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Author Topic: My retirement blog.  (Read 238577 times)

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #165 on: September 02, 2015, 05:50:59 pm »
We have local private insurance and pay about 100 E pm for both of us and it covers us for E300k pa. That is the minimum required by EU law.
Having private medical, we figured that we may as well use the new ultra modern private hospital instead of waiting in long queues in an old hospital.
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #166 on: January 09, 2016, 11:33:49 pm »
An update. Have to find a cheaper country to go to due to the demise of the ZAR and is really hurting me now.
Decided on Cyprus. Although I have tax exemption here in Portugal for 10 years, Cyprus has a tax threshold of €29 500.00.
I will never get near that so will never pay tax.
Rental properties there are on average €100 cheaper than here in Portugal. A sea view 2 bed apartment goes for under R5k and it is furnished and has air-conditioner and under floor heating. The plus factor is that they drive on the same side of the road as SA.
http://www.horizonpropertyshop.com/search-results/page/2/?status=long-term-rentals-paphos&location=any&type=any&bedrooms=2&min-price=any&max-price=any&ref_number
« Last Edit: January 09, 2016, 11:37:15 pm by Orca »
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JDP

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #167 on: January 10, 2016, 05:03:14 pm »
Orca just a question about Portugal and the 500K property investment for the golden visa.

Must one do the entire 500k in one shot, or can you build up to that, lets say in 80k increments?

Not that i'm there yet but I was thinking, if you could buy a +/- 80k flat, which you rent out.
Then follow that up with another in the same price range and used the first ones rent to help pay towards the next etc etc.
would you then eventually also qualify for the Golden Visa?
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #168 on: January 10, 2016, 08:04:25 pm »
Only once your entire property portfolio is worth €500K will they give you a Golden Visa. I must add that for that price, you can buy a villa fit for a king.
The Golden Visa programme launched by the Portuguese Government is a fast track for investors to obtain a fully valid residency permit in Portugal and free access to the vast majority of European countries (Schengen-area). It is now one of the most competitive and attractive investor residency programmes in the world.
Plus you would not pay any tax for 10 years and after 5 years you can apply for permanent residency and get citizenship.
http://www.a-p-g.net/mon/
« Last Edit: January 10, 2016, 10:35:31 pm by Orca »
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erwintwr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #169 on: January 12, 2016, 11:04:59 am »
Quote from: Orca on January 09, 2016, 11:33:49 pm
An update. Have to find a cheaper country to go to due to the demise of the ZAR and is really hurting me now.
Decided on Cyprus. Although I have tax exemption here in Portugal for 10 years, Cyprus has a tax threshold of €29 500.00.
I will never get near that so will never pay tax.
Rental properties there are on average €100 cheaper than here in Portugal. A sea view 2 bed apartment goes for under R5k and it is furnished and has air-conditioner and under floor heating. The plus factor is that they drive on the same side of the road as SA.
http://www.horizonpropertyshop.com/search-results/page/2/?status=long-term-rentals-paphos&location=any&type=any&bedrooms=2&min-price=any&max-price=any&ref_number

Hi Orca

care to elaborate a bit on your current portfolio or plans?

EG is your investments still in SA, and you are selling a portion off to survive?

thus moving to Cypus wont make a difference - unless you find a way to transfer /invest the whole portfolio in an EU market somewhere? or am i missing the boat here?


Thx
« Last Edit: January 12, 2016, 02:45:09 pm by erwintwr »
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #170 on: January 12, 2016, 01:58:15 pm »
The thing is that I do not know the markets here and feel safer with what I do know. I have been trading/investing on the JSE for many years.
The Euro has lost value as well as all the markets here but not quite as badly as SA due to the Nenegate attenuation. Investors have short memories and this saga will soon be forgotten.
My rental contract expires in July and I do not intend to renew it as this apartment is too big for the 2 of us and a bit far from the city center.
Our rent here is €375 pm fully furnished but this is an upmarket complex and we would prefer a smaller normal apartment in a more vibrant area like the old city center. Fully furnished 2 bed apartments go for €100 less.
We live quite comfortably on under R10k pm since finding where all the farmers markets are. This means selling shares every 3 months.
After about a year, I was still up by +-R400k but now down by the same amount so will have to make adjustments soon if the markets keep misbehaving. If need be, I can cut it down to R7k pm or less if I cut out my nightly tipple as well or move inland to much cheaper accommodation. But, I will regard that as punishment.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2016, 02:02:41 pm by Orca »
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erwintwr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #171 on: January 12, 2016, 02:49:38 pm »
ah ok understood :)

yes getting to know a new market is not the easiest of things.

the thing i overlooked in your previous post : €100 a month less - that is actually a crapload in rand terms!

Thank you for keeping us updated otherwise!

