I'm someone who plans to retire in SEA and I would say for anyone who coming from the western world, please do not buy condos/houses over here. It playing a dangerous game with your savings and funds, rent is so damn cheap over there, simply being invested in index funds will cover your rent and more. Also certain countries are already cracking down on the nominee arrangement that so many expats thought they were safe from.

But trying to own property in places in SEA or most of Asia is like playing with a live grenade. If you wanna buy a condo you pretty much get treated as second class citizen, good units are allocated to the locals with preferable pricing/financing. realistically yields are less than the S&P 500. Foreigners are prevented from buying a house.

Another thing i've seen so many expats get ruined because of either using a local to buy land for them or starting a business where you own 49% and the local owns 51%. Don't do it, go get a hobby.

Retired at 54, wife is 60. Plan is to move to Greece on FIP VISA as residents (Financially Independent Person). We have about ~1m in traditional IRAs, ~500k in CMA and 2 houses in the US worth ~1.5m that we will sell before we go. We'll be worth a bit less than 3m after expenses, and expect to spend a lot less on an apartment in Greece. I expect to have ~1m in the CMA after all is said and done, so we have a lot of flexibility in how we disburse investments and when we collect SS.

If we were staying in the US, I would be converting our IRA to Roth steadily and we would collect at 62.

Going to Greece however changes things quite a bit. We get a 7% flat tax rate for 15 years. After that of course the regular Greek taxes kick in and we would be in the highest bracket for sure, which is a whopping 44%. The EU in general does not recognize tax-privileged accounts so we would get taxed again on our Roths when we drawdown on them.

I am thinking the correct strategy is to empty our IRA over the 15 years and keep everything in the 12% US tax bracket, and we would effectively not pay anything in Greece as there is a tax treaty even if it is from 1950. As I don't think we are going to spend 100k/yr to live, half that money will probably get re-invested in the CMA. We would delay collecting SS until age 70 and can live off of that indefinitely.

The CMA would cover any emergencies or large purchases, and honestly even if we blew it all, we would still be able to live decently on the combined SS.

We plan on staying in Greece and becoming dual citizens, but I feel we're kinda screwed if we decide we want to go back to the US.

Anyway, I am wondering if anyone else has done this and how it has worked, if I have missed anything, or if I am just completely out of my mind and it is a shit plan. TIA, and if you made it here, thanks for reading!

Would like to Expat FIRE, but love my dog and don’t want to be without one for as long as I can care for one.

For people who did Expat FIRE, did your pets come into consideration or did you decide that it’s not feasible to do both?

Hey all - hoping for some advice on this dilemma I’ve been thinking about a ton.

I’m 29M currently working in sports, I work for an American firm remotely from Toronto. In terms of finances, I have a pretty good set up at the moment where my bi-weekly take-home is ~$3800 CAD, and I’m able to save $2500 as I’m currently living at home with my parents (super normal in my culture).

As you can imagine, while WFH is great in this regard, I miss out on a ton of the in-office face-to-face conversations. Which, in my opinion are invaluable. I do manage to get down to NYC for a week or so every other month, which goes a long way, but far from what 3x/week in office might mean.

In 2027, I’ll likely have an opportunity to move over to NYC. While the company will factor in cost of living into my salary, my take-home will remain pretty much the same, except in USD. Our office is in midtown Manhattan, and
I’m a little worried that I’ll go from a cushy savings rate, to things being incredibly tight and saving next-to-nothing living in NYC.

This could be more in the life advice realm, but let me know what you think. Any advice, or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I am an international who has spent time in Dubai in the past. How would you view Dubai as a place to potentially retire? If one has saved, say, somewhere between $5 million and $10 million USD, could it be a good place to retire or retire early?

I personally think taking a place in Dubai or Ras al Khaimah and enjoying the city life, and also the centrality of Dubai from a travel perspective makes it an attractive spot. I know some of the expenses are high but if you buy your own place and manage some of the costs, could it be an attractive place to retire? What do you think?

37M, Vienna, IT.

