What’s it like being a single woman in San Miguel de Allende?
Mary Agnes McKay
In San Miguel de Allende, there is more to do for single women as opposed to the city where I lived in the States. Although both cities are about the same size, in San Miguel de Allende, there are a lot more opportunities for single women to get involved in organizations- mixed gender organizations, organizations that are mainly women, and volunteer opportunities. As soon as you get involved in these organizations, you meet many other women, most of them expats, thereby giving you a...
In San Miguel de Allende, there is more to do for single women as opposed to the city where I lived in the States. Although both cities are about the same size, in San Miguel de Allende, there are a lot more opportunities for single women to get involved in organizations- mixed gender organizations, organizations that are mainly women, and volunteer opportunities. As soon as you get involved in these organizations, you meet many other women, most of them expats, thereby giving you a sudden huge network of friends and acquaintances in the city.
As far as living alone in San Miguel de Allende and concerns about safety, I have never, at any time, felt unsafe in San Miguel de Allende. For example, I was somewhere today, and I was thinking, “Why am I walking here by myself?”
I would not walk the streets at night alone in San Miguel de Allende. I would not do that in my town in Pennsylvania, either, which is not a crime-ridden city at all, and that is common sense. In the daytime, I feel fine walking outside by myself.
I rode the bus in San Miguel de Allende two days ago, which I did for the first four years I lived here, when I would take the bus three days a week in town. I’ve been driving since, so I haven’t had any occasion to take the bus in San Miguel de Allende, and I miss the interaction. As I got on the bus, a Mexican woman who was younger than I and who probably thought I was extremely elderly stood up to give me her seat, and insisted that I sit there. Another Mexican woman who was closer to my age and had a cane got on the bus, and I stood up to get her to sit. She said, “Oh no.” So in Spanish, I said to her, “Yes, please do, because this is your country and I’m a visitor. Please have the seat.” And with that she took the seat.
In many places in San Miguel de Allende where I’m the only American, I notice the courtesy of the Mexican people not because it’s an uncomfortable situation, but because their courtesy is something I look for. Anytime I’m on the bus, I seem to be the only Gringo there. At first, I sense that feeling of being looked at, and that’s good, because that increases my sensitivity of how minorities feel. They’re very much a minority in my community at home, so I sense that, and that’s good. I like that. That made me grow and made me stretch.
I spend two months here in San Miguel de Allende in the fall, and there are lots of snowbirds here then. The population of expats jumps during the winter months, so you see them everywhere. Before the fall, when I’m in town in San Miguel de Allende, I can walk three blocks and not see another Gringo.
(Street in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)
What's the cost for home or apartment renter's insurance in Nicaragua?
Mario Robleto - SAENICSA Accounting and Tax Services
I don’t personally know anyone who has renter’s insurance in Nicaragua. In the US, people do and it’s very common.
The insurance market here in Nicaragua is very small and lacks in variety. I’m not even sure if renter’s insurance exists here. The most “renter’s insurance” that exists here are iron bars on windows and doors. That’s the best renter’s insurance you can get.
I rent and I do not have...
I don’t personally know anyone who has renter’s insurance in Nicaragua. In the US, people do and it’s very common.
The insurance market here in Nicaragua is very small and lacks in variety. I’m not even sure if renter’s insurance exists here. The most “renter’s insurance” that exists here are iron bars on windows and doors. That’s the best renter’s insurance you can get.
I rent and I do not have renter’s insurance. Buying it just does not occur to you and, for example, one of the very common practices here is that you don’t leave your house alone. Also, generally speaking, the way the houses are built here, they don’t often burn, so there’s nothing or very little chance to lose anything in a fire.
What's the crime rate against Americans and other expats in the Panama City, Panama area of Marbella?
Eddie Montes - Panama Property Rentals
The crime rate in the Marbella area of Panama City, Panama, seems to be quite low. There is no place in the world that is 100% safe, but Marbella is a very safe part of the city. There is a lot of police presence there because there are lots of tourists and business travelers. Anywhere where there are tourists or foreign businesspeople is generally considered a safe area, as there is more police presence.
There are other parts of Panama City where it could be a little more...
The crime rate in the Marbella area of Panama City, Panama, seems to be quite low. There is no place in the world that is 100% safe, but Marbella is a very safe part of the city. There is a lot of police presence there because there are lots of tourists and business travelers. Anywhere where there are tourists or foreign businesspeople is generally considered a safe area, as there is more police presence.
