Read Online The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad by Rosanne Knorr - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rosanne Knorr
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depending on exchange rate fluctuations.
Therefore, use these figures as a base, not a bible, to enable you to note the possibilities. Remember, also, that different areas of a country will also vary. The top resorts and major cities will be more costly than a small out-of-the-way village. And you have a choice within the basic parameters of an area’s cost of living and can choose to be economical or extravagant.
In Portugal’s popular Algarve beach area, for example, I ran across people with extremely diverse lifestyles, ranging from a woman creating a hilltop oasis of simple cottages with her own carpentry skills to a couple working part-time to make ends meet to a couple enjoying a pool and maid thanks to a healthy retirement package and inheritance. Unlike now, the dollar was strong then, and their budgets ranged from $14,000 to well over $75,000 a year. Obviously, they’d all give different answers to the question of how much it takes to live in their area of Portugal.
At the time you plan an adventure, investigate current costs at your specific location and see how you can make your own finances fit in the location you choose.
Let’s start with a low-end budget in one of the most economical locations, Mexico, then move to a few other possibilities. These budgets reflect the low-to-moderate end of the scale for the countries involved. If you’ve got bunches more money, lucky you.
Year-Round Warmth in Sunny Mexico on $18,000 a Year
This typical couple have reached retirement age but are trying to live mainly on Social Security—something almost impossible in the United States. They didn’t want to settle for a boring life in a shoebox apartment in the States. Now they rent a large two-bedroom apartment in colonial Mexico complete with maid. They socialize with the numerous other expats in the area at cocktail parties and art gallery openings and volunteer at the local English-language library. They use the Mexican bus system, occasionally visiting beach areas or other towns to compare pottery and visit tourist sites.
Expenses per Month
Housing
Rent on two-bedroom apartment
$500
Maid, one day a week
$18
Insurance
$20
Taxes
$12
Utilities
Electric/gas
$35
Medical
Health insurance
$40
Doctor/dentist visits
$35
Prescriptions
$20
Communication
Postage/P.O. Box
$40
Telephone
$25
Groceries
$130
Meals out
$100
Entertainment (movies, concerts)
$40
Transportation
Bus fares
$20
Miscellaneous (haircuts, newspapers, magazines, film, etc.)
$30
Clothing
$30
Travel (within Mexico and back to United States to see family)
$200
U.S. taxes
$150
Total monthly budget
$1,433
x 12 = Yearly expenses
$17,196
Income per Month
Social Security
$1,100
Income from investments
$550
Monthly income
$1,650
x 12 = Yearly income
$19,800
French Wine and Ambience on $40,000 a Year
This couple live in a small town in the French countryside, away from the high-cost areas of Paris or the Côte d’Azur. Their small three-bedroom home was purchased with a mortgage. The couple’s budget includes several costly extras: health insurance for their U.S.-based private coverage, as well as higher-than-normal postage, telephone, and online fees for the Internet, which they use to maintain contact with their children and friends. This couple occasionally sell art work and writing to supplement their income, though they have the consolation of coffee breaks that include French croissants.
Expenses per Month
Housing
Mortgage
$850
Renovations/maintenance
$100
Insurance
$40
Taxes
$40
Utilities
Electric/gas
$120
Medical
Health insurance
$450
Doctor/dentist visits
$40
Prescriptions
$30
Communication
Postage
$20
Phone
$55
Groceries
$250
Dining out
$200
Entertainment (movies, concerts)
$60
Transportation
Car (used, bought for cash)
$0
Gas/maintenance
$200
Insurance
$30
Miscellaneous (haircuts, newspapers, magazines, film,
Therefore, use these figures as a base, not a bible, to enable you to note the possibilities. Remember, also, that different areas of a country will also vary. The top resorts and major cities will be more costly than a small out-of-the-way village. And you have a choice within the basic parameters of an area’s cost of living and can choose to be economical or extravagant.
In Portugal’s popular Algarve beach area, for example, I ran across people with extremely diverse lifestyles, ranging from a woman creating a hilltop oasis of simple cottages with her own carpentry skills to a couple working part-time to make ends meet to a couple enjoying a pool and maid thanks to a healthy retirement package and inheritance. Unlike now, the dollar was strong then, and their budgets ranged from $14,000 to well over $75,000 a year. Obviously, they’d all give different answers to the question of how much it takes to live in their area of Portugal.
At the time you plan an adventure, investigate current costs at your specific location and see how you can make your own finances fit in the location you choose.
Let’s start with a low-end budget in one of the most economical locations, Mexico, then move to a few other possibilities. These budgets reflect the low-to-moderate end of the scale for the countries involved. If you’ve got bunches more money, lucky you.
Year-Round Warmth in Sunny Mexico on $18,000 a Year
This typical couple have reached retirement age but are trying to live mainly on Social Security—something almost impossible in the United States. They didn’t want to settle for a boring life in a shoebox apartment in the States. Now they rent a large two-bedroom apartment in colonial Mexico complete with maid. They socialize with the numerous other expats in the area at cocktail parties and art gallery openings and volunteer at the local English-language library. They use the Mexican bus system, occasionally visiting beach areas or other towns to compare pottery and visit tourist sites.
Expenses per Month
Housing
Rent on two-bedroom apartment
$500
Maid, one day a week
$18
Insurance
$20
Taxes
$12
Utilities
Electric/gas
$35
Medical
Health insurance
$40
Doctor/dentist visits
$35
Prescriptions
$20
Communication
Postage/P.O. Box
$40
Telephone
$25
Groceries
$130
Meals out
$100
Entertainment (movies, concerts)
$40
Transportation
Bus fares
$20
Miscellaneous (haircuts, newspapers, magazines, film, etc.)
$30
Clothing
$30
Travel (within Mexico and back to United States to see family)
$200
U.S. taxes
$150
Total monthly budget
$1,433
x 12 = Yearly expenses
$17,196
Income per Month
Social Security
$1,100
Income from investments
$550
Monthly income
$1,650
x 12 = Yearly income
$19,800
French Wine and Ambience on $40,000 a Year
This couple live in a small town in the French countryside, away from the high-cost areas of Paris or the Côte d’Azur. Their small three-bedroom home was purchased with a mortgage. The couple’s budget includes several costly extras: health insurance for their U.S.-based private coverage, as well as higher-than-normal postage, telephone, and online fees for the Internet, which they use to maintain contact with their children and friends. This couple occasionally sell art work and writing to supplement their income, though they have the consolation of coffee breaks that include French croissants.
Expenses per Month
Housing
Mortgage
$850
Renovations/maintenance
$100
Insurance
$40
Taxes
$40
Utilities
Electric/gas
$120
Medical
Health insurance
$450
Doctor/dentist visits
$40
Prescriptions
$30
Communication
Postage
$20
Phone
$55
Groceries
$250
Dining out
$200
Entertainment (movies, concerts)
$60
Transportation
Car (used, bought for cash)
$0
Gas/maintenance
$200
Insurance
$30
Miscellaneous (haircuts, newspapers, magazines, film,
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