At 50, she quit her career to retire to Mexico — then spent 'year one' making endless mistakes. Here's what she learned
At 50, she quit her career to retire to Mexico — then spent 'year one' making endless mistakes. Here's what she learned.
It sounds like a dream: retiring at 50, and moving to Mexico to enjoy your retirement in the sun.
But for one woman, that dream scenario ended up coming with a hefty dose of reality.
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Ivy Ge told Business Insider about her plan to retire early and move abroad to save money (1). In her first year in Mexico, she made a number of missteps that threw her carefully planned budget out of whack.
Here's what tripped her up the most during that crucial 'year one' — and what she learned from the experience.
More than 460,000 Americans claim retired worker Social Security benefits from foreign countries, according to the Social Security Administration (2). And a 2024 poll found that 17% of Americans age 55 and older would like to settle in another country (3).
Ge told Business Insider that she chose Mexico because it would be more affordable than staying in the States, and it's still close to San Francisco, where her family lives.
"The high cost of living in the U.S. made an early retirement there feel impossible for me, but it seemed within reach with strong financial investments and a strategic move," Ge said.
While it might be common sense that it's prudent to spend some time visiting the place you're considering moving for retirement, there are some other aspects to picking a place that one might overlook.
Ge found out the hard way that it's not only where you move, but when you move that can be an issue. She moved to Ajijic, Jalisco, during prime "snowbird" time, which is also peak rental season, she told Business Insider.
This meant that finding a place was competitive. She struggled to find any place that she liked, so when something that matched what she was envisioning finally came along, she eagerly agreed to prepay one year's rent plus a security deposit.
Only after living there did she realize that the neighborhood was very loud at night. That, coupled with "a security scare" and a gas leak pushed her to break her lease early, which impacted her budget. She only got a partial refund.
There is a lot of planning to do when it comes to your finances if you decide to retire abroad.
You will also need to look into whether you'll need a visa; some countries offer retirement visas, which differ from long-term tourist visas and can offer tax benefits (4). And you'll need to secure health coverage, as Medicare doesn't typically cover care outside the U.S. (5).
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Banking as an American living abroad can also raise issues. According to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, an advocacy group, Americans living abroad can have difficulties maintaining U.S. checking and savings accounts, as well as investment or brokerage accounts (6).
