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ihsod · Sep 26th, 2007, 23:04

hello indiamikers---what a great travel forum!!! I am a 48 year old male who has been living in texas for the last 25 years and am planning to retire in native india in 2008.During my visits to india ,i had made short trips to goa and the kumaon region in uttaranchal in 1999 and 2001 respectively and found the experiences quite memorable. my question is whether it is possible to live comfortably in goa and uttaranchal on an investment portfolio of three hundred thousand us dollars assuming i draw 4-5 % anually from my investments here in the us. i am single and plan to rent a house /flat in south goa for 6 months and live in a guest house in the ranikhet/kausani area in uttaranchal for the summer months and split the rest of the time rediscovering india. oh,i am an indian citizen.

fakeindian · Sep 26th, 2007, 23:21

Ihsod,
If you remain an Indian Citizen and go back to India for good, you will loose your GC.

In that process won't you also loose your social security benefits ??

I would imagine to save 300K you worked atleast 10 quarters and paid a lot of SS taxes.

Fake

gautam · Sep 26th, 2007, 23:23

Welcome to IndiaMike ihsod. How was your experience there in USA

Just curious, how did you came up with your username

flaker · Sep 26th, 2007, 23:23

you've probably made up your mind.i'm no financial planner but assuming you were to live another 30 years which i'm sure you would then perhaps age 55 giving you a few more hundred dollars in growth and new inputs might be a better bet. retiring now and drawing +-5% might be okay first 10 years ??/ this is a layman's viewpoint. all the best.

Nick-H · Sep 26th, 2007, 23:28

Welcome to IndiaMike.com

I suggest you read and join in This thread on retiring in India

ihsod · Sep 27th, 2007, 00:21

thank you all for your prompt response. i have always been given to understand that by becoming a us citizen ,one loses the legal reason to stay in india for more than 180 days at a time. granted ,i will lose my ss benefits if i move back to india as a indian citizen, but the ss benefits do not kick in at the earliest till i am 62 years old!. that is almost 14 years from now and way tooooo long.i do not plan to touch my retirement assets till 65/66 in the hopes that it will grow significantly tax free in the next 15 years or so. the three hundred thousand dollars i can draw upon is in my taxable investments. in the near future, i have to research the tax treaties between the us and india and the ramifications for me.in the meantime, i am really homesick and miss the flavor ,if not the feel of india.in my opinion, the us is just not what it was in the 80's and th 90's.However, my experiences here have been on the positive side for the most part.all my family members are well settled in india,unfortunately in two of the largest and most polluted cities in india and they have always felt i am crazy to settle down permanently in the us.retiring to india and visiting with them for short periods of time every few months would be liberating

fakeindian · Sep 27th, 2007, 01:34

Ihsod,
There are several options. Search this board for PIO and OCI cards.

Let's say when you hit 62, you become elgible for SS benefits and receive approx $1000.00. At the current exchange rate that will go a long way in India. And also when you hit the 60s, the spare change what ever from SS will come in handy and go a long way.
Fake

Nick-H · Sep 27th, 2007, 02:34

India's changed too, in recent years...

As Fake says, there are several options by which you, as an ex-Indian Citizen can stay long-term in India, OCI being life-long and not even requiring you to register as a foreigner.

You won't be able to vote, or to to stand for political office, if you give up your Indian passport. On the other hand, your visits to USA and other countries will be relatively easy on your American passport, should you decide to choose that route.

These factors have been discussed quite a bit, and I'm sure you'll find experiences, discussions and opinions to give food for thought on our forums here.

sanjaymehra · May 3rd, 2008, 15:20

Be prepared to spend anywhere between Rs.25000/ - Rs.40,000/- per month for a modest lifestyle in India. When I say modest, I mean modest. No fancy living in this. Rents in Goa would depend on location, but Ranikhet, you can rent cheap outside the main town.

kmalik · May 3rd, 2008, 15:56

ihsod,

I am assuming the visa concerns are non-issue. You can get a OCI and, for all practical purposes, but that discussion behind you.