Invested about 240k, no property, no dependents yet. Coast box has been ticked since 2023, the math is in an older post of mine, short version is the pile gets where it needs to be by 60 without me, spend is 34k a year, and I still put in 900 a month because stopping feels weird.

Here is a thing I didn't know I was assuming. Part of why coasting felt safe was a quiet "and I can always leave" at the back of it.
Vienna is fine. Vienna is very fine but the plan always had a clause somewhere after 45 that said maybe not here, and I had never priced it, because why would you price a maybe.

Austria has an exit tax and it covers a plain private depot, ETFs included, which I had somehow filed under "for people with a GmbH". The day you move your residence out they treat the whole thing as sold, 27.5 percent on the unrealised gain, the same KESt I'd pay if I sold it myself. If you go to another EU or EEA country you can ask them not to collect until you actually sell, and the claim rides along with you. Go anywhere else, Switzerland included, and it's cash on the way out.

Since this July there's a new bit. If the gain at departure was over 100k you have to tell the Finanzamt every year that you still haven't sold, and if you skip a year the whole deferred amount falls due.

Now the coast part, which is the part that got me. I'm barely adding anymore, so from here on the growth is mostly gain. My unrealised gain on the All-World position is around 70k today, so leaving now means a 19k claim, deferred, and it stays 19k however long I hold.

Wait five years and it's more.

Wait until 60, if the plan works, and the same claim is six figures. Wherever I end up, that slice is Austria's, and it only gets bigger while I sit here being fine. 100k line, the one with the yearly letter attached, I cross in about three years at current pace. So "later" now has a price and the price goes up on a schedule.
Nobody mentions this in coast threads. Savings rate, withdrawal rate, never the address.

Embarrassing bit is that there's no city on the other side of this. I'm not comparing countries. I've been to all the neighbours, none of them are on a list, there is no list. What changed is only that a vague someday grew a number, and I'm the kind of person who, once a number exists, can't leave it alone. Two years ago it was TERs to the third decimal, last year it was the P2P secondary market, this year it's a leaving date for a move I haven't decided to make.
At least this one is a real number.

Migration list, if it ever happens, is short and annoying. Depot sits with a steuereinfach broker that does the KESt for me and is built for residents, so it probably moves, and I did that once already when I moved here, that was fees and forms, this one comes with a bill.
Pension years stop accruing, EU coordination supposedly adds them up at the end. The one corner that doesn't care is the P2P sleeve, 20k across three platforms. Loans sit at par, interest posts monthly, there is nothing for a deemed sale to find, and since P2P interest here is mostly tariff income, my marginal 40 something percent, most places I can name would tax it less. They just would want a new address and a KYC upload, that's the entire project.

Anyone here who was coasting in a country with an exit tax and left or nearly did?

Did you sell down before you went so the next country starts clean, take the deferral and carry it or just decide the growing number was the price of not deciding and stayed?

Staying is the current plan, and I'd like to know what it costs before I keep choosing it by default.

TL;DR: coasting in Vienna. Austria's exit tax means every year I stay, a bigger chunk of the depot is already spoken for at 27.5 percent whichever country I might leave for, and past 100k of gain there's a yearly form with the whole bill behind it. No destination, no list, just a number that grows on a schedule. If you left an exit tax country while coasting, what did you do with the depot on the way out.

https://preview.redd.it/yy5hbin3znjh1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=3bb6e48ef3d1fb265ee963d1a271253853e00e89

Thoughts on this portfolio for a 42y expat living off 60k year in south america.

$1.82M portfolio, generating roughly $50K/year in income, with a 23.6% 1-year return.

The allocation is pretty interesting:

• 22.3% VTI
• 15.2% VYMI
• 15.2% VYM
• 13.3% VOO
• 8.0% GPIQ
• 6.6% TTTXX
• 4.9% SMH
• 4.1% BTC
• 3.9% VXUS
• 2.8% JEPI

The thing that stands out to me is the combination of broad-market exposure + a very large income tilt, while still maintaining some exposure to technology and crypto.

