Retire Abroad, Not Afraid: Why Medical Treatment Shouldn’t Stop You.
Affordable Healthcare in Retirement: My Experience with Medical Care Abroad
Health care is a huge consideration for a lot of people and families when they consider retirement, let alone retirement overseas. This is why during your recce phase, it’s important to really dig into the services available to you in the potential landing spots you’re looking at.
I know some people are nervous about the idea of being in a strange place and seeking medical care, especially if they have never done it before. How much will it cost, what if I don’t speak the language, how long will I have to wait, and on and on it goes. Having been out in the wild for a while now, there have been a number of occasions where I have needed routine, elective, and emergency care in countries all over the world. Today, I thought I would share some of those experiences with you to help alleviate some of the anxiety out there.
A quick warning here: The following are my personal medical situations, and some involve yucky things. Read on at your own risk, lol.
Date: 2017
Place: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Situation: An ingrown hair on the outside of my thigh became a very infected and angry abscess, which required treatment. After a week or so in BA, I couldn’t deal with it any longer, so after speaking with a colleague, I was able to find a nearby medical clinic. After signing in at the clinic, I waited for around 25 minutes and was then seen by a doctor. Between the two of us, we were able to Spanglish our way through the situation, and he prescribed me some antibiotics. The consultation cost me $35 USD, and I ended up paying out of pocket as it wasn’t worth the paperwork for claiming it on travel insurance.
The antibiotics were around $8 USD from memory, and the whole process took me less than an hour from entering the clinic to leaving the nearby pharmacy with the medicine. A few days later, the leg situation was resolved happily.
Total Cost: $43 USD
Difficulty: 3/10
Date: 2021 June-ish
Place: Spain
Situation: After hiking around Wales for 54 days and not taking any rest days, I spotted some cheap flights to Portugal and thought it might be time for another Camino (more hiking). The hike was supposed to be a 12-day walk from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. On day 9, I started to feel some back pain and a killer headache, but like an idiot, I carried on. By the end of day 10, I could barely stand, and I had vampire-like levels of light sensitivity. The next morning, I went into the doctor’s office, and after a quick examination, she disappeared and returned in a space suit. She handed me a letter (in Spanish) and sent me to the hospital.
A short time later, I was at the hospital, and after handing the letter to the administration people at the ER, I was told that I had to wait but couldn’t wait with everyone else. I had to wait in an isolation room. This seemed a bit extreme. Up until this point, I thought the headache was related to my back pain and that I had got that from carrying a backpack for the last two months without a rest (idiot).
A short time later, a doctor in full space gear appeared and told me they would be testing me for meningitis. I was like, “Cool, that sounds terrifying. What’s that?” He told me and was really good about it all. He then began to run me through a series of cool and then horrific tests. I had chest scans, COVID tests, blood tests, and all sorts.
Later, he came back and said something to the effect of, “We need to do a spinal tap.” Again, like an idiot, I said, “Cool, what’s that?” He told me about how they were going to put a needle into my spine and take fluid out of it to test for meningitis. I was delirious at this stage. Not in a good way at all. It took three attempts to get the fluid, and that’s not an experience I would like to repeat, despite how amazing the staff were.
After this, I passed out in the bed and was awoken some time later by the doctor, who told me I had meningitis—but viral meningitis, not bacterial meningitis. It was all the same to me, but apparently, I had the better one to have, so that made me feel better. I was then taken to another hospital by ambulance and passed out until the next day. I woke up in the hospital and somehow had enough cellphone battery and the mental acuity to message my sister in New Zealand and the hotel I was supposed to check out of that day. The hotel was great—they packed all my gear and sent it via taxi to me. Phew. I told my sister what I had but couldn’t say anything else as I had no clue.
The next few days were pretty blurry, and I slept a lot, only being woken every four hours for more fluids, painkillers (savage headache/back pain), or COVID tests. After nine days, the doctor let me go, providing I took my meds and promised not to miss a single dose. She was very insistent on this—something about it coming back if I did. The antiviral medication cost around 90 Euros and, to be honest, made me feel worse than the meningitis did.
