Best Country For Retirement

Singapore Vs Malaysia Vs Thailand

Which is cheaper to live in? Singapore or Malaysia?  This is the news today on MSN when I first logged in this morning.  Why did they leave out Thailand?  I had argued the same several articles ago where I gave my 3-point strategy on retiring to a cheap locale to stretch that living budget.  Singapore is by default not a retiree's best retirement destination especially when you want to stretch the dollar in your golden years.  You can read the excerpt below wherein it reveals how investment funds are now buying luxury properties, deeming them "cheap" - certainly only by their standards!



Even Investment Funds Are Starting To Snap Up Properties In Singapore

These luxury apartments and condominiums are by no means "cheap" for regular retirees like me.  So Singapore is not my preferred choice for living out the twilight years.  However, for earning passive income, yes Singapore still remains my top choice, as explained in my 3 Point Strategy hyperlinke above.  To reiterate, yesterday's Straits Times (click photo above for news link) opined that investment funds are buying into Singapore residential properties as the industrial sector has not come down enough for the funds to start snapping up the industrial bargains.  The upscale private residential sector however bears sufficient bright sparks for the funds to jump in.

What is my point you ask? I am just reiterating what I had been propounding for awhile - that despite newspapers' sensationalized headlines of property market gloom and doom, there is a silver lining if we seek it out.  Like they say, the proof is in the pudding (or some may say the devil is in the details?).  I sure hope readers caught the seemingly inconsequential ending  of the article above, where Straits Times  stated that investment funds are buying into Singapore luxury homes as they are deemed undervalued. 

That's the proof and the "devil" I had been alluding to.  Rewind to my post  Rent Rant, HDB or Condo and Singapore Realty Really?  That was exactly the same point I was making in all these previous posts, that Singapore properties are worth snapping up now for future passive income.  If you have been holding on to your pot of gold for buying your dream house, now is the time to invest in that property.  

Now let's get back to where is it best to retire in?  Of the 3 countries in my golden triangle (Singapore, Malaysia & Thailand), I would have to strike Thailand out as it does not allow my frequent driving to and fro easily between countries like I could if I were to retire in Singapore or Malaysia.  So Thailand remains as my "playground" where I will frequently visit. 

That leaves us Singapore and Malaysia.  The MSN infographics which I had screenshot below easily help one make up his or her mind as the comparisons show the cost of living in Malaysia is almost always much less than that of Singapore's:

So with the above infographics - the choice is clear for me.  I will retire in Malaysia, continue to earn passive income in Singapore due to the high rate of property investment returns for my passive income, and then I will frequently visit Thailand (and beyond if my budget allows) for health treatments and other rest & relax activities.

I hope you will also be able to find your own "Golden Triangle" for retirement bliss.