Best
Places To Retire In Asia
Retire in China
An increasing number of people
belonging to the current
generations of baby boomers are planning to retire early and settle in
non-traditional retirement destinations. For people who want to settle
abroad,
it is very important that they visit their preferred destination and
try
experiencing its lifestyle before actually shifting to that place. This
is
necessary as it is only after living in a place that one gets to know
and
understand the local culture, attitudes, and the general way of life.
With globalization, the world has
become a global village
and physical boundaries that divide countries have diminished
considerably.
Once a closed communist state, China
has opened its doors for foreign investment and has now transformed
itself into
an economic and political superpower in Asia
as well as the rest of the world. With many renowned strategists
predicting China
to be the
next superpower, people as well as companies have started flocking to
the
country for gaining an early advantage and becoming a part of the
overall
growth process. Whether it is the sophisticated city of Shanghai
or a remote countryside village, China
offers plenty of retirement
options that suit the tastes and preferences of different types of
individuals.
Retirees do not have to worry about modern amenities and services, as
these are
easily available; the best part is that these are available at much
cheaper
rates compared to costs in the United States.
Cost of living
Overall, the cost of living in China
is certainly less as compared to the U.S.,
but living in trendier cities such as Hong Kong or Shanghai
may be a bit costly. In such big
cities, spending a night in a four-star hotel will cost around $150 U.S., and a decent
three star hotel will cost
around $90 U.S.
However, rooms for $30 to $40 dollars per night are also available in
such
cities. A meal in a top-notch Chinese restaurant can cost around $30
dollars U.S.,
whereas a meal in an average Chinese
restaurant can cost around $4 to $6 U.S. Beer in clubs and bars
costs around $4 to $6
dollars U.S.,
whereas beer cartons can be purchased from corner shops for $40 to $50.
Small
mineral water bottles are available for 25 cents and a 36-color
exposure film
roll costs around $7 to $9. Taxis cost around $4 to $8, depending on
the
destination. The cheapest mode of transport is probably the subway
system,
costing just 36 cents U.S.
per trip.
Food
Chinese cuisine is famous all over
the world and a meal
usually consists of rice, noodles or steamed buns, served along with
accompanying dishes of vegetables, fish or meat. Wheat-based products
such as
noodles and steamed buns are predominantly eaten in northern areas
whereas rice
is used mainly in the southern regions of China.
Most Chinese dishes have
small bite-sized pieces of vegetables or meat that can be easily picked
up with
chopsticks. Fish is cooked and served whole in order to enhance the
taste and
keep the flavors intact. The number of vegetarians in China
is less
as compared to other neighboring Asian countries, and one may be
surprised to
know that many popular vegetable dishes actually contain chunks of meat
for
adding flavor. Desserts are served during the course of the meal
without making
any firm distinctions between courses; and even if a dessert is served
at the
end of the meal, it usually consists of sliced oranges or sweet soup
made from
red beans and sugar.
Transportation
Airports in big cities such as Beijing
and Shanghai provide
access to main cities of
every province and autonomous regions within China
and to most of the important
foreign cities around the world. An average person residing in a city
or town
uses a bicycle for going to work or just for traveling around for
leisure. Motorbikes
are also one of the most preferred modes of transportation in big
cities and
towns. China
has an extensive network of highways and roads, totaling around 1.117
million
miles, offering a cheap mode of transportation to its citizens. The
railroad
system is well developed, with rail lines stretching more than 35,000
miles and
connecting virtually every part of the country and all the major
cities. Most
of the big cities have subway systems that provide hassle free and
cheap
transportation to city dwellers. You can get a real time sense of what it costs to travel by train and check the China Train Schedule
Medical facilities
Medical facilities in big cities such
as Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou
and others are comparable to the best hospitals available in the U.S.,
with many
hospitals having permanent international medical staff. Most of the big
hospitals
feature modern medical technology and have physicians who are both
knowledgeable and skilled. Hospitals with special VIP wards offer
advanced
medical services to non-native citizens and have doctors and nurses who
are
fluent in English. Some of the big hospitals in China
are Beijing
United
Family Hospital,
Beijing Friendship
Hospital, Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, and Peking
Union Medical Center.
Credit cards are accepted in almost all the major hospitals in big
cities and
towns. Although medical facilities are quite good in China,
people of foreign origin may
sometimes to encounter difficulties due to cultural and regulatory
differences.
There have been cases where the medical staff has refused to provide
American
patients with the copies of their hospital medical records, including
laboratory investigation reports, scans, and x-rays. Ambulances very
often do
not carry sophisticated medical equipment and may take some time to
arrive. As
compared to medical facilities in big cities, rural areas only provide
rudimentary medical amenities, often available with limited medical
equipment
and medications.
Affordable housing
Finding a home, be it a rented
accommodation or your own, is
not a problem in China as the government has launched a number of
affordable
housing schemes to cater to the housing needs of its billion plus
population.
Property rates vary depending on the region and locality. Currently,
the
government is trying to cool down the real estate market by lowering
property
rates, which are currently hovering around $82 U.S.
per square foot in big cities such as Beijing.
For lowering the rates, the government has recently announced a plan to
increase the minimum down payment for larger apartments to thirty
percent and
more than doubled the period during which a property sales tax would be
applied.
It may appear that people are
planning to retire in China
mainly
due to the low cost of living and advanced facilities. This may be one
of the
factors, but the main factor that is actually attracting most people to
China
is
probably its rich culture and tradition and friendly people. It is not
unusual
in China
to come across smiling faces, especially children who love to say
‘hello’.
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