martin_d

Where would this kind of money be enough to live on for the longest period? not just a Goa question btw.

mytriumph

Ecuador is a place that you might give a thought to.
I rented an apartment in Cuenca, that is in the highlands about 8200 ft above sea level, for about $450.00 /per month.
Food is relatively cheap and public transportation very affordable.
The down side is the language issue as a basic knowledge of Spanish is really needed to get by.
Belize is another place where English is the first language but its not as cheap as Ecuador.
These are two place off the top of my head.
Google them and you should get tons of info.

Bijilo123

Mali

mytriumph

Here is an interesting cost of living chart for Goa, Bali and the Philipines:-

http://www.nomad4ever.com/2008/12/01...llar-and-euro/

Manc

Honduras / Nicaragua

GoanPlaces

It depends on what you want to do with the £200,000 in question. And what your attitude to risk is. If you just want to stash it in a safe bank and live off the interest then you can get 8% per annum interest (£16,000 per year in interest) in the State Bank of India - more than enough to live comfortably on in Goa without eating into your capital. Otherwise if you are more risk-taking you can invest in a SENSEX 200 tracker fund and potentially get 20% return, but potentially also lose the lot. Which I'm sure you don't want! So stick with the FD's I say, and spread them around different banks.

My liability to you of this advice is limited to the price you paid for it!

Shop around, be cautious!

J

GoanPlaces

Another (unpaid!) word of advice: there will be a lot of jealous / wannabe people reading this forum who want to get their hands on your £200k, not talking Brits, but the many Goan / Indian peple who frequent this forum who would love to relieve you of your hard earned!

Be extremely cautious!

If you are risk-adverse stick to State banks, where, as I have previously mentioned, can net you £16,000 pa for just sticking your money in a FD with them.

Do NOT disclose the amount of money you have to people on the street. Or on the internet. You have broken protocol but are forgiven for it

J

wallydug

Anyplace but Goa.
Wally.

Return of Santan

Hi mytriumph,

Thanks for this very interesting read and very interesting comments below it , more criticism for Goa ? The POWER of the interent

K-C

mytriumph

I worked in Argentina in the 90s and had my salary in foreign currency in Citibank held in US$. Access to the money was easy and problem free.
I trnasferred it all out when I left for good.

In 2002 Argentina experienced a financial crisis precipitated by government excesses and , surprise, surprise, unbridled corruption ( any state in India comes to mind?).
The government reneged on $100 billion debt and froze all accounts.
Dollar accounts were converted to Pesos at a one to one ratio AFTER the Peso was devalued from one Peso being equal to one US$ to 3 Pesos needed to buy one $.

In 1999 in Ecuador the country experienced a financial crisis leading to a 65% devaluation. It's a lovely country with a wonderful variety of climates, coastal to highland.

£200,000 is a lot of money to place in a banking system should it, the country, experience similar tremors that affected Latin America not too long ago.

wheatsheaf

Yep. I went through the exact same scenario, in the far east. Ended up with losing 30% of my sweat savings in one day. Took me 25 years to recover from that one event alone. Although pundits everywhere seem to think India is on a roll as far as growth and general financial management is supposedly good, you have to remember that one of their largest corporations confessed to falsifying earnings (even the number of employees on their payroll!!) late last year. As with everywhere else, it seems that verification of actual assets and liabilities is questionable. Moreover, earning 8% and then losing 10% with devaluation aint no gain. What worries me the most is the record keeping at the Banks in Goa especially. If you dont keep in touch with them regularly, records go astray, personnel change and suddenly you dont exist and are left with months of of stress proving you even have an account. There is no compulsion in their world, to see beyond their own nose.

IAN.K

Turkey may be a place to consider.We have lived here for six years and not touched our capital despite having two long haul hols. every year.( Including Goa ) Before the credit crunch typical Bank interest rates were 24% without Bank charges and tax ( 15% ) Now they are around 9% but on the way up again.Not as cheap to live as Goa but not as expensive as European countries.

Ian

dreadsoc

Martin
Personally, wherever you choose to live,my advice would be to keep the majority of your money in a high interest savings scheme in the UK. Companies like Investec are doing some good offers on long term ISAs at the moment(leave in 2 years min up to any max). Get yourself a good financial advisor who you trust. At least if the banks go bust in the UK you have govt insurance of 50K per bank if you spread your money about.
Then ONLY place in your country of choice the amount you NEED for living expenses for a set time rather than all your money. You can always transfer accross more if and when you need it.
With the volatility of the world financial markets at the moment, there are several countries offering what appear to be good interest rates, but there is no security should things go wrong.

Whatever you do, good luck to you

Dread - moneys talks
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