I’m 83 and will have $500K if I sell my house. My estranged wife wants me to join her in Colombia. Do I go?

I live alone in a retirement community and I am 83 years old. I can just barely handle my expenses with a mortgage payment of $984 and an income of $3,800 per month; I end up with about $500 for free spending every month. My wife lives in Colombia (she doesn’t like the cold weather) and we’re separated, but still friendly. She has invited me to live with her there. I have about $220,000 in savings and I have close to $300,000 in equity if I sell the house. My expenses in Colombia would be minimal. Should I relocate there? What is the downside?

Living in a Cold Climate

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You will have separate bedrooms, but will you also have separate bathrooms?

I ask because what you give up in expenses if and/or when you sell your house in the retirement community, you will lose in terms of your independence. It’s hard to put a price on your independence, but yours is $500,000. That’s quite a nice tidy sum, but all the reasons you separated from your wife will still be there when you arrive in Colombia. It’s a financial decision, but it’s also a lifestyle decision, one that will impact your sense of well-being (there’s nothing like having your own place) and social circles. After food, utilities, taxes and mortgage payments, $500 cash is not that bad if your needs are simple.

I have some questions for you to answer privately and in your own time: Will your arrival benefit your wife financially? Will you purchase a home together? What if your wife predeceases you? What leisure activities will you miss if you leave the U.S.? What will you do for medical insurance? Medicare does not cover you in Colombia. What happens if you get sick? Will you come back to the U.S.? If so, where will you live? Do you have friends here that you would miss if you moved to South America? Are you prepared for your wife to be your one and only friend when you get there?

More retirees are moving overseas, due to the high cost of living in the U.S., in addition to the lure of living in a foreign land. Last year, more than 760,000 Americans received Social Security benefits while living overseas, up from roughly 430,000 in 2019, according to data from the Social Security Administration. You would not be doing it alone, which is a small mercy, but that does not mean you wouldn’t have problems adjusting to life in Colombia, not to mention a language barrier if you don’t speak Spanish. Please also read the Department of State’s travel advisory on the country.

My former colleague Silvia Ascarelli interviewed a retired couple who moved from Long Beach, Calif., to El Retiro, a town of about 21,000 people 45 minutes from Medellín, a city in a mountainous region northwest of Bogotá. They liked the area’s temperate climate and, obviously, the cost of living, and they were required to pay into the national insurance program for healthcare. They met new friends and studied Spanish. Judging by the photograph, their relationship was still going strong. In California, “to live this lifestyle, we’d have to be mega, mega millionaires,” they said.

You may be surprised by the cost of living in Colombia. Your wife will have more details on that subject, and sharing accommodation and utilities will further cut costs. Monthly expenses could range from $1,000 to $2,000 a month, depending on where you live. To qualify for the public healthcare plan, Entidades Promotoras de Salud (EPS), you must have a resident identity card and it costs 12.5% of your declared monthly income. You can also get private healthcare, Medicina Prepagada, with English-speaking doctors, but you may be denied coverage if you have preexisting conditions.

Don’t pull the plug on your life here. Go for a month — no, six months — and see how you get on.

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Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell:

‘Luckily, I did not mix our finances’: My husband is 7 years younger and has dementia. What happens now?

My girlfriend, a widow in her 40s, pays off her credit card after every transaction. Is that weird?

My husband and I have $7K in Social Security and $2.5 million in stocks. What could go wrong?