Would you consider this reasonably diversified, or is there too much overlap between VTI, VOO, VYM and VYMI?

And at ~$50K/year in income, would you prioritize maintaining the income level or simplify the portfolio further?

Has anyone ever tried to qualify and apply for a digital nomad visa by shifting ownership of your own stock portfolio from your personal assets to the asset of an LLC or S-Corp that you own? Then you simply hire yourself with some title like "portfolio manager," "market analyst," or something similar?

Like for example you have your stock portfolio that you own and use to make a passive income, but you just transfer the whole portfolio to your LLC and hire yourself. Then use that self employment to try and claim that you are a digital nomad who works remotely?

I know for example this would not work in Norway because they require you to list your clients for your business, with this method obviously that would be a problem. But for other countries could this work?

Am I on to something or is this just an obvious loophole that most countries hosting the visa can see right through?

I’m looking to connect with other future expats, 30+, who are seriously considering a permanent move abroad for a better quality of life and lower cost of living. I’m not looking for a vacation buddy, dating, real estate, or a scouting tour. I’m researching places such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean where modern housing, healthcare and everyday life are surprisingly affordable. I’d particularly like to meet another solo person who might eventually be interested in choosing a destination together and sharing a two-bedroom home initially to reduce expenses. I’m still in the research/planning stage and would first like to meet people who think about relocation the same way.

Chip

Expat aussie finances after moving back

Hi there,

I was expat working in Sydney for the past 4 years. Few months ago I headed back home with some money I left on Australia:

- savings 28k,

- superannuation fund 54k.

As I don't need the money in the long term, just wondering best options noting:

- My visa expired and I could apply for the DASP to get super back with 35% taxes, now or at retirement age (no way to avoid it given the income came from temporary residency),

- I consider current fund rates are good enough to hold the super there, as probably European market doesn't offer similar rates,

- Not really sure what to do with savings,

- I'm overseas.

Any suggestions welcome.

Never thought I'd be asking this question, I've been pretty "lean" my whole life hovering around $25-30k/year spending, and I had planned to retire to somewhere like Thailand, but as I run my numbers now, $80-100k is actually starting to seem like a reasonably safe withdrawal rate.

I guess I could still just go to Thailand and live a kind of baller lifestyle with maids and a personal chef or something, but I think maybe I'd rather spend it on living in a place with cleaner air, nicer sidewalks, and a more temperate climate, while still keeping the friendly locals and low violent crime (if that is an option).

I also notice that taxes play a bigger role at this level of spending. My first thought was somewhere like Japan, but then i realized, even if i figure out the visa situation, those taxes are pretty bananas. I have a hard time imagining that ~$65k (after taxes) in Japan is a better life than eg ~$100k (after minimal taxes) in Thailand. Thoughts?

Curious to hear where people have identified in this price range. Especially if its a place with clean air, low crime, a nice climate, and relatively pedestrian friendly.

Just to normalize responses a bit, lets call it $80-100k BEFORE local taxes, and ~50% would be considered capital gains.

Is it the utlimate hack for americans? I see that something like $500k could support a very nice retirement in great places like thailand, vietnam, mexico, whereas its borderline survival in the US.

Most people in the US retire with less then $300k, and I'm just wondering why most don't move away? I'm wondering what the real statistics of % of people over 50 that leave the US are. I know its not for everyone as most do not want to move away from their network or live in a place with a new language, but for the initiated, it seems like a no brainer

I am targeting retirement in my early 50s. I will have a child who will be in college at that time. Currently own a house in a nice neighborhood of the Bay Area. My goal is to downsize this house and buy something outright in San Diego where we have a lot of friends - likely townhouse or nice condo to minimize upkeep. Goal is to spend 7-8 months a year in the US and then 4-5 months abroad. I like the idea of having a home in the US that my kid can return to when we're back on their breaks, summer, a place to store my things, etc. I will probably rent it out for several months while I am away.

My goal is to find international locations where I can spend 8k/month or less to balance out my higher spend CA months. My SD property carrying costs will likely be around 36k assuming no rental income.