However, to my mind, 300K is low for what you propose to do. At 3-4%income, it amounts to about 9-12K USD a year - possibly less depending upon the taxes you might need to pay on the income. Short-to-mid term outlook for the USD is not great, and the interest rates on fixed income instruments you'd get are also on the low side. To make some rough calculations - let's just say you had an income of Rs. 250K per year, or Rs. 21K per month. It is perhaps tad on the low side in India today, and leaves you little margin on error.

It is possible I am being too conservatives in the above numbers. You could, of course, create better hedge against the foreign exchange risk by shifting part or all of the money into Rs. and get fixed rate instruments there. Apart from the front-end tax consequences, the inflationary environment in India Rs would lead to declining value of your principal in the fixed rate instruments over time and put your strategy at risk.

Is it doable with rather limited expectations? Yes. Would you want more - definitely. Could you come to regret it in time - possibly. Of course, you could supplement your income by working, but that's another story.

That's how I see it...

Nick-H · May 3rd, 2008, 17:38

People, The OP has not returned to this site since last September.

No big deal, I am sure other members will find the information useful or interesting --- but best please check out the dates of questions before you answer them!

kmalik · May 3rd, 2008, 19:21

Nick -

Thanks for pointing that out. I happened to see the thread amongst the Most Recent Forum Topics due to the preceding response and spent some time construct the response. Feels kind of silly now. Oh well....

Nick-H · May 3rd, 2008, 19:33

Been there, done that

.

It happens.

And many an old accidentally resurrected thread turns into a new conversation too

Valini · May 3rd, 2008, 20:29

It may be an old thread, and the OP ùay not need the info anymore, but I certainly found kmalik's advice useful, sounds like he knows his stuff pretty well!

Sep 26th, 2007, 23:04	#1
ihsod ihsod Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: texas Posts: 2	coming home hello indiamikers---what a great travel forum!!! I am a 48 year old male who has been living in texas for the last 25 years and am planning to retire in native india in 2008.During my visits to india ,i had made short trips to goa and the kumaon region in uttaranchal in 1999 and 2001 respectively and found the experiences quite memorable. my question is whether it is possible to live comfortably in goa and uttaranchal on an investment portfolio of three hundred thousand us dollars assuming i draw 4-5 % anually from my investments here in the us. i am single and plan to rent a house /flat in south goa for 6 months and live in a guest house in the ranikhet/kausani area in uttaranchal for the summer months and split the rest of the time rediscovering india. oh,i am an indian citizen.

Sep 26th, 2007, 23:23	#3
gautam Super Mode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Chandigarh - Blore NON-STOP Posts: 708	Welcome to IndiaMike ihsod. How was your experience there in USA Just curious, how did you came up with your username __________________ "Your thoughts could be your prison" My pics on flickr Kerela backwaters - by beach

Sep 26th, 2007, 23:28	#5
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,597	Welcome to IndiaMike.com I suggest you read and join in This thread on retiring in India __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Sep 26th, 2007, 23:21	#2
fakeindian Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: universe Posts: 14	Ihsod, If you remain an Indian Citizen and go back to India for good, you will loose your GC. In that process won't you also loose your social security benefits ?? I would imagine to save 300K you worked atleast 10 quarters and paid a lot of SS taxes. Fake

Sep 26th, 2007, 23:23	#4
flaker Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: charou country Posts: 9	you've probably made up your mind.i'm no financial planner but assuming you were to live another 30 years which i'm sure you would then perhaps age 55 giving you a few more hundred dollars in growth and new inputs might be a better bet. retiring now and drawing +-5% might be okay first 10 years ??/ this is a layman's viewpoint. all the best.

