Courtesy of Danny Keay
- Danny Keay, 60, served 22 years in the US Army before retiring in Germany in 2015.
- In 2021, he relocated to Daejeon, South Korea with his wife.
- He said the healthcare is affordable and he can travel easily.
After 22 years in the US Army, Danny Keay wanted to enjoy his retirement by traveling abroad. Today, he's able to do that by living in South Korea.
He retired in Germany in 2015, but six years later, he moved to South Korea to be closer to his wife's family. Keay, 60, said his healthcare options are cheap and efficient in South Korea, and his military pension income affords him the ability to travel in Asia.
Keay receives over $2,900 monthly from his military retirement pension in addition to a monthly pension for veterans with disabilities. He also receives payouts from investments he made earlier in a Vanguard Mutual Fund and money from selling his home in Germany.
"The disability pay combined with my retirement makes living at my age very comfortable," Keay said. "With that money, I definitely have not only security but also financial independence."
Keay is one of nearly a thousand Army retirees to settle in South Korea. In fact, the country was home to 908 US Army retirees in September 2022, the second-largest amount for any country outside the US after Germany, according to a Department of Defense report published in October 2023.
Keay said living in South Korea provides him with better healthcare and quality of life. What's more, he doesn't think he would have the same disposable income if he lived in the US.
A childhood interest in the military sparked a career
Keay was born in Malvern, a town in Worcestershire, England, and was raised in West Germany. His father was a member of the English Royal Air Force and served in WWII. From a young age, Keay was fascinated with the military and the US.
In 1989, while living in Germany, Keay met his ex-wife, who was a US soldier. A year later, Keay moved to Alabama with her, and he enlisted in the US Army in 1992.
For 10 years, Keay was stationed in various states in the US and he obtained his US citizenship, he said. Then, in 2002, he was assigned to outposts in Germany and the Netherlands.
When Keay retired from the US Army, he said he had no intention of returning to the US. Meanwhile, he and his first wife divorced.
In 2016, Keay visited Yongsan, South Korea, a district in Seoul, where he met his current wife Mi ok Jeon. While they initially lived in Germany, Mi ok had difficulty adjusting to life in Waurichen, a small village near Germany's border with Belgium and the Netherlands, he said. Additionally, her son, who lived in South Korea, had a child and she wanted to be closer to her family.
Life in South Korea is convenient and efficient
In 2021, Keay sold the home he bought in Waurichen in 2005, and the couple moved to Daejeon, the fifth-biggest city in South Korea.
Courtesy of Danny Keay
Keay and his wife rent an apartment in a complex that has a great community and quality of life, including underground badminton and tennis courts, a fitness center, and a mini library, he said.
Keay said he paid an upfront down payment of $220,000 when they signed the lease in order to negotiate a cheaper monthly rent. He pays an average of $3,000 annually.
Courtesy of Danny Keay
Keay said life in South Korea, from public transportation to healthcare, is convenient and efficient. For example, Keay said he can buy a one-way bus ticket in Daejeon for under $1.
"Transportation is honestly amazing," he said.
He said he is registered in the government healthcare system, and since his pensions are his only income, he is classified as low-income. Keay pays roughly $18 a month for healthcare coverage, he added.
Keay visits the doctor every three months for blood pressure medication and said the appointment costs about $3, while a three-month supply of medicine costs about $15.
Keay also said he enjoys the ease of traveling in the Pacific. He and Mi ok have traveled to over a dozen countries together and recently returned from Japan. In October, Keay plans to visit Saipan.
Are you a veteran or a baby boomer who retired abroad? This reporter wants to hear your story. Please reach out at jtowfighi@businessinsider.com.