Best Places In The World To Retire

In Puerto Vallarta, you either live in the jungle or at the edge of the jungle and it is hot all year long, so the mosquitoes in the north that you might see just for a couple months out of a year we tend to have here all year long. Sometimes parts of the year are heavier, and some parts are lighter, but the city does a pretty good job of spraying public areas and there is a concerted effort for people to alleviate their standing water, so it’s not a huge issue.

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In Puerto Vallarta, you either live in the jungle or at the edge of the jungle and it is hot all year long, so the mosquitoes in the north that you might see just for a couple months out of a year we tend to have here all year long. Sometimes parts of the year are heavier, and some parts are lighter, but the city does a pretty good job of spraying public areas and there is a concerted effort for people to alleviate their standing water, so it’s not a huge issue.

 

The mosquitos and other insects in Puerto Vallarta don’t change our lifestyle at all.  If you’re going to an event or to a restaurant that’s outdoors, you should spray your ankles and legs just to be sure you don’t get bit.  Screens on bedroom windows are also a good idea.  It’s a minor inconvenience but it’s one that we’re aware of all year long and you can mitigate with common sense.

 

(Hills and jungle  above Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)

You need a driver’s license in Panama if you are a resident or you’ve been here for more than 3 months. You can only drive on your foreign license for three months, after which, you have to go and get a Panamanian license.

 

You have to go to your embassy and have them certify that what you have is a true and valid copy of your driver’s license. Then you take a blood test, fill out paperwork and forms, and then go to the driving place,...

You need a driver’s license in Panama if you are a resident or you’ve been here for more than 3 months. You can only drive on your foreign license for three months, after which, you have to go and get a Panamanian license.

 

You have to go to your embassy and have them certify that what you have is a true and valid copy of your driver’s license. Then you take a blood test, fill out paperwork and forms, and then go to the driving place, where they will put you on a machine. You read signs on the machine by looking through a pair of binocular- type viewers. You go into another room where you put earphones on. There is a computer that makes different sounds and different decibels. You just tap on the mouse right or left. You pay US $40 and you pick up your driver’s license.

 

There is no physical test with you in the car and an instructor. You do not have to do any of those things. You get to keep your American license or European license as well.   

 

If they catch you driving without a Panamanian driver’s license, and it is past the 90 days, you will get a big fine. However, you're allowed to be in Panama without a Panamanian driver's license; you just can't drive without one.

You can absolutely buy beautiful furniture in Belize. You can buy hardwood furniture, hand crafted furniture here. The Mennonite community(pictured) is very prominent in furniture building and you can buy really stunning pieces here locally, made of local hardwoods. The local hardwoods are just perfect for this kind of environment, which is high salt air, high humidity, etc. It is also perfect for the environment because they are made from local materials.
 
You have to...

You can absolutely buy beautiful furniture in Belize. You can buy hardwood furniture, hand crafted furniture here. The Mennonite community(pictured) is very prominent in furniture building and you can buy really stunning pieces here locally, made of local hardwoods. The local hardwoods are just perfect for this kind of environment, which is high salt air, high humidity, etc. It is also perfect for the environment because they are made from local materials.
 
You have to be careful with the furniture you bring in from your home country if you are moving to Belize, unless your furniture is made of stainless steel. If you have furniture made from stainless steel, you are safe from the salty environment, but if you have things made from aluminum you are going to have high rust issues. Aluminum will deteriorate a lot faster in high salty environment and high humidity. The environment is pretty tough on electronics in general. Many people do not get years out of a laptop because of the power surges and high salt content in the air. In Belize you really need to have really good surge protectors for your electronics.
 
I’m writing this in Nicaragua right now, where the humidity is so much less than in Belize. That is because Belize has that shallow basin of water and the intense sun makes evaporation so much quicker. The shallow plus the intensity equals high salt content in the air. It is not nearly the same here. I am on the Pacific coast on the west side of Nicaragua, where I actually feel cool in the air compared to Belize where you never feel cool crisp in the air. In Belize it is hot wet. 

The truth is I do not think there is any construction standard here in San Juan Del Sur and that is a really bad thing. People just build whatever they feel like building.

 

People tend to be more concerned about standards when they are building big projects, but if it is just a small house, there is almost no standards at all.

 

The locals build even without permits. They just go ahead and build. When you do not have planning, it...

The truth is I do not think there is any construction standard here in San Juan Del Sur and that is a really bad thing. People just build whatever they feel like building.

 

People tend to be more concerned about standards when they are building big projects, but if it is just a small house, there is almost no standards at all.

 

The locals build even without permits. They just go ahead and build. When you do not have planning, it is bad.

 

If you are buying a house, you have to request inspections to be done and be sure that it is good before you buy it.

Most people who make the choice of moving or retiring abroad are mostly after the adventure part of it. It is like recreating the third stage of your life. It is the idea of recreating yourself and discovering new ideas and new ways of living and adapting to cultures.

 

A lot of people who have done it successfully find the nuance of freedom when they are outside of the US in the sense of freedom to explore, freedom to look at different things from a...

Most people who make the choice of moving or retiring abroad are mostly after the adventure part of it. It is like recreating the third stage of your life. It is the idea of recreating yourself and discovering new ideas and new ways of living and adapting to cultures.

 

A lot of people who have done it successfully find the nuance of freedom when they are outside of the US in the sense of freedom to explore, freedom to look at different things from a different prospective, and to get different prospective from different places where they live.

 

Many people realize that it is not as dramatic of a change as they think and begin to see some of the similarities worldwide that we sometimes forget about just because humans are humans.

 

(David Truly, member of the TallBoys Band, pictured.)