Retire off shore.

[Tandum]

We have quit work here and are self funded retirees at 63.

I want a sea change but can't move her more than spitting distance from the local Myers store.

Right now, when we are both 65 we can sell this huge frigging house, I just painted it, it's enormous, and put another $600K max into a tax free investment stream. There's plenty of money coming in.

I want to move off shore and try living around the Mediterranean.

Has anyone tried this and got away with it.

[LewisM]

Christopher Skase got away with it for a while :lol:

[Peter Ward]

Having spend much of my working life visiting foreign shores, the only caveat I'd be wary of would be a lack of universal health care in many countries.

While there are many aspects of life I grizzle about in Oz, our medical system is not one of them....

[Robair]

What getting away with it advice are you specifically seeking Tandum?
Moving to the med, or not having a Myer nearby?
Good luck with it though, sound like you have set yourself up well and the world is your oyster. 👍

[Gary47]

Warning, Warning.
If you think you have a problem with her retail addiction now wait until she finds that she is a maximum of three hours from Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Printemps Haussmann, Le Bon Marche, Galeries Lafayette, KaDeWe, Galeria Kaufhof and the Gallerias of Rome.
A spot with a nice view in Antarctica sounds better.

[GrahamL]

Tassies offshore somewhere around Hobart, climates pleasant and you have a myers nearbye .

[Tinderboxsky]

Ah ha ... we are about to put our house on the market!
Waterfront land with sweeping water views and pristine dark far southern skies and only 25 minutes to Hobart Myers.

[Nikolas]

Many countries in Europe have universal healthcare

[Merlin66]

I used to say, if I hadn't returned to Oz, I would have stayed in Spain - north of Barcelona - Montseny region.
I lived there on and of for almost four years. Great place, great people, wonderful climate.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Can+Barrina/@41.754647,2.3961463,17z/data=!4m11!1m2!3m1!2sCan+Barrina!3m 7!1s0x12a4d2159bd55c11:0x2ca1fd3647 e95bf9!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d41.754647! 4d2.3983401
I stayed for extended periods in the Can Barrina - fantastic!!
Well worth a visit to check out...."You never never know, if you never never go."

[Tandum]

That's very close to where I was thinking Ken.
As the current downsizing laws are, we both have to be over 65 and anything can happen to those laws in the next 2-3 years.
But that seems like plenty of time to go have a look.

[Startrek]

I’m retired and have the best of both worlds in one of the best countries on the planet, Australia !
Our original family home of 35 years in Sydney’s south ( family kids and grandkids , friends , good health care , quiet neighbourhood )
Our weekender which is a four bedroom home on the south coast NSW near the beach , kayaking on the river 150m away , golf courses , lovely locals ( pop 1100 ) and great bortle 3 skies and less than 3 hours drive from Sydney. Our little piece of tranquility

We travel to the Mediterranean and Europe once every couple of years for at least a month or so as my wife is Maltese
Don’t get me wrong , we love the Mediterranean but certainly wouldn’t live there, there’s to much here down under to explore and enjoy with family and friends
I’m fortunate my wife is not a shopaholic but she does like to browse

Hope your Mediterranean dream comes true !!

[Merlin66]

One thing you really need to take into account, is the issue of the extended family.
Living O’seas is one thing, keeping is direct contact with the family is another.
We came back because of aging parents...and the kids.
Well what happened?
Well dad died....and mum eventually found a “toy boy” - just younger than herself!
One child went to China, one went to NZ!!!
Hmmm they need to live their own lives.....

[Camelopardalis]

Not for foreigners though...

[multiweb]

+1 Life's too good down here. No way I'd retire anywhere in Europe. Good to holiday in but sh!thouse to live in.

[Nikolas]

Depends, in Greece my dad suffered an anaphylactic attack was taken to hopsital and was covered by their healthcare not sure how it worked. We also have reciprocal agreements with 11 countries mostly in Europe but if he deicides to live in europe and become a citizen?

