Chicks-n-Scratching

So my parents have this idea of retiring to Europe. It’s been pushed back a bit because my mom had a bad fall earlier this year and had to get a shoulder replacement – so they’re aiming at around a year from now.

Which means I’ll have a fantastic built in excuse for running off to Europe for the holidays. I have to – I have to see my folks for Christmas, right?

Anyway, their hunt for the perfect spot to retire (not in the US) had me poking around looking at what options are available. I found out something interesting – a LOT of Americans are retiring to other countries (not Europe) because their retirement dollars go farther.

There’s a significant ex-pat community in Mexico, a large one in India, and a number in various other locales.

There are whole websites devoted to matching people with their perfect cheap retirement option. It’s really interesting.

Anyway, so my parents wanted Europe – which makes no sense to me given that their dollars go LESS far in Europe than in the US, but whatever. Which means they had to decide where in Europe. Now, they ruled out the far north – too cold – and Eastern Europe – too iffy. They ruled out Britain, Germany, Switzerland for weather reasons. I have no idea why they excluded the Netherlands, unless they’re concerned about climate change and the fact that the Netherlands are actually below sea level.

In any case, they settled on the Med because of weather and attitude reasons. Spain, Portugal, Italy, south of France, that kind of thing. And yes, they have chosen where – I’m just not telling. Anyway, the whole thing just makes me shake my head.

And then I wonder….well, there’s a point. Will I be able to retire where I want to in the way they are? Or will I need to scrape everything together and move to Mumbai?