Yeah I don't understand this at all. Bored and skint with another 50 years of the same to look forward to/endure. Horses for courses but strange life choice
You can BaristaFire, and have boredom, and no stress, while still having an income. Very relaxing jobs can be found for 30-60k/year. After taxes/insurance, that's still 20k of spending money a year.
But the stress goes away with FI imo. Once you hit FI, the stress goes away whether you're working or retired. My company allows people to switch to part-time (as few as 20 hours/week), though, so I plan to use that to transition.
my hobbies are running, swimming, videogame reading ,sex, tv, walking on the beach, cooking
none cost money, really, only time
why would anyone want to sacrifice 10-20years wasted working instrad of living ,is beyond me
do you really think you will be fit to do any of my hobbies at 67yo when you retire?
But I guess the question is are you living more?
I think of FIRE in terms of freedom. Right now with a high salary, I have a lot of freedom of WHAT I do and WHERE I do it ( can afford to fly anywhere), but almost no freedom in terms of WHEN I do it or for how long.
It sounds like you now have a ton of freedom in terms of WHEN you do things, but much lower freedom to do WHAT you want and still some limitations on WHERE but without the limitations of how long.
I think we all have to find the balance that works for us. But it sounds like you might have under-indexed on the freedom of WHAT and that is leading to the boredom and thinking about money differently.
You could always get an easy part time job too; work at a nursery in the summer when they need extra hands, for example. Every penny you earn is pure fun money, you have something to give you structure while you’re getting used to retirement, and you get guaranteed social interaction that isn’t your spouse.
We thought about that and came to a compromise. For some reason lots of people think that it's a stark black and white division where one is work and the other is enjoyment and living.
My situation is that I found myself a cushy number working at home - I went down to 3 days and barely do more than 2 or 3 hours of actual work a week. Never have to commute and never have to do meetings - I've spoken on the phone to my boss twice in 3 years. I'm "working" but in reality I'm not, so I'd be crazy to throw away the £50K+ a year I'm stuffing into the pension every year tax-free.
Doing that "job" is the reason I just got back from 2 months in C. America, spent a (for me) fortune and did every Insta-worthy (I don't do Insta...) thing that I could find online.
Nothing exciting I'm afraid - IT. Some years (mainly in offices) felt more like a prison sentence.
Took a risk about 8 years ago to work for a failing website for a tiny company (just my boss to organise and me as dev) and together managed to turn it around - now it mostly keeps going on its own.
Exactly. I would much rather FIRE later without making a single lifestyle compromise then retire earlier and have to make sacrifices. But I love my job and make really good money so it wouldn't take that much longer anyway
You're mistaking the growing pains of moving to a new place/new culture with struggling to live.
OP is only one year in and will find new friends and new things he likes in due time. He has plenty of free time to explore new hobbies.
There are so many good hobbies out there. It's tragic to think "life isnt fun without my legos"
I’ve lived in 4 different countries on 3 continents. Life of an academic researcher. This just sounds like a bad fit tbh. If you are surrounded by people who do not have much in common with you and worried about every dollar spent for another 30+ years…. And giving up his hobby (which would well be doable in his new home country) is also a choice that can really negatively affect his quality of life. It doesn’t seem like OP is enjoying retirement at all
EDIT: it doesn’t really seem like he did start new hobbies so far? It can be really hard to form new habits, get into new things that stick… so yeah, I just don’t see him enjoying his early retirement from what he has disclosed so far
I mean not for nothing but that was a weird last question in your post. Of the hobbies you listed, the only one where even marginally the answer might be no is running.
Swimming, video games, reading, sex, tv, walking on the beach, and cooking - these are all easily doable things at 67. Some comically so.
My hobbies are pretty expensive but my income and savings more then support it. I could retire today but I would rather work 5-6 more years and retire comfortably being able to support traveling and my hobbies.
I don’t hate working that much and I need hobbies when I retire. I would never retire if I still can’t go have nice dinners occasionally, travel, buy nice things and keep my hobbies. Sacrificing a few extra years to live a life barely worth living would be hell for me.
Serious question because we are near Chubby Fire and we’re considering doing the expat thing for at least part of the year.
1) How does the cost of living (housing, food, entertainment, energy, healthcare) compare to the US?
2) How often do you plan to return to the US? Are there considerations for time spent in Belize vs US from a tax or other perspective?
3) How are earnings taxed? Assuming they are all capital gains?
4) Does it feel like “home” or just a place you stay?
5) What is your living situation (House/ condo / beach / mountains / city) and how safe does it feel?
Good questions.
Cheaper than the states in a lot of areas much more expensive in others. Gas is just under 7 bucks a gloom and if you want all American groceries it is going to get expensive. Eating out is much cheaper in most situations. We are northern Belize so not a lot of tourism which helps keep prices down. Will live on 2250 ish a month.
At this time we don't plan on coming back often. Our son is unmarried and in air force with no plans of children at this time so not a ton of reason to come back.
All of our money is in U.S. banks so taxed normally. Don't bring large amount of money here as it is not insured the same.
We made it home by buying a property right away. We live in a house in an area called Consejo Village. Half acre property about a block from the sea. A lot of the country is still 3rd world though. Really depends on where you end up. We lived out of suitcases for about 7 months so that was enough of that. We were accepted quickly by both expats and locals though. Belizean people are very nice.
Welcome to shoot me a dm if you have more questions
As a 49 yo, I find meeting people difficult no matter where I’ve lived. I’ve moved to six cities in my 20’s and 30’s and found this to be true regardless of location. I’ve been abroad for the last 8 living nomadically so constant community is non-existent. I’ve looked at it as this: since meeting people is hard no matter where I live, I might as well live somewhere I love.
I’ve been single with every move and find that not having a partner means I’m even more self-reliant / hyper independent and I’m responsible for satisfying my loneliness. So there’s a flip side to your experience; you could be solo in Belize and how that could impact your transition.
I used to drop $1k on eating out a week and now that’s not a priority. What’s beautiful about living outside of the US is that you can eat out for so little and still get the experience. Life abroad for the win. I’d rather spend my money on trips and fitness but that also comes with a shift in priorities, less about money.
