Best Places In The World To Retire

Being a tax accountant and tax adviser and having a range of different types of clients who are expats, what I would say about wealth protection, asset protection, asset growth, and portfolio management is that there are challenges for Americans when they have a lot of assets abroad.

 

There's a fair amount of filing requirements that are needed in the reporting of financial accounts. In addition to that, there are potential penalties involved when you...

Being a tax accountant and tax adviser and having a range of different types of clients who are expats, what I would say about wealth protection, asset protection, asset growth, and portfolio management is that there are challenges for Americans when they have a lot of assets abroad.

 

There's a fair amount of filing requirements that are needed in the reporting of financial accounts. In addition to that, there are potential penalties involved when you invest in foreign mutual funds. We generally do not advise US expats to plant a significant amount of their portfolio assets (not including real estate) in foreign countries. 

 

There are three main reasons for this. Number one, the reporting requirement gets very complicated.

 

The second reason, depending on the country you're in, is that there could be potential country risks. Certain countries are not as stable. For example, if you look at the country ratings on the Internet, the US government has a triple-A rating. Other countries in Western Europe also have very high ratings. 

 

When you get down to Third World nations, you don't know the political and country risks that are involved. If, for example, you have a lot of assets in Venezuela, things could get very ugly. You can lose access to those assets or there could be massive devaluation of those assets. There's a fair amount of country risk that you should be cautious about before you put a big chunk of your estate outside of the US. 

 

Third, we always say, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." There's a very good reason for that. When we talk about a portfolio for expats, most expats have money in the local country because a large part of their expenses are local. 

 

When you manage a portfolio, you want to have a good mix of asset types. This goes for international exposure as well. There's a combination of, "How much country exposure do I want to have?" along with the additional dimension to a general portfolio mix in a purely US-based portfolio, where you may have a portion in large caps, small caps, long-term bonds, short-term bonds and money market-like assets that are much more accessible and more liquid.

 

(Antigua, Guatemala, pictured.)

The construction standards in Belize depend on who you work with. I know people who live in plywood houses, including some locals.  Nowadays, most of the construction here is built to Category 4 or Category 5 with the same windows as well. I have been here for just over 4 years and I have not seen a hurricane. When I wrote this we were in the middle of hurricane season and we had a bit of rain yesterday.

 

You have to be careful which developer you...

The construction standards in Belize depend on who you work with. I know people who live in plywood houses, including some locals.  Nowadays, most of the construction here is built to Category 4 or Category 5 with the same windows as well. I have been here for just over 4 years and I have not seen a hurricane. When I wrote this we were in the middle of hurricane season and we had a bit of rain yesterday.

 

You have to be careful which developer you choose. It is best to get an independent assessor to have a look at any real estate you’re thinking of buying.  Also, look at other work the developer has done.  If they’re building houses on the island and you are buying in or anywhere in Belize, go and see one they built two years ago and see how they are still standing. Normally if you get a good developer, you will have a well built house.

 

They do not have inspections or building codes here in Belize, but you have to go and get a building permit.  You create your plans, you say what you are going to be doing, and then you get a building permit. They come and say, “Yes, you can do this.” Then, they come and stick a piece of wood in your ground to say that his has been approved by the building association and they don’t come to see you again until the very end of the project when they come to measure or give title to the property based on what you built. I am sure there are supposed to be checks in between but I am not entirely sure that they are followed. One of the great things about financing through us is that we will disperse the financing only as the developer needs it in each stage. At each stage, before we go to disbursement, we will go in and physically check that the construction is being built to the standards that were promised within the contract.  Otherwise, we don’t disburse the money.

 

The national school system in Portugal is not very great and not to be recommended. However, there are some international private schools in Portugal that are among some of the best in Europe. They are for the high school levels and lower and cater to expats living in Portugal. 

 

There is a German school, a French school, and an American school. My granddaughter goes to an international school in the Algarve. There are about three or four international...

The national school system in Portugal is not very great and not to be recommended. However, there are some international private schools in Portugal that are among some of the best in Europe. They are for the high school levels and lower and cater to expats living in Portugal. 

 

There is a German school, a French school, and an American school. My granddaughter goes to an international school in the Algarve. There are about three or four international schools in the Algarve, all of which are very good.

 

However, the private international schools here in Portugal are not cheap. If there is one thing that is expensive in Portugal, it’s a top-rank education.

 

(Carlucci American International School of Lisbon girl's soccer team, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)