Indian in US; hoping to retire in US+India

[lionfire]

Indian here, naturalized US citizen. 43 yrs old. DW is 40. Been here pretty much my entire adult life. HCOL. Tech. NW is $1.25M. 80% in 401k/RothIRA, 20% in company stock. Home worth about $1M. Have 65% equity, accelerating principal payment to payoff in ~8 yrs. (roughly by my 50th birthday). Maxing out 401K/IRA (~50K/yr) investments every year.

Hoping to retire by 55 yrs old. So about 11 yrs from now. Both kids should be out of college by then. Hoping to have ~$2M in retirement accounts by then.

At 55, our plan is to retire with 6 months in India and 6 months in the US (to assist kids). May travel a bit on the way between the 2 countries, but depends on health and funds availability. This seems like a popular "plan" for most indians I have spoken with, of same age. I wonder how practical this is...

Planning to withdraw 3% pa (of $2M) - so ~60K/yr. $5k/month. Which is at current exchange rates, about INR3,50,000. At today's rates, I expect INR 1,00,000 to be enough to live comfortably in my city of choice in India (not a tier1 city but good facilities and i have fam/friends there). With expected inflation, let's say INR 1,50,000 - so about $2K/mo. The rest ($3K/mo) for US expenses. Hoping to withdraw SS after 62 to pad this.

I do expect some inheritance (properties) in India, which may generate some income (rental). Or I might liquidate and invest it in the US markets.

Wonder how realistic the plan is. Love to hear from any others in the same boat. Thanks!

 

[targatom2019]

you should easy double your current investment in 11 years not counting new contribution.

 

[Dd852]

Whether being between two places is realistic is purely a function of your personalities! I’ve tried to do that a couple of times (between Hong Kong and the UK, between the UK and the us) and “failed” both times because both DW and I, it turns out, like to have a primary home where we feel grounded. So we never spent as much time in the other place as we thought we would and it finally never was financially worth while to have two “move in ready” places. We still travel a lot but always like to come “home” finally so trying to split our lives between two places simply didn’t work. Some people do it well, though, and have worked out the rhythm that works for them and the way of making it less stressful (full closets in both places, kitchens with beloved gadgets in both).

 

[bearkeley]

Very realistic given cost of living in India. Since you are 12 years out, it’s important to also have a plan should you decide to stay in the US full time. My mom had planned to split her time at retirement, and now at 73 and alone, she is thinking traveling long distance is getting harder and staying in the US where her kids and grandkids are...unfortunately, the only way she can do this is to live with my sister in CA or with us int the east coast. We also planned to do the same when we were in our 40s but now in our 50s and 4 years into retirement, we realize we prefer to live long term in the US but continue to heavily travel and live in various countries by renting long term.

 

[MichaelB]

Indian here, naturalized US citizen. 43 yrs old. DW is 40. Been here pretty much my entire adult life. HCOL. Tech. NW is $1.25M. 80% in 401k/RothIRA, 20% in company stock. Home worth about $1M. Have 65% equity, accelerating principal payment to payoff in ~8 yrs. (roughly by my 50th birthday). Maxing out 401K/IRA (~50K/yr) investments every year.

Hoping to retire by 55 yrs old. So about 11 yrs from now. Both kids should be out of college by then. Hoping to have ~$2M in retirement accounts by then.

At 55, our plan is to retire with 6 months in India and 6 months in the US (to assist kids). May travel a bit on the way between the 2 countries, but depends on health and funds availability. This seems like a popular "plan" for most indians I have spoken with, of same age. I wonder how practical this is...

Planning to withdraw 3% pa (of $2M) - so ~60K/yr. $5k/month. Which is at current exchange rates, about INR3,50,000. At today's rates, I expect INR 1,00,000 to be enough to live comfortably in my city of choice in India (not a tier1 city but good facilities and i have fam/friends there). With expected inflation, let's say INR 1,50,000 - so about $2K/mo. The rest ($3K/mo) for US expenses. Hoping to withdraw SS after 62 to pad this.

I do expect some inheritance (properties) in India, which may generate some income (rental). Or I might liquidate and invest it in the US markets.

Wonder how realistic the plan is. Love to hear from any others in the same boat. Thanks!

This is an achievable lifestyle and can be very enjoyable. As Dd852 points out, it isn’t for everyone. We did it (until we couldn’t) and know others that live this 2 country lifestyle. It may cost more than you anticipate. Maintaining a second home from a distance is costly, the travel spending builds up, and it’s not easy maintaining a social circle when you’re not around all the time.

One thing you can do is to start setting up the location in India before you leave your job. Just to get a better sense of the cost and effort needed.

 

[lionfire]

UPDATE:
It’s been 5 years since my original post when I started this thread. Lots has happened since then!

Pandemic.
Work from home has opened up hybrid options.
1 kid DD has entered and is almost done with her bachelors. 50k will be remaining in her 529 when she enters her masters.
1 kid DS has finished High school and is entering an out of state college with out of state waiver. 95k in his 529. Should fund all 4 years hopefully.
No longer are we thinking of “6mo in India” yearly. Just don’t think it is enjoyable being so far away from all my friends and kids for that long. Instead we bought a second home in a sunny US state and will be moving there soon. Current home will become a rental, with positive cashflow.

