3 Countries That Welcome Foreign Retirees — US NEWS & WORLD REPORTS

The 3 choices in this article:

  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Malaysia

The last one surprised me, but it is interesting all the same.

“Some countries roll out the welcome mat for foreign retirees, offering sometimes significant tax breaks, in-country discounts, and other perks once you’ve qualified for resident retiree status.”

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/On-Retirement/2012/09/04/3-countries-that-welcome-foreign-retirees

About fafc

The goal of the “Find a Free Country Project” is to research, explore and find a safe and secure free country outside the USA, that is not too large, has a relatively open immigration policy, has a friendly business climate, has a non-intrusive government committed to freedom, and then move to it.
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16 Responses to 3 Countries That Welcome Foreign Retirees — US NEWS & WORLD REPORTS

  1. Croatian Capitalist says:

    I don’t really regard neither Belize nor Panama as safe, so I wouldn’t move there, as for Malaysia…, if I moved to that part of the World, I would rather move to Singapore, it might be more expensive, but there are valid reasons for that.

    • fafc says:

      How time flies. This report was about 4 years ago when this website was still very young. Sadly it is no more useful now than it was then, but at least I have found a solution. Georgia is everything I was looking for as I think about the initial goals of this project. The fact that I am the only one???

  2. Croatian Capitalist says:

    I am happy for you, just pray that Georgia doesn’t join the EU.

    As for finding a solution myself, sadly I still haven’t, some countries which I considered at least OK options when this website was started have done some really stupid things in the meantime and consequently don’t interest me anymore, while some which I consider promising (for example Poland) are threatened by the idiocy of the EU, but at least this website has been helpful in identifying the countries which to avoid, I probably wouldn’t have paid nearly as much attention to certain negative trends (for example what is happening with tertiary education in the Anglo-Irish countries) happening in the Western World without it, and Georgia probably wouldn’t even be on my radar if I hadn’t stumbled upon this website.

    • fafc says:

      Well I am glad it has been useful for one person! If there were more people involved in this website, and in the project itself, we could help to make sure that Georgia and other vulnerable countries do not fall into the clutches of the EU. The government of Georgia and most Georgians know that joining the EU would be a bad thing in the long run. Some don’t care since all they want is to get out of Georgia in the short run, so damn the rest. Others care about the long run but don’t believe there is any other option for Georgia other than submitting to Russia or submitting to the EU. I must admit that seen from that perspective it does indeed seem reasonable. If there was an organized block of foreigners who chose to make Georgia their new, even a small block, this very limited perception might be argued against more effectively. Georgia does not have to choose between a rock (Russia) and a hard place (EU). Georgia could choose to be neutral with support from third party countries (China, India, etc.) as well from the West with a clear understanding with Russia that breach of that neutrality would result in harm to Russia, but accepting the neutrality would provide Russia with many benefits. But that is a rather complex and nuanced view of things, and most Georgians don’t see the world that way. You have to choose between one and the other. That’s it.

  3. Croatian Capitalist says:

    From that perspective, yes, but even looking at things in that fashion, NATO should be the organization they should aspire to join, not the EU, the EU won’t defend even the borders of it’s main member states from the third World invasion, so expecting it to defend Georgia from a Russian invasion would be utter lunacy, and if the Georgians think that the EU would help them bring back Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they would be wrong again, they should just ask EU member Cyprus.

    In my view Georgia shouldn’t join any EU-type organization, rather focus on signing free-trade treaties with all of the major economies and militarize itself like Israel has.

    • fafc says:

      Well NATO and the EU seems to get lumped together in the Georgian view, and I am not sure that is wrong. NATO is truly a paper tiger. I try to explain the Swiss option (not the modern Swiss penchant for banks, chocolate and clocks, but the ancient Swiss Confederation made up of different ethnicities joining together to fight common enemies). Most don’t really care. All they want to do is sell everything they have for pennies on the dollar and move to NYC or Brussels and work 80 hours a week for slaver drivers. My hope is that when all those type of people leave Georgia what will be left will the tougher and wiser sort.