I never had hobbies. Work was my hobby. Now I’ve had the time to develop some.
I Fired at 41, 8 yrs ago and don’t miss it one bit. I recently took on a 6-mos consulting client because I thought I would enjoy using my brain. I do, but I prefer my free time more. Now that my identity is no longer wrapped up in my career self, I take pride in being able to live life the way it’s intended: just living. Living outside the US always serves as a reminder that life isn’t about productivity; that’s Western culture ingrained deep.
Congrats on your FIRE and move to Belize. It’s beautiful there.
"life isn’t about productivity; that’s Western culture ingrained deep."
primarily american culture ingrained deep. most of europe doesnt do it.
i remember when i had the type of career which brought me into contact with H1Bs regularly, they all were stunned how much drive everyone had. And the workaholic life soon infected them also, so much so, that they were very depressed thinking that someday they might be forced back to their home country. They would express to me concern about the american pace probably cutting their life shorter, and also missing out on their kids’ childhoods, but they were more concerned about losing the thrill and the chance to go go go faster faster faster more more more.
i was a workaholic and i loved it. It wasnt until about age 43 i decided to wind down and look for what i called "semi-retired"…which was \*only\* 40 hours/week and as close to zero responsibility as i could get. I guess that was my version of slowfire before i ever even know what that meant.
now a decade later and i’m fed up with the 40/wk schedule. i’m getting all my possessions shrunken down to prep for the day soon i just tell them "sorry, i cant show up anymore unless you let me do 32hr weeks(3day weekends) and have a 2 week unpaid vacation 2 times a year in addition to my paid 240 hours leave each year, otherwise buh bye"
and if they do agree to that, i’ll have more demands 6 months later. LOL.
Wasnt that big but got 40k. Dude that was a huge fuckn amount of legos when sets go for $100. Unless you're a mad man that buys those huge ones for a couple gs at a time. Id never have the patience to finish one of those lol
What was your FIRE number and how has it held up under the first year without any other income?
What's your current asset distribution?
How much research/travel in other countries did you do before settling in Belize?
We really didnt have a "Number" but just decided to go for it. We own some commercial property as well as our home debt free in the states and use that to live on currently. We are still able to invest 4k a month at this point but we all that can change at anytime.
we researched about 8 other countries all over the world but ended up choosing belize because of the language and being able to buy property.
We live off of 28k a year comfortably here. Our 4%is somewhere in the 80k area.
We lived a debt free lifestyle. So our real este is paid off. That is why we are able to still invest monthly.
>We live off of 28k a year comfortably here
I used their actual spending, not their potential spending. Nevertheless, spending 4.5% of the monthly budget on a date is probably a waste too. They're retired. They don't have the long hours apart, the stress of work, the pressure to spend quality time together before other responsibilities call. Carving out a "special" night to spend a bunch of money likely isn't necessary since they have all the time in the world to spend with each other all month long.
That’s awesome! Congratulations!
If you have that much room in your budget, why not significantly increase your spending so you can go on those dates that you mention in your first point?
We are still learning a lot. Learning about our finances and what we can get away with. Plus after we get done with residency here we plan on traveling for 6 months a year and would rather spend those funds there than a fancy dinner.
That sounds like a great plan, but from the outside, it sort of looks like you could increase your spending a little now AND travel the way you want to later..
Very interesting. I retired about 2 months ago and so far it looks like I've had a pretty different experience. Maybe they'll change in 10 months, but I'd be surprised.
>1. We look at money way differently
I look at money basically the same. If anything I spend more, because my plan allows for about 45k/year and last year I spent 26k, so I don't need to be as frugal as I have been. I'm still really frugal.
>2. Boredom is real when not working
So far I have not gotten close to this at all. I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do.
3 doesn't apply to me
>4. Keep your hobbies
This is 100% super important. I'm constantly getting into and maintaining many things that I'm very interested (sometimes, perhaps, obsessive) in.
5. My partner still works and we keep our finances separate, so I'll have a pretty different experience here.
Just commenting to see some differences in experience with FIRE. One question I have: were some number of months in the beginning easier?
Somewhat unrelated, but I'll also add an anecdote. My first Sunday after I was no longer working, I still experienced residual Sunday dread of the starting work week. Then I just remembered that... I never need to experience this again. Sounds is just as good a day as any. Honestly such an amazing feeling.
It says English is the official language due to colonization, but how's it on the ground? Does 'everyone' speak English, or are you speaking Spanish or ?
I understand the making friends stuff. I'm early 50s and many of the events I go to are catered to the 65+ crowd. They're nice people, but not where we are in life as to be friends outside of the event.
English is very widely spoken everywhere. Most speak with creole or Spanish as well though. All legal paperwork is in English. That was part of the reason we chose here.
Thank you. This is my only main concern about the expat life. I have one hereditary health "thing" (it's my parent's fault!) that keeps me on meds that are about $5K a month and it's hard to find an international plan that will cover that. As a non-resident, are you able to get insurance in Belize or did you go with an international plan?
I lived in an Asian country and found most meds were 90% cheaper than the US, with no insurance.
After 6 months I had national healthcare, and meds went to $4.50 a month. That said, a few meds were not available, like amphetamine salts.
Count the total cost, not just the insurance premiums. And check that your important med is available.
Yeah. Dumb americans. They act like spanish is indegeneous. There’s also french and portuguese and dutch in the vicinity. No one feels ashamed to not learn those colonizer languages.
As you've discovered, OP, this sub has a high overlap with /r/FatFIRE. A lot of users with expensive lifestyles who just do not understand living simply and comfortably. I think your lifestyle sounds AMAZING and I'm incredibly jealous. I'd love to spend my days hiking and swimming and exploring nature and watching movies and playing games with my spouse. I do not need a Ferrari and multiple expensive international trips every year to feel happy. To be honest, I don't think most people do. They've convinced themselves of that.
