Dreaming of retiring abroad? Watch out for these 3 giant pitfalls

By Dawn Fleming - March 26, 2022 published on MarketWatch

You can read plenty of articles about how great it is to retire abroad. My husband and I are thankful every single day that we moved to Mexico five years ago. That said, moving abroad is a little scary and it’s not for everyone. I’ve met many people who love it and couldn’t imagine going back, but there are also those who decided it wasn’t for them.

The good news: It’s OK to try it out and return to the U.S. if you don’t like it. You won’t have to wonder “What if…” One of my podcast guests did that and is really glad to have gone for it, even though it did not work out.

And remember: Many people experience a sense of “What have I done?” at about three months after a move. This mini-setback is typically gone by the sixth month.

These are the three biggest reasons your overseas retirement might not work out.

You moved for the wrong reason

Changing locations alone will rarely make you happy if you’re unhappy in your current environment. Sometimes people feel animosity toward a place (or relationship) when they are “done”. I urge you to try gratitude instead. Plan to be happy and grateful exactly where you are right now.

I lived near the charming downtown area in Orange, Calif., for over 20 years. We knew over a year in advance that we’d be moving away. During my walks through the area, I was intentional in soaking it all up, taking it all in like taking a deep breath, as if I’d never see it again. I felt incredibly grateful that final year, a sense of joy and completeness as if a chapter of my book was closing.

While we were “done” with our life in California, we weren’t running away from something as much as running toward something else: a simpler and more joy-filled life. We were tired of the concrete jungle, six lanes of traffic in each direction (none moving) and the incredible high cost of living in Orange County.

Instead of seeking external factors for a “perfect retirement location,” figure out who you are and what you really want in your life. Know exactly what’s most important and nonnegotiable.

For example, I told my husband shortly after we met that this Minnesota girl was DONE with snow. Tom was a black diamond skier but decided his knees should retire. He took up golf and tennis so we have compatible interests. He was an avid sailor. Our first two dates were sailing to make sure I didn’t get seasick—that would have been a deal breaker for him.

You had unrealistic expectations

Many people retire without a well-thought-out plan. They neglect to define what their new daily life will look like. Being retired with an income stream is not a plan. It defines your situation, but not how you’ll spend your days.

Without structure or purpose, people can drift. Not knowing what else to do, some may head to the bar every day or just sit in a new place and wonder why they moved at all. The place you love on vacation may not bring the same joy when living there.

One woman I met moved to Mexico to retire. Then she moved several times around Cancún, looking for happiness, which turned out to be illusive. She decided return to live in the United States, got a small apartment and took a job as a cashier. Not knowing what else to do, she went back to her old life.

Naming what is important to you at the beginning of your search will help you find places that fit your vision of paradise and help you craft a plan for your new life. Do you need to learn a new language? Are you willing to do that?

Don’t be afraid of trying out several locations to find the best fit. Some good options include taking a sabbatical, house sitting or otherwise temporarily living like a local. All of these options let you learn what daily life is really like.

Read the rest of the article at MarketWatch by going here.

Finding the End of Their Rainbow in Isla Mujeres

By Robert Nelson - March 17, 2022

It all started for Dawn Fleming on the 405 freeway in L.A. in 2003. After years of living the SoCal lifestyle in Orange County, she and her husband Tom were in culture shock. They looked at each other and said, “This is our life? What are we doing here?” That conversation started them on a journey that took 13 years before finding the end of their rainbow in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Dawn Fleming, 60, graduated from the University of Minnesota, close by her hometown of Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis. She took a degree in anthropology and got married while in school. Following graduation, her first husband went on to medical school and then the couple moved to Irvine, California in 1989 where he was a resident at the University of California, Irvine.

The couple split not long after moving to California, so Fleming enrolled at Western State University, Fullerton to complete a law degree and get on with her life, establishing her own business called Themis, named for the goddess of justice. She married her second husband Tom, who is now 70, in 2003.

Destin, Florida was the couple’s original destination back in 2003, but things got complicated and life interfered with their plans to escape L.A. immediately. Although the housing market was crashing, they were able to purchase a 48-foot center cockpit ketch called the Santorini. Before long, they headed south to sail in the Baja Ha-Ha race from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. But they did not stop there. They pushed on to Mexico’s Caribbean coast and Isla Mujeres, floating in turquoise water just 18-minutes by passenger ferry from Cancún, and a place Dawn Fleming had been visiting regularly since 1992.

“When we stopped at Isla Mujeres in 2010, it really felt like home,” Dawn Fleming told us. “But we were not yet ready to call Mexico home. We had shipped all of our belongs from California to Panama City on Florida’s panhandle. We lived there for two years, but it was still too cold for us. Punta Gorda, located on Florida’s southwest coast, seemed to be a good fit for us. But again, it wasn’t the end of the rainbow. We had been following the real estate market for more than a decade, so I did some research and found a need for three- and four-bedroom homes. There were a lot of condos and hotels, but not many villas.”

In 2016, they found a large home right on the water for US$475,000, but financing was expensive, topping 16 percent at the time. But with a little work, the owner was willing to self-finance at 4 percent, making the deal possible.

You can read the rest of the article at Expats in Mexico by going here.

The State of the Union on International Women’s Day

When I was 16, I worked as a part time receptionist at a real estate firm. It was 1977, and career opportunities for women were not great. Title IX, which prohibits sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) discrimination in education or any activity receiving federal financial assistance was passed a mere 5 years earlier. 