      • Croatian Capitalist says:

        Yes, the Swiss used to be a tough people, there is a reason after all why the Swiss were chosen to guard the Pope.

  4. Croatian Capitalist says:

    One thing that I left out of my above post is that since it took the Czech Republic and Slovakia 7 years (1997 – 2004) from getting membership candidate status from the EU to joining it, I realistically can’t see Georgia joining it for at least another 10 years or so, so if anyone in Georgia is serious about organizing opposition to Georgia joining the EU, they should have more than enough time to do so.

    • fafc says:

      No one believes Georgia will ever be allowed to enter the EU or NATO. It is just something Georgians say to justify and hide their short term desire to leave Georgia for the West at any cost. They beat their chest in patriotic defiance of Russia, but all they really want to do is crawl off to Europe or the USA and hide. But not all Georgians are like this. But enough to keep things difficult.

      • Croatian Capitalist says:

        What is stopping them from leaving then?

        • fafc says:

          visas and money.

          • Croatian Capitalist says:

            Such issues don’t seem to deter Africans, Middle-Easterners, Indians, Latin Americans, etc…

          • fafc says:

            They are some how waived into Europe. Boats are waiting for them. Camps set up for them in advance. It is almost like someone is arranging for them to enter Europe. Georgians on the other hand are not so welcome.

  5. Croatian Capitalist says:

    Yes, “almost like”…, I just hope that the crazy idea of making state benefits (welfare) for third Worlders the same across the EU doesn’t pass, because that would make countries in Eastern Europe maybe even more attractive to the third Worlders than the Western European countries, since prices are generally lower in Eastern Europe.

    To return to the topic of Georgia, even if it never formally joins the EU, the EU can still do a lot of damage to it, if I remember correctly Croatia had most of the stupid EU laws in place even before the referendum on EU membership was held, but my main short-term concern in regards to moving to Georgia is something else, namely the purchasing power of the locals, if I end up moving to Georgia, I would like to run a business which derives all or at least the vast majority of it’s income from the local people,but since the average wage in Georgia after taxes is around 300 Euros, I think that rather limits my options.

    • fafc says:

      That is my fear for Georgia. Georgia will never be allowed into the EU or NATO, but Georgia can agree to accept detrimental changes being pressured upon it. In fact it already has. I hope it does not get worse.

      Prices are low in Georgia. I don’t think I would want to compete with a Georgian in a job or business based upon employment. There are too many Georgians willing to work for next to nothing for that. On the other hand prices are quite low so you can live on next to nothing. Instead I favor making smart investments in real estate and agricultural properties (very inexpensive as Georgians are just giving their assets away), and in entrepreneurial ventures that Georgians don’t like. Georgians are very narrow minded, inexperienced, and heavily biased against their own country. On the other hand I know of many foreigners who move to Georgia and do quite well running businesses that Georgians don’t want to do. Georgians like running little groceries. I don’t understand it. There are 4 to 5 on each street corner and no one makes any money. On the other hand Georgians want all the same things that everyone else wants, but Georgians will only start groceries.

      I have 3 apartments that I have in AirBnB. They are doing quite well. I have an small investment in an apartment that is being finished. I hope to sell that at a nice profit. I have invested in a farm with two partners and we are going to plant more valuable crops: walnuts, garlic, wheat, and perhaps saffron. I know of an Arab guy who bought an ice making machine and is delivering ice to all those little grocery stores. Georgians would never do that. He is making nice money. But really you just have to come here and see what is available. No one comes here with a pre-set formula that works. The people who are successful here are flexible and patient. They wait to see what is right for them. I know a number of Ukrainians who started restaurants, bars, and hooka shops. None of them thought they were going to start these let alone be successful.

  6. Croatian Capitalist says:

    https://www.nst.com.my/business/2019/03/473117/lge-malaysia-well-its-way-become-cashless-society

    Another reason to avoid Malaysia, I think creating a “cashless society” is one of the stupidest ideas ever (I of course have nothing against digital/non-cash payment options existing, but giving banks and the government the power to completely destroy your purchasing power with literally a push of a button is beyond idiotic).

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