Restful retirement

Attractive global locations for retirement, with an emphasis on what India has to offer

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

A country is perceived through its major cities. Paris, London, New York, Rio, Mumbai and Delhi greatly influence their country’s image. In today’s globalised world one looks at places for their attractiveness and liveability, and also for retirement.

If a cruise ship stops at Mumbai its Western passengers may get a certain picture about India, but it would be quite different if that cruise ship stopped instead at Goa or Cochin. The passengers might see India quite differently.

A number of reputable groups study and rank the world’s major cities. A survey sponsored by the American magazine Foreign Policy ranked cities based on their business activity: New York came first, Tokyo 4th, Hong Kong 5th, Singapore 7th, Seoul 9th, Beijing 12th and Dubai 27th Incredibly no Indian city ranked within the top thirty, despite the enormous business output of Indian cities like Mumbai. Cities are often ranked by their attractiveness and liveability. Using a simple yardstick: when visiting a city if one shows no desire to ever see it again, it is not an attractive option; however, if one feels the urge to migrate and settle in it, the city rates highly for attractiveness and liveability.

The Economist magazine’s Intelligence Unit prepares a yearly liveability report on the world’s cities. Scores are based on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Its latest report puts Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide and three Canadian cities in the “top ten” category. Remarkably, those cities have been Indian favourites for migration since quite some time.

The bottom ten cities include Colombo, Kathmandu, Karachi and Dhaka. New Delhi ranks 113 and Mumbai 117 rank ahead of Colombo 132 and Dhaka 138.

India, because of its exoticness, has long attracted tourism. The World Economic Forum (WEF) prepares a Tourism Competitive Index on a global (133 countries) and on an Asian region (25 countries) basis. Australia ranks 9th globally and 1st in the Asian region. China is ranked at 47th globally and 10th regionally, and India is 62nd globally and 11th regionally. In WEF’s survey on human, cultural and natural resources, Australia ranks 3rd, China 12th and India 18th

International Living prepares reports for Westerners who wish to relocate on retirement or have a holiday home outside their own countries. The assessment honestly acknowledges a Western bias with its preconceived notions about standards of living, culture and entertainment.

International Living rates Latin America, the Caribbean and Southern Europe as highly desirable for retirement. It also mentions Goa saying that expatriate hideaways there can cost just US $14,000 (an obviously low amount for Americans).

In most reports, India does not rate highly for liveability or attractiveness, the major exception being the state of Goa which is considerably westernised and offers reasonably good standards of living. It lavishly celebrates events like the Carnival and Christmas. There are “offshore” casinos in rivers, it is host to the annual International Film Festival of India, hospitals provide specialist care to Westerners at a modest price and yoga and massage therapy centres are available.

Goa is a holiday destination for the farflung Goan diaspora, attracting these expatriate retirees from Britain and Portugal who have bought holiday and retirement homes. This also includes some nonIndian Britons who find Goa cheap and attractive. Some wellknown Indians have bought land and built luxury homes in the state. Luxury resorts have proliferated to the chagrin of locals who see themselves being swamped by outsiders.

Goa’s reputation has been sullied within the last year by some horrendous and unsavoury incidents involving foreigners, particularly British and Russian, resulting in widespread publicity abroad, causing a drop in tourism which has had hotels have heavily discounting prices. There are also reports that the Russian mafia is active and that drugs are being traded.

India can benefit by building “attractive and liveable” retirement enclaves for both returning Indian retirees and foreigners who wish to spend extended periods in the country

Goa might attract Westerner retirees, but Indian retiree expatriates have different requirements and wider choices in India. Hopefully, besides the cultural satisfaction, they will find things cheaper. Retirement homes are springing up all along India’s colourful west coast such as in Raigad nears New Mumbai, Mangalore (Karnataka) and Cochin (Kerala), convenient for Indian retirees who prefer to live in their original states. Areas close to large Indian cities have begun retirement developments such as near Delhi and Bangalore.

Israelis and Russians live in Goa by the thousands, running their own restaurants and hotels. Chartered planes bring tourists directly to Goa from Britain, Israel and Russia. Many properties sold to foreigners (including Indian expatriates) are currently being challenged as being either illegal or unauthorised.

Some Indian expatriates living in the USA have been moving to retirement villages in India. One of the reasons is apparently the exorbitant cost of health insurance in the USA. India can benefit by building “attractive and liveable” retirement enclaves for both returning Indian retirees and foreigners who wish to spend extended periods in the country. Italy has been doing that for many decades, particularly for expatriates returning from the USA.