Should I Move to Asia for the Next 5 Years?

Recently, I’ve been entertaining the possibility of going into early retirement.

If I liquidate all of my assets right now, I could probably move to Asia and live comfortably for 5 years without having to work.

I am almost confident that within that 5 years, I would be able to build up a strong enough passive portfolio to just cruise into retirement. This would mean that I would never have to work again should I choose not to.

Interesting idea? In theory, this sounds like a perfect dream but let’s see if this could really work.

The difference in cost of living

The idea came to me as I was discussing with a friend about my desire to retire and purchase a property in Singapore by the age of 30.

As Singapore is becoming more and more expensive to live in, my friend made the case to explore other options. The Philippines was the country she recommended. Here’s why:

• The cost of living is much lower than that of Singapore.
• English is commonly spoke there. (I wouldn’t have to learn a new language)
• Nice weather all year long.
• The food is extremely delicious.
• People are generally nice.
• It’s beautiful!

From just these 6 things mentioned, the Philippines is no doubt a place where I can see myself spending the next little while.

But would I be able to support myself for 5 years without any income?

It has been brought to my attention that 50,000 Philippine pesos a month would be more than enough to live quite a comfortable lifestyle (depending on the location).

Working on the premise that I would have absolutely no income during this transitional phase (which I highly doubt will be the case), I should be able to make this plan work.

According to my calculations, liquidation of all my assets would give me just enough to sustain 5 years of living in the country.

Should I decide to actually follow through with this, I would spend these 5 years working on my blog and trying to start up a business.

Making the transition

Unfortunately, this idea is not as simple as I make it out to be.

Some of the things that I would have to consider before the move would include:

• Moving away from family and friends
• Immigration laws and visa application
• Housing arrangements
• Learning the culture
• Building friendships in the new country

However, all of this could be averted by simply changing the destination from the Philippines to Malaysia.

As I have family members there, the transition there would be much simpler. Plus, the whole purpose of the idea of moving to the Philippines is to free up my time by taking advantage of the currency exchange. The same purpose can be achieved in Malaysia.

The verdict

Sad to say, this entire article has been nothing more than just an idea that I’ve been entertaining. Quite frankly, I do not think I would go through with any of this just yet. Or at least for the next year or two. Perhaps I will reconsider this option once more in the near future.

In the mean time, my dream however is to still purchase a property in Singapore and I am more determined than ever to make that happen.

What about you? Do you think it’s a good idea to retire in a country where the cost of living is lower? I would like to hear from you.