It used to be the case that devotees could count on accomodation and service at any Hare Krsna Temple in the world! Nowadays, they charge rent, demand doanti0ons, demand services, and they reject those who they do not like. They refuse devotees who dont have lots of money, or who are followers of Prabhupada. These split-off cults should not be recognized or paid any attention by Srila Prabhupada's actual Movement. Their cultlike ideas are making the usurped Movement a commercial farce, and destroying our ability to expand internationally with no limits.
In this regards, many senior devotees have given their life's blood for ISKCON only to be abused and kicked out by young punks with no brains, just slave-like ignorance and abusive behaviors in adherence to dangerous perverts and cult figures like Jayapotato Head and the other God-wannabes. They will need a place to live in their old age, so we have posted this article to show that all is not quite lost yet, there are affordable places to live for them.
We have planned a farm ashrama in Hungary, but so far, although there has been encouragment, there is not so much in the line of live bodies just yet, so unless you are seriously committed to this prospect, the following may be of interest?;
5 Places to Retire and Rent for Less Than $500 Per Month
Housing is likely to be one of your biggest retirement expenses. One way to approach your search for the ideal overseas retirement haven is to focus on retire-overseas choices where housing is cheap. [Below I present five such places for your consideration.] Words: 1040
So says Kathleen Peddicord in an article* which Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com, has further edited ([ ]) ever so slightly for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement. Peddicord goes on to say:
It’s important to note that, for these bargain rents, you won’t be getting a palatial or luxurious abode. I’m limiting my picks to places where you could rent something modest and cozy but reasonably outfitted from a North American’s perspective. Here are five places where you could rent for as little as $500 per month. [For those interested in retiring closer to home please read this article 0n the "Top 10 Places to Retire and Live in Mexico".]
Leon, Nicaragua
Nicaragua has suffered serious bad press as a result of its troubled past and current president. Those unfortunate realities aside, this beautiful land of lakes and volcanoes has a great deal to offer the would-be retiree, including a new program of special benefits for resident retirees. There is also a growing and welcoming community of expats from around the world, top-notch health care in Managua thanks to the international-standard Vivan Pellas Hospital Metropolitano, and bargain-priced rentals.
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Leon is the second of this country’s two colonial cities, and generally less developed and recognized than its sister city, Granada. In many ways, Leon is preferable. It’s a university town with museums and theater that sits less than a half-hour from the coast. Because it’s been largely ignored until recently, it’s also a more affordable place to rent than higher-profile Granada. You could rent a two- or three-bedroom colonial house here for as little as $500 or $600 per month.
Medellin, Colombia
The downside to Leon is the climate. Mornings and evenings can be pleasant, but midday temperatures are often brutal. If that bothers you, consider the mountain city of Medellin instead. This pretty city built almost entirely of red brick boasts a spring-like climate year-round. Like Leon, Medellin is an emerging retirement haven, meaning the existing expat community is small but growing and the costs of living and of renting are temptingly low. One friend is renting a small studio in a non-central neighborhood for the equivalent of $210 per month. You can rent a two-bedroom apartment in a new building at a central address for $700 or $800 per month.
Las Tablas, Panama
My top recommendation for a beachfront retirement where the cost of renting is low enough to accommodate almost anyone’s budget is Las Tablas, a city on the Pacific coast of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula. Panama has first-class and affordable medical care and facilities, a pensionado program of special benefits for foreign retirees, and well-established expat communities. The city also has a developed infrastructure, many user-friendly options for establishing foreign residency, and can be a tax-haven for those wishing to minimize their taxes.
