Retire Abroad in 8 Steps with Expatria
Because relocating your entire life to another country shouldn't require a law degree
Hey future global citizens! I'm thrilled to walk you through our streamlined process for helping you escape—I mean, strategically relocate—to your dream destination abroad. No more drowning in immigration paperwork or wondering if your retirement savings will last longer than your sunscreen. Let's break down our 8-step process:
Step 1: Create Your Profile
Remember how dating apps promised to find your perfect match? We're doing that, but for countries. By adding your preferences, such as preferred climate, second language, favorite continent, whether you may or may not be an oligarch - this profile becomes your passport to personalized recommendations throughout the platform.
Step 2: Country Window Shopping
We've turned serious country research into something so addictive you'll forget you have TikTok on your phone. Swipe (or scroll) through comprehensive country profiles featuring immigration programs, tax structures, healthcare systems, and demographic insights. "That country taxes retirement income at what rate?" Super like. Every recommended country has a viable immigration program to take advantage of, whether as a pensioner or by investing in real-estate (or cash).
Step 3: City Matchmaking
Once you've shortlisted countries that won't immediately deport you, it's time for the fun part—finding your perfect city! Our TikTok-inspired interface lets you quickly browse through cities with key stats on weather, cost of living, expat community size, and internet speed (I throw a tantrum if I don't have at least 100mbps). Alternatively, use our global map view to explore over 1,000 cities. Yes, we included that obscure coastal town your colleague's brother-in-law keeps raving about.
Step 4: Compare Cities Like a Pro
Found a few cities that speak to your soul? Now see how they stack up against each other and your current hometown. Our side-by-side comparison tool breaks down everything from housing costs to the price of your daily latte habit. We've created the spreadsheet you would've made yourself if you had unlimited time. You're welcome.
Step 4.5: Calculate Your Dream Lifestyle
"But can I afford my current lifestyle there?" I'm glad you asked! Our Cost of Living & Lifestyle calculator allows you to build a detailed benchmark of your current or aspirational lifestyle. Want to know if you can upgrade from a studio apartment to a beachfront villa while maintaining your craft beer budget? We'll tell you exactly how much more (or less) that will cost in each of your favorite cities.
Step 5: House Hunting Goes Global
Remember when international house hunting meant opening 47 browser tabs and forgetting which property was which? Our Chrome Extension puts an end to that chaos. Browse listings on any real estate website worldwide and save them directly to your Expatria profile with a single click. The extension (tries to) extracts key details like price, square footage, and amenities, so you can easily compare your potential new homes without developing carpal tunnel syndrome from copying and pasting.
Step 6: International Tax Calculator
Taxes: the topic that makes even accountants yawn. But fear not! Our International Tax Calculator demystifies your potential tax obligations abroad. We have corporate and personal income/capital gains rates, inheritance, wealth, gift and VAT tax rates; exciting stuff. You can add custom tax credits and debits, to simulate all of your offshore, Panama-papers-esque machinations. If I find out you are an actual oligarch, I reserve the right to increase your subscription cost 10x...
Step 7: Plan your health insurance & medical coverage needs with our medical questionnaire.
While our healthcare module is still in beta (much like the US healthcare system, am I right?), it provides a comprehensive questionnaire to help plan your medical coverage needs abroad. We're working to expand this module to include detailed comparisons of different countries' medical systems and hospitals. Because nothing says "welcome to your new country" like understanding how to get antibiotics.
Step 8: Immigration Paperwork Made Possible
The final boss: immigration paperwork. Our Paperwork module connects you to official documentation for every program and breaks down popular programs into line-by-line instructions. One day, everything will be comprehensively broken down; if you find a program could use more detail, you can request an expedited research request.
And there you have it! Eight simple steps to completely uproot your life and start fresh in a foreign country. Expatria handles the complicated research and planning so you can focus on more important things—like explaining to your friends why you're selling all your furniture and learning to count to ten in Thai . Ready to take the leap? Visit Expatria today and start plotting your escape... I mean, planning your exciting international relocation! Every subscription comes with a 7-day free trial (as of 4.23.25, subject to change) - new users can chat with our team to understand their needs and request features or data-sets.