Freedom Index · Destination Briefs
Where does a veteran's income go furthest?
Your VA disability, military retirement, and TSP are portable. These 29 briefs lay out the real numbers for each destination — monthly costs for a household of 4, the visa path, the VA healthcare reality, taxes, and the citizenship timeline. Every figure is dated and linked to its source. No fluff, no guesses: where a number isn't published, we say so.
US territories · COFA nations · 24 countries
Estimates, not financial or immigration advice
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Enter your VA rating, retirement, and TSP income and the Freedom Index ranks all 29 destinations by how far your money actually stretches.
Open the Freedom Index →Caribbean · US Territory
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
Keep every federal and VA benefit with zero move-abroad friction, gain a bona-fide-resident tax profile that can shield PR-source and…
🇻🇮 US Virgin Islands
An English-speaking, no-passport Caribbean home with VA clinics on-island and mirror-code tax treatment that exempts VA disability pay; best for a…
Pacific · US Territory
Pacific · COFA Nation
🇵🇼 Palau
Under the Compact, settle indefinitely with no visa, work freely, spend US dollars, and get by in English on a tropical Pacific archipelago — but…
🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia
The same Compact deal as Palau — indefinite visa-free residence and work, a US-dollar economy, and English — at a lower cost of living; the catch is…
Southeast Asia
🇵🇭 Philippines
The only country in Asia with a US VA clinic (service-connected care on the ground in Manila), English as an official language, very low cost of…
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Deeply USD-dollarized (rent, real estate and most expat costs are priced and paid in US dollars, so a veteran's portable USD income carries almost no…
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur and Penang deliver big-city amenities, excellent private hospitals, and widespread English at roughly half a US cost of living, with…
🇹🇭 Thailand
Very low cost of living (Chiang Mai especially) plus world-class affordable private hospitals and a large, established expat community. Main…
🇻🇳 Vietnam
A very low cost of living and welcoming expat hubs in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City let a VA/pension check stretch far. The main tradeoff: no…
Latin America
🇲🇽 Mexico
Close to the US for easy family visits and USD banking, with the most accessible citizenship path here (5 years, or 2 with a Mexican spouse/child;…
🇵🇦 Panama
A US-dollar economy with a $1,000/mo Pensionado visa, generous retiree discounts, and territorial tax on foreign income; tradeoffs are limited…
🇺🇾 Uruguay
Latin America's most stable democracy — temperate, low-crime, dual citizenship, and no official income floor for residency; the tradeoff is a higher…
🇨🇴 Colombia
Eternal-spring Medellín, modern private healthcare, and an accessible ~$1,589/mo pension visa with a 5-year path to dual citizenship; the big…
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
A close-to-the-US Caribbean base with a $1,500/mo pension visa, immediate permanent residency, and territorial tax on foreign income; tradeoffs are…
🇧🇿 Belize
The only officially English-speaking country in Central America, with a USD-pegged dollar and a $2,000/mo QRP program that exempts all foreign…
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Stable, safe democracy with the Central Valley's famed 'eternal spring' climate, strong public healthcare (CAJA), and a low USD 1,000/mo Pensionado…
🇪🇨 Ecuador
Cuenca is a mature, US-dollarized Andean expat hub where a VA or pension check stretches far in a spring-like climate with a low-barrier retiree…
Southern Europe
🇵🇹 Portugal
A safe, temperate, low-cost EU base where a VA pension clears the D7 passive-income bar (~$1,050/mo) and private healthcare is cheap on top of public…
🇪🇸 Spain
A world-class-healthcare EU base where a VA + pension income clears the ~$2,736/mo non-lucrative visa; tradeoffs are a strict no-work rule,…
🇮🇹 Italy
Move to a small southern town and a 7% flat tax can cover all foreign income, over a true per-household median local income; the tradeoffs are low…
🇬🇷 Greece
A 7% flat tax on all foreign income for 15 years makes Greece one of Europe's most tax-friendly retirement bases, with Mediterranean living and dual…
Caucasus · Eastern Europe
Western Europe
🇫🇷 France
The US–France treaty leaves US government/military pensions and Social Security taxed only by the US, and the visitor visa's income bar is modest…
🇩🇪 Germany
Germany now allows dual citizenship at 5 years and offers strong infrastructure and healthcare; the catch for retirees is there is no dedicated…
🇮🇪 Ireland
English-speaking, with a remittance-basis tax rule that can leave offshore US income untaxed and dual citizenship at 5 years; the tradeoffs are a…
East Asia
🇯🇵 Japan
Top-tier safety, healthcare and infrastructure, but one of the hardest and costliest landings for a US veteran: there is no retirement or…
🇰🇷 South Korea
World-class healthcare (mandatory NHIS covers residents after 6 months, ~USD 105/mo per household), top-tier infrastructure, very low crime and…
🇹🇼 Taiwan
Taiwan pairs a world-class, ultra-affordable public health system (NHI, open to residents after 6 months) with very low crime and a cost of living…
Rules change — visa income bars, deposits, and tax regimes move. Confirm with the official source (linked on every brief) before you move.