run out of the various mechanisms to keep your insurance. After that you have to spend your net worth until you qualify for the insurance benefits for the poor in your state. In reality, with various employers I have paid between $0 and $200/month for insuring just myself. (I have paid $0, I don't remember the most expensive, but it was <$200 in any case) Who gets screwed and bankrupt are the lower-middle class who can't manage to get a full time job, especially single parents who get sick. The system is biased towards benefitting married partners with children, only one person needs that full time job to cover everyone. If you are in the middle class or above and do only a small amount of planning, you're fine. If you are below the middle, you generally have to lose everything or go bankrupt before the system will help you – people in that position are often the least equipped to figure out and head through the optimal path for themselves and end up making very bad decisions. We don't need public healthcare, we need better support which reaches higher up the income scale and better education.
- Aperocky 7y agoYeah that sum can get you at least 2500 sqft in Montana, it would also come with 30 acres of backyard. Just won’t have pho around and lots of snow.
- sethammons 7y agoI made the move to Montana last year. Loving it. People's jaw drops at what I got for the price I paid. Yes, no pho. Or decent mexican.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoMontana can be really expensive for food and restaurants. Helena, for example, it feels like California prices.
- d0100 7y agoWith that money you can buy a penthouse in any big metropolis here in Brasil. Or a house just as big in a luxury condo for 7/10 of that
- csomar 7y agoThat's very expensive for Vietnam or relative to what you get in terms of infrastructure/law. They either got a bad deal or the market right there is crazier than the US.
- refurb 7y agoThe market is crazy in Ho Chi Minh City. Considering average wages are $5-10K per year, housing is outrageous there.
- Descartes1 7y ago> "housing is outrageous there" As is household debt.
- jgbond 7y agoThe apartment complex they’re talking about in the article is (educated guess, used to live there) one of the nicest and most expensive in the country. It’s overlooking the Saigon River and has luxuries and amenities that you wouldn’t have except at super luxury buildings the US. You can live a pampered lifestyle that would not be even remotely within reach in the US on the same budget.
- mister_hn 7y agoThat's more expensive than South Europe cities