Is there diving, SCUBA or snorkeling in and around Puerto Vallarta?
Antonio Trejo
Yes there is a lot of diving, scuba, and snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta. There are companies that offer these tours. If you are living in Puerto Vallarta, these water activities would be easy for you to do.
If you want to go snorkeling, you should go through a tour company. It’s not easy to go on your own because you have to take a boat to get to the deeper parts of the ocean or go to beaches that are only accessible by boat.
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Yes there is a lot of diving, scuba, and snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta. There are companies that offer these tours. If you are living in Puerto Vallarta, these water activities would be easy for you to do.
If you want to go snorkeling, you should go through a tour company. It’s not easy to go on your own because you have to take a boat to get to the deeper parts of the ocean or go to beaches that are only accessible by boat.
There are also opportunities to go diving, scuba, and snorkeling in other places around Puerto Vallarta. If you go to the opposite side, coming from the airport, going to the north, there are lots of places where you can do these water activities, such as Nuevo Vallarta, Sayulita, Punta de Mita, etc. All these places are within an hour and a half away from Puerto Vallarta. They are full of expats and some of them have some of the nicest beaches in Mexico. Some of those places are for surfers, some are for snorkeling, and some are just for flat beaches where you could wade and swim.
(Snorkeling at Islas Marietas near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)
How much do restaurants cost in Bocas Del Toro, Panama?
JB Seligman - BUENA VISTA REALTY located in BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA
There is a wide variety of restaurants in Bocas Del Toro. There are restaurants that serve local food, which is basic Panamanian fare and for around US $4 to $5 for lunch or dinner. There are also some very nice restaurants here in Bocas Del Toro, where an entrée might be $18 for a lobster and really good hors d’oeuvres for around $1. The prices are still very reasonable.
The cost to eat at restaurants in Bocas Del Toro is definitely less than in...
There is a wide variety of restaurants in Bocas Del Toro. There are restaurants that serve local food, which is basic Panamanian fare and for around US $4 to $5 for lunch or dinner. There are also some very nice restaurants here in Bocas Del Toro, where an entrée might be $18 for a lobster and really good hors d’oeuvres for around $1. The prices are still very reasonable.
The cost to eat at restaurants in Bocas Del Toro is definitely less than in Texas where I come from. It is hard to find a $5 meal in Texas. Food costs much less here in Bocas Del Toro than in the US.
A typical Panamanian meal is composed of rice, very flavorful beans, Creole chicken with fried plantains and a salad, which would cost around $4 to $5 per meal. You can get it in a very nice local restaurant called Restaurant Tom 2 located in the city mercado (market) building with an incredible view of the sail boats that are anchored right in front of it. There is a really nice breeze and you get all of that for a $4 to $5 meal.
(Transporting merchandise in a traditional canoe, the cayuco, in Bocas del Toro, Panama, pictured.)
The food in Nicaragua is so unique that it cannot be found anywhere else.
The valley town of Somoto is well known for its rosquillas, a corn and cheese cookie.
Diriomo, near the Mombacho Volcano is famous for its cajetas, which are rich, fruit-flavored candies and sweets.
Originally from the León region are quesillo, cheese wrapped in a corn tortilla and sold at roadside...
The food in Nicaragua is so unique that it cannot be found anywhere else.
The valley town of Somoto is well known for its rosquillas, a corn and cheese cookie.
Diriomo, near the Mombacho Volcano is famous for its cajetas, which are rich, fruit-flavored candies and sweets.
Originally from the León region are quesillo, cheese wrapped in a corn tortilla and sold at roadside stands, and buñuelos, a crueller made with yucca root, sweetened with a syrup flavored with cinnamon and lime juice.
On the Atlantic Coast, the rondon is a Caribbean favorite, a stew with various meats (sometimes including turtle), hot peppers and local tubers.
Do I lower my US income tax liabilities if I retire or work in Belize?
Frik De Meyere
As a US taxpayer, if you work in Belize, you could potentially lower your income taxes in the sense that your first $97,000 of net earnings is not subject to income tax. Tax in Belize is flat 15%; that’s it. As a result, yes, you could reduce your tax liabilities if you work in Belize.
(For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in...
