When tech layoffs hit Kelly Bowen-McCombs last August, then her husband, Leith McCombs, in May, the Woodinville couple didn’t immediately think to move abroad.
But it soon dawned on them that they were facing a bleak job market. Rather than stick it out, the pair decided to take a leap of faith and relocate to France. There, they could afford to retire because their estimated costs of living would be about half of what they are in the Seattle area.
“King County in particular is an extraordinarily expensive place to live,” said Leith, 56.
They are just two of many local residents who, fed up with the region’s high costs of living, are moving abroad to retire. Packing up their lives in the Puget Sound area, they’re setting out to lower-cost destinations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Overseas, they’re finding that their retirement incomes can stretch significantly further, improving their quality of life despite language, cultural and immigration barriers.
While there’s no official count of Americans living abroad, many expatriation experts say that they’ve anecdotally observed rising interest in moving overseas over the past few years.
“Trends are absolutely changing,” said Alex Ingrim, co-founder and president of Liberty Atlantic Advisors, an Olympia-based firm that helps people financially prepare to move to Europe.
Social Security data provides a glimpse into just how many people relocate overseas to retire. According to the latest numbers, about 463,480 retired U.S. workers received their Social Security benefits in foreign countries at the end of 2024. That represents a 7% increase from the total number of U.S. workers receiving benefits overseas five years prior. About one-third, or 170,000, received their Social Security benefits in Europe.
“Before, we would see maybe a few American inquiries here and there,” said Ingrim, who has spent the last decade and a half living abroad himself. “Now Americans are making up the bulk of the business for people that work in the expat scene.”
But people in the typical retirement age range aren’t the only group eyeing foreign destinations. Most of Ingrim’s clients are people between the ages of 45 and 65 who can’t afford to retire early in the U.S. but can do so comfortably abroad.
Costs of living aren’t usually the sole reason that people move, but they’re a critical component that turn what would otherwise be a pipe dream into a possibility. Former Seattle residents cite a number of reasons for going abroad, from proximity to family to lifestyle changes. These days, Ingrim said, some of his clients say they’re primarily driven by a desire to escape the U.S. political climate.
“That, combined with affordability, is actually just pushing people out the door faster and faster.”
“It just makes sense”
For Kelly and Leith, France was always a long-term goal, but their kids and careers kept them in place. That all changed recently. Their children have grown up and moved out of the house. The recent presidential election rattled their sense of serenity and belonging in the U.S. After losing both their jobs, the two finally gained the freedom of being untethered to place.
In March, they took a trip to southern France, where they kept meticulous track of each euro they spent. In a spreadsheet, they documented their expenses, from rent to utilities to food, and compared them against Seattle prices. The differences astounded them.
Houses in the northwestern region of Brittany, France, are listed at half the price of their current home. The cost of their typical basket of groceries is about 43% less expensive than at Safeway. They can get a basic phone plan for 5 euros a month. In total, they expect their monthly expenses to fall from around $10,000 right now to less than $6,000 in France, not including disposable spending.
In the Seattle area, both of them would need to be employed full-time to continue affording their mortgage and lifestyle. In France, the pair can retire and live off their savings and investments. Over the course of their careers, Kelly and Leith both saved judiciously, socking away about half of each paycheck. As former Microsoft employees, they also received stock; they expect to take monthly distributions to cover their costs.
While most of their costs would be slashed in the move, they will incur a big one: the initial setup. They expect to spend around $20,000 shipping their furniture and musical instruments overseas.
France has minimum income requirements for foreign nationals, as well as language requirements for people seeking to stay long-term. Thankfully, both Kelly and Leith speak French. As expats, they’ll also be required to buy a private health insurance policy for their first year, which they estimate will cost slightly under $1,000 a month for the two of them. After becoming long-term residents, they will be eligible for public health insurance.
The couple have no plans to come back, beyond visits to see their children and family. Seen in that light, the cost of moving is a one-time investment in the rest of their lives.
“From a numbers and economics perspective,” said Kelly, 57, “it just makes sense.”
Living off Social Security alone
For most retirees in the U.S., getting by on a fixed retirement income can be a challenge.
Basic needs are expensive in King County, according to an affordability indicator known as the “elder index,” developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Older adults here contend with costs that are 12% to 30% higher than the national average, depending on household composition, health and homeownership status, per the index. “It’s really telling you that it costs more to live in King County than it does in other places in the country,” said Michelle Putnam, director of the institute.
As a result, many older residents say that they can’t afford to live solely on Social Security payments, which aren’t adjusted for regional differences in cost of living.
People are finding that they can effectively double or triple their purchasing power by moving to a country with significantly cheaper costs.
That’s what Rick, 62, and Nicky Dalzell, 49, did when the couple decided to sell their condo in Everett and move to Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, in May.
A former bus driver for Community Transit in Snohomish County, Rick had planned to retire closer to 67, which is what the Social Security Administration defines as the age when a beneficiary is eligible to receive full retirement benefits.
