Retirement in Aruba

[garyiryna]

Interested to know people who have bought home and retired to Aruba, what is life like? cost of living? taxes? Was the process of buying a home easy?

[lizzardo]

Cost of living - for products it's higher because everything is imported. For services it is less than the US.

It's a pretty easy process to buy a house. No attorneys are involved. They use their notaries (which are different here and appointed by the queen of the netherlands) who make sure the deal is "fair for both parties".

Life is slower here. There is a "culture" shock because you will be dealing w/ the government for residency and other issues. The language of all documents are in dutch but between on-line and hired translators you can get around it.
You will also have to have some patience living here - again things are much slower than the US in most matters.

It's a great place to live if you can accept that this is not the US and
a foreign land. People seem to "assume" that everywhere is just
like the US but it's not - laws, views and conducting business is different.

If you would like any more info in detail - feel free to PM me.

[ArmelleBriel]

It is true that it is more expensive to live in Aruba because everything is imported, but you save money on clothes, heating your house and if you are willing to live without AC it is a saving too and it is quite possible to not feel hot without AC with the way Aruba houses are built.
On the other hand if you plan to work in Aruba, be ready for things not happening fast like in New York. It took me a good 2 or 3 years to get used to it. If you are retired or on vacation, it is not a real problem. For me I have been trying to get information about my retirement benefits . It has been almost a year since my first inquiry and i still don't have any answer after trying twice. In a way i am not surprised, but it is very frustrating.
The people in Aruba are very nice and I miss living there for that and the climate. Wish I were still living there,

[garyiryna]

In such a great climate, do swimming pools need to be heated? If so, could solar power be used?

[Andrea J.]

swimming pools do NOT need to be heated.

[Schnauzerjoy]

You definitely do not need to heat your pool, but sometimes it would be great to be able to cool it instead ;-).
Most people don't even have water heaters in their house.

Carsten

[garyiryna]

So how often would you need to get a bug exterminator around? Would once every 3 months be ok? And with the pool, is it best to use salt tablets to clean it? I would guess food can be cheap if you live like the locals and not as a tourist?
My son wants a puppy dog, are there good places on island to buy? Fantastic Gardens sounds like the place to get your landscaping needs? When you first live on island, how
Long did it take to adjust to living on a small island?
When we retire we want to do it slowly. In that coming for three months, rent rest of year, then again come for 3 months etc slowing increasing to 4,5, until we stay permanently. My daughter going to university and wants to stay in Europe, so that's why we are approaching it in the slowly slowly approach.
We can friends in Aruba, so all should work out fine. For us Eagle beach is by far the best beach, and would love to live near it, but Alto Vista seems the best option or Wayca residency. You have to show you have in your bank about $53,000 every year . Does this last for first 5 years only? Or every year of your retirement?

[lizzardo]

Bugs -> every three months is good
Pools -> a lot are salt water pools and are easy to maintain, pool service is affordable if you don't go to the major 'pool companies'
Food -> more expensive than the states, everything is shipped in but great selection
Fantastic Gardens -> most expensive place for landscaping on the island but have a beautiful place.
Where -> a 'personal' issue depending if you like to live where most ex-pats do or like to live with the 'locals'.
Legal residency granted after getting permits for 10 years for US and Canadians. Might be 5 years if you are a dutch citizen

[rustic]

food can or can not be expensive.
if your someone that buys your groceries at super markets and make them at home it wont be expensive. and honestly it also depends on where you buy them.
the place most tourists buys things is at "Ling and Songs" to be honest that place has allot of good stuff but the prices aren't cheap there compared to other places. about the bugs, where i live (sta.Cruz , Sabana grandi) there isn't really any problems with bugs. they only come here once a year or once every half year. If you want to keep those blood sucking insects out be sure to close windows at six. but they aren't really that much of a bother.

[rustic]

Also like i said before in one of my previous posts, If you still need help with finding a good place to live i have an uncle that has his own real estate company if you need i can get you his info so you could contact him. I'm sure he could find you a place according to your taste and with a monthly pay that fits well to your budget.