[blindman]

Seems that majority enjoy to live in the most expensive country in the world
(see article in Daily Mail - yesterday)
Mediteranean is the best place to live in. Within 2 hours you have all Europe covered, million places to see, swimming without venom cratures, even at midnight, food 10 times better than in Oz, and culture everywhere.Only problem is that 600K is not enough for your plan, I would say.
Regards

[Peter Ward]

Sorry, my comment was obviously incorrect about Europe's universal health care...for some reason I was fixated on the USA...the Scandi countries etc. do that exceptionally well....but expats are generally not allowed to go onto the local health system for the European country they are staying in. There may be exceptions for immigrants but I'd be checking that prior to any move.

I certainly can see the attraction of the UK and Europe, as Oz is certainly a cultural backwater. You can almost spot the Aussie offshore these days by their language and dress. Often foul and bogan-like. Lord knows my wife and I have looked at one another and cringed at their behaviour.

[Tandum]

Neville, If you re-read that post, 600K is what the Gov will allow you to invest tax free using the downsizing rule. That's 300K each. Being a tax free investment stream account you are forced to withdraw 4% per year. We already have 2 of these and even withdrawing the 4%, the investment is going up as returns have been pretty good over the last year. The bulk of the investments remain in a different account and the interest there is taxed at 15%.

From what I've read, Spain, France and Greece will provide 3 months health care and then expect you to join and pay their schemes. There is also International health care available. During the late 70's and through the 80's I worked in oil search and travelled to many many countries. The Norwegian parent company provided us a Blue Shield card to get medical anywhere. I only ever used it twice and had no issues. Venezuela for a scorpion sting and New Zealand for a bout of Pneumonia. A quick google shows international health care companies are still out there.

I've found whole web sites with mountains of info devoted to offshore retirement to different countries. Lots to read and lots of time to look at it all.

[alan meehan]

Good luck Robin only one thing the night sky down under is far better
AL

[blindman]

Robin, if I am not wrong, living overseas means selling your house here in AU, and move/relocate to different country. I am moving people all the time worldwide and I was living couple of years in Europe, so familiar with "terms".
Normally you buy unit or a house and live there. You may still have some property here (but usually no pension) which is not your problem, I believe. If you want to live and travel comfortable, beside property one should have at least over million and half on hand. Investment these days is very risky.
Good luck.

[PRejto]

Having migrated in 2005 from the USA to Australia, let me tell you this is a difficult move and a fairly massive undertaking. Whatever you decide you should do a huge amount of preliminary research and even so you can expect many surprises. Not the least of these will concern matters of tax residency, tax treaties, immigration issues, drivers licences, currency exchange, inheritance, and health (as already mentioned). I can't speak about other European countries, but a friend succeeded in doing this from the USA to Italy. It proved to be incredibly complicated (and expensive). He's happy now but OMG what he went through would fill a few books!

Perhaps a better plan would involve downsizing here and just renting in various locations for a month or two? A full on move is so complicated in comparison!

Peter

[multiweb]

Some good advice here. I can't speak for many of the EU countries but I know first hand what it's like in England, France, Spain and Italy. The change from AUD to Euro is the first hit at the moment. ~1:1.6 when I was there in September. Multi level taxes on basic services, water/power, petrol, VAT on everything inc. food, taxes on pensions and income streams, etc... will come as a surprise to any Australian wanting to live there. In comparison here it's club med. Food is plentyful and dirt cheap, power bills although a lot complain are relatively very cheap, water cost is insignificant, really ironic for something we lack and don't even recycle. Having said that health cover is far superior, in France anyway, than here. You pay for everything but a health fund will get you to 100% gap filled in cases. I stayed a month at my parent's place in September and ran the number. There's no way I'd retire there. Talking to Family relos in northern Italy also confirmed the bigger picture. And it's not getting any better, life standards are degrading quite fast actually.