Q.844 Canadian retired single

woman non-Indian ancestry

moving to India

Question: Hello, What small to medium sized cities would you suggest for a place to live on 1090 CDN dollars per month Thank you Enjoy the day Chole Boleyn [February 07, 2016] Answer: Since you are contemplating a move to India for retirement, I would assume that you are to some extend familiar with a local language, would qualify for the appropriate visa to establish residency in India and have some friends or family in India who can offer help in settling down initially. If your motive is to stretch your income of $1090 Canadian dollars per month, at the current rate of conversion, since the Canadian dollar value has moved significantly down, you income in Indian Rupees would be about 50,000 per month. A single person as long as expectations are within reasonable limits can live reasonably well with this amount without the frills! If the income is from pension sources you won’t be taxed in India courtesy of the Double Tax Avoidance Agreements in force. While Rs 50,000 monthly is not considered a very large sum of money in India these days, a large number of people with families seem to survive on a lot less!. Keep in mind that for most retirees who have pension income, their pension income does not go up frequently whereas cost of living continues to escalate rapidly. A few average prices are shown below to give you an idea of average cost of living in India.

Average cost of living in India in a

medium sized city.

Here are some prices for comparison purposes. As far as recommending a city in India to retire in, I myself faced the same question several years ago and decided on Pune, a city in the state of Maharashtra very close to Mumbai. Despite being close to Mumbai, Pune is not as congested and crowded as Mumbai. Day trips between Pune and Mumbai are possible and takes about three hours by road. Some people travel by railway to Mumbai from Pune every day! Pune has a diverse population and ranks quite high literacy wise and has many good educational institutions. this city has been sometimes referred to as ‘Oxford of the East’. Pune also has a thriving software hub with many multinational companies and ranks high on health care. Property rates when compared to neighboring Mumbai are much more affordable. I have seen quite a few foreigners who live and work in Pune. However, what may be ideal for one may not be suitable to others. The best way to find out is to visit some of the cities for a reasonable period of time to get a feel of the city before deciding where to settle.

Factors to consider when selecting a

city in India to retire

Cost of living. A major expense regardless of which city you decide to go to live in will always be housing. Property prices in India are quite high and rental properties for overseas retirees in India are not easily available. This is something that you should try and sort out first. The Internet may be a start to find information, followed by a visit at some point of time. While I have mentioned Pune, there are many other cities that may appeal to you. Health care facilities. Doctor visit etc. are cheaper in India but hospital costs are higher and unpredictable, although significantly lower than Canadian hospital costs. In Canada you will have government health care provided free of cost to Individuals with taxable income of $20,000 or less. Moving to India you will lose this benefit at some point of time. There is always strength in numbers, if you have friends, family in a particular city of India then keep this in mind when selecting your retirement city. Safety/Security is another factor that should be taken into account. Unless you are familiar with the language and have friends or family in India you should think about all the pros & cons before making a move. A few things you may want to consider: Not sure what the source is of the $1090 monthly income. If it does not include a Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payment, then consider applying for this free benefit to increase your income. As mentioned above, you will lose your medical benefits at some point of time after moving out of Canada. Another option for retires to stretch their dollars may be to perhaps move to a different city within Canada where the cost of living may be cheaper. This allows them to continue getting government pensions and enjoy the benefit of free health insurance if their income remains below $20,000 per year. More information on Canadian Government Pensions payable abroad is included in an article titled ‘Canadians retiring in India - Canadian Pensions Payable Abroad’ The link to this article is provided below: http://nriinformation.com/articles5/canadian_pe nsion_in_india.htm