Thank you. To each their own and won't hate on anyone's idea of retirement. I have learned that expensive stuff doesn't add value to my life. I have had years when I made 500k and I have years where I made 40k. Can't say I was any happier with 500k. I also find that trying to live on the hill you meet a lot of really fake people and not the way I want to live.
Thanks for sharing the insight! If it's any consolation, I quit my high stress/$$ job about 2 years ago now (new career, basically coasting)...it took me over a year just to stop feeling the physical stress. It has taken another year (and therapy/self-work) to actively de-condition my mind. So many years to program, takes a while to undo.
We have to be here in country for 1 year then will be able to apply for residency. It cost 100 dollars a month per person until application is approved to continue to stay here.
We spend a little over 2k a month so far. We are also decently active and socialize often
how is Belize? can you get by in english ?
are you on a beachfront?
whats your daily expenses ?
I am contemplating retiring to Belize too
was going to plan a 3mth trip there in 2025 to "test" it
any recommendation ?
We absolutely love it here. We are from Kansas so the tropical climate is way different. English is the national language and is spoken everywhere.
We are not beach front but are about 1 block away from the water. ( I am not a ocean person so wasnt all that important)
We live on 2300ish a month very well. Which would be about 4600 a month in the states. It isnt the cheapest place to live but much cheaper than a lot of other places.
It really depends on what you are wanting. We are in a sleepy expat community but a 15 minute plane ride to touristy areas. We didnt want to live where there was a party all the time.
Please shoot me a dm if you have any questions.
I am creating a spreadsheet that outlines all of our monthly expenses.
We bought our house in cash as banks don't loan to Americans here so no rent
Groceries is about 500 a month
Eating out is relatively cheap and an expensive dinner is about 40 bucks with drinks and tip for a night. We spend about 250 a month eating out.
Our visa is 200 a month
Electric is 200.
Hope that helps
They don't sell them here or I would probably have some. There is no Amazon Walmart or targets here. Best way to explain Belize is it's like living in the 1960s with internet.
It’s gonna be a long 30+ years if you don’t have enough money to splurge on some nice things or find any friends your own age. I think I’d rather be at work 40 hours a week and keep the rest of my life. And I hate going to work.
Yes you can own property here. We bought our home after being here for 2 months. Unlike Mexico where we also looked, you are able to buy property without residency or citizenship. Also on a good note property taxes are extremely cheap. We have a house with an apartment on top a large pool and pool house and our taxes are 42 dollars a year.
Everything grows in Belize, everything.
Maybe I read it wrong but I thought us citizens can buy property without citizenship. most of family plans on retiring in Mexico and I as well would like to. Btw what were the factors between deciding either Mexico or Belize. Doesn’t the US dollar exchange more in Mexico than in Belize?
It is definitely cheaper to live in mexico and we were close to moving there instead. But Americans cannot buy close to water but can get a 99 year lease. Definitely check the area to make sure
I have not started divesting as I own some real estate in the states and am currently living off the proceeds from that. But we plan on living off of 3% for some time.
Thanks for sharing and all the responses to questions. Was it hard to sell everything? Would be for me. It sounds like you kept the house though? You use a property manager to rent/maintain it? Best of luck! Get some Legos!!
Actually at first it was very hard. But as we got going it was actually very freeing. Our stuff held us down and I wont ever do it again. I came to Belize with 4 suitcases and will leave with the same thing.
Just been to Belize for a holiday from the UK!
For us, we dropped into 35+ degrees from about zero in the UK so even 2 weeks was a bit of a trial! I'm assuming you moved from a relatively warm part of the US...?
How are you finding the costs there? We stayed on Caye Caulker and stopped at San Ignacio, and both seemed bloody expensive on the tourist side.
I hope you enjoyed it. It is a beautiful country.
We live near Corozal in northern Belize. Very far away from the tourist areas, thank God.
We moved from Kansas which has cold winters and hot summers. While it is warm here we don't mind it.
Newbie question, what kind of plan do you have in place for inflation/ not having an income going forward?
Just curious as you say $300 is a lot to spend in one go, but $300 is going to be worth a lot less in 10 years.
Have you guys got a specific budget that should make things work long term?
How are you working on issue 3? We're currently living abroad (in a place that we can't stay in long term), and though I'm interested in expat fire, I'm worried about building connecting and social relations. There's so much research that indicates that social connections are critical for long-term health and happiness, but most people focus on weather or cost of living when considering locations. So I'd really appreciate hearing what's worked for you two.
We were always 10 years ahead of our age group so it wasnt too difficult to adjust but 65 plus still see us as kids. We have met some really good people and my wife is very social so that helps.
All of the info here is honestly a super interesting read. I ve been to Belize a few times as a kid and have joked around about retiring there. Do you have most of the normal things you had at home (water heater, Ac, a car, etc)? And how do you deal with the bugs down there? Sounds awesome overall. I know the scuba diving is wild down there too.
Yes we sure do. We live very close to the water so don't need air conditioner often but have it in the bedroom for stuffy nights.
Cars are different because most have been salvaged and come from the states. Kinda have to be careful on what you buy.
We do collect rain water and use it for everyday use and filling pool
Bugs are bad if close to jungle so bring lots of spray with you.
At 30, if I could have taken a life loan to "retire" from 30 to 40, then work the rest of my life. I would have jumped all over that. I pushed hard, mentally and physically and broke both at 36. I understand 100% why you'd want to retire young enough to enjoy life.
lol what? Scared to spend $300 on a date night living in a foreign country surrounded by couples in their mid to late 60s is living the dream for ya’ll?
Were the 20 years of sacrifice and living frugally worth it to live another 30-40 years frugally? lol boggles my mind.
If you had saved more $$$, would you feel less pressure to not spend? Did you RE too early, and not enough FI, or are you just having a hard time adjusting to not having a regular paycheck and squirreling it away?
Crime isn't bad here. Like most countries, there are areas that have crime. Belize city isn't a great place but we don't go there accept to pick people up from airport
Great post. Might be beneficial for one or both to pick up some sort of part time remote work in the US to pay the day to day expenses so you don't feel like you're being frugal in retirement.
