Reverend Ken's Blog: June 19, 2012: Post 525 (2012 Day 171)

June 19, 2012

Daily Comment

I have been looking at Malaysia as a possible retirement destination, my (at the moment) second choice after Thailand. One big reason is that, uniquely in Southeast Asia, Malaysia has a residency program that welcomes expats. It is pretty simple, too: There's an income threshold to meet (and document), and you have to not be contagious with any diseases. If you're over 60, that's pretty much it.

Unfortunately, at the current exchange rate, I cannot participate in Malaysia's residency program. That's based on my projected retirement income: A monthly social security check and a small pension from IBM.

Now, in 4 years, the story may be different , and maybe I could qualify, but it depends on some unlikely events to occur: My Social Security payment could be higher than predicted; the US dollar could gain value against the Malaysian Ringgit; the policy could change to permit a lower income threshold.

To say this is unlikely is understating things, which I do because none of these things are impossible. Still, I predict none of them will happen (in fact, if I had to guess today, the opposite will happen in all those cases: Less SS money, less dollar purchasing power, and, if anything, Malaysia raising the threshold).

What does this mean? Well, not a lot. While learning about country residency and visas and stuff is still ongoing, there is no doubt, right now, you don't need to have legal residency status in a country to live there, even full-time. It is certainly more convenient to have it, but it is not available in most places, and those places still host large expat populations.

Where it is available, a residency option is looked at as a plus. It seems to me that an otherwise desirable place that doesn't have a residency option (like Chiang Mai, Thailand, my current top choice), should still be considered. Legal residency often confers special privileges, but as far as I can tell, mostly it is a convenience and a money-saver. In Chiang Mai, every expat makes 'Visa runs', where, depending on your visa type, every 2 or 4 months, you cross the border, then cross back, paying for and collecting a new visa and stamp.

This is the norm in most places I have looked at for retirement/expatriation. For Americans, anyway. And, having residency options is one reason why countries from Mexico and South are popular and considered easier places to move to. On my list, the places I could get residency are Ecuador, Uruguay and Mexico. At the moment, not Colombia, Thailand or circumstantially, Malaysia.

My plan is to travel a bit before I make my decision about where to live. By a bit, I mean at least one year, maybe two. Unless, along the way, I come to a decision that this is the place. But residency status will not factor in my decision.

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Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight: 202.0 lbs
Yesterday's Weight: 203.8 lbs
Day Net Loss/Gain: - 1.8 lbs

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011.

Diet Comment:

Eating on plan. Having good thoughts.

Food Log

Breakfast
A cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, vanilla whey protein (36g protein), raw egg, kale, chia seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch

Rajma Masala (red bean curry), spinach and eggs with a salad of Spring Mix greens, coleslaw blend, and balsamic vinaigrette. Not shown: the vegetables and cheese scraped off a piece of vegetable pizza (no crust).

Snack

Pepperoni.

Dinner