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Retire in China?

chupacabra

Alfrescian
Loyal
What if you get a stroke, heart attack or cancer? The treatments for all these cost over 100k. Unless you got millions of $, relocating to a cuntry with no guarantee of taking care of you should any thing happen is not a good idea.
 
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Sarcastic

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I thought of renting out our Singapore property and moving to stay in China (small city) and live off the rental revenue. Is there any flaw in this plan? Got any singaporeans do that?

You also have to bear with heavy censorship and internet blockage. :rolleyes:
 

axe168

Alfrescian
Loyal
I bought a one way ticket to Australia and I never look back !
I would be much easier in China kampong - communication is not an issue.
Beware of con men ! or little dragon lady to suck your money away.. hehe.

I thought of renting out our Singapore property and moving to stay in China (small city) and live off the rental revenue. Is there any flaw in this plan? Got any singaporeans do that?
 

Submarine22

Alfrescian
Loyal
What if you get a stroke, heart attack or cancer? The treatments for all these cost over 100k. Unless you got millions of $, relocating to a cuntry with no guarantee of taking care of you should any thing happen is not a good idea.

I intend to use holistic / traditional methods for health issues rather than going to the medical industry. Die die lor.....

anyway its not like singapore health care is very cheap right?!!!
 

Ash007

Alfrescian
Loyal
You can have holistic/traditional/alternative medicine in Aussieland as well. Some of the TCM doctors here have years of experiences in these matters here, trained in China of course. They even have professorship from China.

I intend to use holistic / traditional methods for health issues rather than going to the medical industry. Die die lor.....

anyway its not like singapore health care is very cheap right?!!!
 

Oogle

New Member
Depends on what you are after? It is possible to live off your rental as the cost of living in the urban areas are affordable, but not in Shanghai or Beijing.
 

wendypoh

Alfrescian
Loyal
Experiences from a foreigner in China

Southern China is hot and warm respectively Summer and Winter when compared to the western countries. The summers are long, hot, and sometimes wet. So it’s a trade-off, air conditioner and maybe a de-humidifier instead of central heating. Although it is worth pointing out, the winters of 2008 and 2009 have been noted as being unusually cooler, with some daytime temperatures around 12 degrees and the nights around 4 degrees.

Cost of living - very cheap by comparison.

Standard of living - equally as good if not better.

Quality of life - very good. Of course, that's only my subjective impression as I have not spent a lifetime here.

As other commentators are also quite rightly pointing out - there is a freedom in Asia that I find refreshing and often cathartic.

One might argue all these points of view but for me there is no doubt. I am still an anglophile at heart but I have found, what I consider to be, a better life here in China.

I might be over simplifying it I know, there are lots of other considerations to take into account.

Three and half years ago I became disillusioned with my life and I began to question my lifestyle. Did I need a big house, did I need 5 TVs, did I need 5 bedrooms, did I need a luxury car, and most importantly did I need to work hard and be away from home for more than 50% of my time just to maintain this lifestyle for myself? It was just one long round of working four or more days away from home at a time, earning good money but then paying it back to the government in taxation of one sort or another. But what about the thought of retiring? It was scary to contemplate such a big step: no income, no workplace camaraderie, no status, no purpose. Was it even possible? I calculated my finances on the back of a fag packet and consulted a friend who lived in Thailand. Seemed I would have just enough income to be self supporting for a few years. But I’d always been a workaholic; this would be completely alien to me.

As it happened, I was in contact with a lady in Nanning and I flew out to meet her. If things went well I would come back to Nanning when I finished at work, otherwise I would go to Malaysia. Either way it was bridge-burning time.

Financially I am much better off than I thought I would be, partly because of the lower than budgetted cost of living in China, and partly as a result of higher interest rates in the West. I love the feeling of freedom I get from being retired and living in such a great country amongst wonderful people. I wouldn’t go back to my old lifestyle for all the tea in China.
 

wendypoh

Alfrescian
Loyal
Participation in social insurance by foreigners working in China - Interim measures to be effective 15 October 2011

The Interim Measures on Participation in Social Insurance by Foreigners Working in China (the "Interim Measures") were issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on 6 September 2011 and will come into force on 15 October 2011. The draft of the Interim Measures was previously released for public comment on 10 June 2011.

