Economics is a major reason Americans of all wealth levels retire overseas.
A retiree living just on social security is likely to feel real deprivation in the US, so they might be motivated to move to a very low cost country where their US dollars go much further. Doing this, they could possibly afford larger and more luxurious housing, eat out a lot, and maybe even employ a full time maid. People limited to only social security checks or modest pensions are usually limited to lower cost of living countries.
But it really doesn't have to be as bleak as all that. Many of the lower cost retirement countries are truly amazing places with fascinating cultures, offering a wealth of fun and interesting leisure time activities.
A cheaper cost of living is a really great thing, but cheap is not enough. It is not enough to motivate most people from uprooting themselves from their home country, friends, relatives, and a familiar culture. So there has to be more. What is that more?
Americans who retire abroad are usually more adventurous and more well traveled than the average American. That is fair to say because most Americans don't even own a valid passport. Over years of experience, many know what they personally enjoy about different foreign countries.
Consider:
Someone who lives for a special steak dinner with a bottle of rich red wine, might feel they died and went to heaven living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where such a feast can be easily found for well under ten dollars. (And Lipitor for high cholesterol is available there cheaply and over the counter.)
Someone who loves the ocean might be very excited to live in a beach resort area in Costa Rica or Mexico, for a fraction of the living costs of an American beach resort.
Someone who loves spicy food and loves to be pampered might be drawn to Thailand where a two hour Thai traditional massage costs as little as ten dollars and a feast of spicy Thai fresh seafood a similar price.
By contrast, if you really hate hot weather, why on earth would you want to move to the tropics?
Also, if the thing that makes you the most happy is easy access to western style culture like live English-language theater, there really isn't a lower cost country that will ever really please you.
Successful expats are happy expats. If you don't enjoy a lot of things about the culture in the new country, it isn't likely you'll be happy in the long term. Just like any love affair, the passion will likely cool over time. The once exotic becomes everyday. But the core of what originally attracted you can always be there.
Wealthier people have many more choices, like anything else in life.
For example, 300,000 dollars might buy a decaying shack in Silicon Valley (actually it probably wouldn't). Instead, it might buy a new luxury villa by the sea with acres of land, right on the beach in Nicaragua. Interesting choice, huh?
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