Hi,

What other online broker options are available (with timely and reliable customer support) to a UK citizen and a Cyprus Tax resident? I would like some options other than Interactive Brokers that can provide better peace of mind. I am trying to move $1-2m from a traditional bank holding and am finding their lack of customer support concerning for the size of my trades. Thanks in advance.

I live in Thailand now and happy to answer any questions you have. For example living costs, properties, visa or banking. EDIT: its time to sleep in Thailand so please dont downvote me too hard if I dont reply the next 9 hours.

How much cash would I need in the bank to retire in Thailand and live entirely off the interest without touching my principal?

What’s a good number, or would investing in the US be a better option?

Looking for advice from people living in Thailand or who have retired there.

I've lived in Southeast Asia for the past 6 years (Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City), and I genuinely love it here.

But as an entrepreneur thinking about the next 25+ years, I'm starting to question whether SEA is actually the best place to build my long-term future and wealth.

A little background:

• I've built and successfully sold an e-commerce business.
• I'm planning my next business ventures (e-commerce) and want to invest in real estate for retirement.
• I'm at a stage where choosing the right country to settle in matters more than ever.
• I'm increasingly considering Latin America, particularly Brazil.

My biggest concern with SEA is its "anti-foreigner laws."

Despite loving the lifestyle, I find it difficult to justify building my entire financial future somewhere with significant restrictions on foreign ownership.

These include:

• Restrictions on owning land.
• Restrictions on owning houses.
• Restrictions on foreign business ownership.
• No/limited legal rights and protections for foreigners.
• Restrictions on mortgages and loans.

These aren't necessarily dealbreakers when you're young and primarily focused on lifestyle. But when you're thinking about retirement, real estate, business ownership, and long-term financial security, they become much more important.

Here's how I'm currently comparing the two regions:

Southeast Asia

Pros:

• Proximity to the world's manufacturing regions.
• Excellent lifestyle, quality of life, and cost of living.
• Respectful social environment.
• Low crime.
• Strong entrepreneurial and work-oriented culture.

Cons:

• Anti-foreigner laws regarding land, property, and business ownership.
• Limited or complicated paths to permanent residence.
• Difficult access to mortgages and loans.
• Uncertainty about building long-term wealth.

Latin America (especially Brazil)

Pros:

• Foreigners can own land and houses.
• Foreigners can own businesses.
• Clear paths to permanent residency.
• (Potentially?) Better opportunities for building long-term wealth through locally owned assets.
• Similarly, attractive lifestyle, climate, and cost of living.

Cons:

• Much farther from Asia's manufacturing hubs.
• Security and crime concerns in certain cities and regions.
• I'm not sure if LATAM's economies are "thriving" like SEA?
• I'm not sure whether the lifestyle would match what I've enjoyed in SEA, or that it would be a downgrade.

The biggest question for me is whether proximity to manufacturers actually matters as much as I think it does.

I previously operated a successful e-commerce business without ever visiting my manufacturers in person. Samples and products can be shipped internationally, and much of the business can be managed remotely.

So am I overestimating the advantage of living close to Asian manufacturers?

On the other hand, am I overestimating how much easier it would be to build long-term wealth in Brazil simply because foreigners have more opportunities?

I'd especially love to hear from entrepreneurs and business owners who have experience in both regions:

1. Has living near Asian manufacturers actually given your business a meaningful advantage?
2. Is Brazil genuinely a better place for foreign entrepreneurs and to build wealth as a foreigner?
3. Can Brazil offer a lifestyle comparable to Bangkok or HCMC, assuming you choose the right city?
4. If you were choosing a permanent base today, which region would you pick, and why?

I'm currently leaning toward Brazil, but I'm aware I might be focusing too heavily on LATAM's advantages while underestimating its disadvantages.

I'm not looking for another "SEA is amazing" or "LATAM is amazing" discussion. I'm trying to understand which region makes more practical sense for an entrepreneur who wants to build an e-commerce business, own assets, and settle down for the next 25+ years.