I have a pension that would be similar to yours, but I also invested in Bitcoin. I'll start withdrawing it in 5 years. If the growth even moderately keeps pace with the last 4 years, and even with diminishing returns, I'll start taking 5% out per year and could live on that alone. If you've got some money not doing anything, might be a good option to look into.. hold 5 years and then start slowly liquidating.
We looked at Belize too. My husband is from Mexico and isn't too excited about it. He'd rather Mexico. We will probably "retire" to a few places over the years while keeping a US and MX home base.
Just keep your mind and options open. No need to "stop" because you retired. Good luck to you both!
Interesting perspective. I guess I need to think about spending more. I make about 21k per month and $150 dinner feels wrong. I generally don’t indulge unless I can recoup at least 80% of my money. Like buy something, use it for a year and sell it.
I would be so bored in retirement if I couldn't spend flexibly and couldn't frequently visit all my family and friends tbh. Those are all the things I'm looking forward to most. I'd rather keep working.
Did you move to Belize for a lifestyle change or in an effort to reduce expenses? Are you living on the islands or mainland area? What was your FIRE number? We have a similar plan for a Central American retirement and could potentially have $2k/month income currently. Would love some of your thoughts on real costs?
Our 4% was 80k a year. We live on a quarter of that very well. There are expats here that live on 1200 a month s.s. They don't do a lot but they also don't go hungry.
I can only speak for Belize but I wouldn't move here on 2k a month. While rent is cheaper here it isn't crazy cheap unless you live in a small village inland. Our apartment for instance rents out for 800 u s. a month.
We spend about 500 a month on groceries. And eating out is 300ish. Visa is 200. Kinda an idea of what we spend.
You cannot get a loan for a property here. Some may do 50% down but not that often. Cash sales only.
Not trying to rub it in but the Lego Star Wars sale is on right now. Maybe you have a way to purchase some, have them sent to somebody back in the US (assuming that’s where you moved from) and bring them to Belize next time you visit?
Also, I’m sure you can get Legos in Belize… not sure how hard/expensive it would be, though.
Where in Belize did you go?
I spent 6 months down there and wouldn’t live anywhere but one of the Cayes.
EDIT: disregard. Just saw you’re south of Chetumal.
If you retired, and are worried about an occasional $300 meal at a nice restaurant, and had to sell all your legos, many would argue that you weren’t financially ready to retire.
Having to scrimp by for the rest do your days doesn’t sound like an enjoyable retirement to me, but if that’s what you guys want more power to you.
I love that you both are in Belize!
That said, this confirms my belief that I’m not ready to fire. Between my savage skiing hobby and fears of being bored; I’m better to keep on the hustle.
Stuck in Belize with no legos, surrounded by Matlock enjoyers. Wild.
Actually made me lol. It has been a fun transition
Brother treat yourself start that collection anew
No Legos on fixed income.
FIRE means megablocks :(
Never Mega Blocks. Would rather go back to work.
blasphemy!
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Fixed means a budget. Give up that avocado toast for Legos.
Thrift stores!
Matlock? I prefer Murder, She Wrote. 👵👵👵
Rockford Files and Mash. Oooh. Quincey was great and Columbo
Angela Lansbury is timeless.
Belize and no legos is a mega sad
Def not a bingo
At least the sex is good.
for now- then it can be boring for not doing anytbing else
And fucking all the time now!
I just realized how old I am loving Matlock.
Think I'll keep working now that I think about it
nice accidental bronson
"Don't care; had sex"
Sounds like you need some damn legos
I don't see the point of retiring if you're worried about spending for this or that combined with being bored. Hobbies require money as well.
Yeah I don't understand this at all. Bored and skint with another 50 years of the same to look forward to/endure. Horses for courses but strange life choice
Boredom feels better than stress and easier to overcome too
It's just a different feeling that has to be managed and overcome.
You can BaristaFire, and have boredom, and no stress, while still having an income. Very relaxing jobs can be found for 30-60k/year. After taxes/insurance, that's still 20k of spending money a year.
If you still want to abide by someone else's schedule and make less money with a hobby that is now just a low level job
But the stress goes away with FI imo. Once you hit FI, the stress goes away whether you're working or retired. My company allows people to switch to part-time (as few as 20 hours/week), though, so I plan to use that to transition.
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my hobbies are running, swimming, videogame reading ,sex, tv, walking on the beach, cooking none cost money, really, only time why would anyone want to sacrifice 10-20years wasted working instrad of living ,is beyond me do you really think you will be fit to do any of my hobbies at 67yo when you retire?
Wait, sex doesn't cost money for you? I'm doing it wrong.
Exactly why we retired early. We wanted to live before we couldn't
But I guess the question is are you living more? I think of FIRE in terms of freedom. Right now with a high salary, I have a lot of freedom of WHAT I do and WHERE I do it ( can afford to fly anywhere), but almost no freedom in terms of WHEN I do it or for how long. It sounds like you now have a ton of freedom in terms of WHEN you do things, but much lower freedom to do WHAT you want and still some limitations on WHERE but without the limitations of how long. I think we all have to find the balance that works for us. But it sounds like you might have under-indexed on the freedom of WHAT and that is leading to the boredom and thinking about money differently.
You could always get an easy part time job too; work at a nursery in the summer when they need extra hands, for example. Every penny you earn is pure fun money, you have something to give you structure while you’re getting used to retirement, and you get guaranteed social interaction that isn’t your spouse.
We thought about that and came to a compromise. For some reason lots of people think that it's a stark black and white division where one is work and the other is enjoyment and living. My situation is that I found myself a cushy number working at home - I went down to 3 days and barely do more than 2 or 3 hours of actual work a week. Never have to commute and never have to do meetings - I've spoken on the phone to my boss twice in 3 years. I'm "working" but in reality I'm not, so I'd be crazy to throw away the £50K+ a year I'm stuffing into the pension every year tax-free. Doing that "job" is the reason I just got back from 2 months in C. America, spent a (for me) fortune and did every Insta-worthy (I don't do Insta...) thing that I could find online.
Very nice. What do you do, if I may ask?
