Best Places In The World To Retire

Here in San Miguel de Allende, we basically only go out for lunch.  The average lunch for the two of us is around 500 pesos (US $25), which would be for a nice meal, for example, shrimp wrapped in bacon stuffed with cheese, some side dishes, and a glass of wine. At the café, here in Los Labradores (a planned community about 15 minutes from San Miguel de Allende) it costs 300 pesos (US $15) for the two of us, even with wine. I’ve tried some of the other restaurants...

Here in San Miguel de Allende, we basically only go out for lunch.  The average lunch for the two of us is around 500 pesos (US $25), which would be for a nice meal, for example, shrimp wrapped in bacon stuffed with cheese, some side dishes, and a glass of wine. At the café, here in Los Labradores (a planned community about 15 minutes from San Miguel de Allende) it costs 300 pesos (US $15) for the two of us, even with wine. I’ve tried some of the other restaurants around San Miguel de Allende, and I find that the costs are about the same.

 

We haven’t been to any of the really upscale restaurants in San Miguel de Allende yet. We usually meet friends in town and have main course, drinks, and dessert- this is our big meal of the day because we usually have light dinner.

 

(Suzie and Barry Osman at the cafe in Rancho Los Labradores, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

 

Car insurance in Belize is around US $150 a year for a mid-sized vehicle (commercial vehicles and trucks are a few dollars more), but the insurance doesn’t cover damage to your own car.  For example, if you self-destruct your own car then you pretty much eat the cost to fix or replace it.  So the insurance covers, if you’re in an accident, costs to cover the other people in the accident. Chasing down the other party or their insurance company can be a little bit of a...

Car insurance in Belize is around US $150 a year for a mid-sized vehicle (commercial vehicles and trucks are a few dollars more), but the insurance doesn’t cover damage to your own car.  For example, if you self-destruct your own car then you pretty much eat the cost to fix or replace it.  So the insurance covers, if you’re in an accident, costs to cover the other people in the accident. Chasing down the other party or their insurance company can be a little bit of a pain. It’s a little hard to keep up with these people because the insurance companies hate to part with money.   

 

So once again, the car insurance covers liability, collision, and damage to another person’s vehicle. It doesn’t cover your vehicle. If you cause an accident, you are on the hook for the damage to your car. In a few instances that we’ve had, a car hit us and we couldn’t figure out who hit it, so we had to pay to get it fixed. If you are on a public road, it is different than if you are on a private parking lot. Private parking lots aren’t covered. Insurance is a little sketchy here, and is designed more to cover the major incidents. 

 

(Pictured is another good way to get around in Belize other than in a sedan.) 

Boquete has a nice vibe and the people who live there enjoy it. Most of the time, the people in Boquete are very happy, whether you are rich or poor, because of the clean air, the pleasant weather, or just by being in contact with Mother Nature. So Boquete has a great vibe.

 

The cost of living in Boquete is fairly decent. For an average Panamanian who earns US $500 a month, you can have a modest home, but you would have to be ready to do what you have to do...

Boquete has a nice vibe and the people who live there enjoy it. Most of the time, the people in Boquete are very happy, whether you are rich or poor, because of the clean air, the pleasant weather, or just by being in contact with Mother Nature. So Boquete has a great vibe.

 

The cost of living in Boquete is fairly decent. For an average Panamanian who earns US $500 a month, you can have a modest home, but you would have to be ready to do what you have to do to survive with $500. But if you're married and your partner is also working at a minimum wage of $500 a month, you can have a nice home for a Panamanian standard and live happily.

 

For expats, it depends entirely on the standard of living they're used to in the US. Most of the expats who come to Panama and are on a budget because their money is not enough to retire in the US can, basically, fulfill their needs. For example, if they are getting US $1,500 a month, which is not enough to retire in the US, they can live the same lifestyle of the manager of a bank in Boquete. They can apply for a house loan on which they can pay $500 a month and they'll still have $1,000 to do whatever they want. $1,000 is more than enough to retire in Boquete because you don't have to pay for air conditioning, water, and the basic necessities are cheap. 

 

(Home in Hacienda Los Molinos, ten minutes from Boquete, pictured.)

Right now we’re in the depth of an El Nino year. El Nino is a warming of the Pacific equatorial line.  Last year, it ravaged our area and this year we’ve had a significant shortage of rain. It’s been pretty tough on the locals and farmers and caused a lot more offshore winds.

 

Generally our rainy season starts in late April and May. We usually get our first rains in May and then it rains off and on until we get into the September and...

Right now we’re in the depth of an El Nino year. El Nino is a warming of the Pacific equatorial line.  Last year, it ravaged our area and this year we’ve had a significant shortage of rain. It’s been pretty tough on the locals and farmers and caused a lot more offshore winds.

 

Generally our rainy season starts in late April and May. We usually get our first rains in May and then it rains off and on until we get into the September and October timeframe. September and Octoberthis year we have a disturbance in the Caribbean. Even hurricanes in the Atlantic have changed our weather patterns and we’re getting more rain. So the heaviest rains are generally in October. November is generally known as the best time to travel to Nicaragua for general travel because it’s the end of the rainy season, everything’s still green and it’s not really raining quite as much. Basically the rainy season goes from May to beginning of November.

 

In January, February, March and the end of December there are really strong offshore winds. From the end of March to April everything is completely brown and dry and it’s really windy, similar to a desert-like condition. You can’t really find a green leaf on a tree. It’s very, very dry in the southern region of Nicaragua, where San Juan del Sur and Popoyo (where we’re located).

 

We get some rains in May on a normal year and in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks everything turns green and tropical again, so there is a huge night and day difference between the rainy season and dry season in Southern Nicaragua. We go from like “super tropical” to “super dry” and we do that every single year, back and forth. Last year and this year there’s a bit of El Nino season so that’s caused a lot more dryness and a lot more wind, and the lack of rain.

 

(Offshore winds creating tubular conditions for surfing off Popoyo Beach, near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)

In Portugal, people tend to eat out more than probably most countries in Europe because that is the lifestyle here. I have lunch near my office here and I get a 3-course meal for about €7 (US $8 or £5.20).

 

Sometimes it is even cheaper to eat out than to eat at home. An evening meal for a couple in a medium-priced restaurant would cost around €15 (US $16.50 or £11) per head.

 

The reason it is so cheap to eat...

In Portugal, people tend to eat out more than probably most countries in Europe because that is the lifestyle here. I have lunch near my office here and I get a 3-course meal for about €7 (US $8 or £5.20).

 

Sometimes it is even cheaper to eat out than to eat at home. An evening meal for a couple in a medium-priced restaurant would cost around €15 (US $16.50 or £11) per head.

 

The reason it is so cheap to eat at restaurants here in Portugal is because there is so much competition. It seems like there is a restaurant on every single corner here in Portugal.  

 

(Restaurant Chez Lapin, Porto, Portugal, pictured.)