Would really appreciate hearing from people who've faced a similar decision or actually built a long-term life and business in either region.

Thank you!

How is cost of living in Hong Kong? I know it’s relatively expensive but is it doable compared to the US? In terms of monthly budget, how much would you need to be comfortable? Currently spend around $9,500 a month here in Southern California.

Hey all, if you track a budget while living abroad, what do you use? Especially if you share costs with a partner or have money in more than one currency. What's the most annoying part about it?

I earn in USD, EUR and CZK, spend much of the year in Southeast Asia, and share costs with my partner. Shit gets messy.

After living in Bangkok for six months, I have enough actual costs recorded to set my forecasted 2027 budget. I thought I'd share that here, since Cost of Living posts helped me years ago when I was in my ExpatFIRE planning stages.

Some background: I immigrated to Bangkok on a retirement visa (Non O-A), I moved from a HCOL city in the U.S. and chose Bangkok because I fell in love with the city decades ago and have been visiting it ever since. I plan to travel 3x a year both domestically and internationally, and, in general, want to fully enjoy my retirement after decades of grinding it out in corporate America. 

My monthly expenses are for a single woman, broken out in Thai Baht with rough conversion to USD, using ฿1 = $.03 for simplicity. I'll flag annual expenses that I split out into 12 months.

tl;dr: My monthly spend in Bangkok is ฿107,944 ($3,238.32). This doesn't include travel costs as I have a large amount of airline and hotel points from my work days that I'll continue to redeem over the years. If I didn't have those points, I would budget an additional $10,000 for travel, which would take my monthly budget to ฿135,433 ($4,062.99).

Housing & Utilities: ฿50,051 ($1,501.53)

• Rent: ฿45,000 ($1,350). I live in a 55 sqm one-bedroom on a high floor, about a 5-minute walk from Lumphini Park and the BTS.
• Electricity & Water: ฿2,000 ($60). I pay the government rate for electricity. Water is paid directly to the juristic and averages around ฿100 ($3).
• Air Conditioning Cleaning: ฿250/month ($7.50/month). 2x a year maintenance of the AC, averages about ฿1,500 per cleaning.
• Apartment Deep Cleaning: ฿417/month ($12.51/month). 2x a year deep clean of the apartment, averages about ฿2,500 per cleaning. I do my own cleaning regularly, but want a team to come in after the AC maintenance.
• Internet: ฿550 ($16.50). This is for 500 mbps fiber up/down, which is fast enough for my day-to-day.
• Mobile (Thai eSIM): ฿184/month ($5.52/month), paid ฿2,200/year ($66/year) for a pre-paid plan with 50 GB of data/month.
• Mobile (U.S. eSIM): ฿495/month ($15/month), paid $180/year.
• Mail Forwarding: ฿495 ($15)
• Streaming Services: ฿660 ($20). Includes Netflix, Spotify, Nintendo Online, Google One. I pay Thai subscription prices for Netflix and Spotify.

Groceries, Restaurants, and Cash Withdrawals: ฿23,400 ($702)

• Cash: ฿3,400 ($102). I carry cash around to spend at 7-11, street vendors, wet markets etc. This will usually last me six weeks or more, and mostly covers food/drink, so I'm including it in this bucket.
• Groceries: ฿10,000 ($300). I cook about 50% of all my meals and always have a wide assortment of fruit on hand, because it's Thailand!
• Restaurants: ฿10,000 ($300). I eat different food from Thai to Korean to Japanese to Western. I don't drink alcohol and rarely eat red meat.

I'll probably adjust this budget in the future since I haven't come close to spending $700/month on food since I've been here.

