Slow Travel or Expat or Flex-pat - Which one is Best Retirement?

Many people dream about retiring and traveling the world. And many other people dream of moving abroad after retirement. Which one is better? Which retirement is right for you? It's not easy to become a full time slow traveler, but it also difficult to move out of the USA or any other home country. You may need to sell all of your stuff and figure out how to get a visa, and taxes are a whole other ball of wax. So maybe there is third option that can combine these different types of retirement lifestyles. Enter the Flex-pat idea.
Here is the video from The Retirement Travelers

[RetirementTravelers]

Thanks for the shout out! We really appreciate it! Glad you found value in our term, Flex-Pat! Happy Journeys! John & Bev

[fareedamariam]

I love this idea! Except I want to keep my home base here in the states. Instead of bopping from country to country, I want to go to destination 1 then the US and then destination 2 then the US. Downsize to a small apartment to keep my stuff and car.

[Laura-kbsr]

Your t-shirt is brilliant! It's my first time seeing that revamped FIRE definition, and it makes a whole lot of sense for what ends up happening so often.

[floridaadventuremom]

That is exactly what I’m interested in. I don’t want to give up my home but I would love to visit places for a longer term than just a vacation. It would also help with retirement spending by being in low cost countries like Albania and Greece. I love it 👍

[lindadorman]

After 30+ years of travel to 40 countries as a corporate expat and digital nomad, I wanted to retire abroad but then I launched my own business (at age 60) and had to come up with a new plan that would allow me to be in the US at least half the time. I decided to go flex-pat, dividing the year by 3 months in the US, followed by 3 months in Europe, returning to the US for 3 months and then 3 months in Asia. I keep an apartment in the US year-round, so finances, taxes and visas are not an issue, and don’t own a car or pets. My expenses are very low, and my business revenue funds my travel expenses. I can do most of the work online, so if I ever want to move permanently, I can hire someone part-time to manage tasks that require a physical presence.

[TwoSidesOfFI]

Love the concept and it makes a lot of sense. I was wondering how you'd manage the wealth tax in Spain when that was your plan.
Hope your FL home base at present is safe during this storm! Cheers, Eric @2SFI

[GeorgeKlenkar]

This is exactly what we think is a great middle ground. Our home will be paid off so we can travel 3+ months per year in big chunks at a time without feeling like we're paying a mortgage for nothing, and then come back HOME.

[andyeaker]

Really good stuff. We have been thinking about this exact type of plan. Currently looking at Curacao as a home base and then travelling back to the states to see family and travelling to other countries as well. Like you, we need that "home base" to regroup and store personal items.

[sarasmile]

Could make sense for two couples, each owning a home, to swap homes every 90 days. One home in Spain and the other non Schengen. (Would be nice to have 2 bedrooms with private baths so you wouldnt need to move fully out when swapping.) That way both places become a "home base".

[DunRovinRanch-]

I saw the Retirement Travelers video. They do great work.
I think the Panama residency makes good financial sense. You only pay US federal taxes and nothing else. A lot of states tax all or most of your income sources or have very high property taxes or sales taxes. You only need to “reside” in Panama for 183 days. Days traveling outside of Panama count toward the 183.

[SM-epbn]

Hubs just retired after 26+ years active duty. We never bought a house and have no strong ties to anywhere. We are in our 50s with no kids. I'm desperately trying to convince him to embrace this adventure. Sigh...

[bob-d]

From Minnesota and we are leaning toward International Snowbird Travel. Love Minnesota in summer saying goodbye for the winter.

[sarasmile]

Which places in Spain are you considering for retirement? I just spent 3 weeks in Valencia and loved it.

[scotthumbert]

Hey Jeff... I'm interested...Marjo and I are looking at this process

[terrellmiller]

How feasible would it be to bring a US car to another country, plus some "stuff", then store that while you're in other countries?

For instance, drive to Canada, 6mos there, then store everything and spend 6mos someplace else, then repeat?

Thanks for any advice!

[livingworkingoutsidebox]

Great topic 👏 👍

The changes to or direct elimination of tax programs recently across the world is an important factor.

Especially the elimination of the NHR program in Portugal, it showed us that when looking to immigrate or become and expat, the cons started to outweigh the pros.

Does Spain allow the purchase of property by a foreigner? Who doesn't live there? Has no residence visa?

Look what happened with Shakira and Spain's stance on her tax liability in Spain.

Most countries have laws and regulations in place that considers some a tax resident after the 180 day mark. Slow travelers don't have to worry about this.

Could you buy a property in Spain live there 90 days travel out of the Shengen Zone for 90 while renting the property out as a vacation rental?

Could you not do the same with one of your properties in Puerto Rico? If you just need a temporary base for 3 months?

Would adding a vacation rental in Spain be manageable and profitable enough to add to your portfolio?

[JorgeMartinez-ezjl]

You can have a homebase anywhere but don't spend 183 days in that country so you are not a tax resident of that country.

[johnmclean]

It takes this absolutely manic dude an unfocused, repetitive 8:30 minutes to explain that “flex-pat” literally means slow travel…but maybe just a little bit slower 😢

[fareedamariam]

I love this idea! Except I want to keep my home base here in the states. Instead of bopping from country to country, I want to go to destination 1 then the US and then destination 2 then the US. Downsize to a small apartment to keep my stuff and car.