Not all of Panama qualifies as bargain-priced. As this country has become increasingly favored by retirees and investors, the costs of both living and of real estate have been rising, particularly in discovered areas such as Panama City but Panama offers a number of appealing lifestyle possibilities beyond its capital city, including Las Tablas. The downside to Las Tablas is its distance from Panama City. It’s about a four-hour drive away. However, the cost of living can be half that of Panama City and you can rent a small house within walking distance of the beach for $300 or $400 per month.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
I know of a single American man who lives in Chiang Mai on $200 a month, with half that going for rent. He gets around on a bicycle and eats at low-cost noodle stalls or for free when a temple offers lunch. He makes a sport of spending as little as possible. I also know a Thai American woman who bought an apartment in a small town 15 kilometers from Chiang Mai. She manages on $600 a month from Social Security and, as she is Thai and over 60, she enjoys free government health care. It wouldn’t cost you very much more to live and rent in Chiang Mai. House and apartment rentals in Chiang Mai can vary dramatically, from perhaps $150 per month for a small home and garden in the country to $400 or $500 monthly for a larger, newer place in town.
Languedoc-Roussillon, France
If you’re willing to look beyond Paris, the southwest of this country can be highly affordable. Cessenon-sur-Orb, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southwestern France, is colorful, eclectic, and very open to retirees. The village dates from prehistoric times, but the feel is medieval, with the church dominating the center and the tower of Le Donjon looking down from above.
Here in this quintessentially French country corner, you’ll find many expats of several nationalities. They’ve sought out this unsung region because it offers everything you need for a comfortable life, yet boasts a small, charming, typically French village atmosphere, with centuries of history and lots to do and see. As a result, this town is growing and attracting both more French people and expats. Perhaps the most appealing part is that the cost of renting in this picture-postcard corner of France can be modest, certainly relative to Continental Europe in general. A monthly rental of 400 to 600 euro is realistic.
*http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/112534/places-retire-under-500-month-usnews?mod=retire-planning (Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group. With more than 25 years experience covering this beat, Kathleen reports daily on current opportunities for living, retiring, and investing overseas in her free e-letter. Her book, “How to Retire Overseas — Everything You Need to Know to Live Well Abroad for Less,” was recently released by Penguin Books)
Rising costs in the U.S. are driving more people to consider retirement in less
expensive locales and the list of potential resting spots is long and varied. International Living compiles annual lists on the best places to retire based on things like cost of living, ease of entry, healthcare, insurance and access to amenities. [Below are their top 10.] Words: 950
Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), may have edited the article below to some degree for length and clarity – see Editor’s Note at the bottom of the page for details. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.
Notte goes on to say, in part:
Retirement in the United States is nice and all, until they ask you to actually pay for stuff.
When retirees’ nest eggs are a finite and dwindling resource, rising local and federal taxes can put even the staunchest, flag-draped patriotism to the test. If retirees are willing to leave the states behind, the savings can be substantial.
The folks at International Living crunched the numbers and looked at the price of simple staples, assimilation and staying in touch with family left behind.
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The following countries scored high marks not only for their inexpensive living, but for overall friendliness toward American retirees:
Mexico
Considering the tensions over the state of Mexico/U.S. immigration law, it’s at the very least amusing to consider American workers streaming south to chase their retirement dreams. Great homes on Mexico’s Caribbean coast go for less than $170,000 while… [villages along the north shore of Lake Chapala, such as Ajijic,] are home to hundreds of American and Canadian] expats….It’s the only retirement destination on this list withing driving distance, and retirees can rent out their properties in the off-months to cover costs. [For exactly where to settle down in Mexico read this excellent article by a friend who has personally lived in many of the places he reviews.]
Panama
A retiree has it pretty sweet in Panama, where a program commonly known as pensionado help retirees settle in quickly. International Living says retirees can live like kings here for $1,500 to $2,000 a month and score apartments for less than $500 a month or buy waterfront condos for less than $200,000. Pensionado, meanwhile, gives users 15% off fast food, 15% off at hospitals and clinics, 20% off professional services used in Panama, 25% off the price of food eaten in a sit-down restaurant; 25% off domestic flights on Copa Airlines, a 30% discount on public transport and 50% off movies, theater tickets and sporting events. There’s no age limit for the service, either, so help yourself.