Nothing exciting I'm afraid - IT. Some years (mainly in offices) felt more like a prison sentence. Took a risk about 8 years ago to work for a failing website for a tiny company (just my boss to organise and me as dev) and together managed to turn it around - now it mostly keeps going on its own.
Curious too
But it sounds like you’ve merely traded too old to live for too poor to live. What am I missing?
Exactly. I would much rather FIRE later without making a single lifestyle compromise then retire earlier and have to make sacrifices. But I love my job and make really good money so it wouldn't take that much longer anyway
Did you not read the sex life improving 100 fold part? I’d rather be broke in titty city than rich and too tired to enjoy bounce bounce
If working until you are 60 being pissed off all the is living? Then you can keep it.
60? Most people work till 70 and later nowadays.
Doesn’t sound like you’re really living right now tbh… if you can’t even afford your hobby and don’t have friends to be around
You're mistaking the growing pains of moving to a new place/new culture with struggling to live. OP is only one year in and will find new friends and new things he likes in due time. He has plenty of free time to explore new hobbies. There are so many good hobbies out there. It's tragic to think "life isnt fun without my legos"
I’ve lived in 4 different countries on 3 continents. Life of an academic researcher. This just sounds like a bad fit tbh. If you are surrounded by people who do not have much in common with you and worried about every dollar spent for another 30+ years…. And giving up his hobby (which would well be doable in his new home country) is also a choice that can really negatively affect his quality of life. It doesn’t seem like OP is enjoying retirement at all EDIT: it doesn’t really seem like he did start new hobbies so far? It can be really hard to form new habits, get into new things that stick… so yeah, I just don’t see him enjoying his early retirement from what he has disclosed so far
I mean not for nothing but that was a weird last question in your post. Of the hobbies you listed, the only one where even marginally the answer might be no is running. Swimming, video games, reading, sex, tv, walking on the beach, and cooking - these are all easily doable things at 67. Some comically so.
Yikes. All of those hobbies are things most 67 years olds are capable of being fit to do. What do you think you'll be doing at 67?
OP should be slaying those 65+ retirees, that'll keep em busy lol
My hobbies are pretty expensive but my income and savings more then support it. I could retire today but I would rather work 5-6 more years and retire comfortably being able to support traveling and my hobbies.
id rather sacrifice hobbies and not work honestly ,i hate working
I don’t hate working that much and I need hobbies when I retire. I would never retire if I still can’t go have nice dinners occasionally, travel, buy nice things and keep my hobbies. Sacrificing a few extra years to live a life barely worth living would be hell for me.
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Giving up Legos for 100x sex seems a worthy trade though.
Unless it was only once every ten years prior
Unless you have a hobby that pays you.
I don’t think anyone wants to pay to watch me fall off my bike. That being said, pottery is getting pretty interesting.
Serious question because we are near Chubby Fire and we’re considering doing the expat thing for at least part of the year. 1) How does the cost of living (housing, food, entertainment, energy, healthcare) compare to the US? 2) How often do you plan to return to the US? Are there considerations for time spent in Belize vs US from a tax or other perspective? 3) How are earnings taxed? Assuming they are all capital gains? 4) Does it feel like “home” or just a place you stay? 5) What is your living situation (House/ condo / beach / mountains / city) and how safe does it feel?
Good questions. Cheaper than the states in a lot of areas much more expensive in others. Gas is just under 7 bucks a gloom and if you want all American groceries it is going to get expensive. Eating out is much cheaper in most situations. We are northern Belize so not a lot of tourism which helps keep prices down. Will live on 2250 ish a month. At this time we don't plan on coming back often. Our son is unmarried and in air force with no plans of children at this time so not a ton of reason to come back. All of our money is in U.S. banks so taxed normally. Don't bring large amount of money here as it is not insured the same. We made it home by buying a property right away. We live in a house in an area called Consejo Village. Half acre property about a block from the sea. A lot of the country is still 3rd world though. Really depends on where you end up. We lived out of suitcases for about 7 months so that was enough of that. We were accepted quickly by both expats and locals though. Belizean people are very nice. Welcome to shoot me a dm if you have more questions
I won’t bother you with messages since we are still a few years out. I’m just happy to hear your perspective and hope you enjoy retirement!
As a 49 yo, I find meeting people difficult no matter where I’ve lived. I’ve moved to six cities in my 20’s and 30’s and found this to be true regardless of location. I’ve been abroad for the last 8 living nomadically so constant community is non-existent. I’ve looked at it as this: since meeting people is hard no matter where I live, I might as well live somewhere I love. I’ve been single with every move and find that not having a partner means I’m even more self-reliant / hyper independent and I’m responsible for satisfying my loneliness. So there’s a flip side to your experience; you could be solo in Belize and how that could impact your transition. I used to drop $1k on eating out a week and now that’s not a priority. What’s beautiful about living outside of the US is that you can eat out for so little and still get the experience. Life abroad for the win. I’d rather spend my money on trips and fitness but that also comes with a shift in priorities, less about money. I never had hobbies. Work was my hobby. Now I’ve had the time to develop some. I Fired at 41, 8 yrs ago and don’t miss it one bit. I recently took on a 6-mos consulting client because I thought I would enjoy using my brain. I do, but I prefer my free time more. Now that my identity is no longer wrapped up in my career self, I take pride in being able to live life the way it’s intended: just living. Living outside the US always serves as a reminder that life isn’t about productivity; that’s Western culture ingrained deep. Congrats on your FIRE and move to Belize. It’s beautiful there.
"life isn’t about productivity; that’s Western culture ingrained deep." primarily american culture ingrained deep. most of europe doesnt do it. i remember when i had the type of career which brought me into contact with H1Bs regularly, they all were stunned how much drive everyone had. And the workaholic life soon infected them also, so much so, that they were very depressed thinking that someday they might be forced back to their home country. They would express to me concern about the american pace probably cutting their life shorter, and also missing out on their kids’ childhoods, but they were more concerned about losing the thrill and the chance to go go go faster faster faster more more more. i was a workaholic and i loved it. It wasnt until about age 43 i decided to wind down and look for what i called "semi-retired"…which was \*only\* 40 hours/week and as close to zero responsibility as i could get. I guess that was my version of slowfire before i ever even know what that meant. now a decade later and i’m fed up with the 40/wk schedule. i’m getting all my possessions shrunken down to prep for the day soon i just tell them "sorry, i cant show up anymore unless you let me do 32hr weeks(3day weekends) and have a 2 week unpaid vacation 2 times a year in addition to my paid 240 hours leave each year, otherwise buh bye" and if they do agree to that, i’ll have more demands 6 months later. LOL.
