Quote: (12-26-2013 08:25 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:
Some americans are willing and able to live mobily, but others are NOT going to be willing, ready and able to do it. We will see how this ability of americans to be mobile plays out over the years. I doubt that it is as big of a factor as you are making it out to be - though I do know that a lot of guys in RVF, including myself, are considering ways to live mobily outside of the USA.
I disagree entirely. Firstly, expatriation is a booming business as are related things such as medical tourism, foreign brides, etc. There are lots of countries around the world, particularly in SEA and Latin America, that are actively courting Western retirees. People may be stupid, but they're not that stupid and they can sniff out a good deal. Much of the West simply isn't a good deal anymore. There are huge communities of Western retirees in many such countries now, and these countries run the gamut from being highly developed (e.g. Singapore) downwards. Take your pick; there is a niche for anyone depending upon their lifestyle desires and their wealth levels. I know people here in Taiwan whom I suspect would be Democrat voters back in the U.S. who live in Taiwan because of tax, cost of living and medical issues. Their money goes much farther here. These people are very middle class (the wife is/was a teacher). It's not that they're unpatriotic or any of that. They love America (they have a flag hanging outside their house here), they just don't like what it's become or what it wants to do to them. That people expatriating are at least as often these kinds of people as guys who take their yachts to the French Riviera has been a major own goal on the part of the U.S. and other developed nations.
The other thing is if you look at the last line of the chart on that Wikipedia article on the extent of money in tax havens you will see something pretty alarming that confirms the above.
Worldwide, people with under $1 million (USD) have about $10.3 trillion in liquid net worth. $1 trillion of that is offshore. That's almost ten percent! For even wealthier people, it is an even higher percentage. Regardless though, having $1 million is not even a lot of money these days. That's ~$40,000/year to live off at safe withdrawal rates. An income of ~$40,000/year lands you pretty squarely in the middle class (maybe even lower middle class) in retirement in many developed nations now. You don't think it's a really bad sign that about 10% of middle class wealth has done a runner now?