Best Places In The World To Retire

For sightseeing in and around Chapala and Ajijic, I like the other side of Lake Chapala and I especially like it up in the hills in the town called Mazamitla, which is a small, beautiful town. It is called "The Little Switzerland". There is another similar town to Mazamitla called Talpa. 

 

One of the advantages of Chapala and Ajijic is that Guadalajara is not that far away. There are places in Guadalajara that are very interesting. There are...

For sightseeing in and around Chapala and Ajijic, I like the other side of Lake Chapala and I especially like it up in the hills in the town called Mazamitla, which is a small, beautiful town. It is called "The Little Switzerland". There is another similar town to Mazamitla called Talpa. 

 

One of the advantages of Chapala and Ajijic is that Guadalajara is not that far away. There are places in Guadalajara that are very interesting. There are concerts, theaters, and a lot of other happenings in Guadalajara. The big market called Tonala market is where a lot of handcrafted items are sold. Mexicans are incredibly artistic. It is just amazing to see all the beautiful things being sold in this market that's made by hand. 

 

The coast is not that far away from Chapala and Ajijic, about three-and-a-half hours' drive. People like to go down to the beach.  

 

(Shield of Tonala, Mexico, pictured.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t really have a specific number of how many Americans, Canadians and other expats are living in Managua. That is a tough number to come across because there’s no census. Perhaps that is something that the US embassy could have a notion of.

I can say, from personal observation, that there are quite a few Americans, Canadians and other expats living in Managua. You see a lot of them in the streets. Most of the Americans living here in Managua (as opposed to...

I don’t really have a specific number of how many Americans, Canadians and other expats are living in Managua. That is a tough number to come across because there’s no census. Perhaps that is something that the US embassy could have a notion of.

I can say, from personal observation, that there are quite a few Americans, Canadians and other expats living in Managua. You see a lot of them in the streets. Most of the Americans living here in Managua (as opposed to other parts of Nicaragua) are businessmen, investors, and those who work at the Embassy. You have Americans working at the American Nicaraguan school or the Lincoln Academy (Lincoln International Academy). There’s a community here in Managua of expats who are mainly relatively young Americans of working age.

 

As for the expat retirees, I don’t think there are as many of them in Managua. They would be in other towns such as Granada or perhaps Leon (pictured) and San Juan del Sur and other destinations more known for tourism-- that’s where you will find the retirees.

What are the food recipes of Panama? Well here is my favorite recipe by far:

Sancocho: "Chicken Soup For the Panamanian soul"

 

Ingredients:

What are the food recipes of Panama? Well here is my favorite recipe by far:

Sancocho: "Chicken Soup For the Panamanian soul"

 

Ingredients:

Directions

 

After moving to Panama I had to adjust slightly to the cuisine here. Being mostly vegetarian, I had to make some changes and compromises; I also had to get creative. Living in a small town like Pedasi, we only have seasonal selections and we don’t always have everything I am used to. So yes, I started eating meat again; but I am not complaining. Many of the Panamanian dishes are delightful and easy to make. 

The Portuguese government introduced the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme in 2009, which has only really taken off since 2011. It is designed to attract retirees from other countries to come and retire in Portugal.  Under this scheme, for 10 years retirees from other countries will not have to pay any Portuguese income tax on their pension. If one’s pension is tax-free in the country from where it is sourced if the retiree lives abroad, then a retiree can move to Portugal and...

The Portuguese government introduced the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme in 2009, which has only really taken off since 2011. It is designed to attract retirees from other countries to come and retire in Portugal.  Under this scheme, for 10 years retirees from other countries will not have to pay any Portuguese income tax on their pension. If one’s pension is tax-free in the country from where it is sourced if the retiree lives abroad, then a retiree can move to Portugal and pay no tax on his pension, either here in Portugal or in their home country, for a period of 10 years. 