Thoughts on this plan and feasibility of living decently on 8k in places like Lisbon, Valencia, Cape Town? These are just some places we've been before and really enjoy. Very active, into hiking, biking, connecting with others. Have traveled across Asia too and obviously know this can be done on much under 8k. Any other suggestions for someone thinking about an ExpartFIRE plan like this?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some practical experience with an Estonian company being managed from Malta.

We’re three equal shareholders planning to set up an e-commerce company in Estonia. I’m resident in Malta and would be the sole active director and only person involved in the day-to-day management. The other two shareholders would be completely passive.

The company would be incorporated and registered in Estonia, with all physical operations outside Malta (inventory, fulfilment, shipping and production). Accounting, statutory filings and company records would also be maintained in Estonia.

The company would have no office, employees, warehouse or customers in Malta. However, I would carry out my role as director remotely from my home in Malta.

My main question is: Would Malta consider the company tax resident there because its sole active director is managing it from Malta, despite the company being incorporated and operationally based in Estonia?

And if so, how would this work in practice given the Malta–Estonia double tax treaty?

I’m also curious whether working from my private home could create a permanent establishment in Malta.

I’ve already contacted the Maltese tax authorities for guidance, but would love to hear from anyone who has dealt with a similar Malta/Estonia setup in practice.

Thanks!

i’m seeing a lot of mixed reviews online but one thing that everybody agrees on is that your net income cannot compare to anywhere else in the world maybe just the US.

The thing is, I’m in my mid to late 20s and still have the energy to aggressively scale in my career (finance), the issue is right now, i am based in Berlin, & my efforts are just far from proportional to my salary. I would much rather spend my drive for accomplishment in Zurich where you get paid handsomely for your labour.

But it is just a theory I don’t know anybody who moved there and made it work personally, with the objective of FIRE. What has been your experiences like? :)

Any thoughts to what Thailand/Bangkok might be like in 20-25 years? I’m not kidding myself into thinking it’ll be on the level of the East Asian mega cities, but if you can afford to live in some of the nicer areas, it sounds like the infrastructure upgrades might create a lot of pockets that get fairly close? I plan on visiting in the early 2030s once the metro expansion projects complete, but I would love to get thoughts from people who live there and are more familiar with how Bangkok has been changing over the years.

Also I’m open to other cities that offer retirement visas and solid public transport (I love living in places where you can be car-free). The climate outlook in Bangkok is the other thing I’m a little worried about, so if anyone has thoughts on other cities that would have great healthcare options, I’d be happy to look into it.

I’m a bit far out from FIRE, but having a goal I can visualize really helps with staying the course.

LA couple (51/54) considering retiring to Ireland — tax/residency advice?

My wife and I are 51/54, no kids, and have lived in Los Angeles for the past 27 years. We’re hoping to retire in about three years, and my wife is increasingly itching to get back to Ireland (Cork).

We’re both dual U.S./Irish citizens. At this point we’re trying to figure out what retirement might actually look like — full-time Ireland, splitting our time between Ireland and the U.S., etc. We haven’t yet seriously dug into the tax implications of becoming Irish tax residents.

My understanding is that Ireland generally considers you tax resident if you spend 183+ days there in a year, but there’s also the 280-day test over two consecutive years, so it’s not quite as simple as “stay under six months.”

Our tentative plan would be:

• Sell our home in Los Angeles when we retire.
• Buy a small apartment somewhere on the U.S. East Coast as our U.S. base.
• Rent in Ireland initially and potentially buy there later.
• Keep essentially all of our investments/assets in the U.S. — 401(k)s, traditional/Roth IRAs, HSA, taxable brokerage accounts, etc.
• Potentially spend a significant portion of each year in Ireland.

What I’m particularly interested in is hearing from other dual U.S./Irish citizens who retired to Ireland after accumulating most or all of their assets in the U.S.

