I think retirement is a pipe dream...

Out of curiosity, I went looking for some numbers. The average SS monthly payment is $1667. I guess you could live with that in the U.S., but you'd have to live in austerity, not in a big city, definitely not have a mortgage, and be healthy.

I came back home to MX last December. I did take a bit of a risk retiring this early, and boy, am I sweating bullets now looking at the NYSE :hihi: but so far I'm holding up, and definitely wouldn't be able to live in the U.S. like I live here in my retirement. I don't see tapping SS or 401k (and the 401k isn't anything special) in a decade. And we are 4: me, wife, and my 2 boys, 20 and 24 y.o., one with special needs and one who happens to be a musician and graduated with a degree in light and sound, so he's unemployed :hihi:... and 2 dogs, one who has to have a special diet.

We are spending about $2000-$2500 a month, but we eat out or order food just about every day, do trips to the beach, the ruins; plenty of weekly events that are free... we all have cell phones; the service I pay Verizon $250 dollars a month for (still have my US phones), costs me $40 here... 1000 Mbps internet, 3 TV subscriptions + OTA HDTV.

I will say, though, that after living for so long in the U.S., there are some things that really irk me about being here; so for anyone who's considering becoming an expat (elitist word for "immigrant" :hihi: ) whichever place you are considering, do as extended a stay there as possible before you decide on a place.

Also, if you are on any medical treatment, be sure of how much the treatment will cost wherever you want to go. Here in MX, most of the medical costs a fraction of what it costs in the U.S. ,but not all.