Retirement assets stand at 2.9Mil.
Home equity across both homes about 1.8 Mil.
Total NW is About 4.7Mil. (Not including home loans). No other loans other than homes.

Just bought a car for cash. (Our other cars are almost 10yrs old - we plan to keep em for another 2-3 years hopefully).

Rebalancing out of too much concentration in company stock, which will reduce the 2.9m to about 2.7mil after taxes. But will reduce risk as we enter the last 5 years of work life (knock on wood).

New health issues have cropped up so dealing with that. These things remind me of life’s impermanence and fragility. I am making efforts to enjoy things more. Need to do more to stop and smell the roses. I splurge on things that bring me joy. Long haul flights are business class now. Longer and frequent vacations. The recent car was top of line and “fun” car too.

Hoping to be able to withdraw 10k/month (after taxes) to fund a hopefully travel-heavy lifestyle.

 

[lionfire]

Whether being between two places is realistic is purely a function of your personalities! I’ve tried to do that a couple of times (between Hong Kong and the UK, between the UK and the us) and “failed” both times because both DW and I, it turns out, like to have a primary home where we feel grounded. So we never spent as much time in the other place as we thought we would and it finally never was financially worth while to have two “move in ready” places. We still travel a lot but always like to come “home” finally so trying to split our lives between two places simply didn’t work. Some people do it well, though, and have worked out the rhythm that works for them and the way of making it less stressful (full closets in both places, kitchens with beloved gadgets in both).

Wow. Just wow. This didn’t register for me 5 years ago but now it hits me. We have been thinking of doing just exactly this - maintaining two homes that are ready for us anytime. Ie not rent one of them and instead payoff one home and keep it as the summer home. The “snowbird” approach if you will.

I would love to know more about how to think about it. It is overly romantic and not a financially sound plan, I know I know. But I also fear losing my friends when if we move permanently to our second home and rent the current primary.

 

[walkinwood]

Your kids and friends are obviously important to you, so why "plan" to spend 6 months away in ONE other place. Why not travel & stay in places for a month or 2 at a time using short term rentals. That will allow you to keep your relationships healthy and also give you more flexibility. Social engagement is good for health. Some people can do without it, but from your posts, you're do not seem to be one of them. Health issues could mean that you have to be close to your healthcare providers.

At some point, your kids may live in 2 distant places and then it may make sense to have 2 homes. I know a woman who spends here winters here near one daughter & grandchildren, and summers in Alaska with the other daughter & grandchildren. In her 70s, she still loves this lifestyle. She obviously has the resources to afford it.

 

[rkser]

Interesting thread -
Another naturalized citizen here from India who had similar dreams of spending & maintaining a part time home in India .
Here is my take on this matter -
We are 68 & DW is 63, I have multiple medical problems with several doctors whom I visit.
We have $ 8.5 m invested in Boglehead index funds, mostly in Taxable accounts & fast Roth converting our IRA’s, overall AA being 80/20, a paid off house & cars . We are financially independent & will probably be leaving a few millions to our DS 32 & DD 40 when we pass.
Both kids are married, out of the house & doing well on their own after respective graduate educations & each get gifted $36k a yr as we try to reduce our estate.
We had to sell off our ancestral home, a Condo & Land in Class 1 city in India, I retired at age 60 as a physician & presently volunteer at Free Medical Clinics.
The main reason for selling of properties in India was the process of paying ((e seva) for the utilities, the care, the security as we did not want to trouble our aging parents who have passed away now & the busy cousins living in India for all the above.
Our kids live in two different cities, our DD has 3 kids so our life is full with our own social circle of friends, our place of worship here & driving to spend time with our kids & more so with grand kids.
We do visit our home city in India every 2 yrs or so, live with our cousins etc & travel one part of India each visit. We do travel extensively in Europe & USA.
That was & is story for what it is worth.

 

[Koolau]

Since moving to Hawaii, we have been doing the "two-self-contained-residences-with-closests-and-stuff" for several years. Of course both places are within the USA but they're 5000 miles apart, so the travel distance is considerable.

We originally investigated living in a larger hotel/motel type situation (think Inn Suites) but you can't leave "stuff" there - like a car. Also, it's relatively expensive - $3K and up per month.

We've had it great because we sold our mid-west place to our niece along with the family business. She rents the place back to us full time very inexpensively (so we are free to come and go as we please.) We spend 3 to 5 months in her place and she watches it when we are not around. We've never insisted that she keep the place "up" for us - no need to replace kitchen/bathroom, etc. or do inside decoration, etc. The old wallpaper is coming off so we just tack it back up. If the AC w*rks, we are satisified.

BUT, she plans to FIRE within 3 years - heh, heh, WAY younger than we did! She'll want to sell the place where we stay on the mainland and we won't have a backup UNLESS we purchase it ourselves. That comes with numerous head aches - not the least of which is finding a suitable lock-and-leave place for an acceptable investment.