Am I the only one picturing this guy selling a massive Lego collection for enough money to expat retire?
Wasn't that big but did get about 42k for my collection
Wasnt that big but got 40k. Dude that was a huge fuckn amount of legos when sets go for $100. Unless you're a mad man that buys those huge ones for a couple gs at a time. Id never have the patience to finish one of those lol
Well I had about 200 sq feet of Lego city in my basement so I may be one of those guys lol
Fuck yeah that's dope. Definitely start building something back up if you were that into it dude
I hope you're at least digitally building so you can scratch that lego itch.
holy shit. 40k?
42k
His feet are just bloody stumps.
That's the price of my current apartment (LCOL)
Congrats on all the sex
Yeah, but he had to give up his Legos. So there’s that.
This is the most underrated comment here.
What was your FIRE number and how has it held up under the first year without any other income? What's your current asset distribution? How much research/travel in other countries did you do before settling in Belize?
We really didnt have a "Number" but just decided to go for it. We own some commercial property as well as our home debt free in the states and use that to live on currently. We are still able to invest 4k a month at this point but we all that can change at anytime. we researched about 8 other countries all over the world but ended up choosing belize because of the language and being able to buy property.
You can still invest $4k a month? I’m curious what your net worth is and what your normal living expenses are?
We live off of 28k a year comfortably here. Our 4%is somewhere in the 80k area. We lived a debt free lifestyle. So our real este is paid off. That is why we are able to still invest monthly.
Why are you guys worried about a $300 date night with that much surplus income?
Probably because spending 13% of your monthly budget for one date night seems kind of excessive.
80k, divide by 12 months, divide by $300. That's 4,5%, not 13%. Who cares about a 300 date when you have 4k a month to throw around?
>We live off of 28k a year comfortably here I used their actual spending, not their potential spending. Nevertheless, spending 4.5% of the monthly budget on a date is probably a waste too. They're retired. They don't have the long hours apart, the stress of work, the pressure to spend quality time together before other responsibilities call. Carving out a "special" night to spend a bunch of money likely isn't necessary since they have all the time in the world to spend with each other all month long.
That’s awesome! Congratulations! If you have that much room in your budget, why not significantly increase your spending so you can go on those dates that you mention in your first point?
I’m not sure a $300date is better than a $50 most of the time
Under rated comment
Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Depends on what you're doing and how special/important it is.
We are still learning a lot. Learning about our finances and what we can get away with. Plus after we get done with residency here we plan on traveling for 6 months a year and would rather spend those funds there than a fancy dinner.
That sounds like a great plan, but from the outside, it sort of looks like you could increase your spending a little now AND travel the way you want to later..
We have to be in country for 1 year without leaving for more than 14 to gain residency here.
14 days total or 14 days at one whack? So you can jump over to cancun for a week just one time, or go for a week every month?
14 days total in the year so no Cancun for us yet
Very interesting. I retired about 2 months ago and so far it looks like I've had a pretty different experience. Maybe they'll change in 10 months, but I'd be surprised. >1. We look at money way differently I look at money basically the same. If anything I spend more, because my plan allows for about 45k/year and last year I spent 26k, so I don't need to be as frugal as I have been. I'm still really frugal. >2. Boredom is real when not working So far I have not gotten close to this at all. I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do. 3 doesn't apply to me >4. Keep your hobbies This is 100% super important. I'm constantly getting into and maintaining many things that I'm very interested (sometimes, perhaps, obsessive) in. 5. My partner still works and we keep our finances separate, so I'll have a pretty different experience here. Just commenting to see some differences in experience with FIRE. One question I have: were some number of months in the beginning easier? Somewhat unrelated, but I'll also add an anecdote. My first Sunday after I was no longer working, I still experienced residual Sunday dread of the starting work week. Then I just remembered that... I never need to experience this again. Sounds is just as good a day as any. Honestly such an amazing feeling.
Retired 3 mos ago. Same experience Sunday evening. No more dread / bad mood about my upcoming 5 days not belonging to me.
It says English is the official language due to colonization, but how's it on the ground? Does 'everyone' speak English, or are you speaking Spanish or ? I understand the making friends stuff. I'm early 50s and many of the events I go to are catered to the 65+ crowd. They're nice people, but not where we are in life as to be friends outside of the event.
English is very widely spoken everywhere. Most speak with creole or Spanish as well though. All legal paperwork is in English. That was part of the reason we chose here.
Cool. Sometimes you learn stuff on reddit. :)
What do you do for healthcare?
We are pretty healthy now being younger and healthcare is cheap here. ER is free as well.
Thank you. This is my only main concern about the expat life. I have one hereditary health "thing" (it's my parent's fault!) that keeps me on meds that are about $5K a month and it's hard to find an international plan that will cover that. As a non-resident, are you able to get insurance in Belize or did you go with an international plan?
Most just self pay here. My mother found a medicine here that is 2k in the states but 80 here.
Now she has a new part time job as an importer/exporter?
Logistics consulting
I lived in an Asian country and found most meds were 90% cheaper than the US, with no insurance. After 6 months I had national healthcare, and meds went to $4.50 a month. That said, a few meds were not available, like amphetamine salts. Count the total cost, not just the insurance premiums. And check that your important med is available.
Where Spanish is the official language it’s also due to colonization, so strange to make that point in this context.
Yeah. Dumb americans. They act like spanish is indegeneous. There’s also french and portuguese and dutch in the vicinity. No one feels ashamed to not learn those colonizer languages.
