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3 Top Countries for Happy Retirement

Overseas Property | May 10, 2020

Planning your retirement? Wanting for a brand new place to live? You realize that you concern more about your health as you grow older, therefore the place you live when you retire cannot be highly polluted, adversely influencing your health condition. Also, since you are not working anymore and spending your saving from the past years, the lower the expenses, the better the place for retirement. So basically, what we have to look into, are two factors, namely 1) level of pollution and 2) cost of living. Here are some of the recommendations base on these two crucial factors for you!

(1) Canada

Canada is a nation that boasts beautiful countryside and modern cities simultaneously. If you are fond of basking in the natural beauty of the world while enjoying all sorts of modern conveniences, Canada is then your top choice!

From the below tables, we can see that the level of pollution of Canada is low, especially comparing to Hong Kong. Most of its pollution and dissatisfaction are classified as “very low”. Its pollution index is almost 80% lower than that of Hong Kong. Furthermore, its “dissatisfaction to spend time in the city” is approximately 90% lower than Hong Kong’s.

Moreover, the price index of Canada is also significantly lower than that of Hong Kong. Except restaurant prices, all other prices are lower than Hong Kong’s. This means that you can spend much less than you do in Hong Kong! Though the restaurant prices in Canada might be higher than Hong Kong’s ones, you can do more cooking at home because the groceries there are one-fifth cheaper! Most importantly, you can escape from the high rent and property prices in Hong Kong!

Index    Hong Kong Ottawa
Pollution Index: 69.73 14.30
Pollution Exp Scale: 125.73 27.70
Air Pollution High 72.60 Very Low 6.86
Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility Low 36.14 Very Low 7.22
Noise and Light Pollution High 67.75 Low 31.25
Water Pollution Moderate 50.50 Low 25.00
Dissatisfaction to Spend Time in the City High 61.17 Very Low 6.77
Dissatisfaction with Green and Parks in the City Moderate 50.51 Very Low 10.23
Indices Difference  
Consumer Prices in Ottawa are 12.87% lower than in Hong Kong.
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Ottawa are 37.94% lower than in Hong Kong.
Rent Prices in Ottawa are 62.98% lower than in Hong Kong.
Restaurant Prices in Ottawa are 31.67% higher than in Hong Kong.
Groceries Prices in Ottawa are 20.99% lower than in Hong Kong.
source: wildaid
source: wildaid

(2) Spain

Spain has long been a popular tourist destination due to its nice weather, fascinating natural beauty, friendly and welcoming people, large varieties of cuisines, special and engaging festivals, and miles of coastline. Retiring here allows you to enjoy all these benefits, on top of that, a low cost of living and a well-developed national health system.

See the below tables, Spain’s pollution condition is slightly better than Hong Kong’s. Though the index differences are not very notable, we can spot the “dissatisfaction to spend time in the city” to be particularly lower than that of Hong Kong. It is around one-third lower than Hong Kong’s. Besides, water pollution there is greatly lower as well, which is half of Hong Kong’s.

The cost of living in Spain is attractive since a lot of things there are way cheaper than that of Hong Kong. For instance, we can see from the below table that the rent prices are around 65% lower than that in Hong Kong, which is very remarkable. In addition, the groceries prices of Spain is one-third lower than that of Hong Kong. Same as Canada, the restaurant prices are a bit higher, however, it does not reach 10%. Money that you save from other aspects can definitely compensate the money you spend more on eating out!

Index   
Hong Kong Madrid
Pollution Index: 69.73 57.72
Pollution Exp Scale: 125.73 107.93
Air Pollution High 72.60 High 66.67
Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility Low 36.14 Low 20.35
Noise and Light Pollution High 67.75 Moderate 54.65
Water Pollution Moderate 50.50 Low 23.12
Dissatisfaction to Spend Time in the City High 61.17 Moderate 41.48
Dissatisfaction with Green and Parks in the City Moderate 50.51 Moderate 40.48
Indices Difference  
Consumer Prices in Madrid are 20.99% lower than in Hong Kong
Consumer Prices (Inc. Rent) in Madrid are 42.86% lower than in Hong Kong
Rent Prices in Madrid are 64.72% lower than in Hong Kong
Restaurant Prices in Madrid are 9.21% higher than in Hong Kong
Groceries Prices in Madrid are 33.61% lower than in Hong Kong
source: herb
source: herb

(3) Colombia

One of the biggest concerns about moving to Colombia is its drug production and crime rate. But good news is that you don’t have to worried that much as before! Within the past 10 years, Colombian drug production has drastically decreased by 60%. Also, number of people kidnapped has fallen 92% since 2000. So, if you are looking for a vibrant culture-rich city that is with perfect weather, you might want to consider retiring in Colombia!

The general pollution situation of Colombia is similar to that of Hong Kong, with most of the pollution and dissatisfaction vary no more than 10 in terms of index when comparing to Hong Kong’s.

A vital point that has to be highlighted is that all sorts of prices in Colombia are strikingly lower than that of Hong Kong! From the table below, we can see that all the prices are almost 50% lower than Hong Kong’s! The most outstanding point is its rent prices! It is more than 80% lower than in Hong Kong! The money you have to spend on 3 months of rent in Hong Kong equals 1.25 year of rent in Colombia. Isn’t this impressive? Apart from this, unlike the two countries mentioned above, the restaurants prices in Colombia are lower too! If you don’t like cooking and prefer eating out, Colombia is just the right country for you.

Index    Hong Kong Bogota
Pollution Index: 69.73  73.13
Pollution Exp Scale: 125.73  136.37
Air Pollution High 72.60 Very High 80.10
Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility Low 36.14 Low 24.42
Noise and Light Pollution High 67.75 High 64.44
Water Pollution Moderate 50.50 Moderate 48.30
Dissatisfaction to Spend Time in the City High 61.17 High 60.94
Dissatisfaction with Green and Parks in the City Moderate 50.51 Moderate 51.74
Indices Difference  
Consumer Prices in Bogota are 48.13% lower than in Hong Kong
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Bogota are 65.06% lower than in Hong Kong
Rent Prices in Bogota are 81.96% lower than in Hong Kong
Restaurant Prices in Bogota are 46.29% lower than in Hong Kong
Groceries Prices in Bogota are 55.68% lower than in Hong Kong
source: ovation
source: ovation

For more information on overseas property news and prices, please visit our website at https://www.spacious.hk/hong-kong/international or follow our LinkedIn Page.

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