ifiddles
Well-known member
Sounds idyllic...where did you move to?...hubby and I both cut our own hair, so that wouldn't be an issue...LOL
Steps towards a simpler life
- Thread starter Jampy00
- Start date
Sure it’s good for her, but what about the kids? Doesn’t sound like school is on-par with here and there’s certainly less career opportunities. I loved my week in Costa Rica and I’m sure if I was solo I could make a life there but I see more opportunities here.
Cutting your own hair is certainly where it’s at. I was forced into it during covid and have never had anyone cut my hair since. Saving $20-40 month plus the wasted time going there means more money/time for other things.
High school in CR is internationally recognized as acceptable. I know some people that moved down during covid. CR pricing has skyrocketed over the past few years so it is no longer a budget destination.
I get my hair cut every four to six months. I tried cutting it myself at one point in the past. Buzz is easy enough. When cutting with scissors, I had issues cutting parts (the ring where bald people have hair).
Schools aren’t bad and if you really want to spend a bit there are international schools for expat kids in most places where expats congregate. I don’t see it as any different to French immersion just this is Spanish immersion. The kids left some friends and made new ones. If you have an army family they do that all the time.
As for budget it depends what you want to eat and how you live. If you want to eat and live exactly the same as you do in North America it will cost you. If you want to eat like a local on fresh fish/meat/veggies and fruit with rice and beans or plantains etc then you can live very cheaply. Personally I can’t get enough fresh fish when I'm down in these places. The only downer was one time in Northern Panama I had to wait a bit while they caught my fish from the dock. Terrible imposition.
Last edited:
Mikedezo44
Well-known member
No link sorry but happy to answer any question you wish as I've been 4 times. Every time longer than the last, and think about how soon I can go back every day that I'm in Canada. Can get a teeth cleaning there at a very professional dental office for $40-50. Bangkok has world class hospitals that expats who live in neighboring south east asian countries will visit every year or two for a full health check up, or surgery that they don't trust getting done in Philippines or Indonesia for example. Endless hours of Youtube videos on living over there. Take a 2 or 3 week trip over there to check out a couple of cities and see what you think of it.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Porcupine
My brother moved to Panama and it didn't work out. He planned to start a business down there but was underfinanced. The language barrier was also an issue. He could order a meal in a restaurant but negotiating in a business environment was a no-no.
He also went down with a superiority attitude. That's a killer in any country as the American tariff followers have noticed.
Stuff was cheap ~15 years ago but you had to go with the flow.
Sorry to hear that. It takes a lot of organization. You need lawyers for everything there including buying cars etc. First you have to find lawyers you trust though which is no small feat and you need to realize that there's a bunch of people just waiting to fleece you of cash.
This is such a common story. We've lived in a few places for months to years at time, Thailand, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa.
Seen so many ex-pats move to a lower cost-of-living country thinking it's just going to be like home, except cheaper. Based all their research on a two-week vacation on a beach resort.
"We're gonna live like F-n kings!!!"
And then they encounter language/cultural barriers, lack of sanitary practices, poor air quality due to no environmental-protection enforcement, no government services like garbage collection, nobody fixing huge gaping holes in the sidewalk, lack of infrastructure like sewage systems, broken roads that require you to repair your suspension every year. Political instability, rampant crime, long queues for inadequate and overly-bureaucratic services like renewing your drivers licenses, passports, etc. Corruption at every level from the police to vendors squeezing ex-pats extra hard for bribes and "special fees" because they know you have more money than the locals. Being treated like a walking ATM every where you go, hands outstretched all the time at you.
If you want the same standard of living, you'll have to pay extra and the cost works out to almost the same as the west, otherwise you're eating, shiiting and sleeping like the locals.
About the only thing that is cheaper is local food and healthcare.
The ones that prosper in these places end up staying because they genuinely like the culture, not because they are escaping financial hardship at home. They speak the language fluently, have local friends, their kids play with local kids, cook local dishes at home, they watch local TV and movies in the native language without subtitles. They don't surround themselves with an ex-pat cocoon of other western economic refugees just so they can speak English to somebody... anybody...