The salient provisions of the Interim Measures are summarized as follows:

  • Despite the various controversies during the consultation period, the Interim Measures adopt the principle that foreigners working in China (except for nationals of foreign countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral social insurance exemption treaties with China) shall participate in PRC social insurance scheme, including basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance, work injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance.
  • "Foreigners working in China" are defined under the Interim Measures as those non-PRC nationals who hold (a) work permits (e.g. Alien Work Permit, Foreign Expert Certificate, and Resident Foreign Journalists Certificate) and alien residence permits, or (b) Alien Permanent Residence Permit, and are lawfully employed in China, including:
    1. foreigners who are legally employed by enterprises, public institutions, social groups, privately owned non-enterprise units, foundations, law firms and accounting firms etc., lawfully incorporated or registered in China
      ("PRC Employers"); and
    2. foreigners who enter into employment contracts with overseas employers and are then seconded to work in branch or representative offices lawfully incorporated or registered in China ("PRC Engaging Units").
  • The PRC Employer/PRC Engaging Unit shall, on its own initiative, arrange for social insurance registration for the relevant foreigner working in China within 30 days upon issuance of his/her work permit.
  • The provision that citizens from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HK"), Macau Special Administrative Region ("Macau") and Taiwan who are working in the mainland China shall also participate in the social insurance scheme which appears in the draft of the Interim Measures has been taken out from the final version. As a result, whether citizens from HK, Macau and Taiwan who are working in the mainland China are required to participate in the social insurance scheme remain unclear. It is yet to see whether any specific regulations regarding citizens from HK, Macau and Taiwan will be issued and how local social insurance authorities will implement the Interim Measures in this respect.

  • If a foreign employee leaves China before reaching his/her retirement age, he/she may:
    1. retain his/her personal social insurance account, which may be re-activated for social insurance contribution purpose if he/she returns to and takes up an employment in China again; or
    2. terminate his/her PRC social insurance account by serving a written application, and receive one-off payment of the balance of his/her personal social insurance account.

  • If a foreign employee passes away, the balance of his/her personal social insurance account can be inherited pursuant to the relevant laws.

  • If a foreign employee has become qualified to enjoy his/her PRC social insurance benefits on a monthly basis (e.g. pension) after leaving China, he/she shall provide a certificate confirming he/she is alive to the relevant PRC social insurance authority at least once every year. Such a certificate should be (i) issued by the PRC embassy or consulate, or (ii) notarized by the relevant authority of the country in which he/she resides and legalized by the relevant PRC embassy or consulate. Such a certificate can be exempted if the foreign employee is able to attend at the relevant PRC social insurance authority in person to prove that he/she is still alive.


 

nato33

Alfrescian
Loyal
I think China is suitable country for retiring, it is calm and ecology is good.

Personally, I would not considering retiring in China as there are just too many fake food or illegal chemicals in food everywhere. I know this may also exist elsewhere but its rampant in China and I think this has lots to do with the lack of a social conscience amongst the people after years of communist rule. People want to get rich at all expense and this does not bode well for those seeking peace of mind
 

Raphael85

Alfrescian
Loyal
Not a good idea.

The lack of social conscience is truly disturbing and it's a cause for concern. For example, unacceptable social issues such as public officials covering up the crimes of corrupted food industrialists leading to undesirable healthcare problems or other news articles like passers-by ignoring the scene of a car accident is more than enough to shake me up. There's plenty of where this comes from. Enough said.
 

cheongwilly

Alfrescian
Loyal
I thought of renting out our Singapore property and moving to stay in China (small city) and live off the rental revenue. Is there any flaw in this plan? Got any singaporeans do that?

Hi I am now living in China and have decided to retire in China. It easy and nice. Which City are you thinking of? I go fishing every week and still can enjoy cheap Chinese food. But you may have to adjust your lifestyle a little. Other than that it is nice and easy going. It is better to retire to your hometown or where you originate from as the local dialects and food maybe more suitable.

Feel free to ask any questions that you have i will be glad to be helpful.
 

hairylee

Alfrescian
Loyal
I intend to use holistic / traditional methods for health issues rather than going to the medical industry. Die die lor.....

anyway its not like singapore health care is very cheap right?!!!

You can go holistic on with your living habits but food in China are suspect.
 

essen

Alfrescian
Loyal
Feel free to ask any questions that you have i will be glad to be helpful.
hi, what visa are u on? from what i researched, the longest 1 can stay in china is 6 months (on visa d). how do u manage to stay longer than that in china?
 

koala88

Alfrescian
Loyal
hi, what visa are u on? from what i researched, the longest 1 can stay in china is 6 months (on visa d). how do u manage to stay longer than that in china?

Hello essen, try applying for Tourist Visa (L Visa) - 24 months Multiple Entry for for sightseeing or visiting family members or friends or for other personal affairs.
 

watchman8

Alfrescian
Loyal
I thought of renting out our Singapore property and moving to stay in China (small city) and live off the rental revenue. Is there any flaw in this plan? Got any singaporeans do that?

why not try Thailand or Malaysia instead? Much nearer and cheap too. China is too crowded, environment is polluted and medical infrastructure is incomplete and expensive.
 
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