After the 2024 election, he decided to retire early, taking a penalty of about 35% on his monthly Social Security benefits. In addition to concerns about the political climate, the couple wanted to be closer to Nicky’s family and to take care of her aging mother. The couple don’t have children and Rick doesn’t have elderly parents to care for.
Today, Rick receives about $1,500 a month in Social Security income, and he has some additional savings to fall back on from selling the condo. The couple don’t have to pay rent because they live with Nicky’s family. When he turns 65, he’ll be eligible for pension payments, which he estimates will double his monthly retirement income.
Despite the early retirement penalty, Rick feels that he’s come out ahead by moving abroad. His most recent monthly water bill was just $7, the power bill just $15. Food, goods and services are three to five times cheaper in Nakhon Ratchasima than in Everett.
“You could not possibly live on my retirement in the U.S.,” he said. “I mean, unless you were living mortgage-free, debt-free, bill-free. Even then, you’d have a hard time. You could live on it, but it depends on what you call living. We like to have fun, and we wouldn’t be able to on my retirement in the U.S.”
The couple gets by on a total of between $800 to $1,000 a month.
“If you live in Everett,” Nicky said, that’s not a lot to live off, even for a single person. “In Thailand, you can take care of the whole family.”
Of course, there are things they miss about Washington: the natural beauty, the temperate climate. Few people in their area speak English, so Rick occasionally feels disconnected from community. Nicky misses her old job cleaning medical supplies, and her work friends. But for now, the trade-off is worth it.
Taxes, paperwork and health insurance
Moving abroad for retirement doesn’t come without significant hurdles and disadvantages, and experts suggest speaking with immigration and financial advisers before setting off.
Would-be expats must navigate complicated immigration pathways to resettle in a new country, with rules and restrictions that are often in flux. Programs also differ from one country to another.
In recent years, numerous countries have eliminated popular programs that gave noncitizens a path to immigrate through buying real estate or making substantial investments in local businesses, commonly known as “golden visas.”
“There is a little bit of a trend of countries looking at who they will be letting in, and if so when and how many,” said Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, a magazine focused on living abroad. In some cities and countries, locals have occasionally bristled at the growing presence of American expats, which they see as linked to rising housing prices.
Other immigration pathways still exist, however, with many countries offering dedicated visas specifically for retirees. But these come with strict requirements of their own, typically proof of minimum retirement income combined with a ban on working locally.
Americans residing abroad still have to file U.S. taxes, and may need to do so in their new home country, which can mean added paperwork during tax season.
Most critically, retirees living outside the U.S. have to adapt to new and sometimes confounding health care systems. Where Rick Dalzell lives in Thailand, there are no senior or long-term care homes at all.
Before moving, Rick looked into private health insurance plans. Prices ranged from $100 to $700 a month, depending on the level of care and coverage. Eventually, he settled for a plan that costs $300 a month — cheaper than the average U.S. health insurance premium but more expensive than Medicare.
Had Rick stayed in the U.S., he would become eligible for free Medicare when he turns 65. But coverage doesn’t extend internationally.
“If you’re leaving the country, you are also leaving the things that you are qualified for as an older adult in the United States,” said Putnam of the Gerontology Institute. Abroad, “you may or may not qualify for them as an immigrant.”
“I haven’t worried about money in 10 years”
Jeff Wick and his wife, Starr Connelly, both now 74, left the Seattle area over a decade ago to travel across Latin America in search of a new place to call home.
In Sultan, their dream home would have cost $500,000 — a price that would have dented their retirement savings and made living on Social Security income difficult.
By contrast, in Costa Rica, right outside the city of San Isidro de El General, they were able to buy a 27-acre abandoned coffee farm on the mountainside property in 2014 for just $140,000. Today, it’s their oasis. They grow organic produce, keep active through farming, and count sloths and tropical monkeys among their neighbors.
“I haven’t worried about money in 10 years,” Wick said. The two collect about $40,000 a year in Social Security income.
But paradise isn’t permanent. Lately, Wick has noticed that the cost of living in Costa Rica is rising, as more retirees from the U.S., Canada and Europe seek to move to the country. Land prices have gone up, he said, especially in coastal towns and the capital. It used to be a challenge for expats to find a buyer for their homes if they wanted to leave. No more.
“Some of the places that are kind of tried and true are starting to really get crowded,” said Stevens, the editor of International Living. “Because we’re seeing those places become more popular, they are getting more expensive.”
Ideally, people wouldn’t have to retire abroad, said Putnam of the Gerontology Institute. She hopes the growing trend prompts reflection about the cost-of-living crisis in the U.S., and how it might be reined in so that people don’t have to leave.
“Optimally, people wouldn’t need to leave because they can’t afford to grow old here,” Putnam said. “You want to be able to afford to grow old in your community.”
