Best Places In The World To Retire

Volunteer and charity work in Panama:  There is much you can do to help.  The best way to find out is to attend ExPat gatherings like ExPats in Panamá City, Coronado and Boquete and to join the American or Canadian Societies or InterNations on the internet to look for charity events / activities.

 

One Sunday visit we helped with a spay and neutering clinic for the Panamá locals in Coronado. My wife and I were...

Volunteer and charity work in Panama:  There is much you can do to help.  The best way to find out is to attend ExPat gatherings like ExPats in Panamá City, Coronado and Boquete and to join the American or Canadian Societies or InterNations on the internet to look for charity events / activities.

 

One Sunday visit we helped with a spay and neutering clinic for the Panamá locals in Coronado. My wife and I were "taxis", which means that we carried the dogs (dogs on Sunday, cats were on Saturday; we arrived in Coronado Sat night) from the "prep" area to the Vets' tables, then after the surgery, from the tables to the "recovery" area.  Yes, it was a hot, humid (open air building) and "ugly" job, but we enjoyed helping and doing our little part to show "we care".  Photos below from the event.

 

You do not have to renounce your US Citizenship to live any where in the world.  Most countries will allow you to become a permanent resident without becoming a citizen of that country.  

 

However, if you do renounce your US Citizenship, you will never have to pay US taxes or file a US tax return again.  While you remain a US citizen you must file a tax return each year if your income exceeds a certain minimum amount, and often pay US taxes, in...

You do not have to renounce your US Citizenship to live any where in the world.  Most countries will allow you to become a permanent resident without becoming a citizen of that country.  

 

However, if you do renounce your US Citizenship, you will never have to pay US taxes or file a US tax return again.  While you remain a US citizen you must file a tax return each year if your income exceeds a certain minimum amount, and often pay US taxes, in addition to those in the foreign country you have chosen to live.  Surrendering your US citizenship may be good tax planning if you are moving to a low tax or no tax country.

 

If you need assistance with the legal or tax aspects of surrendering your US citizenship our firm can assist you. We have represented or advised over a hundred clients with this process who are now no longer having to file a US tax return.

The construction standards here in the Cayo District all depend on who you hire to build a house for you, but it is getting better.
 
There are some expats here who are doing construction here, so if you have them build your house for you, you could expect them to build it up to the same standard as in the US. You can always hire a local builder, but then you have to do a lot more supervision and overseeing on what is happening because they have a different level of construction...

The construction standards here in the Cayo District all depend on who you hire to build a house for you, but it is getting better.
 
There are some expats here who are doing construction here, so if you have them build your house for you, you could expect them to build it up to the same standard as in the US. You can always hire a local builder, but then you have to do a lot more supervision and overseeing on what is happening because they have a different level of construction than what an expat would tend to do.
 
You can build out of wood or you could build out of cinder blocks. We live in a wooden house. When we first bought our property, there was a house that had originally been on the property for 25 years.  It was a small wooden house that they kept adding on to. We used all the material that was already there and then we added bathrooms and made the kitchen a little bigger because the previous kitchen that was there was so little that you can just sneeze and pass right by it.  We took an existing house and made it very nice two-bedroom, two-bathroom home. We have been there for 25 years. We insisted on certain things such as the insulation, air-conditioning, wiring, etc. 
 
Today when you are building, it is necessary to get a permit, especially if what you are going to build is visible on the highway. Getting permits is nothing complicated but you have to remember that you are dealing with the government, so time is not a factor and it could go a bit slower.
 
When you get a permit, they may come and do some inspection once but it is not always the case because doing inspections is difficult for the government. They have a very small office and there’s only about three or four for the entire country of Belize who are going out to do these inspections so they may not be able to come and be there all the time. You cannot rely on government inspectors to be there and assume that your property is being built properly. You have to check it out and monitor it yourself to make sure that the builders are doing what they are supposed to do.

 

(The Oldham's bungalow, Cayo District, Belize, pictured.)