As a US taxpayer, if you work in Belize, you could potentially lower your income taxes in the sense that your first $97,000 of net earnings is not subject to income tax. Tax in Belize is flat 15%; that’s it. As a result, yes, you could reduce your tax liabilities if you work in Belize.
(For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in Belize?”)
What do I need to know about living overseas and retiring abroad?
kevin obrien - BarefootPanama
The best advice I can give about living overseas or retiring abroad is, if you want things to be like the way they are at home, then do not leave home.
For example, Panama is a lot different from where I come from and from where most people are from. When you go to Panama, you have to get used to the culture. For instance, the fact that there is not a lot of emphasis on education does not mean that the people of Panama are bad. For instance,throwing...
The best advice I can give about living overseas or retiring abroad is, if you want things to be like the way they are at home, then do not leave home.
For example, Panama is a lot different from where I come from and from where most people are from. When you go to Panama, you have to get used to the culture. For instance, the fact that there is not a lot of emphasis on education does not mean that the people of Panama are bad. For instance,throwing trash just out the window is a common practice here because it is not embedded in their education system to do otherwise.
From the perspective of a foreigner, some of the decisions and practices here in Panama are just plain shocking. People cry about it but nothing is going to change. As an example, there was actually one person who decided that taking the trash bins out of Casco Viejo was a good idea. So right now, what everybody does with their trash is throw it on the street; the street of a world heritage site! Yes, they pile up the trash in neat piles on the corners of the streets of a world heritage site. That happens because some person of authority thought it to be a good idea to remove the trash bins in Casco Viejo. You may think that being a person of authority, he wouldn’t have made that decision, but that is not how things work here. I guess being able to adjust to where you are living is a huge part of moving away.
(Fountain in Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama, pictured. )
What are the best places in Portugal to live and retire?
Duncan MacGregor - Duncan MacGregor Accounting
In my opinion, one of the best places to live and retire is in Portugal is Cascais. Cascais is just half an hour away from Lisbon, which is the capital of Portugal. Within a radius of 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from Cascais, you will find beaches, golf courses, castles, top class clinics, international schools, etc. You have everything that you need and want within a radius of 50 kilometers.
The Algarve is a little more spread out over a 100-kilometer (a little over 60...
In my opinion, one of the best places to live and retire is in Portugal is Cascais. Cascais is just half an hour away from Lisbon, which is the capital of Portugal. Within a radius of 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from Cascais, you will find beaches, golf courses, castles, top class clinics, international schools, etc. You have everything that you need and want within a radius of 50 kilometers.
The Algarve is a little more spread out over a 100-kilometer (a little over 60 miles) coastline. From the Spanish border all the way to the western tip of Portugal, you will find that Algarve is divided into four centers. One of the best places to live in Algarve is Quinta do Lago, which is probably the most affluent place in the Algarve. It is for the really wealthy people, a bit like Monaco in Spain except that it is not a tax haven. Quinta do Lago has some enormous properties and so the wealthiest of the wealthy that want to retire in the Algarve would typically go to Quinta do Lago.
As you move further east, the prices come down. Vilamoura is also a very nice upmarket place to live in the Algarve. It has world-class golf courses and an excellent marina for sailors. Moving westward from Vilamoura, you will find Alvor and then Lagos, which is the last of the really nice places to live in Portugal before you get to the western tip of the country.
My new Mayan friend had a beautific smile. Most likely in her 50s, I met her as she and her family were making and selling sandwiches from the very small porch in front of her home with the half wall she used as a built-in shelf. On the street was a solitary plastic table covered by a plastic tablecloth, with two plastic chairs.
The street of my friend’s house was perpendicular to the main street bordering the hacienda in which we had rented a place to stay. ...
This and the follow-up are untypical but may interest some who would not consider moving to the 'other side of the World'.
NEW ZEALAND
I'd worked for the UK defense department for 15 years and soon after disillusionment set in badly there appeared a recruitment team from Aotearoa (New Zealand). Lo and behold, they picked me for free emigration, family, lock stock and barrel! Now, I had never flown, nor even left the UK so there was much...
Presented with permission from Bob Adams of Retirement Wave
In the last eight and a half years, I’ve received thousands of emails from people all over the world interested in visiting and living in Panama. I’ve met with over 400 of you when you’ve come down and I’ve had the time available when you’ve contacted me and we got together to chat.
There are certain things that come up frequently. One of the most...