Sep 27th, 2007, 00:21	#6
ihsod ihsod Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: texas Posts: 2	thank you all for your prompt response. i have always been given to understand that by becoming a us citizen ,one loses the legal reason to stay in india for more than 180 days at a time. granted ,i will lose my ss benefits if i move back to india as a indian citizen, but the ss benefits do not kick in at the earliest till i am 62 years old!. that is almost 14 years from now and way tooooo long.i do not plan to touch my retirement assets till 65/66 in the hopes that it will grow significantly tax free in the next 15 years or so. the three hundred thousand dollars i can draw upon is in my taxable investments. in the near future, i have to research the tax treaties between the us and india and the ramifications for me.in the meantime, i am really homesick and miss the flavor ,if not the feel of india.in my opinion, the us is just not what it was in the 80's and th 90's.However, my experiences here have been on the positive side for the most part.all my family members are well settled in india,unfortunately in two of the largest and most polluted cities in india and they have always felt i am crazy to settle down permanently in the us.retiring to india and visiting with them for short periods of time every few months would be liberating

Sep 27th, 2007, 01:34	#7
fakeindian Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: universe Posts: 14	Ihsod, There are several options. Search this board for PIO and OCI cards. Let's say when you hit 62, you become elgible for SS benefits and receive approx $1000.00. At the current exchange rate that will go a long way in India. And also when you hit the 60s, the spare change what ever from SS will come in handy and go a long way. Fake

Sep 27th, 2007, 02:34	#8
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,597	India's changed too, in recent years... As Fake says, there are several options by which you, as an ex-Indian Citizen can stay long-term in India, OCI being life-long and not even requiring you to register as a foreigner. You won't be able to vote, or to to stand for political office, if you give up your Indian passport. On the other hand, your visits to USA and other countries will be relatively easy on your American passport, should you decide to choose that route. These factors have been discussed quite a bit, and I'm sure you'll find experiences, discussions and opinions to give food for thought on our forums here.

May 3rd, 2008, 15:20	#9
sanjaymehra Wandering Soul Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: new delhi Posts: 30	Be prepared to spend anywhere between Rs.25000/ - Rs.40,000/- per month for a modest lifestyle in India. When I say modest, I mean modest. No fancy living in this. Rents in Goa would depend on location, but Ranikhet, you can rent cheap outside the main town.

May 3rd, 2008, 15:56	#10
kmalik Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 443	ihsod, I am assuming the visa concerns are non-issue. You can get a OCI and, for all practical purposes, but that discussion behind you. However, to my mind, 300K is low for what you propose to do. At 3-4%income, it amounts to about 9-12K USD a year - possibly less depending upon the taxes you might need to pay on the income. Short-to-mid term outlook for the USD is not great, and the interest rates on fixed income instruments you'd get are also on the low side. To make some rough calculations - let's just say you had an income of Rs. 250K per year, or Rs. 21K per month. It is perhaps tad on the low side in India today, and leaves you little margin on error. It is possible I am being too conservatives in the above numbers. You could, of course, create better hedge against the foreign exchange risk by shifting part or all of the money into Rs. and get fixed rate instruments there. Apart from the front-end tax consequences, the inflationary environment in India Rs would lead to declining value of your principal in the fixed rate instruments over time and put your strategy at risk. Is it doable with rather limited expectations? Yes. Would you want more - definitely. Could you come to regret it in time - possibly. Of course, you could supplement your income by working, but that's another story. That's how I see it...

May 3rd, 2008, 17:38	#11
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,597	People, The OP has not returned to this site since last September. No big deal, I am sure other members will find the information useful or interesting --- but best please check out the dates of questions before you answer them!

May 3rd, 2008, 19:21	#12
kmalik Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 443	Nick - Thanks for pointing that out. I happened to see the thread amongst the Most Recent Forum Topics due to the preceding response and spent some time construct the response. Feels kind of silly now. Oh well....

May 3rd, 2008, 19:33	#13
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 25,597	Been there, done that . It happens. And many an old accidentally resurrected thread turns into a new conversation too

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May 3rd, 2008, 20:29	#14
Valini Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bdx,FR--Kanpur Posts: 334	It may be an old thread, and the OP ùay not need the info anymore, but I certainly found kmalik's advice useful, sounds like he knows his stuff pretty well!