Hi everyone, I'm a Canadian living and working in Shanghai China for many years.  As a non-resident of my home country, I'm not entitled to many benefits such as government pensions or bank loans.  Canada works on a residency-based taxation system meaning that as long as you declare yourself a non-resident and can prove residential ties to another country then you don't have to pay tax in your home country.  

But it also means you lose eligibility for many government benefits.  In that sense, you're fully responsible for any retirement savings plans and it means you need to do the heavy lifting.  I've managed to do so with offshore investments that take a significant chunk of my monthly salary and limit the cash flow.  In addition I decided to buy a condo in Pattaya Thailand without any loans from a bank.  I couldn't be eligible in Canada nor in any other country for loans due to my expat status so it meant I financed the whole thing on a credit card.  That took a serious hit between 2011-15 as it could be financed through multiple payments.  But while all this was going on I also did a master's degree online.  The interest on the credit card racked up seriously but I managed to diligently pay it off over time and now I'm back out of debt.

It is the perfect reason to do a short cycle tour during the winter break starting from Vegas.  The irony is not lost.  I'll be riding the white Tern folding bike this time.