Best Places In The World To Retire

There’s definitely surfing in Pedasi, as well as lots of body boarding or boogie boarding. 

 

The serious surfers go to Venao, about 20 minutes further down the Azuero Peninsula.  Playa Venao has world-class surfing, and many times, areas not only for the serious surfers, but areas with smaller waves as well.  There’s a great cove there where you can find pretty much what you’re looking for. 

 

There’s definitely surfing in Pedasi, as well as lots of body boarding or boogie boarding. 

 

The serious surfers go to Venao, about 20 minutes further down the Azuero Peninsula.  Playa Venao has world-class surfing, and many times, areas not only for the serious surfers, but areas with smaller waves as well.  There’s a great cove there where you can find pretty much what you’re looking for. 

 

When looking for a new home abroad there are a few things to consider but the two most important are safety and the medical system.  Panama boasts a very strong North American standard medical system that is affordable and reliable.  As a Canadian we are not used to paying out of pocket but when my physical is $30 and my yearly mammogram is $70 we opted for only emergency medical insurance.  We have lived in Panama for almost 5 years and our concern for our safety is less...

When looking for a new home abroad there are a few things to consider but the two most important are safety and the medical system.  Panama boasts a very strong North American standard medical system that is affordable and reliable.  As a Canadian we are not used to paying out of pocket but when my physical is $30 and my yearly mammogram is $70 we opted for only emergency medical insurance.  We have lived in Panama for almost 5 years and our concern for our safety is less than it was in North America.  We feel safe and of course take the normal steps of locking our doors and checking out car doors before going into the store.

The best thing about living in Placencia is the location. There is a direct flight from Belize to Dallas and numerous other major cites in the US like Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and more with the flight from Dallas to Belize being just 3 hours.  Placencia is a tropical paradise with amazing views. The trade winds cool the entire peninsula. There is great scenery. The jungle is just right up the road within 30 minutes. There are a lot of different activities that you can do.
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The best thing about living in Placencia is the location. There is a direct flight from Belize to Dallas and numerous other major cites in the US like Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and more with the flight from Dallas to Belize being just 3 hours.  Placencia is a tropical paradise with amazing views. The trade winds cool the entire peninsula. There is great scenery. The jungle is just right up the road within 30 minutes. There are a lot of different activities that you can do.
 
I view Placencia as a nice place to recharge and relax. You can make it as fun as you want it to be or as relaxing as you want it to be.  Placencia offers what I think is the best place in Belize to access and enjoy all that Belize has to offer, not only the reef and beach activities but the many inland jungle and rainforest adventures, many of which in area that are almost completely untouched and not commercialized.
 
From a retirement standpoint, what’s best about Placencia is that it is an English-speaking place, it’s safe, taxes are low, and it is a very foreigner-friendly place. There are a lot of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans in Placencia. It’s a very fast growing market.
 
The downside to retiring in Placencia is that everything moves slower. If your air-conditioner breaks in the US, you can have someone to fix it within an hour or two. If that happens to you in Placencia, if you don’t have an on-site maintenance guy, it could take 8 hours before you get someone to fix it for you. The Internet is slower. Cellphone coverage is a bit worse. Those are small things, but in general, those are just small tweaks and things that are improving every day.

 

(Caribbean view home in Placencia, Belize, pictured.)

The obvious answer to this one is, of course, that the reason that Portugal has one of the largest maritime zones in the world is that its outer fringes are bordered by the archipelago of Madeira, comprised of Madeira and Porto Santo, and the archipelago of the Azores, which are strategically located in the mid-Atlantic (the US has had a military base at Lages for many years, although its presence has recently reduced to much concern of the local population). Portugal's highest...

The obvious answer to this one is, of course, that the reason that Portugal has one of the largest maritime zones in the world is that its outer fringes are bordered by the archipelago of Madeira, comprised of Madeira and Porto Santo, and the archipelago of the Azores, which are strategically located in the mid-Atlantic (the US has had a military base at Lages for many years, although its presence has recently reduced to much concern of the local population). Portugal's highest mountain, Pico, is in the Azores.