Transportation: ฿2,000 ($60)

• MRT/BTS: ฿1,500 ($45)
• Grab/Bolt Taxi: ฿500 ($15)

Healthcare & Wellness: ฿13,018 ($390.54)

• Pacific Cross Annual Plan: ฿5,334/month ($160/month). Required coverage for my visa; paid ฿64,000 for a year of in-patient coverage with no deductible or co-pay.
• Annual Check Up: ฿834/month ($25/month). Full body check, including mammogram, cervical cancer screening, skin cancer check, mole zapping. Estimating ฿10,000 cost every year.
• Dental Cleaning:  ฿250/month ($7.50/month). Two standard cleanings a year. About ฿1,500 per cleaning.
• Massages, haircuts, & lashes: ฿6,600 ($198). Covers a weekly 2-hour Thai massage, monthly-ish haircut and Korean lash lift. 

Shopping & Entertainment: ฿9,000 ($270)

• Merchandise: ฿6,000 ($198). Covers clothes, apartment items.
• Toiletries: ฿1,500 ($45). Cleaning supplies, personal hygiene.
• Entertainment: ฿1,500 ($45). Movies, entrance fees for museums, wats, etc.

Visa & Learning: ฿10,475 ($314.25)

I don't have to apply for an extension of stay until 2028, but will include the numbers here for the full ExpatFIRE cost.

• Extension of Stay: ฿158/month ($4.74/month). ฿1,900 for the year.
• Multi-entry Permit: ฿317/month ($9.51/month). ฿3,800 for the year.
• Learning: ฿10,000 ($300). Thai language courses, apps, and private tutor.

Becoming fluent in Thai is important to me, so I've been investing in different tools and courses to find the best fit for my learning style. I expect that cost to fluctuate over the next year.

______________

This level of spend, even with travel costs, is within my withdrawal rate. I've modeled different fX scenarios and market conditions, so if things go pear-shaped with the economy, I can dial back spend in certain categories. For now, I'm happy to enjoy this beautiful country and finally live out the dream I had of retiring to Bangkok. Hope this helps anyone out there who's starting out their own planning.

Hi all,

36 years old, with a wife and two young children- 7 and 2. I am a British expat in Chengdu China earning 50k gbp a year net, which goes far, investing around 30k a year as things stand.

I have 130k invested overall in stocks and etfs- current value is 155k due to heavy hit on ai stocks last week. No pension or property. Wife has a property here which is sufficient.

My children will likely go to Chinese universities so a huge saving for me there. Also, I have no pension but housing is free as per company policy. I plan to be retired by 44, and live off 2k (18,000 rmb a month). I believe this will be enough for life assuming I hit 85 which is unlikely as my dad died at 50, his dad 43 and his dad 41 all of heart issues. I am being optimistic anyway.

Feedback is much appreciated, I understand that many of you may not be fully aware of the cost of things in China but numbeo & ai can help inform your advice

Hi, I need some advice or thoughts on my life plan and what options I am considering.

Father passed away when I was 16 and now that I’m 32, I’ve received my inheritance which is

£1.4 million in cash, stocks and shares currently in my brokerage account in the uk
£980k in property split between Bahamas and uk

I’ve lived in london for the last ten years I have many friends there and a great community. I don’t have a job at the moment though, and not really ambitious in that way I would love to not have to work. Edit: I currently invest in mainly ETFs, have a lot in cash and focus on a small amount trading individual stocks, maybe a business idea will come to me in the future but right now I do not want to work a 9-5 job.

So this leaves me in my current situation where I am thinking of moving to a low cost but vibrant place like Thailand or Indonesia etc… all the while placing all my investments back in the Bahamas to be tax free. Thailand has a territorial tax system which could be useful, as well as a few different countries .

However I’m not sure if this is a good choice of lifestyle for a single woman at age 32, who wants to meet someone seriously. Should I stay in london?

London pros- great dating pool, family and friends. However the cons are, high taxes and cost of living.

Thailand and Asia offer low cost of living and so much variety, but would I get sick of it after a while I’m not sure and also could I meet anyone seriously out there?