Worse still are those who barely have enough funds to emigrate to a LCL-country, and find out there is no way they can come back to the west because they've been aged/skilled out of the job market, and priced out of the housing market having stepped off the property ladder. For those folks, it's a one-way trip to a false paradise.
Go in with your eyes open, not your wallets closed.
Your post is like reading my brother's diary.
Like Lightcycle said there's a bunch of things you just don’t think about that can impact everyday life. We've been looking into this for a while. In Panama people regularly burn their trash as collections can be sporadic or paid for and some people don’t want to pay. It can be a bit worrying coming across an unsupervised (as they ran away because it's strictly illegal) fire. We had one next to a property we rented and it started to get out of hand. We stayed in a place in rainy season once as we needed to know what it was like year round rather than just the dry months. The rain was measured in inches a day. The little stream in our AirBnB became a lake every day. Some roads washed away. Even in dry season there's things to think about. Farmers burn their fields regularly to get them ready for the next season. This means a smokey smog for sometimes weeks at a time in places depending on the wind direction. New rules limit how long you can legally drive for in Panama as an expat.
Mikedezo44
Well-known member
I don't know about other countries but I've consumed too many youtube video stories of guys going over to Thailand, getting addicted to their 2 week millionaire lifestyle vacation and want to turn that into their every day life. They all want to get into business in a foreign country and think they're going to be the ones who succeed.
Most recent one was an early 30's man who took his inheritance from his mother (around 100,000 gbp) Of course he got into the marijuana business, opened up a shop near the heart of Phuket nightlife area, dumped a bunch of money into it, it had rooms up above that needed renovating and he planned to rent them out but he was waiting until the business took off to fix up the rooms. Also talked about how everyone at the night clubs were friendly with him (of course they are when you're dropping $500-700 in a single night) He wasn't selling enough weed to pay his building rent, let alone make a profit. He kept thinking the business was going to take off so he was spending accordingly. Also Had a nice 2 bedroom condo for a while, instead of living above his shop.
He was looking for investors to buy into his business, found a Thai business woman (ex bar girl) (whom he got friendly with) who put even more money into it, then she pulled out of the deal and needed all her money back of course (which he didn't have, had to sell all his possessions)
Long story short he was sleeping on the beach after about 2 years. Ended up broke and penniless sitting in an immigration detention center in Bkk until someone back home paid for his flight.
Oh and he has 2 young kids back in England that he abandoned for a few years.
He said he kept telling himself as the money was going down his plan was to teach english after he ran out of money. I had to laugh, these guys think they can go from the wild nights out dropping a months salary in one night, to living off of that same amount for an entire month. I've yet to see one adjust their spending habits accordingly. Crash and burn. So many of these stories.
The low season is real there, if you are in business you need to set aside enough in the high season to get through the low season as you'd be lucky to even cover your rent those months with income generated. It's a lot more fun to be Mr. cool though in the night clubs than save your money for when nothing is coming in. How to become a millionaire in Thailand? Start with 2. You need to have some real self control to live in the nightlife cities/districts. Can go broke real fast with the temptation of women and alcohol.
Most recent one was an early 30's man who took his inheritance from his mother (around 100,000 gbp) Of course he got into the marijuana business, opened up a shop near the heart of Phuket nightlife area, dumped a bunch of money into it, it had rooms up above that needed renovating and he planned to rent them out but he was waiting until the business took off to fix up the rooms. Also talked about how everyone at the night clubs were friendly with him (of course they are when you're dropping $500-700 in a single night) He wasn't selling enough weed to pay his building rent, let alone make a profit. He kept thinking the business was going to take off so he was spending accordingly. Also Had a nice 2 bedroom condo for a while, instead of living above his shop.
He was looking for investors to buy into his business, found a Thai business woman (ex bar girl) (whom he got friendly with) who put even more money into it, then she pulled out of the deal and needed all her money back of course (which he didn't have, had to sell all his possessions)
Long story short he was sleeping on the beach after about 2 years. Ended up broke and penniless sitting in an immigration detention center in Bkk until someone back home paid for his flight.
Oh and he has 2 young kids back in England that he abandoned for a few years.
He said he kept telling himself as the money was going down his plan was to teach english after he ran out of money. I had to laugh, these guys think they can go from the wild nights out dropping a months salary in one night, to living off of that same amount for an entire month. I've yet to see one adjust their spending habits accordingly. Crash and burn. So many of these stories.