 

That is the only retirement program here in Portugal. If you live here in Portugal, you work here, and then you retire, you get no pension relief at all. Pensions are taxed just like salaries here in Portugal. If you are not qualified under the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme then you don’t get any tax benefit at all. 

 

To qualify for the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme, one has to move here to Portugal and be a tax resident by renting or buying a property. Then he can apply to benefit from this program. For example, you are from the UK and you move to Portugal, you qualify as a tax resident of Portugal for the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme. The UK will no longer tax your pension because you are already living in Portugal and under the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme, Portugal will not tax your pension either for a period of 10 years. However, this rule doesn’t apply if you are on a civil servant pension because that continues to be taxable in the UK. The Non-Habitual Resident Scheme applies to private pensions.  

 

(In the town of  São João Arga de, Portugal, pictured.)

Without ascribing names to which places are the best places to live in the world, first of all, I would say that you would have to align your goals for yourself and your family with the goals of the place you’re looking at living. For example, if you’re looking for a freedom-loving country, or if you want to have or feel like you have more personal freedoms and liberties, you must look at a country that has that on the table. For example, people looking for more freedom...

Without ascribing names to which places are the best places to live in the world, first of all, I would say that you would have to align your goals for yourself and your family with the goals of the place you’re looking at living. For example, if you’re looking for a freedom-loving country, or if you want to have or feel like you have more personal freedoms and liberties, you must look at a country that has that on the table. For example, people looking for more freedom and liberty in their life are not necessarily looking to move to Iran. 

 

Personal freedom was high on my list, and that’s why I chose a country that had that, or had the ability to have that. My family and I wanted to live in a place where my wife and I could raise our children and where I could live my life with little to no government intrusion, which we found here in Panama, which was a great fit for us.

 

In general, Panama is a little bit more socialistic than the US regarding labor laws. There are a lot of labor rights that the people working for a company get to have. They’re actually a little bit on the oppressive side toward the business, but when you’re looking at the country as a whole, Panama has a bicameral legislature, a president, a supreme court, and a stable and steady judicial system that is blind to your nationality- whether you are a Panamanian or a foreigner. 

 

Here in Panama, there are true property rights, and titled property and land rights. As a foreigner, I can invest here in Panama freely in the real estate market whether in my own name or under a corporate name.

 

The territorial tax system in Panama is advantageous. In the United States, I am taxed on my income on a certain percentage. If I live outside of the United States for 330 days a year, my wife and I get the advantage of a US credit of more than $100,000 for each of us against each of our income taxes. That means that if we’re married and we file separately, we can double up on that exclusion. Being here in Panama where they have a territorial tax system, my income earned in the United States is not taxed up to the amount of the exclusion. That makes it tremendously advantageous for high-income US wage earners who have the ability to work remotely from Panama.

 

In a lot of these countries, though the government wants to get more involved in your business, they can’t because they don’t have the ability to do so. Irrespective of how socialist the country may or may not be, like Nicaragua for example, a government with few resources will just leave you alone because they don’t have the ability to get into your business. 

 

Here in Panama, there’s no FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, OSHA, or any of these other three-letter or four-letter organizations that what we have in the United States that when taken individually may not be an inherently oppressive system, but when taken macro economically, you’ll see all the many different ways that America tries to control your life and makes you start to realize that maybe you’re a slave to the system without even knowing it. Maybe you don’t have the freedoms any more than you thought you did, because you existed alongside these little three-letter entities. 

 

I didn’t want to feel like that anymore, so I came to Panama where those things don’t exist. Here in Panama, I can be myself and I can do whatever I want without worrying about looking over my shoulder. For example, if I annoy someone by accident, or if I said the wrong words, I’m not going to be ostracized by the community because that just doesn’t exist here. 

 

All the things that exist in America, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement and the crazy Leftist ideologies, are not systemic and epidemic here in Panama. They’re simply not part of the equation.

 

(The Gilbert girls gather leaf matter from their property for their chicken coop, Volcan, Panama, pictured.)