Is the expat party coming to an end?

[TWB103]

..Those who come to Argentina are the more adventurous people I suspect.

..or on the from the .

 

[Ries]

I'd add that a lot of US people have private pensions/annuities or other savings plans in addition to their Social Security and for those who are legally below the poverty line there is subsidised housing which can be good. I visited someone in Seattle who lives in subsidised housing in a nice area. She pays a modest % of her income for a one BR apartment. I think there are ways a person can live decently on U$S 24,000 a year in US with some ingenuity. There are also a lot of senior services available to those on low incomes. Those who come to Argentina are the more adventurous people I suspect.

medicare costs vary in the USA based on how much you earned. As I was self employed since 1978, I paid in less, and pay more now. But Medicare does not cover everything, and most seniors I know (I am 68) have health care expenses even with medicare, and often, pay thousands of dollars a year in health expenses above and beyond medicare. This may seem shocking to people from the UK, but its a fact of life in the USA- many seniors, despite having medicare, go broke due to high medical costs.
I live in the USA half time, and, I can assure you, $24,000 a year will put you in the poverty level pretty much anywhere.
There are several hundred thousand homeless people in the US, and many of them have Social Security, or VA benefits, and still cant afford a home. The average price of a new home in the USA is $430,000. Thats Nationally. Its much higher in most cities. In Seattle, where one of my sons lives, its $800,000, but thats misleading because there is nothing for sale under about $350,000. The average cost of private health insurance if you are not old enough to have Medicare is about $9000 a year, for a young healthy person without "pre-existing conditions". But there will be deductibles on that, usually as much as an additional 3 to 5 thousand. I have known expats here who went to public hospitals here, and without anything beyond a 90 day visa, got health care including operations, for free, that would cost tens of thousands in the USA. Sure, you wait, pay for your own xrays and medication, but its still nothing like the USA.

 

[oddDistribution]

As I said above, the type of "expat" that posts here is a tiny community in Argentina, a few thousand people.
Over the 15 years I have been posting here, I have met in person probably a half dozen people who post here.
Unlike a couple of posters here who never fail to tell us how rich they are, all the people I have met are living here on between $1000, and $2000 USD a month- which is NOT a lot of money in any European or North American country.
You cannot live in any US city for 24,000 a year. A Studio Apartment in almost every US City is a thousand dollars a month. 3 grand in NYC. Medicare supplemental is usually another couple of grand a year. Utilities can easily run 200 a month. Forget about owning a car on that income, or eating at a US steakhouse.
So, yes, the people who post here do better than the great majority of Argentines, but they would mostly be considered extremely poor in their home countries. The minimum US social security payment is now $800 a month. It would be very difficult to live on that here, in Argentina, unless you had a family to back you up with a guarantia.

Is the 1-2k that people you meet are typically living on include everything? I assume that would be for one person.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Those from places like Senegal and Venezuela are economic refugees. They will likely become citizens. These cannot be considered expats in the same way that people who post here are expats. These poor immigrants were never having a party. Many of those who post here have hard currency, mostly dollars, come from developed countries like the USA and UK and could very well stay and live where they came from. They aren't street salesmen or Uber drivers. Instead they came to Argentina where they have moeny to dine out frequently and discuss which high end parrilla is the best.

You mean illegal immigrants who do not want to admit it?

 

[sergio]

You mean illegal immigrants who do not want to admit it?

I don't know that they are all illegal. Some must be. Of course I have met a lot of expats from the US who did runs to Uruguay every few months to get visa renewals. I guess that's technically legal.

 

[sergio]

medicare costs vary in the USA based on how much you earned. As I was self employed since 1978, I paid in less, and pay more now. But Medicare does not cover everything, and most seniors I know (I am 68) have health care expenses even with medicare, and often, pay thousands of dollars a year in health expenses above and beyond medicare. This may seem shocking to people from the UK, but its a fact of life in the USA- many seniors, despite having medicare, go broke due to high medical costs.
I live in the USA half time, and, I can assure you, $24,000 a year will put you in the poverty level pretty much anywhere.
There are several hundred thousand homeless people in the US, and many of them have Social Security, or VA benefits, and still cant afford a home. The average price of a new home in the USA is $430,000. Thats Nationally. Its much higher in most cities. In Seattle, where one of my sons lives, its $800,000, but thats misleading because there is nothing for sale under about $350,000. The average cost of private health insurance if you are not old enough to have Medicare is about $9000 a year, for a young healthy person without "pre-existing conditions". But there will be deductibles on that, usually as much as an additional 3 to 5 thousand. I have known expats here who went to public hospitals here, and without anything beyond a 90 day visa, got health care including operations, for free, that would cost tens of thousands in the USA. Sure, you wait, pay for your

 

[Rich One]

medicare costs vary in the USA based on how much you earned. As I was self employed since 1978, I paid in less, and pay more now. But Medicare does not cover everything, and most seniors I know (I am 68) have health care expenses even with medicare, and often, pay thousands of dollars a year in health expenses above and beyond medicare. This may seem shocking to people from the UK, but its a fact of life in the USA- many seniors, despite having medicare, go broke due to high medical costs.
I live in the USA half time, and, I can assure you, $24,000 a year will put you in the poverty level pretty much anywhere.
There are several hundred thousand homeless people in the US, and many of them have Social Security, or VA benefits, and still cant afford a home. The average price of a new home in the USA is $430,000. Thats Nationally. Its much higher in most cities. In Seattle, where one of my sons lives, its $800,000, but thats misleading because there is nothing for sale under about $350,000. The average cost of private health insurance if you are not old enough to have Medicare is about $9000 a year, for a young healthy person without "pre-existing conditions". But there will be deductibles on that, usually as much as an additional 3 to 5 thousand. I have known expats here who went to public hospitals here, and without anything beyond a 90 day visa, got health care including operations, for free, that would cost tens of thousands in the USA. Sure, you wait, pay for your own xrays and medication, but its still nothing like the USA.

