Exploring locales near and far, answering, "Is this my perfect retirement spot?" Welcome to Rachel Retires, we're not just touring cities; we're evaluating them through the lens of retirement dreams. We explore the housing market to find places that offer comfort without compromising on style or budget. Lifestyle amenities are scrutinized to ensure a blend of relaxation, community engagement, and recreational activities. Each episode is a dive into the potential of a location, weighed by our pros and cons, offering a balanced view to aid in the decision making process.
Long-term Visas are certainly not easy to obtain in Korea and most have some type of conditional requirement. For example: Being married to an ethnic Korean with US Citizenship (F4 Visa) will get the spouse an F2 Visa. If the sponsor (ethnic Korean spouse) dies, the F2 Visa holder has ninety days to leave the country. The system is so complicated that one needs an immigration lawyer to successfully navigate the system since it is always subject to an abrupt change. A retirement visa would be great, but it does not exist in Korea.
Your footage of the scenery is STUNNING! I appreciate the detailed tips and itinerary breakdown. I’ll definitely refer to your videos when I travel there.
08:15 Prescriptions. In general, Mexican farmácias will not fill scripts for narcotic pain relivers based on a US script. My mother (91yo) takes an opiate pain killer, and we were refused in Mazatlan. We were required to get a script from a Mexican doctor (which was not difficult and cost only MX$1100). I understand why this restriction exists as opiates are widely abused. Also, there are odd differences between what is available OTC between the countries. In Mexico tramadol is available OTC while in the USA is classed the same as Vicodin. Also, if you're buying an OTC medication in bulk you can haggle with the seller Go to a small place, not the larger farmácias (Guadalajara Farmacia, a major chain, will not haggle).
That sounds stressful for you and your mother. I appreciate you sharing. I only had cholesterol meds to refill and I was in Condesa. I appreciate you sharing your experience and the tip to head to a small pharmacy!
Great information. One, I did not hear you mention in case she didn’t know is the smoky season. Especially up in northern Thailand. We hope to go to Thailand in January. As long as my surgery goes well anyway love your information. Keep it up.
I'm in my 50's and work just outside of Seoul. I plan on retiring here, I absolutely love it. Since I'm single, feeling safe no matter what time of day or night I'm out is incredible.
The Washington Park/West Hills area is not good for older retirees unless they can drive a 4-wheel drive SUV, because it's in the hills and not near a flat walkable business district. They'd be trapped up there in a snow or ice storm in winter.
I'm so glad you shared! I have to admit my time in Portland wasn't long enough to be as thorough as I would like. That is why I"m so thankful for viewers who share their knowledge. Thanks for taking the time to share about Washington Park/West Hills area.
If you've been wanting to visit this amazing country, maybe consider taking a cruise. No doubt Iceland's expensive - cruising can take you to several different drop off points where you can pick up tours. Accommodation, food & evening entertainment are taken care of so can be good value. One note of caution. Be aware that many cruise lines stop off in the Faroes en route. Unfortunately, Faroese still practice whale hunting without restriction in the summer season. Last year, a grind took place in Torshavn harbour where 78 whales & dolphins were slaughtered in full view of a visiting cruise ship.
Definitely an oversight on my part. I actually thought I mentioned it when talking about Vatnajokull National Park. While Diamond beach is small, it is worth mentioning for the icebergs on black sand. I'm glad you asked. :)
If Icelandic pronunciation is something you have interest in practicing, here's a general tip from someone who only really knows English, but has been trying to practice Icelandic pronunciation since visiting a couple years ago: Try to pronounce everything using the tip of your tongue, rather than in the back of your mouth (as a lot of English tends to). If you get used to doing that, your Rs will naturally start to "tap" and "roll" appropriately for Icelandic pronunciation, and the double "L" making a "tl" sound will also seem less arbitrary. Apart from that, a few other things that are difficult for English speakers to intuitively pick up: "æ" makes a hard "I" sound "au" makes an "oy" sound "á" makes an "ow" sound "í" makes an "ee" sound "ð" makes a hard "th", as in "this" (fun fact: no words start with this letter) "þ" makes a soft "th", as in "thing" "ö" sounds like the "e" in "jerk" "j" makes a sound like the "y" in yes "fn" makes more or less a "p" sound. The town "Höfn" is pronounced more like "hup". Anyway, thanks for documenting your trip. I only had a week when I visited, but hope to one day go back for longer so I can see everything I had to skip over for time.
Do you pay rent in dollars? I have rented in Mazatlan, but I paid in pesos. I paid bills when it was 24/1 and 20/1. Nowadays at 18/1 it can make a significant difference.
