Best Places In The World To Retire

I have a dermatologist, an eye doctor, and a heart doctor and they are all first class. The University of Guadalajara and the National University have world-class medical schools. In fact my dermatologist in studied skin cancer in Havana, Cuba for 5 years.
 
I’m renewing my driver’s license so I have to have a certificate of health.  In order to get it, I went to the chain of drugstores here called Farmacias de Similares. They really sell generic drugs and they...

I have a dermatologist, an eye doctor, and a heart doctor and they are all first class. The University of Guadalajara and the National University have world-class medical schools. In fact my dermatologist in studied skin cancer in Havana, Cuba for 5 years.
 
I’m renewing my driver’s license so I have to have a certificate of health.  In order to get it, I went to the chain of drugstores here called Farmacias de Similares. They really sell generic drugs and they have doctors. I just got my certificate, which cost me 50 pesos, or about US $3.
 
My wife and I have Seguro Social. There are hospitals here where you can pay around US $600 a year, they will give you a little book, and you are good anywhere in Mexico. We use that if we were to have a serious illness because our private medical health and private medical clinics are so much less expensive than up north so we just go to a private doctor and pay around 600 pesos, or $35 per visit. The young doctors who are doing internships are required to spend a certain amount of time in the social medicine hospital.
 
There are different levels of care here. The very bottom is Centro de Salud, which is for Mexicans who do not have any money. In Mexico, anyone has access to healthcare even if you don’t have any money. If you have money then you buy the book and/or if you want to choose private clinics and private doctors, you can do that without a lot of expense. When I travel, I would not go to the United States or Canada without buying a health policy but here in Mexico, I don’t need one.
 
The hospitals in Los Cabos and La Paz are all great. In Cabo San Lucas, they just built a magnificent new hospital with all the in-house laboratories, state of the art equipment, and a hotel beside it with a view of the Sea of Cortez.  The hospital is for the use of family members who would want to be near their family members when they are in the hospital for long term illness.
 
Most of the medical staff and doctors from there come from Mexico City and about 90% of them are bilingual. The hospital a terrific addition to the community and encouraging to the people who want to come down to Los Cabos and La Paz but aren’t sure about running into a medical problem, as well as for other people who are already living here.
 
In comparison to the hospitals in the US or in Canada, the hospital in Cabo San Lucas would be equal or even better. Mexicans are very passionate and very big on personal care. The doctors just don’t get as many patients as they can pass through in a day. They take individual care of their patients. The doctor I just came back from talked to me about where we came from and chatted a little bit. If I were in Vancouver, Toronto, or in Seattle, for example, the doctor wouldn’t have time to talk to me about anything other than getting you in, doing their work, getting you well, and getting the next patient and another dollar.

 

(Farmacias de Similares logo, pictured.)

1. They are people from all over the world, but they all have the same adventurous spirit.
2. They ALL fall in love with Nicaragua!

...

1. They are people from all over the world, but they all have the same adventurous spirit.
2. They ALL fall in love with Nicaragua!

We were mostly surprised by the amount of discounts afforded to the people who retire in Panama. Almost anywhere you go, there is a special line for jubilado pensionados (retirees). My husband went to the bank the other day and the line was a mile long. He went to the guard and mentioned that he was a jubilado. The guard asked him to go inside right up on the jubilado line. There was no one in front of him, so he got assisted right away.

We were mostly surprised by the amount of discounts afforded to the people who retire in Panama. Almost anywhere you go, there is a special line for jubilado pensionados (retirees). My husband went to the bank the other day and the line was a mile long. He went to the guard and mentioned that he was a jubilado. The guard asked him to go inside right up on the jubilado line. There was no one in front of him, so he got assisted right away.

There is a new American doctor in Ambergris Caye who is taking over a Cuban doctor’s clinic. I have not met her yet, but they have been writing in the paper about her and she seems to be a quite neat young lady. I am hoping that it all works out for her.

There is a new American doctor in Ambergris Caye who is taking over a Cuban doctor’s clinic. I have not met her yet, but they have been writing in the paper about her and she seems to be a quite neat young lady. I am hoping that it all works out for her.

There are no lakes in Boquete but there are rivers and beautiful waterfalls. There are lots of hiking in places like that in Boquete.

 

For people for whom being around water means a lot, there are two rivers that run right through town and lots of small streams and waterfalls in the outlying areas, all year round.

 

You can go fishing in the rivers in Boquete, but you cannot kayak in them because they are pretty fast moving rivers. They run down...

There are no lakes in Boquete but there are rivers and beautiful waterfalls. There are lots of hiking in places like that in Boquete.

 

For people for whom being around water means a lot, there are two rivers that run right through town and lots of small streams and waterfalls in the outlying areas, all year round.

 

You can go fishing in the rivers in Boquete, but you cannot kayak in them because they are pretty fast moving rivers. They run down the ocean and this part of the river is not really advisable for kayaking or rafting. Unless you are an extreme sports person, it will not be a happy thing to be in a kayak in the main rivers in Boquete. Further towards the ocean, the waters are calmer and much more fun for boating.

 

The waterfalls in Boquete are year round. Some of them are spectacular 100-foot drops. The hiking club goes out to them on a regular basis. There are a lot of guides that go to the back area of the waterfalls to go hiking.  

 

(Caldera (which means, kettle)  River, Boquete, Panama, pictured.)