My point is that keeping two places (especially 15 hours apart) is tricky. It may also be expensive. We always just figured we would "age out" (you know, DIE!) and that would be it. But in our late 70s, we're suddenly looking at a significant life change that we're not looking forward to. It MAY come down to choosing to stay in the Islands full time or return full time to the mid-west. As long as we're able, we may then just spend a couple of weeks in a hotel (at the other location.) We'll always want to stay in contact with friends and/or family in both places if we are physically able.

We thought we had it all figured out, but life has a way of interfering with plans. YMMV

 

[RetiredHappy]

We "snow bird" to Palm Desert and/or Scottsdale or other warmer climate places about 2 months each year, through timeshare. We also "sun bird" in the summer to coastal California, also through timeshare. We have no maintenance and upkeep headaches of having a second home. We also go to Hawaii and other places regularly.

 

[Route246]

We are trying to plan to have two places 5000 miles apart fully stocked and ready. No need to pack luggage when we go to and from. The overseas place will be small but nice and there are barriers to to make this happen, none of it having to do with cost. The main issue is property management when we are not there and how to manage the management. Again, cost not an issue. I would have video surveillance setup so we can always look around and make sure the place is secured but we will still be away and need someone to handle any issues and local matters when we are not there.

 

[Koolau]

We "snow bird" to Palm Desert and/or Scottsdale or other warmer climate places about 2 months each year, through timeshare. We also "sun bird" in the summer to coastal California, also through timeshare. We have no maintenance and upkeep headaches of having a second home. We also go to Hawaii and other places regularly.

Many years ago we looked into time shares for travel. It didn't appear to be much cheaper (if at all) than, say, Inn Suites. Of course, it would have been a bit nicer accommodations. If you are willing to share, what range of costs per month are you looking at for this type of travel? As mentioned above, we may be in the market for a different kind of longer-term accommodations in the future when we travel to the mainland. Thanks

 

[Surewhitey]

Since moving to Hawaii, we have been doing the "two-self-contained-residences-with-closests-and-stuff" for several years. Of course both places are within the USA but they're 5000 miles apart, so the travel distance is considerable.

We originally investigated living in a larger hotel/motel type situation (think Inn Suites) but you can't leave "stuff" there - like a car. Also, it's relatively expensive - $3K and up per month.

We've had it great because we sold our mid-west place to our niece along with the family business. She rents the place back to us full time very inexpensively (so we are free to come and go as we please.) We spend 3 to 5 months in her place and she watches it when we are not around. We've never insisted that she keep the place "up" for us - no need to replace kitchen/bathroom, etc. or do inside decoration, etc. The old wallpaper is coming off so we just tack it back up. If the AC w*rks, we are satisified.

BUT, she plans to FIRE within 3 years - heh, heh, WAY younger than we did! She'll want to sell the place where we stay on the mainland and we won't have a backup UNLESS we purchase it ourselves. That comes with numerous head aches - not the least of which is finding a suitable lock-and-leave place for an acceptable investment.

My point is that keeping two places (especially 15 hours apart) is tricky. It may also be expensive. We always just figured we would "age out" (you know, DIE!) and that would be it. But in our late 70s, we're suddenly looking at a significant life change that we're not looking forward to. It MAY come down to choosing to stay in the Islands full time or return full time to the mid-west. As long as we're able, we may then just spend a couple of weeks in a hotel (at the other location.) We'll always want to stay in contact with friends and/or family in both places if we are physically able.

We thought we had it all figured out, but life has a way of interfering with plans. YMMV

You should look at home swapping with, say, DFW folks...

 

[RetiredHappy]

Many years ago we looked into time shares for travel. It didn't appear to be much cheaper (if at all) than, say, Inn Suites. Of course, it would have been a bit nicer accommodations. If you are willing to share, what range of costs per month are you looking at for this type of travel? As mentioned above, we may be in the market for a different kind of longer-term accommodations in the future when we travel to the mainland. Thanks

For every newbie to timeshare, do not buy from the developers. There is a healthy resale market out there where you can buy for a fraction of developers' prices. To learn more about everything to do with timeshare, go to TUGBBS.com. It is a forum for timeshare owners and newbies where we share our knowledge.

There are 2 components of timeshare ownership, buying the timeshare, and paying annual maintenance fees, like HOA dues. There are many brands of timeshare, and there are also deeded weeks model and point system.

To give you an idea, besides the money for the initial purchase, my annual maintenance fees is about $15K and I get about 3 months of timesharing in 2BR villas. I own Vistana (Westin/Sheraton), Marriott Vacation Club and Worldmark. To stretch value out of the ownership, we supplement with exchanging through 3rd party exchange company. In my case I use Interval International. The other large exchange company is RCI.

With ownership of a 2BR Lockoff unit, I can make 2 trades into other highly desirable 2BR villas, turning 1 week into 2 weeks of 2BR villas. We normally invite friends to join us at no cost to them. Some of them will buy us a nice meal somewhere.