Let me know your thoughts fellow Fires :)

Most Argentina posts here are about Buenos Aires or Patagonia, so I thought I'd share something a bit different.

I'm French, my wife is Argentine and we have two young kids. We lived in Amsterdam for about 8 years (I was a chef there) and now we live in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, a city of around 150k people on the Paraná river ( third largest river in the Americas after the Mississippi and the Amazon. It's about an hour from Rosario and its international airport, and roughly 3 hours from Buenos Aires. I teach French online, so I can work from anywhere.

Our monthly budget, all in, is around $3,000 USD:
Rent: about $1,000 including building expenses 3 bedrooms, secure building with doorman and cleaning lady twice a week, river view, city center.

Private schools: about $300 per kid, one of the best in town

Sports: we go to two different clubs tennis and rugby around $300.
Private health insurance for the family: about $ 300.
Food, eating out around $ 600

Others $200-300

For comparison, in Amsterdam we paid €3,000 just for rent, and about the same $3000 again for daycare and our expenses were about $500 and cleaning lady the same $500 again. Food was more around $1000 and the health insurance is almost similar at around $300. For sports we were more into 400$ for the fours of us so here is a big difference + in Argentina it seems more prenium, kind of social clubs where you can network as well.

What surprised me most is the quality of life. The city sits on top of a cliff over the river, with a long riverside walk where everyone goes in the evening with mate, kids on bikes, families everywhere. On weekends it's asados with family that start at lunch and finish at night. The river is huge, with islands you can visit by boat, and there are guys who fly in from the US just to fish dorado here. It also has more history than I expected, it's where a famous agreement that led to the Argentine constitution was signed in 1852, and the sanctuary here draws pilgrims from all over the country.

It's also a city that's moving. There's a lot of new construction along the river, new buildings, restaurants opening, and it feels much better than what my wife's family describes from 20 years ago.

Not everything is easy. The bureaucracy can drive you crazy, prices change all the time, and Argentina got a lot more expensive in dollars these last two years, so forget the "everything costs nothing" stories. Prices can be weird for example 5$ to get in an Uber for 20 minutes and same price for a fancy ice cream... But for a family, what you get for the money is hard to beat.

If anyone is curious about Argentina beyond the usual places, I would be happy o share real numbers and maybe also hear about your experience. Where are you now and how is it going?

If a Belgian citizen moves permanently to Qatar, officially deregisters from Belgium, and works full-time for a Qatari company, but his wife works and children remain living in Belgium:

Will his salary earned entirely in Qatar still be subject to Belgian income tax?

I would appreciate your insights based on you experiences

Thank you

My husband and I are 35 and planning to retire by the time we’re 50 (I’m hoping 45 but I’m manifesting) We don’t quite want to move away from the states so my husband is going to pick up sailing more aggressively and we want to sail long term instead of moving.

We live next to the Great Lakes so plan to start taking shorter trips here soon. We have young children atm. I hope to get enough experience to sail in Caribbean later in life.

Has anyone done this? I am definitely a novice but adventurous and my husband is very handy and good at things and grew up w boats. I also am never short on ideas on things I want to do so curious if being on a boat long term is hard and I’m romanticizing it. I’ve only done a few 4 day house boat trips. I am a home body mostly and we both easily entertain ourselves well. Due to my health I’m looking forward when I can get away from the cold.

good/bad/ugly?

thanks!

Anyone here considering the Wealth and Migration Summit in Lisbon on November?

I’m based in Portugal and interested in how people bring residency decisions into their longer-term financial plans. Especially those considering a different country as a future home or an alternative base.

The part I’d particularly like to hear people’s perspectives on is the overlap between residency, investing across countries and planning life abroad.

Have you attended anything similar? Was it useful for comparing experiences with other people, beyond the presentations themselves?

Also, does anyone know if there’s a promo code available?

I have a contracted out of SERPs pot of around 48,000 GBP maturing in a few months and as I am a long term tax resident in Spain I need to do something with it as the current provider - Reassure - will not let me continue.