Total Cost: 4090 Euros, give or take.
Difficulty: 5/10
Date: September 2021
Place: Prague, Czech Republic
Situation: I was in Prague visiting a friend and generally being a tourist when I read that it was a very popular destination for eye treatments. After having worn glasses since 2013, I decided to get my eyes zapped so I could be free of them. I found a clinic online that had great reviews and good prices. So I emailed them on Thursday and asked about a consultation. They responded and said that they had one open the following Monday. The email also outlined their usual three-day process should a surgery be required and if I chose to proceed with it. Once that was locked in, I extended my hotel accommodation and enjoyed my weekend in Prague. Great place, by the way. Highly recommended.
On the Monday, I went to the clinic and met my concierge. She was a woman in her late 40s whose sole job was to accompany me to my four appointments that day and translate if needed. She didn’t need to do much as all the nurses, optometrists, and ophthalmologists that I saw spoke perfect English. That day I had a nurse run some tests, an optometrist run some more tests, and an ophthalmologist look at more things before another doctor, who was going to do the zapping, came and told me how they could fix my eyes with a laser. After this, I was sold. I paid the 2400 Euros that afternoon and was happy to do so.
The next day I showed up bright and early and had the surgery. It was very quick and professional, and besides the smell of burning hair during the actual zapping, it was fine. My eyes felt scratchy (best way I can describe it) afterward and blurry. I returned to my hotel room, had a sleep for a few hours, and my eyes were much better. Less blurry but not perfect. I couldn’t use my glasses anymore, which was kind of awesome. It felt so weird not to have to wear them anymore. I almost felt naked for the first few days afterward when I would leave my hotel without them on my face.
The day after the surgery, I went back to the clinic for the final check-up and was given the green light. I was told that my eyes would take a little while to adjust but that they would improve each day. And they did. I have to say that whilst I will likely still need glasses later in life to read, that was the best money I’ve ever spent. It massively improved the quality of my life, and the care and professionalism were outstanding.
Total Cost: 2400 Euros
Difficulty: 2/10 Piece of cake!
Date: November 2022
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Situation: I had been back in Istanbul for a week or so and was naturally enjoying all of the food I could get my hands on. I was trying everything that looked strange to me and, looking back on it now, this may have been a bit too extreme. It was shortly after this little exploratory gorge fest that the stomach cramps began. Within a day, I was visiting the bathroom with urgency on a very frequent basis to the point where I couldn't leave my apartment and I did not trust a fart. I had read online that lots of expats and tourists were coming down with some sort of stomach flu that they were calling Turkey Tummy.
I had had enough of this, so I looked online for a local GP that I could visit. It was easy enough to find one about a 10-minute walk from my house… if I could make it. After deciding that this had to be done, I headed for the doctor’s office. After arriving and managing to explain to the receptionist that I needed to see a doctor, she got me to fill in a form and present some ID. About five minutes later, an old Turkish doctor ushered me into his office and, in broken English, proceeded to ask me what was up. I explained to him my symptoms and what was going on with my stomach, and he proceeded to examine me, pushing and prodding my tummy and asking a series of questions. In less than five minutes, he told me that I most likely had the Turkey Tummy but that it was relatively straightforward to fix. Five minutes later, I was paying for my consultation (35 Euros) and had my pharmacy prescription in hand. Less than five minutes after that, I was receiving my antibiotics and various other pills (10 Euros) to hopefully stop my urgent races to the bathroom. Over the course of the next couple of days, all of my symptoms subsided, and I was able to venture out again without fear.
Total Cost: 45 Euros
Difficulty: 5/10 Just because the administrator didn’t speak any English.
Date: Ongoing
Location: Panama City, Panama
Situation: Since I stopped working, I have focused a lot more on my physical and mental health. When I arrived in Panama, I was determined to see the doctor more regularly, exercise a lot better, and just generally look after myself. I figured if I was going to be retired for 40 or 50 years, then I wanted to make sure my body was going to be an asset and not a liability for the majority of that time. I sought out a recommended sports doctor, someone who could help me build a strong and resilient machine to get me through the rest of my days. I was fortunate enough to be recommended a really good sports doctor by a friend of mine, and went along to see him.
