im in my late 20's and have zero thought into where im going to retire - i just can't fathom where ill be 10 years from now let alone 40 years

what i do know is that i don't want to be one of those old people who grinded every day away at a job only to retire and finally travel and see the world... id rather do some of that now while im young and can enjoy it all w/out a walker

My husband and I are planning on retiring on the seven and a quarter acres we just bought. We're looking at building our house next summer and then...that's it, hopefully. Don't get me wrong, thing can (and probably will) change due to the Army, but we've decided we like the Hill Country in Texas the best. We both want to live a pretty modest life, just more time to spend with each other, and doing what we enjoy.

Sounds lovely. We have 3/5ths of an acre in a suburban setting. That's a big lot for the suburbs, but not as big as some of our friends have out in the country. I get great pleasure out of visiting with older retired couples and walking their huge plots of land. We probably won't ever have that much land, but who knows? I'd love to have a piece of property that I could walk at will...

I will be living and retire in Bolivia, South America if things go well!

No clue. I've barely gotten together some basic goals for my life. Goals that far away aren't even on the radar map yet.

I'd like to retire right where I am now: St Petersburg, Florida. But I'd also like a small condo in South America somewhere and some land further inland in the US. Just 10 acres or so with running water hopefully, undeveloped. A small cabin and some fishing line in case the money really is all gone.

Here are two sites people might be interested in:
http://www.escapeartist.com/ International Real Estate Marketplace Featured Listings
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/89/efam89.html Escape from America Magazine

The Bajio region in Mexico (Guanajuato or ???) or somewhere in South America. Great weather, culture, art, better cost of living, and somewhere other than here.

I'd like to retire up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere... But I'm sure that will change between now and when I actually retire (25+ years)

We just spent a weekend in SUNNY central Oregon. I can see retiring there...

In my head, I knew

(1) I'd like to go back to Japan someday
(2) Land is cheap in many parts of rural Japan, and the cost of living isn't as bad as people make it out to be, if you're willing to live like a Japanese person and not an American.

I only just put these two together in my mind-- it could possibly work, although I know immigration issues are complicated and I have no idea what the situation will be with immigration, politics, global warming, land prices, cost of living, etc., etc., etc., 35 years in the future. But it's one idea.

I'll probably live near my kids.

I wish i knew. I just can't predict what I'll want to do at that point, and I don't want to commit too early. I guess I'll want to try things out and see what feels good before committing.

But being somewhere warm, somewhere urban, somewhere as walkable as possible, and somewhere near wherever my son ends up all sound good right now. I enjoy the idea of retiring to Latin America. I've got minimum 30 years to go, and by then Mexico may have a stronger economy than the US, so no guarantee that it will be cheaper. The world is changing fast. I guess with climate change I should be looking at places that are closer to the poles and inland...

It's interesting to see so many people talking about emigrating to another country when they retire.

In my experience, having emigrated in my early 40s to Montréal from rural Vermont, it gets harder to do something like that the older you get. Uprooting yourself and immersing yourself in a different culture is pretty easy when you're in your 20s, but much more challenging as you get older. I still think it's a good thing to do -- it helps keep you engaged, alive, awake, and constantly learning, but it's important to recognize how stressful it can be as well. It's taken me five years to feel at home here, and the first few years were really, really hard. In part it's because I'd never lived in a big city before, but also there were cultural and language differences that took time to adjust to. And there's the issue of always feeling like an outsider, like you'll never truly belong. I just think it's important to be realistic and not paint a totally idyllic picture of what living in another country and culture might be like.

I grew up in Prince Edward Island and wouldn't mind moving back some day. My wife also loves it there, even though she's not from there. We've discussed it, but we'll have to see what happens. We plan so that we can afford to retire anywhere reasonably priced.

When I was 18, 21 now, I took my dad on a surf trip to Costa Rica for his 50th birthday. I was working at MCI as a hated telemarketer part time. I worked all summer lived at home and had no bills so I paid and planned the trip including airfare rental car and hotel. I sprung his birthday present on him about three weeks before we left. I would have waited longer but he had to get his passport renewed. Any way we spent most of our trip staying at a beach front hotel in a town called playa grande on the north west coast of the nicoya peninsula. The room had 2 queen beds a twin bed and a wrap around patio with 2 hammocks. It cost us a whopping 33 dollars a night. We looked at some beach front houses in the area that only cost about $150,000 to $300,000 for something really nice. Costa Rica is a stable democracy that compared to its neighbors is very safe and friendly. The locals practice living a lifestyle called Pura Vida. Pure Life. If you are looking for a beautiful pacific ocean tropical retirement with 80 degree water year round Costa Rica may be the place for you. Also highly recomended for a winter or summer vacation getaway. Pura Vida.

Luke