There are other parts of Panama City where it could be a little more dangerous to be an expat or any type of tourist wandering around, but as far as the Marbella area is concerned, I believe that people here in Panama are used to that area having a lot of foreigners and they tend to be left alone.
(Pictured: Workstation for guests at Hotel Marbella, Panama.)
You have numerous options to get TV in Belize. You can go with BTL, which is Belize Telecommunications Limited. For approximately 140 channels, that would cost you about US $55 a month, which would include low Internet connectivity. I don’t remember the Internet speed but it includes a bit of download as well.
If you decide to bring your own satellite dish, you are required to have a permit from Belize for your own system, which costs about US $75....
You have numerous options to get TV in Belize. You can go with BTL, which is Belize Telecommunications Limited. For approximately 140 channels, that would cost you about US $55 a month, which would include low Internet connectivity. I don’t remember the Internet speed but it includes a bit of download as well.
If you decide to bring your own satellite dish, you are required to have a permit from Belize for your own system, which costs about US $75. That’s a one-time cost because you’re taking business from the communications company down here in Belize. Then, you hook it up with US or Canadian provider such as Dish satellite, Direct TV or Shaw. Once everything is set up, you pay your subscription to your provider via your credit card. It’s exactly the same price as if you were in the US, so you could actually have anything you want as far as TV.
If you are a movie buff and you want all those 700 channels, that is what you would do. What I do is I use a very inexpensive satellite subscribed to a Mexican company and that keeps the kids happy at the house. That gives me three US channels for sports. Most of the other channels are in Spanish.
What I do is for what I like to watch is subscribe to what I want via the Internet. If you like hockey then you subscribe to NHL dot com or NFL Game Pass for NFL and get every game on your computer. I just plug it into my TV and I watch my games that way. So I haven’t hooked up though Directv or Dish network system and I have these in storage.
So, you could subscribe to BTL for 55 a month, which would have your basic cable like ABC, CBC, NBS, etc., and be about half the price you would pay for the same thing in, for example, in Florida. I live off-grid so we do not have Btl. Our Internet is WIFI, provided by a company called SMART.
What are the things I'll be most happily surprised by when moving or retiring abroad?
Ross - Abroad We Go
When moving or retiring abroad, you’d be most happily surprised by how outgoing, more much more active, and much easier to meet and befriend the local people are. In the US, the people are a little different.
Another thing to look out for when moving or retiring abroad are the different lifestyles in different places. Typically, the lifestyle in most countries that I’ve been to is more active than the lifestyle I had in the US. People who want to retire are...
When moving or retiring abroad, you’d be most happily surprised by how outgoing, more much more active, and much easier to meet and befriend the local people are. In the US, the people are a little different.
Another thing to look out for when moving or retiring abroad are the different lifestyles in different places. Typically, the lifestyle in most countries that I’ve been to is more active than the lifestyle I had in the US. People who want to retire are always looking for an active and healthy lifestyle, and living overseas provides more of this than they experience in the US.
There are many different cultures, colors and things to absorb in moving and living overseas. If people want to immerse themselves in culture, they’ll be surprised by how many different nuances there are overseas.
(Ross with new friends found in the Andes in Ecuador, pictured.)
Is Algarve safe? What's the crime rate in general in Algarve?
Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living
The Algarve is very safe.
I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is probably one of the world’s most dangerous places. I lived in San Pablo in Brazil, which is amongst the crime capitals of the world. I used to do a lot of business in Bogota when the drug cartels were more prevalent, where I used to have a personal code with my driver so that I wasn’t hijacked. I still remember when I lived in Miami that there were places in downtown...
The Algarve is very safe.
I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is probably one of the world’s most dangerous places. I lived in San Pablo in Brazil, which is amongst the crime capitals of the world. I used to do a lot of business in Bogota when the drug cartels were more prevalent, where I used to have a personal code with my driver so that I wasn’t hijacked. I still remember when I lived in Miami that there were places in downtown Miami that you couldn’t walk at night.
Compared to those places, it’s a complete and utter difference in the Algarve. I believe Portugal is the seventh safest country in the world. The Algarve is known as a place for people who do not wish to be necessarily in the limelight and who would rather be away from the media. Many famous people who could choose any location choose the Algarve because you don’t have the paparazzi running around.