Since that first visit, I have built a really good relationship with him, and he is my primary medical care professional. I see him 2 to 3 times a year, and each consultation usually lasts around an hour. It is a very holistic approach to medicine, where he will discuss with me what crazy activities I am up to, what I am training for, my weight, my blood pressure—all of the usual health markers. We organize blood tests for any specific markers that I’m looking for. I recently discovered that my family has a small history of prostate cancer, so I asked that these markers be put into our ongoing blood tests to be proactive and get ahead of anything before it starts.
The thing that I really enjoy about this level of medical care is that he really knows who I am and what I’m passionate about. He understands that I do a lot of hiking, running, and strength work, and he’s able to factor this into any recommendations or prescriptions that he has. At no point do I feel pressured to finish the appointment because he’s got another five people in the waiting room. I always receive his full attention and get the best care.
Because he also works in the sports field, I’m able to get rehab advice for injuries from training, and he’s able to advise me on the best ways to approach things like marathons and hiking, which I really enjoy. On top of this, I have his phone number and can message him day or night about anything. Anytime I have done this and required an appointment, he’s been able to fit me in within the next couple of days. This is in vast contrast to the last time I was in New Zealand, where my dad had been waiting two weeks to get a GP appointment.
Total Cost: $50 USD per session
Difficulty: -3/10
Date: June 2024
Location: Valencia, Spain
Situation: I had been suffering from some form of inflammation in my elbow for months while traveling around. I hadn’t been able to get myself seen to because I was in places like the Cook Islands and Hawaii, and I didn’t know if the Cook Islands had a physiotherapist. And in Hawaii, I didn’t want to take on inter-generational debt to get medical care, LOL.
When we arrived in Valencia, we were just checking out the vibe in the city because we were looking for a potential home in Spain. Serendipitously, there was a physiotherapy clinic just down the street from where we were staying, and we walked past it each day. My girlfriend suggested that we pop in and get my elbow looked at, and she could get some help as well for something she had going on. We went in and were able to organise an appointment for the very next day.
The next day we showed up and were greeted in English by a very well-spoken physiotherapist who proceeded to work his magic on my affected elbow. In less than 10 minutes, he identified the cause of my pain and suggested some exercises I could do by myself to help alleviate it. After a further 50 minutes of acupuncture, massage, and imaging, the physiotherapist suggested that I come back in a week’s time for a check-up.
The following week, we came back, received another treatment, and my elbow was feeling a lot better. Today the pain is gone, and I know the root cause (my weird grip during pull-ups) and how to prevent it in the future… stop being weird while doing pull-ups.
What I really loved about this level of care was not only the fact that the physiotherapist spoke English, but also the speed at which we could be seen, the quality of care provided, and the feeling that there was no time limit—it would take as long as needed to help me, rather than being rushed out the door to see the next patient.
Total Cost: 120 Euros for the sessions
Difficulty: 2/10
In conclusion, medical care is a universal need, and at some point, we all require it—whether it’s for routine check-ups or unexpected issues. The good news? High-quality, professional healthcare exists in every corner of the globe, often delivered faster and at a fraction of the cost compared to many home countries. This isn’t just my opinion—it’s the foundation of the multi-billion-dollar medical tourism industry.
With a bit of research and the willingness to step outside your comfort zone, you’ll discover that countless medical professionals worldwide have been providing excellent care to their communities for years. And if you’re outside the handful of countries where healthcare costs can bankrupt families (looking at you, USA), you’ll likely find that even serious medical needs can be addressed affordably and efficiently abroad.
Who knows? You might even take the opportunity to access elective treatments or procedures for a fraction of the cost you’d pay back home. The key takeaway? Don’t let fears about healthcare hold you back from exploring this incredible planet. Life is short, so get out there, embrace the adventure, and take comfort in knowing that help is available wherever you go.
Grazie
Andy
Florence, Italy