Has anyone done anything similar?

Taking a lump sum will crucify me with tax here in Spain so I was looking at transferring to a SIPP and utilising gradual drawdowns in about 10 years or so. Retirement date is 2039

I’m Korean, retiring next February, and my husband and I are thinking about the Japanese countryside. Has anyone here bought an akiya and retired there? I’d love to hear what daily life is really like, the good and the not-so-good.

Hi all, I'm exploring whether there's a need for a supported winter-season stay in India for older people (roughly 4 to 6 months, serviced apartments, help with logistics). Before building anything, I want to hear from people who have actually spent months abroad, in any country.

I'd like to ask 15 minutes of questions about how you planned it, what it cost, what worried you, and what you wish had been easier. Happy to send a $15 gift card as thanks, and to share a summary of what I learn.

If you're open to a quick chat, or would rather answer a few questions in the comments, let me know. Mods, please tell me if this isn't allowed here and I'll take it down.

Burner account in an attempt to be financially more transparent (but less transparent in other ways to remain anonymous)

Thinking about Plan Bs as it relates to simply having options in case the world gets even crazier. But we're obviously in a privileged position. I wonder if I'm missing any good options and/or overthinking and overvaluing the need for a Plan B/C/etc. Please advise me on any blind spots!

Firstly, our entire family are US citizens. No escaping the tax man but that's ok, I'm not allergic to tax. It's a tertiary, low-level sort of tie-breaker. We love big, cosmopolitan cities and assume that's where we'll want to spend the most time. NYC, London, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne are my top choices eg. Targeting retirement in approx 3 years, when our net worth will be over $6M and our businesses should be giving us dividends of $1M per year pre-tax.

Without getting into specifics, we have the right to abode in Taiwan and Malaysia. So these would be our two pretty solid Plan Bs. We like both countries a lot and are very content with either one. So between the US, Taiwan and Malaysia, is there any need for more planning?

Some other places I've been thinking about:

•NZ active investor plus. it's probably a bit too expensive for us and specifically excludes Australian settlement

•Singapore Employment Pass. I'd love this and technically already own a Pte Ltd that can self-sponsor. But there are major hassles and costs to recapitalizing my company for qualification.

•Philippines SRRV. Attractive for ease of acquisition. I find Manila livable enough and the beautiful beaches are certainly a draw. But does it offer distinct benefits vs Malaysia and Taiwan?

•Panama Pensionado Visa for PR. Attractive for ease of acquisition. Would require minimal costs to setup an annuity. But I've never even visited and wonder if Panama really is a place I'd want to spend time in? I guess as a backup of a backup it's worthwhile?

•Mexico PR through financial solvency. Attractive for ease of acquisition. Even easier than Panama it seems. And I do love Mexico City...

•Dubai Golden Visa. I've never visited and not sure I'd like it. Similar to Panama, it's popular for a lot of people and relatively easy. But worth it?

Anywhere else to consider? Or is this kinda pointless with Taiwan + Malaysia already a good backup? WIsh there was an easier option for Australia or somewhere in the EU.

Hi everyone,

Married (both mid-40s) both EU citizen, 3 kids, Primary residence paid off, living outside of the EU.

We are very close to FIRE, I would like to present you with my plan, I hope to find here advice on how not to fuc* it up.

Our net worth, excluding our home, is approximately 1.6M€:

• 610k€ in real estate equity (860k€ property value, 250k€ debt at fixed rates below 2% for ten years and 20 years)
• 760k€ in cash (from property sales)
• 230k€ in crypto (which I intend to keep for now)

Our household expenses are around 4200€ per month, including 400€ of wiggle room.

Rental properties generate approximately 2500€ per month net of estimated expenses, vacancies and maintenance.

I plan to put my cash reserve in XEON, currently assuming a 2.4% annual yield.