Pesos and yes, big difference!.I'm currently in Mexico city and it's 17.9/1. When I arrived 3 weeks ago it was a little over 18. It's been an odd experience to do the exchange in my head even with that small of a difference, but still very affordable compared to U.S. prices. :)
Many scenes are not from Quebec City, some are from Montreal, from Mont-Tremblant in the Laurentians. As for that of the Ile d'Orléans, that has nothing to do with it. I understand that you want to inform American tourists, but translating the names of places into English, when the official language of Quebec is French, "Americanizes" the capital of the province of Quebec, the cradle of French America.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. My intention with Mont-Tremblant and Ile d'Orleans was to show excursions nearby, but your feedback is heard. As for translating the names, I wish my French was better, but it is what is. All I can do is keep trying. I spent every summer as a kid in Sherbrooke as that is where my parents are from, but I can't seem to get the hang of languages! I'm sorry you feel that my effort Americanizes Quebec, absolutely not my intention so that comment stings a bit.
They don't! LOL Good catch. This is what happens when an old lady doesn't know what she's doing and edits trips to Seoul and Tokyo at the same time. :)
I spent a year there in the Army, and then another four years teaching ESL in Seoul, starting in 89. I've visited since and the country as a whole has grown so much. I really enjoyed living there and I had a really good time returning with my two adult daughters recently, so I have been floating the idea of moving back periodically over the last few years. For cost of living, it honestly looks like Korea is pretty "average" as far as cost of living and it's actually up to about 30% less expensive for my personal case if I'm willing to live in the suburbs where I can stretch my rent into a little more space. Thanks for that brief overview of the visa process, and I'm considering spring-boarding off of the new "digital nomad" visa. I still have several years before I'm ready to actually retire, but my job is 100% remote-capable and my income would be a solid point spread in my favor there (I think). Plus, while I'm not fluent, I definitely have solid "survival Korean" under my belt, so that should be worth a few points and I'm actually considering boning up for the TOPIK test while I'm gearing up to consider the move seriously.
First off, thank you for your service. next, digital nomad visa???? I had no idea, that's great. Survival Korean made me laugh and even that is impressive. I cannot seem to get the hang of languages, but I keep trying. :) Thank you so much for your comment!
thank you for such a great description of your time. you really packed a lot in here and made it seem like a great country to go and spend some time. The scenery you can just soak up and feel the remoteness. this is a country with much to offer. thanks for providing this video and the time it took to put it together.
The proper term is Asian...and Seoul is safer, cleaner, and more modern than most western countries...abd the medical system is super affordable yet modern
@@csh691229Yes, or maybe if the person visited one of those countries they would learn that the appropriate term is “Asian” and how advance many Asian countries are.
Restaurant experience is 100 times better than in the USA. The wait staff is way more pleasant and attentive. There is NO tipping at all. The delivery (of anything) system is probably the best in the world. Living in Korea for a retired foreigner with little bit of money, is utopia compared to the Democratic ran sh*thole USA. Nice video, thanks for making it.
@@Rachelleretires Ever since those bells have been invented most restaurant use them now. Before customers were yelling "Yogiyo" to call the waitstaff. Foreigner's should be happy for the bell because they don't even have to know Korean to get what they want quickly.
@@2GoodLookin Good to know. I definitely want to learn more Korean before my next trip and now that I know, I'll be more comfortable using the bells. Thanks for your insights. :)
It’s actually pronounced “temp pee” not “temp a” 😊 Also most areas have everything you need without having to travel across town. If you live in north Peoria, for example, you have everything you need right there. No need to drive to Scottsdale, Tempe or chandler
For who? Far too many eastern urban pilgrims, with all their 'community BS and rules. HOA's and the like. Fact is All of Arizona has gone that way. Land Pimps on every corner.
Retired to Arizona 12 years ago and do not regret one day here, even the hot ones. We moved from Pennsylvania so the year round sunshine was a plus and the hottest days here are easier to navigate than the cold, icy ones there. We just think of it as our winter in reverse and you don’t have to shovel sunshine. You do need a car here, but Uber is readily available and very reliable. We downsized to one car when we first moved and purchased a golf cart. We live in Sun Lakes community south of Phoenix and most everyone here has a golf cart whether you golf or not. We find it useful and can get to the drugstore, the hardware store,churches, grocery not to forget the local activities and restaurants in our community. Good luck with your search. You may want to check out Chandler and the Sun Lakes area. It’s very livable and pretty down here.
What an interesting video! As a native South Korean, I really recommend people with the age of retirement to come to Korea. The most practically advantageous point of living in South Korea is well-organized infrastructure which is ready to provide service for you nearly 24 hours and mind-boggling health insurance & hospital services. Even though a lot of local people will rant about stressful & working culture, if you exclude this negativity wisely, you can "practically" enjoy this country so much. I hope you continue your roseate journey in my country!
The short answer is I'm dumb LOL. I travelled between both and apparently stuck some Japan footage in my Korea file. On a side note, hella impressive that you caught that! :)
