expats, partial expats, and offshoring wealth - share your experience

[Datchew]

Hi all,

The recent retirement discussion was very interesting to me to hear people's successes, plans, and strategies.
This isn't meant to become a political discussion but suffice it to say that as an American and I'm looking at spending some or all of my time either in partial or full retirement abroad.
Primary considered regions are Lithuania or surrounding regions or Argentina, S. America et. al,.

I would love to hear experiences or ideas from expats that already have experience doing this as well as thoughts on wealth and asset transfer and investing abroad.
For a mild way of putting things, I like to diversify.
For a less-mild way of putting things, I think the USA doesn't recover from it's currency debasement path (No instance in history of a currency reversing it's debasement lifecycle to my knowledge) and it would be nice to be somewhat out of reach when the wealth confiscation taxes begin sometime in the future. Good to have options.

What other markets and why did you choose them?
Real estate, buy businesses, equities, and other things you plugged into vs. keeping it in the American market.
Taxes domestic and foreign.

This is a surprisingly interesting group of successful international travelers and hunters and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Canada has a tax treaty with the US that has worked well for me. Our health care is "good" but also free. When you retire, health care immediately becomes a concern. And health insurance premiums! We just fall apart as we get older. I have stayed away from real estate. Too much maintenance and not very liquid. Can be a good long term investment but most of us who reach retirement age need to be more concerned about short term and potential liquidity. Per another thread, I have invested heavily in Canadian banks and done well enough. Very solid.

 

[fourfive8]

Not an expat and no intention of offshoring wealth. I don’t have enough wealth to worry about offshoring anyway. But I do maintain households in two countries so by some definition I’m a partial expat. The USD to PHP exchange rate has remained favorable so that helps. I have no plans to shift investment money anywhere on a large scale. But, my future options are well hedged by having residences and small farms in two countries.

 

[farmer_john]

Hi all,

The recent retirement discussion was very interesting to me to hear people's successes, plans, and strategies.
This isn't meant to become a political discussion but suffice it to say that as an American and I'm looking at spending some or all of my time either in partial or full retirement abroad.
Primary considered regions are Lithuania or surrounding regions or Argentina, S. America et. al,.

I would love to hear experiences or ideas from expats that already have experience doing this as well as thoughts on wealth and asset transfer and investing abroad.
For a mild way of putting things, I like to diversify.
For a less-mild way of putting things, I think the USA doesn't recover from it's currency debasement path (No instance in history of a currency reversing it's debasement lifecycle to my knowledge) and it would be nice to be somewhat out of reach when the wealth confiscation taxes begin sometime in the future. Good to have options.

What other markets and why did you choose them?
Real estate, buy businesses, equities, and other things you plugged into vs. keeping it in the American market.
Taxes domestic and foreign.

This is a surprisingly interesting group of successful international travelers and hunters and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I would not put your money in argentina.
That said uruguay next door if you get your residency/citizenship does nit tax foriegn earned money so if you made a million. A year youd pay 0 incomr taxes.

Eastern europe is not bad. Poland i think is less likely to be in a war next 10 years than lithuania. But that whole part of worlds beautiful. Ukraine is thd nation in eastern europe i have most fsmiliarity with. And even now would recomend it

 

[fourfive8]

Knock yourself out investing your future in Ukraine or Eastern Europe. Not me, not a chance! I’d choose USA, Bhutan, Nepal, Philippines or possibly even Vietnam. But so you know, Bhutan closely screens even short stay, casual visitors/tourists. I don’t blame them.

 

[pilar]

Curaçao ( Dutch banks ) is a major financial center and nice place to visit and do business in, we have a family member who married a banker from curaçao
Nice if you are interested in living in Europe or South America as they have toes in both continents
I captained a boat to grand cayman island for a guy that was doing business in Nicaraguan mining , didn’t get to visit anything there just know they provided a security team of the company boat

“”
Cayman Islands)

• Key Strengths: World-leading, sophisticated financial center with strict privacy laws.
• Tax Environment: Zero income, corporate, capital gains, or inheritance taxes.
• Banking Focus: Private banking, offshore trusts, and corporate structures.
• Account Opening: Highly regulated and professional, though it requires strict compliance documentation.

Curaçao Banking (Dutch Caribbean)

• Key Strengths: Strong, established regional banks (e.g., MCB, RBC, Orco).
• Tax Environment: Generally low-tax, but not a pure tax-free haven in the same manner as Cayman.
• Banking Focus: Corporate and personal, with a focus on regional Caribbean and international business.
• Account Opening: Possible for non-residents but usually requires a personal, in-person visit for finalization.

Key Comparison

• Reputation: Cayman is viewed as a premier global hub; Curaçao is a solid, regional, and emerging international center.
• Taxation: Cayman offers zero tax on foreign income; Curaçao operates with different tax rules and is less focused on pure tax avoidance.
• Process: Both require significant due diligence, but Cayman is often more streamlined for large, complex offshore structures.

For high-net-worth, complex offshore structures, Cayman is generally preferred. For regional Caribbean business or simpler international accounts with a reputable, traditional bank, Curaçao is a strong, slightly more accessible alternative. ””

 

[SETH RINGER]

MY WIFE IS FILIPINO SO WE HAVE FAMILY AND PROPERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES BUT CHOSE COSTA RICA FOR OUR RETIREMENT HOME. IF HER MOM AND DAD WHERE STILL WITH US IT MIGHT HAVE SWAYED THAT DECISION. BUT ALL MY/OUR FAMILY ARE IN FL AND IT IS A HELL OF A LOT SHORTER FLIGHT TO CR THAN PHL. NOTHING WRONG WITH CR BUT A GUY SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT PANAMA (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND THE $$ IS OFFICIAL CURENCY) AND EL SALVADOR AS POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

 

[fourfive8]

MY WIFE IS FILIPINO SO WE HAVE FAMILY AND PROPERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES BUT CHOSE COSTA RICA FOR OUR RETIREMENT HOME. IF HER MOM AND DAD WHERE STILL WITH US IT MIGHT HAVE SWAYED THAT DECISION. BUT ALL MY/OUR FAMILY ARE IN FL AND IT IS A HELL OF A LOT SHORTER FLIGHT TO CR THAN PHL. NOTHING WRONG WITH CR BUT A GUY SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT PANAMA (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND THE $$ IS OFFICIAL CURENCY) AND EL SALVADOR AS POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

Understand that! After 14 round trips to Gensan and Davao, I’ve become somewhat acclimated to the abuse. Philippines is not quite the antipode from here but close enough. People often ask me how far or how long to get there and I just say, “almost can’t get there from here”.

 

[coreydb]

My wife is Spanish and we're looking at retirement in Spain. The problem with moving permanently over there, is the taxes. Being a European Socialist country, like all Europe, is the amount of taxes they take from your retirement. Being 100% military disabled, my disability is tax free, but Spain taxes it because the government views it as income. There are differences between the countries across the EU, but this is my first-hand story. We're still going to buy a home in Spain, but we'll just stay a total of six months every year and treat it as a second home.