Joke of the day… go ahead.
You can denounce your American citizenship and join China since you were born in China.
I’m sort of in the same boat as you. I actually enjoyed it so much after my vacation I decided to move and work in China for 4 years as an English teacher. I think the decision comes down to whether you want kids or not. If you do and you don’t want your kids to go through the rigorous education system, then you’d need to send them to private school. Otherwise, you’d have to buy a property there.
15000 usd is definitely doable in China. You can always offer English classes on Fiverr. Just one thing to think about —— what do you do when you get really sick? Do you get treatment there or do you come back? There are FIRE groups on Douban. You might be able to get some information on cheap cities to retire, cost of living and etc.
Bro, if you worked as a nurse during the pandemic you are probably burnt out. And I don’t blame you!. Really not sure that 15k a year is going to get you much of a life or life partner in China these days though. Especially if you are used to American living standards.
if u mandarin is still fluent, i think u can enjoy early retirement in China, but i suggest u to live in a smaller city the expense is very low compare to beijing anf shanghai
I would recommend getting married in the states and rethink this 10 yrs later, I’m in my late 30s, very similar background to you, and I plan to retire in China at age 50 to 55 at the city of Zhuhai where I grew up before moving aboard. A few things I can think of that you might want to check.
- Your partner needs to be Chinese (prefer first gen immigrants or students), or someone that is truly into Chinese culture. Or you got a problem when he/she hates it 5 years down the road.
- You should raise your kids in the states, hence I am not retiring at 30 or 40 even if I could.
- You will need passive income to sustain early retirement, either investments with dividends or rental income.
- You need to prepare for health care costs in China.
- I would recommend renting vs buying a property (under your relative or partner name), unless you still have access to your parents house in China.
Try it out and see it for yourself - it’s better to give things you want to do a shot than to regret it not having tried it later. Life in China can be great if you are okay with small inconveniences of having a foreign identity (like how some smaller hotels don’t let you check in if they are not set up with verifying foreign IDs or visas) and let’s hope the policies in past 3 years won’t happen again. The marrying a Chinese girl part - like many said, money plays a big part - I’d suggest finding a girl who has also returned to China from abroad. You would have more in common and their families may not be as traditional. I, too, as a Chinese person, have been in the US for a long time and recently decided to split my time between the two countries to spend more time with family. I think splitting time is a bit more doable because our identities are inevitably linked to two nations and never the same again like before immigration.
I know many people of your generation who had that desire. After so many years, you will also find that China has changed so drastically since you came to the US. Even though you feel always Chinese in US and not a white guy, a lot of my friends go there to retire and find they are not a good fit there either. You want to go live in a large city or in a township or countryside? Your hometown has likely changed radically since you left, so best would be to travel there, spend some time before you make the move.
I am a Registered Nurse in US, so I don’t think I will be able to find a job in China.
You EASILY CAN!
有人覺得樹高千丈落葉歸根，也有人覺得外國的月光特別圓。最緊要是你自己的想法和感受。你覺得中國適合你就在中國退休吧。
Compared to US, you boost your purchase power a lot by moving to China. Ultimately if you like the lifestyle there it’s a great plan for cutting your working years in order to reach similar retirement living standard.
The thing that would scare me most would be getting sick. A friend of mine’s son got sick recently. He was otherwise a healthy 20 year old. He had a lump. The doctors in Canada never found anything. The mom felt our healthcare was too slow and brought him « home ». Doctor said he had cancer. They said he should try this new miracle cancer treatment, the boy died within 2 weeks. I don’t know the full story, but people don’t go from healthy to dead in a month with/without cancer here. I have little to no trust in China’s healthcare system.
Become a nurse at an international hospital. Foreign doctors and nurses are quite common in China
You can work in telehealth as a nurse online using VPN and make a killing from here, live happily ever after.
Guys we should support OP’s decision, he is an adult and he could make decisions, even decisions that are dumb as fuck
The cost of living in China is about pretty astoundingly only about half of what it is in the US. It’s going to be pretty tight living on 15k a year without a wife. You won’t be able to live in a city off that. The real trouble is you don’t know what the economy is going to do. China has an aged population that’s only getting older. Over the next 25 years there will be less workers and more retires, every year. Theoretically this should drive up the amount workers make pretty drastically which should drive inflation quite heavily. It might be difficult living in America for so long, and having the freedom to say certain things vs having a social credit score and a heavily restricted internet. I work for about 6 months out of the year, typically spring and fall. I can tell you I am itching to get back to work by the end of summer and winter. You might want to explore living there for extended periods of time before leaping straight in. My advise is to go for what you want and keep that backup plan in handy.
I’m replying late in the game, but after reading your description it doubds lkje you are not retiring but trying to escape something and find a wife in China because you might feel your prospects are better in China.
A lot of the deeper issues you are trying to desk with have nothing to do with retirement or money.
If you look 8/10
If your personality is 8/10 and
If your intelligence & humor is 8/10
You would be enjoying life in most places…there’s no need to goto China till you are in my early 40s…or work half the year and travel half the year.
Do some sales and or work as a waiter. Be able to better connect with people and see your social circle grow.
I’ve seen so many east Asian ppl who have your story. They focus on survival and not happiness.
So recently a Canadian friend that had done the same thing was told he had stayed in China long enough. His spousal visa was rejected after about 15 years. He owned his apartment. Different times.
There are plenty of other countries in the world that could meet your requirements, where it is relatively cheap and you can stay legally as a retiree. At your age maybe take a year to travel and see your full range of options. Did you consider the likes of Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Serbia, Turkey or Thailand?