An reference on Middle Class households earnings in USA for various Metropolitan Areas..

Here's how much money it takes to be considered middle class in 20 major U.S. cities

There are countless definitions of "middle class." See which incomes qualify as middle class in the largest U.S. metros based on one calculation.

www.cnbc.com

 

[sergio]

medicare costs vary in the USA based on how much you earned. As I was self employed since 1978, I paid in less, and pay more now. But Medicare does not cover everything, and most seniors I know (I am 68) have health care expenses even with medicare, and often, pay thousands of dollars a year in health expenses above and beyond medicare. This may seem shocking to people from the UK, but its a fact of life in the USA- many seniors, despite having medicare, go broke due to high medical costs.
I live in the USA half time, and, I can assure you, $24,000 a year will put you in the poverty level pretty much anywhere.
There are several hundred thousand homeless people in the US, and many of them have Social Security, or VA benefits, and still cant afford a home. The average price of a new home in the USA is $430,000. Thats Nationally. Its much higher in most cities. In Seattle, where one of my sons lives, its $800,000, but thats misleading because there is nothing for sale under about $350,000. The average cost of private health insurance if you are not old enough to have Medicare is about $9000 a year, for a young healthy person without "pre-existing conditions". But there will be deductibles on that, usually as much as an additional 3 to 5 thousand. I have known expats here who went to public hospitals here, and without anything beyond a 90 day visa, got health care including operations, for free, that would cost tens of thousands in the USA. Sure, you wait, pay for your own xrays and medication, but its still nothing like the USA

An reference on Middle Class households earnings in USA for various Metropolitan Areas..

Here's how much money it takes to be considered middle class in 20 major U.S. cities

There are countless definitions of "middle class." See which incomes qualify as middle class in the largest U.S. metros based on one calculation.

www.cnbc.com

I don't understand how the median household income is nearly USD $71.000 when the chart shows a number of areas where it is USD $50,000 or even less. These figures are, of course, GROSS incomes so deduct at least 25% tax - really much more when you add on local, state, real estate and other taxes. Net income winds up being a LOT less. These are also household figures which mean two incomes. When Ries speaks of incomes of USD $2,000 per month I assume he means NET incomes of USD $2,000. Someone who is 65+ and retired may very well have a mortgage paid off, so those on the low end could probably live on USD $2,000 especially with various low income government benefits. I don't think it would be necessary for someone in this situation to pack up and move to Argentina.

 

[SinPulgas]

I don't understand how the median household income is nearly USD $71.000 when the chart shows a number of areas where it is USD $50,000 or even less. These figures are, of course, GROSS incomes so deduct at least 25% tax - really much more when you add on local, state, real estate and other taxes. Net income winds up being a LOT less. These are also household figures which mean two incomes. When Ries speaks of incomes of USD $2,000 per month I assume he means NET incomes of USD $2,000. Someone who is 65+ and retired may very well have a mortgage paid off, so those on the low end could probably live on USD $2,000 especially with various low income government benefits. I don't think it would be necessary for someone in this situation to pack up and move to Argentina.

I live very well in Argentina on less than $1000/month (I own my apartment). I don't think I could even scrape by on $3000/month in my home state, no matter how many low income benefits they gave me. I've investigated going back a few times and it's not really feasible.

 

[TimeTraveler]

medicare costs vary in the USA based on how much you earned. As I was self employed since 1978, I paid in less, and pay more now. But Medicare does not cover everything, and most seniors I know (I am 68) have health care expenses even with medicare, and often, pay thousands of dollars a year in health expenses above and beyond medicare. This may seem shocking to people from the UK, but its a fact of life in the USA- many seniors, despite having medicare, go broke due to high medical costs.
I live in the USA half time, and, I can assure you, $24,000 a year will put you in the poverty level pretty much anywhere.
There are several hundred thousand homeless people in the US, and many of them have Social Security, or VA benefits, and still cant afford a home. The average price of a new home in the USA is $430,000. Thats Nationally. Its much higher in most cities. In Seattle, where one of my sons lives, its $800,000, but thats misleading because there is nothing for sale under about $350,000. The average cost of private health insurance if you are not old enough to have Medicare is about $9000 a year, for a young healthy person without "pre-existing conditions". But there will be deductibles on that, usually as much as an additional 3 to 5 thousand. I have known expats here who went to public hospitals here, and without anything beyond a 90 day visa, got health care including operations, for free, that would cost tens of thousands in the USA. Sure, you wait, pay for your own xrays and medication, but its still nothing like the USA.

I think this makes a lot of sense and it’s been my experience as well. I’m thinking of moving to Argentina for personal reasons but there’s no doubt that for the same retirement in one you live a lot better in Argentina than in the US