If you walk around the Algarve, you will see the average middle class people who live here, among whom, the crime rate is very low. Historically there has been very, very little violent crime in the Algarve, which continues to be the case. There is no racial or social unrest. Portugal is generally a very homogenous country from a racial, a religious, and other perspectives. Most people are of the Roman Catholic faith. And even people who are not necessarily religious are very, very neutral and not in any way outspoken about their beliefs. What one finds in Portugal is a country that is very tolerant, which contributes in no small measure to the fact that not only is the country safe, but people feel safe. The comment that we often receive from people who are down here is, “I really feel safe. I can walk at night to a restaurant or into town and I don’t feel as though I’m being threatened in any way.” This is very important.
We had a single female client from the US living in London who was staying in one of our locations near Portimao in the Algarve and wanted to go to either a jazz concert or ballet that playing in a very large venue that was located in a bit of an industrial area on the edge of the river. She walked from the place where she was staying across a fairly deserted village to the performance, and then walked back. Later, I dropped her an email to ask her how it went. She wrote back, “Absolutely fantastic! If I had been in London I would have had to take a cab to stay overnight in a hotel and caught a cab to see the show, pay a fortune for the show, come back and have gone back home to my house. Instead, in the Algarve, I saw a top performance, and walked back. I felt completely safe and it cost me probably a tenth of what it would cost in London or New York.” I believe it’s important to live in a place that feels safe as opposed to just citing statistics that say it’s safe. The important thing for most people is to feel safe.
In general, people don’t have burglar bars or big dogs for security in the Algarve. Some of the traditional properties that are out in the countryside need some protection because they closed for months and so to just avoid anyone having the temptation to break in, sometimes people will put worked, ornate iron bars on the windows and the doors. However, in the city and in the suburbs, it’s not that common to see burglar bars. On the contrary, it’s much more common to see big wide sliding doors to make the most of the views and the sunshine.
(In 2009 actress Angelina Jolie had been looking for property in the Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)
When you envision someone in December packing their van in the middle of a driving rain, what pops into your mind? Do you see a person in swimming trunks and sandals? Probably not, unless you had the same experience as us, as we got ready to leave Akumal. I just couldn’t think of a smarter way to do it. It was raining hard, it was warm, we needed to get going right away, and I needed something that would dry quickly and that I could easily change out of. ...
Our move to Panama happened after the economic downturn of the Obama administration took its toll on our quality of life. Yes, it was more than that, too. The cost of medical care skyrocketing, the cost of everything going up never down. Increased taxes, poor air quality, too many sick days and frankly after two...
The most worrisome part of our move to Panama was not selling all of our possessions, not financial, not assimilating to our new environment. The most stressful part of our relocation was moving our two cats, Alexander and Henry.
Like many people, our pets are like family. Alex was 14+ years old and Henry is afraid of everything. The paperwork process was less hassle than it sounds on the various websites. Within 30 days of departure, the animals must have all...
In San Miguel de Allende, there is more to do for single women as opposed to the city where I lived in the States. Although both cities are about the same size, in San Miguel de Allende, there are a lot more opportunities for single women to get involved in organizations- mixed gender organizations, organizations that are mainly women, and volunteer opportunities. As soon as you get involved in these organizations, you meet many other women, most of them expats, thereby giving you a...
I don’t personally know anyone who has renter’s insurance in Nicaragua. In the US, people do and it’s very common.
The crime rate in the Marbella area of Panama City, Panama, seems to be quite low. There is no place in the world that is 100% safe, but Marbella is a very safe part of the city. There is a lot of police presence there because there are lots of tourists and business travelers. Anywhere where there are tourists or foreign businesspeople is generally considered a safe area, as there is more police presence.
When moving or retiring abroad, you’d be most happily surprised by how outgoing, more much more active, and much easier to meet and befriend the local people are. In the US, the people are a little different. 
The Algarve is very safe. 
When you envision someone in December packing their van in the middle of a driving rain, what pops into your mind? Do you see a person in swimming trunks and sandals? Probably not, unless you had the same experience as us, as we got ready to leave Akumal. I just couldn’t think of a smarter way to do it. It was raining hard, it was warm, we needed to get going right away, and I needed something that would dry quickly and that I could easily change out of. ...
.JPG)