My plan is to keep three years of expenses (151200€) in XEON, and to DCA 600k€ over approximately 12 months.

Target portfolio**:**

• 70% VWCE (global equities)
• 20% VAGF (global bonds, EUR-hedged)
• 5% broad commodities ETF
• 5% SGLN (physical gold ETC)

Based on my assumptions, rental income and the reserve's yield should provide around 2800€ per month, leaving a shortfall of approximately 1400€ per month (16800€ per year). These are meant to change in the future (won't always yield the same, more tax on rents etc.).

My withdrawal strategy:

First year:

• I live normally, from rents and interested paid on the cas + withdrawing from the XEON bucket

Every year, in January:

• I would estimate the coming year's shortfall, accounting for inflation and expected income.
• I look at the actual weights of the four assets in my portfolio.
• I identify the assets that are deviating too much from their target (more than 5 percentage points), especially those that have performed well.
• I prioritize selling these assets, as long as it allows me to finance the amount found in the first step.
• If no asset is exceeding its target, I sell a portion of the investments, taking into account the allocation and market conditions (i.e., if the market crashes, I don't sell VWCE, I live on the cash reserve, or sell bonds, etc.).
• Transfer the proceeds from the sales to XEON if possible (If markets crash, I'd initially rely on the reserve and consider selling bonds or other assets rather than automatically selling equities at depressed prices)

I would appreciate your thoughts on a few questions:

1. Does a 70/20/5/5 portfolio make sense given that I already have substantial real estate exposure?
2. Is combining annual withdrawals and rebalancing a sound approach?
3. What would you change, or what risks am I overlooking?

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your thoughts !

47m single Canadian with no kids living in HCOL area hating my job and watching my mental and physical health decline. I’ve given myself six months max, I’m at the inflection point where time and health is more important.

1.55M CAD (900k taxable, 400k RRSP, 250k TFSA) liquid in stocks and small portion in cash ETFs. 400k in home equity.

I speak high intermediate level Spanish, have travelled many places and have trained Muay Thai for years. So SE Asia and Latin America are prime candidates. Maybe even Serbia etc.

My big concern with expatfire is what do I come back to? Renting normally requires a job and it’s stupid expensive where I’m from. Buying in Canada is also outrageous. I have family I can temporarily stay with or even look at buying a camper van, but I’m looking for advice or experiences here.

Cheers

Bonsoir à tous, je me pose une question qui peut paraître bête mais ça m’intrigue vraiment.
Pour les expats, comment faites vous pour vivre avec votre argent stocké et gagné dans votre pays d’origine ?
Transférez vous toutes vos liquidités vers le nouveau pays ?
Utilisez vous une CB sans frais à l’étranger ?
N’êtes-vous pas effrayés par la possible instabilité bancaire du nouveau pays?
Comment avez-vous fait face à cette problématique? (qui n’est peut être pas réellement une problématique)
Je suppose que transférer vers un pays développé n’est pas hyper compliqué mais je suppose que cela est bien plus compliqué quand il s’agit d’un pays beaucoup moins développé..
Merci pour vos réponses !

I am considering living abroad for a few years and am wondering if I could still contribute to my Roth IRA during those years plus do some Roth conversions?

I know that if I live and work abroad I will qualify for the Foriegn Earned Income Exclusion (on the physical presence test) on the money I make in the foriegn country but will still have to pay taxes on dividends, capital gains, and interest here in the US. Would that count as earned income to qualify for a Roth IRA contirbution? Then on top of that could I do Roth conversions from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?

EX Before I decide to leave my US employer and work abroad I build up assests in a REIT or Bond Fund in a taxable account. Then once I leave I elect to transfer my traditional 401k into a traditional IRA. Now working abroad I control my income to show enough to fund a Roth IRA contribution for the year plus convert traditional IRA assests up to the 10 or 12% tax bracket?

Or is this too good to be true/need to talk to a tax pro and not reddit?