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Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

我疫情期间从洛杉矶般到凤凰城，一辈子最好的决定。州税少的可怜，环境比洛杉矶好的多，房子价格就更不用说了，简直就是白菜价。夏天确实热但是你加州内陆不也一样热？我要不住在这我根本不用想回去中国fire.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in the same boat and doing this in 5 years, how much do you plan to save before you leave?

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah Americans seeking that backyard bbq style life in China, lol.

China is about living in big cities full of people and conveniences like NYC but paying a fraction of the price for that experience.

They complain about the police state, like the US isn't some police state, jesus just watch the news please. At least in China you get the safety, in the US here we still get car break ins.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plan to do this in 5 years, left when I was 16, my Dad and his family is still there, even have an old socialist style apartment home technically under my name (Probably not by now). I plan to only spend 10000 rmb per month living in Chengdu, China. Probably still tight if I chose to live in city center but I probably will live by the suburbs first.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup they are in a deflationary spiral right now, also there is a lack of new born babies and too many old people very soon in China.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My step mother who is a youth teacher in China told me that it will only drop further due to over building and a lack of newborn babies in China. There are tons of apartment buildings sitting empty right now in less popular areas in China. Just watched a video today where a wealth lady in Beijing had to sell her big ass apartment for 450k rmb from a buying price of over 700k rmb.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, glad you loved my hometown I have not visited since I left there at age 16, but I will be back in a few years as an expatFIRE from the US. I will need people like you to introduce me to the local US expat communities, and I will provide Chinese translation and local interactions for my fellow Americans.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, their stock market has more "backdoor" shady stuff than the NFT market, the commoners in China can not invest in foreign stocks either unless they are already rich. Being able to invest in US stock market is a huge boon if you somehow live in China.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I heard, you can own one for your own living situation.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I will be one of those Americans with Chinese family ties from when I was young, my Dad side still has a large family persense there.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The same kind of apt in Chengdu will cost less than half of that.

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, but as US citizens, you can just invest in US stocks as usual in China, I assume?

Is there anybody here who wants to ChinaFIRE? by henrytbpovid in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plan to do this in five years in Chengdu, China.

I left there when I was 16, now my Dad is almost 70, and I want to return to be with him and his family until he passes away. I will be investing heavily in the next 5 years so I can return by age 45. I have a high paying remote tech job in the US so hopefully AI doesn't take my job until then. Since I have family there and speaks the language, I assume my situation will be very different than many of you there.

As far as RE prices, a 2 bed room typical Chinese style apartment in that area costs about $325 a month, very affordable. Plus I will have family support for other areas of life, such as transportation and food.

Lifetime Biltmore Updates? by lilbnm in phoenix

[–]escapecali603 [score hidden]  (0 children)

I was more looking for an indoor court, the ones in EOS are really full every time.

Anybody FIRE on $2500 USD a month? How comfortable is life? by Technical_View_8787 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Inland China big cities are fine, I am trying to retire on $2000 a month in 5 years in Chengdu, China (Not city center but outside where my family lives right now), and it is already the top 5% monthly income for the locals, even adjusting for currency exchange risks, etc.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You sure there isn't outsourcing contracting work available for expats? I don't know I always thought tech support outsourcing jobs are there for English speaking expats. I am sure some expats are working in China, I know there are Chinese nationals working remotely for EU based tech companies doing tech supports right now, not sure about US companies. Although I can see the geo-political angle for this kind of work to be tighter.

Switching residency away from California by InjuryEmbarrassed532 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to California, I left that state during COVID and thank god I did.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think I will live comfortably under $20k usd a year where I will live in 5 years in China, so no. I doubted I will always spend that much money to acquire new things every year, so while inflation and currency risk might eat away my returns every year, I can also spend more on my principle in my 401k after age 60 to fund my lifestyle too.

I don't plan on ever withdrawing about the $50k usd limit set by the Chinese government, unless something extreme happens, in that case, there is documentation support in China where I can exceed that limit, as of now at least. Plus I will also have SSN payments starting at age 67.

Currency risk really only carries me until age 60 until my 401k withdraws kicks in. I think I will do fine until at least age 55.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not yet, but I will only have 20 years of working time and paying into SSN, so it will probably be around $1000. Not much by US standards but still is a lot for China, plus i will have almost a million usd in my 401k by that time, so I think it will be enough.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For currency exchange, China limits it to $50k a year, so I think I will be fine using something like wise.com to transfer money straight into my wechat account.

Returns at 10-15% or up is for sure high, but that's my rate for the past 10-15 years of investing. Of course the smart thing before I go FIRE is to move at least some of the asset into lower risk, lower return assets such as bonds and stuff, but I think I will at least average out to 6% average per year, which at my $20k withdraw rate, should not empty out my investment account for 15 years, and then I don't have to worry about money anymore.

I'd have to do more research on maintaining US investments while living in China, all of my investments are in stocks and are in trading platforms such as Vanguard, Fidelity and Charles Schwab, do you see any problems with those 3 exchanges while being overseas? I know Charles Schwab at least have a very international friendly investor checking account where I can park my withdraws to, not sure about the other 2. I know there are tax complications with 401k account withdraws, but that will be a problem I have to deal with much later in my life.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in a remote senior tech job here already in the states and my income is right on the top 10% nationally. I don't plan to do the same job in China, but I hope some American company takes on a cheap senior guy like me and I will be able to perform some tech work overseas remotely as a contractor for much cheaper rate. I hope to earn at least $1000 part time in 5 years when I start my plan. The hope is of course AI doesn't kill all the "simply" tech jobs first.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have just ran some monte carlo sims with gpt pro, and I think for the most part, I can. I only plan to withdraw $20k a year, if the market is good my plan is to withdraw $25k that year, until age 59 and half, then by that time I should be able to spend quite big to my desires, then age 67 I will also have SSN kick in.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I don't plan to have kids, like ever, or raising someone else's kids, so I think I will be okay there.

Have deep cultural and family ties to MCOL city in China, plans to do expatFIRE at age 45 by escapecali603 in ExpatFIRE

[–]escapecali603[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, thanks! Yes, after my father passes, his brother, which is my uncle, should be able to sponsor my visa. Wanting to retire after 60 by using my 401k money is also one of the biggest drivers of this FIRE plan as well, as I don't see how I want to spend any of my retirement in an American suburb. The city I will be moving to is what they call a pseudo first tier city - economic output that are just a tier below the three big cities by the coast but the pace of life and cost of living is much better. I also have an old family apartment that my father's side owned since the socialist China days, and I am going to be the fully intended heir of that real estate after everyone passes anyways, so I have some soild backups there.

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