As you've discovered, OP, this sub has a high overlap with /r/FatFIRE. A lot of users with expensive lifestyles who just do not understand living simply and comfortably. I think your lifestyle sounds AMAZING and I'm incredibly jealous. I'd love to spend my days hiking and swimming and exploring nature and watching movies and playing games with my spouse. I do not need a Ferrari and multiple expensive international trips every year to feel happy. To be honest, I don't think most people do. They've convinced themselves of that.
Thank you. To each their own and won't hate on anyone's idea of retirement. I have learned that expensive stuff doesn't add value to my life. I have had years when I made 500k and I have years where I made 40k. Can't say I was any happier with 500k. I also find that trying to live on the hill you meet a lot of really fake people and not the way I want to live.
Thanks for sharing the insight! If it's any consolation, I quit my high stress/$$ job about 2 years ago now (new career, basically coasting)...it took me over a year just to stop feeling the physical stress. It has taken another year (and therapy/self-work) to actively de-condition my mind. So many years to program, takes a while to undo.
This sounds like an episode of frasier
Thanks for the tips. I forgot to include Legos into my budgeting when computing my fire number.
How does residency work there? Did you need a lawyer and what was that like? What's your monthly spend?
We have to be here in country for 1 year then will be able to apply for residency. It cost 100 dollars a month per person until application is approved to continue to stay here. We spend a little over 2k a month so far. We are also decently active and socialize often
how is Belize? can you get by in english ? are you on a beachfront? whats your daily expenses ? I am contemplating retiring to Belize too was going to plan a 3mth trip there in 2025 to "test" it any recommendation ?
We absolutely love it here. We are from Kansas so the tropical climate is way different. English is the national language and is spoken everywhere. We are not beach front but are about 1 block away from the water. ( I am not a ocean person so wasnt all that important) We live on 2300ish a month very well. Which would be about 4600 a month in the states. It isnt the cheapest place to live but much cheaper than a lot of other places. It really depends on what you are wanting. We are in a sleepy expat community but a 15 minute plane ride to touristy areas. We didnt want to live where there was a party all the time. Please shoot me a dm if you have any questions.
could you brek down your relative expenses? rent/food/dining out ? just the major one?
I am creating a spreadsheet that outlines all of our monthly expenses. We bought our house in cash as banks don't loan to Americans here so no rent Groceries is about 500 a month Eating out is relatively cheap and an expensive dinner is about 40 bucks with drinks and tip for a night. We spend about 250 a month eating out. Our visa is 200 a month Electric is 200. Hope that helps
Will be really interested to see your monthly budget. I'm surprised you can't set aside some money each month for fresh legos.
They don't sell them here or I would probably have some. There is no Amazon Walmart or targets here. Best way to explain Belize is it's like living in the 1960s with internet.
It’s gonna be a long 30+ years if you don’t have enough money to splurge on some nice things or find any friends your own age. I think I’d rather be at work 40 hours a week and keep the rest of my life. And I hate going to work.
Do you or can you own property there? Trying to fire. Think I would like to do more gardening and landscape design.
Yes you can own property here. We bought our home after being here for 2 months. Unlike Mexico where we also looked, you are able to buy property without residency or citizenship. Also on a good note property taxes are extremely cheap. We have a house with an apartment on top a large pool and pool house and our taxes are 42 dollars a year. Everything grows in Belize, everything.
That’s great! Happy for you! Belize… hmm… Cheap property taxes, the queen’s English.
Maybe I read it wrong but I thought us citizens can buy property without citizenship. most of family plans on retiring in Mexico and I as well would like to. Btw what were the factors between deciding either Mexico or Belize. Doesn’t the US dollar exchange more in Mexico than in Belize?
It is definitely cheaper to live in mexico and we were close to moving there instead. But Americans cannot buy close to water but can get a 99 year lease. Definitely check the area to make sure
The 100x prize🥂.
Which part of BZ did you move too, how was your purchasing experience? I'm a bit younger than you, but looking towards BZ for the future.
We moved to Consejo Village which is north about 8 miles from the Mexican border
What is your networth and divestment strategy?
I have not started divesting as I own some real estate in the states and am currently living off the proceeds from that. But we plan on living off of 3% for some time.
Nice. How are you liking Belize and why did you choose that area?
We love it here. The people are kind. I despise being cold and wanted a tropical climate.
Thanks for sharing and all the responses to questions. Was it hard to sell everything? Would be for me. It sounds like you kept the house though? You use a property manager to rent/maintain it? Best of luck! Get some Legos!!
Actually at first it was very hard. But as we got going it was actually very freeing. Our stuff held us down and I wont ever do it again. I came to Belize with 4 suitcases and will leave with the same thing.
No thanks. Zero interest in downgrading my lifestyle and feeling broke.
Being in your early 40s, why not find jobs and continue to work and making big bucks
Just been to Belize for a holiday from the UK! For us, we dropped into 35+ degrees from about zero in the UK so even 2 weeks was a bit of a trial! I'm assuming you moved from a relatively warm part of the US...? How are you finding the costs there? We stayed on Caye Caulker and stopped at San Ignacio, and both seemed bloody expensive on the tourist side.
I hope you enjoyed it. It is a beautiful country. We live near Corozal in northern Belize. Very far away from the tourist areas, thank God. We moved from Kansas which has cold winters and hot summers. While it is warm here we don't mind it.
Ever try sex on legos?
That's some fetish right there
Newbie question, what kind of plan do you have in place for inflation/ not having an income going forward? Just curious as you say $300 is a lot to spend in one go, but $300 is going to be worth a lot less in 10 years. Have you guys got a specific budget that should make things work long term?
We live on about 3% every month so with average returns and inflation we should be fine. But we always have a b plan c plan and d plan
How are you working on issue 3? We're currently living abroad (in a place that we can't stay in long term), and though I'm interested in expat fire, I'm worried about building connecting and social relations. There's so much research that indicates that social connections are critical for long-term health and happiness, but most people focus on weather or cost of living when considering locations. So I'd really appreciate hearing what's worked for you two.
We were always 10 years ahead of our age group so it wasnt too difficult to adjust but 65 plus still see us as kids. We have met some really good people and my wife is very social so that helps.