The low season is real there, if you are in business you need to set aside enough in the high season to get through the low season as you'd be lucky to even cover your rent those months with income generated. It's a lot more fun to be Mr. cool though in the night clubs than save your money for when nothing is coming in. How to become a millionaire in Thailand? Start with 2. You need to have some real self control to live in the nightlife cities/districts. Can go broke real fast with the temptation of women and alcohol.
Glenn/RZ500
Well-known member
I remember Ronnie Hawkins saying " I spent a million dollars on women and booze, the rest I wasted." Another cautionary tale...I know a guy in his 70`s who blew over a million bucks gambling, in 12 years. He now lives on CPP/OAS and can`t pay his rent on his Oshawa rathole apartment and recently received an eviction notice. If he would have been in Pattaya he likely would have been broke in half the time,....damn ladyboys.
Last edited:
I remember Ronnie Hawkins saying " I spent a million dollars on women and booze, the rest I wasted." Another cautionary tale...I know a guy in his 70`s who blew over a million bucks gambling, in 12 years. He now lives on CPP/OAS and can`t pay his rent on his Oshawa rathole apartment and recently received an eviction notice. If he would have been in Pattaya he likely would have been broke in half the time,....damn ladyboys.
When we rode through Baja Mexico, it was almost a cliche how many recently divorced middle-aged guys there were, hanging out at the bars, easy pickin's to be the next sugar daddy for some local mamacita.
So many songs about exactly that.
Jimmy Buffett's "Maragaritaville":
Nibblin' on sponge cake
Watchin' the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strummin' my six-string
On my front-porch swing
Smell those shrimp
They're beginnin' to boil
Wasting away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim
That there's a woman to blame
But I know it's nobody's fault
Don't know the reason
Stayed here all season
With nothing to show but this brand-new tattoo
But it's a real beauty
A Mexican cutie
How it got here I haven't a clue
Wasting away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim
That there's a woman to blame
Now I think, "Hell! It could be my fault."
I blew out my flip-flop
Stepped on a pop top
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home
But there's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on
Wasting away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim
That there's a woman to blame
But I know, it's my own damn fault
Yes, and some people claim
That there's a woman to blame
And I know, it's my own damn fault
What a great song.
Thailand , Nicaragua, Panama , Costa Rica , key west . Pick any spot that’s warm and tropical and you’ll find middle aged divorced dudes and metric ton of gals waiting to separate them from what cash they have left .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Being self aware and having the courage to take action and make a change. It’s hard for many and some try and fail where others succeed.
I’d like to think I’m the same guy I’ve always been but, truth be told I’ve adjusted my mind set over time. Having an appreciation for the simple things in life and not getting caught up keeping up with the Jones.
I don’t have time to listen to people complain about how their life sucks or how hard done by. I just smile and nod and let that time pass and look forward to when they don’t take up the space around me.
Nice weather for a ride eh? Have to take my step son back to university today or I’d pick up my new (to me) ride and grab some pics and make some smiles. Looking forward to getting what rides I can for the rest of the season.
I’d like to think I’m the same guy I’ve always been but, truth be told I’ve adjusted my mind set over time. Having an appreciation for the simple things in life and not getting caught up keeping up with the Jones.
I don’t have time to listen to people complain about how their life sucks or how hard done by. I just smile and nod and let that time pass and look forward to when they don’t take up the space around me.
Nice weather for a ride eh? Have to take my step son back to university today or I’d pick up my new (to me) ride and grab some pics and make some smiles. Looking forward to getting what rides I can for the rest of the season.
Yeah, that alpha drive is definitely a young person's game.
When we sold up and lived on the road with nothing but whatever we could carry, there was an incredible freeing up of mental real estate. Considerable time and resources are involved with owning lots of physical possessions. After you buy "stuff", you have to store it, maintain it, secure it, insure it. All of those concerns are always in the back of your mind, consuming valuable processing power.
When you have no stuff, there's a lot more energy to focus on being present in the moment, focus on interpersonal relationships and extending your field of curiosity and care past your own skin.
Don’t you have like 832 motorcycles?