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Malaysia
The country’s My Second Home retirement benefits program for all foreigners is a great draw, but so is the quality Internet access, cellphone coverage and roads. It also helps that it’s dirt cheap. A sea-view apartment with a pool and gym on Penang Island goes for $1,000 a month, and big-budget movies usually premiere here, are shown in English and go for about $4. Oh, and there’s plenty of English being spoken as well.
Colombia
Medellin has a notorious reputation among Americans who know it mostly for its drug-laden past, but that hasn’t prevented a huge expat population from springing up within city limits. Medellin’s El Poblado district has Japanese, French, seafood and Italian restaurants within a block of each other. Its health care system ranks atop any other stop on this list, while the cost of everything from housing to entertainment are a great fit for a fixed income.
New Zealand
The English speaking certainly helps, but so do the winters that come during an American summer. That’s some pretty costly snowbirding, so maybe the proliferation and low cost of every day amenities as well as more frivolous items should be seen as long-term investments. New Zealand’s reputation for healthy living and near-absent pollution should also appeal to those who want to extend retirement as long as possible.
Nicaragua
A visit to the doctor is $15. Overall health care can cost as much as 60% less than the U.S., while U.S.-trained doctors speak English and will make house calls. A huge expat population in the colonial city of Granada spends about around $1,200 a month to live there, considering a small house can be $500 to $1,000 a month to rent. The best steak dinner in town runs about $13, while regular meals go for half that and “local meals” are $2 to $3. Local beer, meanwhile, runs between 75 cents and $1.50. This makes Florida’s cost of living look like Manhattan’s.
Spain
Wait, the same Spain that just dodged a bailout and is still dealing with crushing debt? Yep, that’s the one, but austerity measures haven’t bitten into the best of what Spain has to offer. This is by no means the cheapest option on the list and, in fact, has the most expensive real estate of any country listed. That said, it’s really easy to fit in, with near-ubiquitous English, three-course meals for less than $20 and modern infrastructure that places high value on convenient, punctual rail service. Combine that with teeming culture and tons of ways to pass the time and Spain can be a great fit for retirees who’ve already weathered a shaky economy.
Thailand
About $500 a month is enough to score a nice new home just about anywhere in Thailand. One of International Living‘s contributors pays just $222 a month for a beachside bungalow with air conditioning, hot water, Wi-Fi and a refrigerator. Altogether, the cost of living in Thailand sets retirees back only about $1,000 a month while giving them great amenities and vibrant cultural and entertainment options. Bangkok still gets pretty wild, but loads of expats and lots of English speakers help ease the transition.
Honduras
The benefits offered to retirees beyond the three-hour flights back to see the kids are fairly substantial, especially considering that expats living on beachfront property can do well here on less than $1,500 a month. The scuba diving, fishing, sailing, kayaking, snorkeling and surfing are lovely too. But even Honduras can’t top the last entry on our list:
Ecuador
This basically is Florida or Arizona for the expat community. The country’s retirement benefits package includes 50% off transportation, utility bills, international round-trip flights originating in Ecuador and tickets for cultural and sporting events. Foreigners can also enroll in Ecuador’s Social Security medical program for $57 a month. Those over 65 also pay lower income tax. Penthouse suites and beachfront condos go for $50,000, while beachfront rentals hover around $500 a month. A retiree’s entire cost of living rounds out to roughly $800 to $1,500 a month, and the neighbors more often than not are either A) other expats or B) English-speaking locals. We’ll warn that this isn’t exactly undiscovered country among retirees, but it’s several steps up from the costly retirement kennels and golf carts of more costly American hot spots.
*http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/06/22/life/doc4fe3269d7c2de411004858.txt?viewmode=fullstory (To access the above article please copy the URL and paste it into your browser.)
Editor’s Note: The above article may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…), and reformatted (including the title, some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The article’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article.
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