What’s the definition of a permanent resident living in Mexico?
Juan Eufracio Marquez Flores - LM&A Immigration and Legal Services
The status of being a permanent resident in Mexico is basically an immigration document that allows foreign people to live here permanently in Mexico. A permanent resident in Mexico would have all the rights of a Mexican citizen except voting and that means that the person, once he or she is permanent here, doesn’t have to worry about renewing or dealing with immigration every year.
There are four basic immigration statuses in Mexico:
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The status of being a permanent resident in Mexico is basically an immigration document that allows foreign people to live here permanently in Mexico. A permanent resident in Mexico would have all the rights of a Mexican citizen except voting and that means that the person, once he or she is permanent here, doesn’t have to worry about renewing or dealing with immigration every year.
There are four basic immigration statuses in Mexico:
Tourist. As a tourist, the foreigner is only allowed to be here in Mexico for six months. There will be no extension on the tourist immigration document.
Residente Temporal. This allows the foreigner to live in Mexico. The foreigner cannot work. The Residente Temporal immigration document may be renewed for four years and every year it has to be renewed.
Residente Permanente. The Permanente is basically when the person is permanent in Mexico, in which case, they don’t have to renew their documentation.
(Campeche, Mexico, pictured.)
Mexican Citizenship. In order to qualify for Mexican citizenship, the foreigner has to have at least two years of Residente Permanente. The difference between Mexican citizenship and the Permanente is that with the Permanente, the foreigner is not entitled to a voting card or a passport. When a foreigner has a Mexican citizenship they can have a passport and a voting card. But basically, the majority of the laws for the Permanente are the same as for a Mexican citizen.
What's the cost to rent a home in Boquete, Panama?
Linda Jensen
Rent is not all that cheap in the beautiful mountain area of Boquete because it is a very popular place to live. While gringos come and go (literally, many only stay a few months out of the year), rents continue to escalate.
The best way to find a place to rent (it is suggested you rent a while before you purchase a home) is from word of mouth; online rental searches; friends; the publications and real estate offices all over town. Many restaurants and...
Rent is not all that cheap in the beautiful mountain area of Boquete because it is a very popular place to live. While gringos come and go (literally, many only stay a few months out of the year), rents continue to escalate.
The best way to find a place to rent (it is suggested you rent a while before you purchase a home) is from word of mouth; online rental searches; friends; the publications and real estate offices all over town. Many restaurants and businesses have a bulletin board with listings, most have pictures.
It is easy to do an online search. BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire.com (this site) is very helpful; look under the tab to the left for real estate or rentals. Others are Vivun and Craig's List. Just enter key words such as "Boquete" and "Panama Rentals", which will bring up many places to see actual costs.
Tour homes and read the list of amenities, use the maps to see the locations and all of them have a phone number so you can get more information.
The cost of our first rental was $900 a month. Too high, no hot water, very old and stained furniture. It was clean and cleaned daily by the manager. However "suicide showers" are not reliable and as the name implies not too safe either! So we gave notice and found a much more American style and sized place. Our condo is in wonderful location and has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, closets, a nice kitchen and our favorite is the large tiled patio. We rented it form the owner for $750 and took a 12 month lease.
I have seen beautiful photos of condos in the valley nearer town that rent from $1,500 up for a large furnished condo in private gated community. Close by there is another condo community where a few months ago a large, well designed one bedroom one bath could be rented for $800 a month and that includes utilities and cable. A duplex, new and unfurnished in a rather undeveloped area ( you would want a vehicle) was shown to us for $800 a month. It had two bedrooms, two baths and was around 1,100 square feet in size.
Ah, but don't think all rentals in Boquete are so expensive. You can get a decent place to live here for $300 a month. And if you want to live like a native; it is a lifestyle that may not include hot water throughout the home, no window screens or reliable appliances, you can live dirt cheap.
Expats often leave for extend stays and will lease their homes out for that time period. Some even will pay you to stay in their home to help protect it from sitting empty and becoming a target for robbery. There are some beautiful homes here in Boquete.
Doing your homework is the key to finding a comfortable place to live that fits your individual needs. Some people want to be in the middle of everything while others enjoy a quiet location, a garden setting , or golf, views or privacy. All of it is available here in Boquete from low rent to high and all in between.
With our rent rate $750 we still live for far less than we did in the states!
Can I use my Medicare outside the US, and if not, what are my alternatives?
