First of all, I should have mentioned that I'm naive on the topic. From that point of view this seems like a very odd thing to be upset about, hence my question.
Second, for having little attachment, they seem more than happy to house a respectable chunk of money resting abroad. I find it odd that their new home is so lovely except they don't want their money there.
And to answer your question about say, Costa Rica, I guess I always assumed that if I were going to retire else somewhere it would be in such a way that I would commit to that location. I don't understand the idea of moving to another country and leaving all my shit back at the motherland. Again, I'm naive of this whole process, so that may be the silliest thing you read today. Sorry if it is.
Anyway, I get the impression that you don't understand the problem being discussed. It has nothing to do with leaving stuff back at the motherland. The problem is that the US is placing onerous rules on foreign banks that do business with US citizens regardless of where those US citizens actually live. Those rules are so onerous that many banks are deciding that it's easier to just refuse to do business with any US citizen.
To take the example of retiring to Costa Rica, you say you'd commit to that location. Presumably that implies putting your money in a bank account in Costa Rica. The problem here is that a Costa Rican bank is likely to refuse to open an account for you because of these rules.
You can still be affected by this even if you are completely disentangled from the US in every way aside from not having explicitly renounced your citizenship. You could, I believe, be affected by this even if you never touched US soil, for example if you were born and raised in a country that allows dual citizenship and inherited US citizenship from an American parent. Of course, in that scenario, it's much more reasonable to renounce your US citizenship.
Second, for having little attachment, they seem more than happy to house a respectable chunk of money resting abroad. I find it odd that their new home is so lovely except they don't want their money there.
And to answer your question about say, Costa Rica, I guess I always assumed that if I were going to retire else somewhere it would be in such a way that I would commit to that location. I don't understand the idea of moving to another country and leaving all my shit back at the motherland. Again, I'm naive of this whole process, so that may be the silliest thing you read today. Sorry if it is.