Do you by any chance plan to travel a bit around the area/europe? or will that be out of budget.
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #172 on: January 12, 2016, 04:40:49 pm »
Yes, we have traveled a bit. Been to Spain and the UK but will have to wait a while for the markets to recover as we want to meet our kids in Prague for a summer holiday. Too much rain here in winter.
Our flights to the UK and back were for free as the carrier never deducted the fee off my credit card.  O:-)
That was 4 months ago.
The UK was beautiful but sooo expensive. Meat and wine is about 4 X more expensive than here so no more UK.
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erwintwr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #173 on: January 12, 2016, 04:51:33 pm »
Quote from: Orca on January 12, 2016, 04:40:49 pm
Yes, we have traveled a bit. Been to Spain and the UK but will have to wait a while for the markets to recover as we want to meet our kids in Prague for a summer holiday. Too much rain here in winter.
Our flights to the UK and back were for free as the carrier never deducted the fee off my credit card.  O:-)
That was 4 months ago.
The UK was beautiful but sooo expensive. Meat and wine is about 4 X more expensive than here so no more UK.


Free flights will certainly help my travel plans! :D
can you maybe borrow me that golden credit card of yours? ;)



isnt Prague and portugal on the same hemisphere thus same time winter?
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #174 on: January 12, 2016, 06:57:46 pm »
The latitude of Prague is slightly higher but the temperature diffs is large. Today it is 13 C while Prague is 2 C max. We don't get snow here Prague does and great if you want to ski.
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gcr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #175 on: January 12, 2016, 07:01:36 pm »
Quote from: Orca on January 09, 2016, 11:33:49 pm
An update. Have to find a cheaper country to go to due to the demise of the ZAR and is really hurting me now.
Decided on Cyprus. Although I have tax exemption here in Portugal for 10 years, Cyprus has a tax threshold of €29 500.00.
I will never get near that so will never pay tax.
Rental properties there are on average €100 cheaper than here in Portugal. A sea view 2 bed apartment goes for under R5k and it is furnished and has air-conditioner and under floor heating. The plus factor is that they drive on the same side of the road as SA.
http://www.horizonpropertyshop.com/search-results/page/2/?status=long-term-rentals-paphos&location=any&type=any&bedrooms=2&min-price=any&max-price=any&ref_number

Orca - surely hope you are not serious about moving to Cyprus- if you are serious then why not do the whole monty and settle in Lebanon (airy accommodation and furniture all bolted down) or even Syria where numerous residents are emigrating to Europe for a better life.

Seriously you took months to decide on the country that you ultimately chose, look at getting better returns on your SA investments and use these gains to partially offset your exchange losses
Hang in there - Orca - it is always darker before the dawn
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #176 on: January 12, 2016, 09:34:42 pm »
I was serious but on further investigation it will not be a good idea. Syria is a mere stone throw away and is filled with refugees.
The 8 month summers are too hot to handle. The air conditioners are a must have but will negate the savings on rental price.
We will just down scale to a cheaper flat in the old city center here in Viana. We have always wanted one of those old quaint apartments along the city center narrow cobbled roads. Most have been refurbished inside as the outside has to comply to the historical requirements.
Very vibrant and we can "people watch" in our leisure time. All the shops and pubs are within crawling distance and no cars to worry about on our way home.
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Moneypenny

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #177 on: January 13, 2016, 02:51:37 pm »
You are truly blessed O.  Enjoy.
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #178 on: May 19, 2016, 06:16:23 pm »
As I was saying.....I mentioned moving into cheaper accommodation in the quaint city center but this fell through.
Our lease contract states that we as well as the landlord must give 4 months notice if we want out or the landlord wants us out. I thought it was 3 months. Too late now so stuck here for a year. Been here nearly 2 years already. How time flies.
At least the landlord has not increased the rent since we moved in and cannot do so for the next year. Perhaps he is just too happy to get his rent on time for a change.

Will I do this again? Lugging 2 heavy bags over cobbled roads in scorching heat in a foreign country and not knowing where to even start looking for accommodation. All the red tape in SA to emigrate and the red tape to live here. You bet I would. Never been happier AND safer as I know I will never be burgled or even swindled out of money even though this is a city.
My wife once forgot the front door keys on the outside for 3 days and I never even shouted at her.

I think I did mention that people have a 2 hour siesta between 1 and 3. The market stall owners and street vendors would just disappear and leave their stuff unattended.

This is getting too long so I will continue tomorrow. Vinho branco time now.





« Last Edit: May 19, 2016, 06:20:37 pm by Orca »
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Patrick

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #179 on: May 19, 2016, 06:52:51 pm »
Quote from: Orca on May 19, 2016, 06:16:23 pm
You bet I would. Never been happier AND safer as I know I will never be burgled or even swindled out of money even though this is a city.
My wife once forgot the front door keys on the outside for 3 days and I never even shouted at her.

That's the big thing drawing my wife and I to Europe. We want to be able to walk in the streets in the evening, and to be able to sleep peacefully and not worry about potentially having to confront an intruder. Everyone talks about the quality of life in South Africa, big houses, housekeepers, gardeners, weather etc, but I'd like a lazy evening stroll and a good nights sleep far more!

The big worry for me now, and I'm sure for you too, is the state of the rand. Unlike you though, I'd have to pay income tax on a lot of my holdings, and capital gains on the rest. Then moving it at R16 just seems ridiculous too. Zuma can't last forever though, thank god, and it's hard to see how we could get anything worse than him in future.
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