I saw women in real estate earning the same amount as men, with flexible schedules that provided them with the freedom I dreamed of having in a career.  I did make that career choice, I had a lot of success and earned a great income.

After a divorce, I went to law school and entered the legal profession in 1996. While real estate did have a level playing field, the legal profession did not. It turned out I’d chosen a male dominated profession, that had only made gradual changes.

From 1950 to 1970, only 3% of all lawyers were women. That percentage has edged up in small increments since – 8% in 1980, 20% in 1991, 27% in 2000, 37% in 2021. While in 2021, 54% of all law school students were class female, the upper echelons of the legal profession have remained largely out of reach. (ABA)

Today, 79% of all law firm equity partners are male. The federal judiciary is overwhelmingly dominated by judges who are white and male, and it’s hardly changed in the last four years, according to statistics from the Federal Judicial Center. 

Why does that matter? Consider that 54% of US Senators and 37% of House members have a law degree. Including both the House of Representatives and the Senate, just 27% of seats are held by women. While that’s a 50% increase from the number of women serving a decade ago, it doesn’t even come close to fair representation.

A Level Playing Field South of the Border

In Mexico, fully one half of Congress is now female, and of the country's 32 governors - seven are women. While this is partly due to changing attitudes, federally mandated gender equality laws are what really moved the needle.

Stereotypically, Mexico is known for its macho culture. Now it has become one of the world's leaders in gender political equality. 

It began in the 1990s, when Mexico's opposition party succeeded in passing electoral reforms that put an end to one-party rule. During that time, Mexican women smartly demanded fair gender political representation.

In 1996, a very weak recommendation was made that total congressional candidates include 30% women. Then in 2002, that percentage was increased 40% AND it became a mandate. In 2014, it increased again to fully 50% of all candidates. (New York Times)

In 2019, Mexico went even further, when legislators passed a constitutional amendment mandating gender parity in everything. The move was completely unprecedented, certainly in Latin America but also worldwide.

This policy means women have a shot at top jobs in ALL levels of government, from Cabinet positions to governorships.

For the first time in history, fully 50 percent of lawmakers in Mexico’s lower house of Congress are female.This shift is utterly remarkable, given the fact that Mexican women didn’t win the right to vote for president until 1953. This sea change highlights the power of gender quotas, which have become increasingly popular in legislatures worldwide.

How long must American women wait for a gender political parity? Political power means economic power. While civilian women, over age 16 in the workforce represent 58% of the total US population, female lawmakers make up a mere 27% of congress.

Only 9 of 50 states have female governors. Perhaps it’s time for the United States to take a page out of Mexico’s playbook so political representation more closely matches the demographics of the governed.

Mexico Tops Other Latin American Countries for Quality of Life

By Robert Nelson - January 26, 2022

A new report by Numbeo finds that Mexico tops other Latin American countries for quality of life, and ranks in the top 25 percent of countries with the lowest cost of living.

Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data on countries and cities, annually releases its index rankings for Quality of Life, based on 87 countries and Cost of Living, which includes 139 countries.

Not surprisingly for the expats who live here, Mexico ranks 47th on the Quality of Life index, which is based on an index derived from eight specific indices Numbeo tracks daily: Purchasing Power, Safety, Healthcare, Cost of Living, Property Price to Income Ratio, Traffic Commute Time, Pollution and Climate.

Just behind Mexico, ranking 50th on the index is Costa Rica, followed by Ecuador, which is 52nd. Venezuela has the worst Quality of Life ranking, 83rd, just ahead of the bottom of the barrel, which includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and, last, Nigeria.

The usual suspects led the Quality of Life index: #1 Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Australia,

Mexico isn’t the champ when it comes to cost of living in Latin America, but it trails only Argentina, Brazil and Peru, ranking 100th out of 139 countries, which means there are 99 more expensive countries.

For its Cost of Living index, Numbeo looks at these indices: Rent, Cost of Living + Rent, Groceries, Restaurants and Local Purchasing Power.

The five most expensive Latin America cities in descending order are Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Chile. But if you want the cheapest cost of living in the world, you had better be prepared for a very low quality of life in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Colombia and Algeria.

If you have the bank account to live a life of leisure in the priciest places on earth, you’ll need to start with Bermuda on your list, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Barbados and Jersey…Jersey? Yes, Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, between England and France. It’s a self-governing dependent of the United Kingdom.

Numbeo also reports on the cost of living in 576 cities and Mexico again scores well. Cancún is the most expensive city in Mexico on the index at 425th, but keep in mind there are only 151 cities that are cheaper and 424 more expensive.

Guadalajara is the least expensive of the cities in Mexico that Numbeo includes in its Cost of Living index, coming in at 480th. Other Mexican cities that receive a gold star for inexpensive living are: Monterrey (429th), Mexico City (443rd), Mérida (460th) and Querétaro (463rd). If your city is not on the list, it means Numbeo did not have enough user-contributed data for inclusion.

The least expensive places to live in the world, according to Numbeo, are: Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Karachi, Pakistan; Kanpur, India; Thrissur, India; and, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Hamilton, Bermuda is numero uno at the top of the most expensive cities in the world, followed by Zurich, Switzerland; Basel, Switzerland; Zug, Switzerland; and, Lugano, Switzerland. Now we know why all the banks are in Switzerland.

For all of you who love data and want to see more details, Numbeo has the numbers and all the individual indices for Qualify of Life and  Cost of Living.