# American Couple Contemplating Retirement Options



## tanyajoyce90 (Oct 16, 2016)

Hello! 

I am brand new to this forum. My husband and I are a dual military American couple. We're both officers in the Army and love to travel. We've both been to Europe several times and his family is German. When we fantasize about retirement, we always go back to either Germany or Austria. 

I was wondering what the feasibility of a move like that would be. What are the logistics involved moving from the US to somewhere like Germany? Should we try and rent or buy if we're retiring? 

I'd appreciate any advice!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Germany doesn't have a "retirement" visa option - so that's probably your first big hurdle to overcome. In some EU countries, retirees can go the "visitor" visa option - basically where they swear they are not going to work and can show adequate financial resources (usually based on their pension). Under that option, you often need to provide your own health care coverage (i.e. private insurance), which can be pricey - but is generally less expensive than comparable US based health care insurance.

I would check first the consulate websites for Germany and Austria to see what the visa options are for retirees. Once that is resolved, the rest is pretty much a matter of personal preference.
Cheers,
Bev


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## tanyajoyce90 (Oct 16, 2016)

Bevdeforges said:


> Germany doesn't have a "retirement" visa option - so that's probably your first big hurdle to overcome. In some EU countries, retirees can go the "visitor" visa option - basically where they swear they are not going to work and can show adequate financial resources (usually based on their pension). Under that option, you often need to provide your own health care coverage (i.e. private insurance), which can be pricey - but is generally less expensive than comparable US based health care insurance.
> 
> I would check first the consulate websites for Germany and Austria to see what the visa options are for retirees. Once that is resolved, the rest is pretty much a matter of personal preference.
> Cheers,
> Bev




Thank you! We have some time before we would actually make any actions to move. What's the best way to go about looking for places to live? What about buying vs renting? 


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

tanyajoyce90 said:


> Thank you! We have some time before we would actually make any actions to move. What's the best way to go about looking for places to live? What about buying vs renting?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi,
You might want to explore how "German" your husband is - maybe he is entitled to a German passport. That would certainly make moving to and living in an Eu country more straightforward.
Regarding renting or buying - well that all depends on your ages, health, wealth and whether you have children who are expecting to inherit your wealth when you die.
Renting is often seen as "dead" money - but if you didn't have any close family members to leave a house or a big bank balance to, then renting gives you the flexibility to move around.
A house ties you to an area more - but it is an asset that can be sold or given to relatives at a later date.
Cheers
Steve


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Renting is actually lots more popular in Germany than buying (though I suppose that is likely to change over the coming years). When I was living in Germany, it was quite common for older Germans, who were renting themselves, to buy an apartment to rent out (as a source of stable income to augment their pensions).

But seriously, you need to look into the visa options before you bother with looking for a place to live. If you can't qualify for an appropriate visa, you can't live anywhere.
Cheers,
Bev


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