east stand devil

I am sure this question has been added before many times, but as a new member I would like to put some feelers out regarding retirement to U.S.A.
Our plan would be to move to the Florida Gulf Coast some time after my retirement from my job at 57 (NOW 55). I have seen all kinds of visa plans from the 90 day stay to the EB5 $500,000 Business investment plan ( ouch!).
So let's see how we go from here. and thanks for your time.

scrubbedexpat099

There is no Retirement Visa.

EB5 is a possibility.

So is a Holiday Home, get a B2 Visa and do 6 months in, 6 months out.

What are you going to do about Medical Insurance?

east stand devil

believe me EB5 is not an option for us, medical insurance well this is the important info we require, having said that we are paying more than enough here in the UK. THANKS FOR YOUR PROMPT REPLY.

scrubbedexpat099

Capatalise the cost of Medical Insurance, and the EB5 looks small! At least that's an investment.

So we are left with a holiday home.

dbj1000

"More than enough" is most likely a tiny fraction of what medical insurance would cost you over here. I'm sure some of the regulars here can give some example figures, but it can be many thousands of dollars per person per year.

MsElui

there are few opportunites to retire here permanantly if you dont want to/cant afford to invest.

The snowbird option already mentioned (B visa) can allow retirees to spend 6 months in the country followed by 6 months out. That is done a lot.

A lot of expats actually end up moving back home upon retirement becuase of the prohibitive cost of health insurance. Especially if they have any prior conditions etc. You see lots of elderly americans well past normal retirement age still working here simply to make ends meet and to get some kind of employment based health coverage as they couldnt afford covereage themselves and the state medicare system is rather basic.

east stand devil

I must take this opportunity to thank you for your opinions, holiday home and b2 visa sound like a good pairing.

Please continue to pass on your valuable knowledge, I appreciate your help.

lisa67

Please fine out about medical insurance before you even contemplate looking for a holiday home. You can't underestimate the cost of health care over here. Good Luck.

Ray

And the cost of keeping a home in Florida is not cheap ..when you add the regular bill such as Insurance and taxes
do not rely on Realtors for honest advice

Bridget Tibble

Hi my husband and I would love to live in Florida '6months in and 6 months out'. I have only just started putting out feelers as to whats what. Please tell me what is a EB5 and a B2 Visa. What approxiamatley is the cost of medical insurance and how does it work.

MsElui

when working out your budgets etc - nake sure you have accounted for land taxes. Its kind of similar to rates but is paid annually or semi annually (dont think you can pay monthly like in the uk). It can be several thousand dollars a year (on our new home they estimate 5k a year). And health insurance can be well over a thousand dollars a month for retirees with any previous health issue. Prescriptions are not always cheap either - my husbands asthma prescription (2 items per months) costs $50 and thats after his insurance has paid $50 already.

Bridget
the best description of all the visas can be found on the wiki in this site entitled something like "paulskis way' Have a brpwse there for the lowdown on what each type is and what you may be eligible to apply for. Then if you have specific questions its better to start a new thread specifically about the visa type you are asking about.

Ray

An EB-5 is an investment visa..... not needed if your intention is
6 months in 6 months out ..for that you need a B-2 tourist visa ..

For medical Insurance you would take out one in the
UK for that trip ..

For your first trip rent a few places to get the feel for the
area you like best ...

Bridget Tibble

Thanks for your advise.

Are you saying take out UK travel/medical insurance for a initial trip or are you saying that if we lived 6months US and 6 months UK we could still use our UK insurance and not pay the very high US medical insurance.

Ray

Yes ....use UK Insurance for every trip ..

Unlikely you could get US insurance

Duncan Roberts

Forget the visa at first, find out if you will be able to afford to come here for 6 months at a time and live. It's not as cheap as people make out, especially as you will still need medical insurance, or a massive fund to pay for medical expenses. Also understand that you may not even be able to get medical insurance depending on your health. A night in casualty for something that turns out to be fairly minor can run $10,000-15,000 very easily. Leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the US? Medical bills.

Look into the cost of living in detail then if you can afford it look at the visa issue.