Maybe I Should Have Started Saving Earlier!

“Steve, I need to talk to you,” the principal says. Never know what that is going to entail but this time I had a feeling. For the last few weeks we have been hearing rumors about China cracking down on the retirement age, even in the outlying areas such as Wuhan, our home town for the last five years. And sure enough, that was the news. A couple of us have inched our way past the magic age without much trouble but finally the Public Security Bureau is catching on. Those bad boys in the fancy uniforms have told our little school representative that they can’t keep renewing our resident permits forever and to plan on moving elsewhere next year. It sounds like our time in China is coming to an end.

My financial irresponsibility is catching up with me! Earlier this year, I told my son that I guess I should start saving for retirement. He told me I should have started that a long time ago. Oops! Even if I did have the money to move back to Canada, it is way too cold and too expensive. This land of no sales tax, no tipping and more than enough warm weather has grown on us. After a couple of visits to Thailand over the last few years, we have decided that it is the place to go, at least a place to start. We have also been checking into Cambodia, Costa Rica and Ecuador. They all fit my retirement criteria; you can live a good lifestyle on $1500 – $2000 per month (or less) and you can grow bananas year-round.

Over the next year, we will begin our search for a new home town and a new life! I will write about the process of this quest and my thoughts along the way. The adventure continues…