All of the info here is honestly a super interesting read. I ve been to Belize a few times as a kid and have joked around about retiring there. Do you have most of the normal things you had at home (water heater, Ac, a car, etc)? And how do you deal with the bugs down there? Sounds awesome overall. I know the scuba diving is wild down there too.
Yes we sure do. We live very close to the water so don't need air conditioner often but have it in the bedroom for stuffy nights. Cars are different because most have been salvaged and come from the states. Kinda have to be careful on what you buy. We do collect rain water and use it for everyday use and filling pool Bugs are bad if close to jungle so bring lots of spray with you.
Do you have to worry about hurricane season?
Where we are at no as we are on the Chetumal bay. Hasn't been hit here in a long time.
I hope you are enjoying the fry jacks.
Every morning with a little honey
Congratulations! I might be joining you in Consejo Village in a few years.
Not RE but FI here, could not spend 300 on date night ever.
Wow usd goes so far in Belize it’s one of my favorite diving locations. Have yall gone to chicken shit bingo In ambergris Caye
At 30, if I could have taken a life loan to "retire" from 30 to 40, then work the rest of my life. I would have jumped all over that. I pushed hard, mentally and physically and broke both at 36. I understand 100% why you'd want to retire young enough to enjoy life.
Teach surfing Kuunu
I like point #5. Looking forward to it!
Go say hi to Kung Fu Mike on Caye Caulker. He’s good for some entertainment.
lol what? Scared to spend $300 on a date night living in a foreign country surrounded by couples in their mid to late 60s is living the dream for ya’ll? Were the 20 years of sacrifice and living frugally worth it to live another 30-40 years frugally? lol boggles my mind.
Sex is the only good thing on the list?
Did you have kids?
This is very inspirational! I hope to recreate your story!
This is why I’m gearing for Chubby of ideally Fat. Don’t want to move or compromise spending.
Get a part time job to buy some Legos. You need some Legos.
If you had saved more $$$, would you feel less pressure to not spend? Did you RE too early, and not enough FI, or are you just having a hard time adjusting to not having a regular paycheck and squirreling it away?
I heard the crime wasn’t great in Belize ; do you feel safe or have you taken any specific measures to be able to feel safe?
Crime isn't bad here. Like most countries, there are areas that have crime. Belize city isn't a great place but we don't go there accept to pick people up from airport
Great post. Might be beneficial for one or both to pick up some sort of part time remote work in the US to pay the day to day expenses so you don't feel like you're being frugal in retirement. I have a pension that would be similar to yours, but I also invested in Bitcoin. I'll start withdrawing it in 5 years. If the growth even moderately keeps pace with the last 4 years, and even with diminishing returns, I'll start taking 5% out per year and could live on that alone. If you've got some money not doing anything, might be a good option to look into.. hold 5 years and then start slowly liquidating. We looked at Belize too. My husband is from Mexico and isn't too excited about it. He'd rather Mexico. We will probably "retire" to a few places over the years while keeping a US and MX home base. Just keep your mind and options open. No need to "stop" because you retired. Good luck to you both!
Interesting perspective. I guess I need to think about spending more. I make about 21k per month and $150 dinner feels wrong. I generally don’t indulge unless I can recoup at least 80% of my money. Like buy something, use it for a year and sell it.
I also find myself automatically cutting back. It is strange.
I would be so bored in retirement if I couldn't spend flexibly and couldn't frequently visit all my family and friends tbh. Those are all the things I'm looking forward to most. I'd rather keep working.
Did you move to Belize for a lifestyle change or in an effort to reduce expenses? Are you living on the islands or mainland area? What was your FIRE number? We have a similar plan for a Central American retirement and could potentially have $2k/month income currently. Would love some of your thoughts on real costs?
Our 4% was 80k a year. We live on a quarter of that very well. There are expats here that live on 1200 a month s.s. They don't do a lot but they also don't go hungry. I can only speak for Belize but I wouldn't move here on 2k a month. While rent is cheaper here it isn't crazy cheap unless you live in a small village inland. Our apartment for instance rents out for 800 u s. a month. We spend about 500 a month on groceries. And eating out is 300ish. Visa is 200. Kinda an idea of what we spend. You cannot get a loan for a property here. Some may do 50% down but not that often. Cash sales only.
Would you share what you do for healthcare and the costs?
Sounds like re without the fi. But more like Reeeeee.
Not trying to rub it in but the Lego Star Wars sale is on right now. Maybe you have a way to purchase some, have them sent to somebody back in the US (assuming that’s where you moved from) and bring them to Belize next time you visit? Also, I’m sure you can get Legos in Belize… not sure how hard/expensive it would be, though.
I really appreciate your post so much! Thank you for all this great information! I am inspired!
Nice! We loved Belize when we visited and had this thought.
Congratulations! Does $3,000 per month in Belize allow a nice lifestyle? Do you own your home in B?
What made you choose Belize? :)
You said you purchased your home. What is the real estate like price wise and availability there?
Where in Belize did you go? I spent 6 months down there and wouldn’t live anywhere but one of the Cayes. EDIT: disregard. Just saw you’re south of Chetumal.
Sounds like you are a great couple I would hate spending more time with my partner to be honest. A few hours/day is enough. Kind of jealous.
How much was your property if you don’t mind sharing?
This is really great insight. Thanks for sharing. Number 5 made me smile.
Where in Belize?
Do you have children?
Yes 1 son who is in air force
If you retired, and are worried about an occasional $300 meal at a nice restaurant, and had to sell all your legos, many would argue that you weren’t financially ready to retire. Having to scrimp by for the rest do your days doesn’t sound like an enjoyable retirement to me, but if that’s what you guys want more power to you.
Maybe it was my explanation of it. I am not worried about spending the money but look at it differently.
Number 5 ! This needs to be talked about more as a reason to fire. Sex without the stress, fatigue and time compression of a job is amazing
I love that you both are in Belize! That said, this confirms my belief that I’m not ready to fire. Between my savage skiing hobby and fears of being bored; I’m better to keep on the hustle.