I came across this article on Yahoo Finance entitled, “Boomers are leaving America to retire abroad in droves because the U.S. is just too expensive” and my immediate thought was will they ruin the whole point of moving overseas?
According to the article, there were 400,000 people receiving social security overseas in 2000 and that number is now 700,800 in 2022. In relative terms, those are small numbers as there are projected to be 70 to 80 million boomers by 2030 in America but if moving overseas catches on these “immigrants” will drive up the cost of housing and other resources at those overseas destinations.
Here’s a key quote for the whole rationale for moving overseas:But the standard of living is much better for a wider swath of the population than it is in the U.S., Fawcett contends. There are the small things, like fresher, less expensive groceries and concert tickets being much more affordable and accessible. And then there are the larger benefits, like months of paid maternity leave, inexpensive secondary education, and affordable health care.
Finance.Yahoo.com
All the things listed in the quote won’t be cheaper if millions of additional people move overseas especially the healthcare so that’s the irony of the whole paradigm.
There is also growing backlash against “tourists” in Europe and other places as inflation, scarce housing and other issues impact quality of life for locals. In Barcelona, tourists were being squirted with water guns as protest and that can easily escalate to other forms of violence.
I don’t blame anyone for wanting to go somewhere with a better quality of life but it now seems like it’s a race to get out sooner than later.