Expat Cost of Living | San Antonio, TX USA Vs 5 Latin American Cities
Channel: latamliving
Date: 2020-05-28

I compare the cost of living between San Antonio, Texas in the United States using the data I retrieved from the Expatistan and Numbeo websites and averaging out the statistics for 3 categories including a dozen eggs, a pair of jeans of "Levi 501" equivalent, and most importantly the cost of rent for a 2 bedroom apartment. World 2.0, due to the current pandemic, has even further increased the popularity of the nomad movement or F.I.R.E. type of lifestyle. Living a financially independent life is increasingly important to so many people in the world, especially those that realize they cannot depend on a particular employer for their financial well-being; hence many are taking matters into their own hands. Understandably moving to another country overseas is not for everyone.

People with loads of money have no need for this, however the reality is most people aren't in the 1% and as they age the concern for their long term well-being crosses their mind. Senior housing is a major concern in the United States. Many seniors simply can't afford the cost of living in a senior housing facility especially if their only source of income is a social security check. According to Yahoo Finance in an article dated December 17, 2019 the average social security check is "$1,503 per month, or $18,036 for the full year". That's not a lot of money to live on in the United States anywhere, let alone a senior housing facility that provides food and medical services. Naturally the children of these seniors worry about them. They love and care about their well-being and many are looking for quality options, including nearby overseas facilities where seniors receive tremendous care including numerous social activities, doctor's visits, nurses on staff 24/7 and access to the exact same medication they'd be taking in the United States at a fraction of the cost. This is another reason that Medical Tourism, as it's called has exploded in recent years. The United States' health care system is simply too expensive for its citizens, period.

It's important to recognize that the data on both Expatistan and Numbeo is random user generated, meaning that numbers may be skewed but it should provide an overall rough idea as to what the cost of living is in a moderately priced city in the United States versus a city in Mexico, one Central America and three in South America.

The cities chosen for comparison were Arequipa-Peru, Medellin-Colombia Merida-Mexico, Panama City-Panama, and Quito-Ecuador. Affordable housing for retirees and seniors is a serious problem in the United States which is why many choose to live out their golden years or even sooner in another country that they can afford. 

According to an article on Yahoo Finance 64% of Americans will retire broke. That sucks. According to the article, it states:

"What About Americans With $0?
People with $0 in their savings account have a good explanation for why nothing’s there: They don’t make enough money to save. Of those who fell in the $0 bracket, 45% said they couldn’t save for that reason. Bills are another big obstacle for 24% of respondents with no savings."

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