How did Irish tax residency affect your U.S. retirement accounts and brokerage investments? Were there any tax surprises you wish you had known about before establishing Irish residency? And did you ultimately decide to become full-time Irish residents or structure your time so that you remained U.S. tax residents?

We’ll obviously hire a professional who understands both U.S. and Irish taxation before making any decisions, but I’d love to hear from people who have actually gone through this.

Any advice, experiences, or things we should be researching now — three years before retirement — would be greatly appreciated.

My mother and father were both financially struggling at various points in the 1980s but they managed to get out of the mess, eliminate debt, and build a nest-egg by working as ESL teachers in Saudi Arabia with relatively minimal credentials.

When I look at what's going on today it seems like this is an impossible dream? Is there a contemporary equivalent?

38M, single, EU passport, living in Portugal since 2017, remote job that nets me about €55k. The spreadsheet says I passed my Coast number sometime last year. Plan was to cut down to 2-3 freelance days a week and cover my €26k of annual spending while the portfolio sits untouched for the next 25 years. Then I looked at what the drawdown will eventually cost me here and now I keep reopening the same Brno tab.

Numbers:

• NW €305k: VWCE €230k, AGGH €40k, €10k in a Maclear vs Mintos P2P experiment, €25k cash
• All of it in one taxable IBKR account
• Spending €2,2k/mo, €750 of that is rent for a 1 bed

Tax part, since that's what started this. Portugal wants 28% of realized gains when I eventually sell. NHR wouldn't have saved me even when it existed, it never covered capital gains on securities and it's closed now anyway.

Czechia gains on securities held over 3 years are exempt for individuals. Not a special regime, nothing to apply for, just a holding period test that's been in place since 2014. They capped it in 2025 at 40M CZK of proceeds per year, about €1.6M, so at my size the cap is decorative.
Most of my VWCE lots are already past the 3 year mark anyway, only the last couple of years of contributions would need to season.
Broker doesn't change, IBKR Ireland covers both countries.

Ran the compounding.
€230k at 5% real for 25 years is €780k and 28% of the gain comes out a bit over €150k. I rechecked it four times because I didn't want it to be true. Under the Czech test that line item is zero.

Work side.
Freelancers there have a lump sum tax option, one payment of just under €400 a month that covers income tax, social and health insurance together, available up to roughly €60k of revenue for services. No accountant, no real filings. On €26k of billing that's around 17-18% all in, which is close to what the simplified regime plus social security would take from me in Portugal, except it's one transfer and zero paperwork.

Other stuff collected so far. Brno rent for a decent 1 bed is €650-750, so housing is a wash and it's a city of 400k with a big IT and student scene, not a village.
Prague adds €200-300 a month and I work remote, so probably no. Public healthcare is genuinely decent, which surprised me after years of reading this sub's US threads.

Downsides are real November to February is grey in a way the Atlantic never is, anything official happens in Czech, spending moves to koruna so my budget grows an FX line while the portfolio stays in euro and I'd be trading the ocean for a landlocked student town. My friends think I've lost it.

Need yours feedback:

1. Anyone here actually gone east inside the EU for FIRE instead of the usual SEA or Iberia direction? Did the winters and the language admin eat the tax win?
2. Am I overweighting a rule that's 25 years out? The 3 year test has held since 2014 and the 2025 cap suggests they trim it rather than kill it, but a quarter century is a long bet on any parliament.
3. Half the comments on the recent Cyprus thread were some version of "don't pick a country for the tax". Fair. Does that change when the country is a 4 hour flight from your current life and staying costs €150k?

Hi there,

I was expat working in Sydney for the past 4 years. Few months ago I headed back home with some money I left on Australia:

- savings 28k,

- superannuation fund 54k.

As I don't need the money in the long term, just wondering best options noting:

- My visa expired and I could apply for the DASP to get super back with 35% taxes, now or at retirement age (no way to avoid it given the income came from temporary residency),

- I consider current fund rates are good enough to hold the super there, as probably European market doesn't offer similar rates,

- Not really sure what to do with savings,

- I'm overseas.

Any suggestions welcome.