Retirees now living on Guam may not agree, but a national website, MSN Money, has identified Guam as one of six “cheap places to retire abroad.”
Described as an “up and coming” destination where retirees can “easily live on an income of $2,000 a month, thanks to affordable housing, food and medical care,” the article puts Guam in with Chiang Mai, Thailand; Valencia, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lake Atitlan, Guatemala; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Guam, the article says, is an often overlooked alternative for American retirees. “Because it’s a U.S. territory, English is spoken everywhere on the island, and its currency is the American dollar.”
The website calls Guam a lower-cost alternative to Hawaii sharing the same climate. “One bedroom apartments on Guam can rent for as little as $400 a month, with luxury units facing the sea costing $1,000 per month.”
“Besides basking in the weather, retirees in Guam can use both American and Guam-based insurers—including Medicare—to cover their health care costs.
All major medical services are available to Guam Memorial Hospital, which is certified and accredited by several U.S. federal agencies,” the article adds.
The website is at money.msn.com/retirement/6-cheap-places-to-retire-abroad.
Comments
The not-so-good stories would be that those on fixed incomes will find it quite difficult to live here, unless if they are actually quite well off. (Which is the point of targeting the rich --- or richer -- retiree, I guess.) i do not know what is the most recent inflation rate on Guam as put out by the Bureau of Planning and Statistics or the Labor/Commerce Department, but everyone who lives on Guam knows that prices rice rather quickly. So, when businesses set the prices for the year, they will examine the inflation rate and affix a higher price. But it does not end there. They will also reset their prices to account for future inflation. This cycle continues and only after a major catastrophe, such as the Asian economic crisis or SARS, for instance, will there be a period of disinflation as it takes time to wind these prices down.
In Japan and the U.S., however, core inflation remains muted because the economy has idle resources. Otherwise known as deflation.
This is true......of course if you take into account that 15 people do live in one bedroom apartments....and when they say luxury units they are really talking about the tin shacks on the beach side...it's all in the details.
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