Craig Morrissey - Hospital Nacional
Retiring overseas, keeping Medicare Part A and then returning to the US to use it if you need hospitalization is a contingency plan that is used by some expatriates. However you should be aware that there are some emergency cases, such as a heart attack or stroke, when this will not be possible because of time constraints. It is worth noting also that Medicare does not have international benefits, so it can only be used in the US and US territories.
Retiring overseas, keeping Medicare Part A and then returning to the US to use it if you need hospitalization is a contingency plan that is used by some expatriates. However you should be aware that there are some emergency cases, such as a heart attack or stroke, when this will not be possible because of time constraints. It is worth noting also that Medicare does not have international benefits, so it can only be used in the US and US territories.
What’s the effect of illegal drug traffic in Portugal?
John Russell
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in...
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in Portugal.
(Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)
How much do healthcare and medical services cost in Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan?
Wilana Oldham - Hot Mama's Belize Limited
Here in Belize, I don’t have health insurance because the medical care in Belize is so cheap it is not really necessary for one to have it.
To get an x-ray ranges from $20 to $50 depending on what kind of x-ray you are getting. It’s not a lot of money. To get blood work done is around $100, depending on how extensive the blood work is.
I fell and broke my kneecap and I think if I spent $400 on everything, that would be a lot. But then when you think...
Here in Belize, I don’t have health insurance because the medical care in Belize is so cheap it is not really necessary for one to have it.
To get an x-ray ranges from $20 to $50 depending on what kind of x-ray you are getting. It’s not a lot of money. To get blood work done is around $100, depending on how extensive the blood work is.
I fell and broke my kneecap and I think if I spent $400 on everything, that would be a lot. But then when you think about it, if I broke my kneecap in the US, I would probably have ended up doing the surgery and maybe spend $20,000 to $30,000.
Here in Belize, medical services don’t cost a lot of money. You get lab work results within a day or two. They have clinics here that you can go to where you can get much more help as far as treatments but still it doesn’t cost a lot.
(Healthy and happy Wilana Oldham on a dock in Hopkins, Belize, pictured.)
Mario Robleto - SAENICSA Accounting and Tax Services
The economy in Nicaragua is looking good.
There’s been some deceleration in certain parts of the world because oil prices have really gone down a lot, so certain people in the region have felt it. For example, Venezuela has been doing really poorly but here in Nicaragua, we’re doing very well. In fact, we’ve been experiencing somewhat of a little construction boom in Nicaragua. We have the first apartment complex skyrise in the locality of Metro Centro,...
The economy in Nicaragua is looking good.
There’s been some deceleration in certain parts of the world because oil prices have really gone down a lot, so certain people in the region have felt it. For example, Venezuela has been doing really poorly but here in Nicaragua, we’re doing very well. In fact, we’ve been experiencing somewhat of a little construction boom in Nicaragua. We have the first apartment complex skyrise in the locality of Metro Centro, which you can see when you’re driving on the Carretera Masaya. It’s a big, new building and it’s the first of its kind.
Also, we have also have an actual Wal-Mart. We’ve always had the investment from Wal-Mart through subsidiaries, but now we have a name brand Wal-Mart here in the country.
There’s a lot of building going on. We also have the airport in Tola, which was recently finished. The road has given accessibility to many of the great resorts on the Gold Coast. When you have good signs in the construction sector that just means good things are to follow because, like they say, you build it and they will come. And that’s what Nicaragua is really expecting for this year. Towards the last two quarters of last year and the first quarter of this year some construction has ended, some has begun and it’s positive from here on out.
In the summer of 2015 a lady friend who had fallen in love with Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area years ago and wanted to get back there contacted me. Her vision was to run a bed and breakfast in the village, but she needed some assistance purchasing the property, so she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in an investment. After she had expounded upon the virtues of Ajijic through numerous phone calls I was intrigued to the point of flying down and meeting her...
The first neighbor we met was Moises. He looked to me like a gangster at first glance, and I believe he wants the people around here to think so as well. He usually wears pointed-toe cowboy boots and a black leather jacket with some sparkly studs in a few places. There has been a fashion going for some time where people show their prosperity by having gold caps put on their front teeth. I mistakenly thought they had had dental repairs and had elected the gold caps; I couldn’t figure out...
Panama is a great place to explore with your kids. Especially if they have a “certified” grandpa fan like … me! My grand kid #1, Jaime, just turned 4 years. For the past 2 years I have taken him on Saturday morning trips to explore – and record on Youtube for him – life in Panama. Jaime, his Nanny Delia and me. Just the three of us. He calls me “Allo”, so we call this Saturday outings “Sabados with...
The status of being a permanent resident in Mexico is basically an immigration document that allows foreign people to live here permanently in Mexico. A permanent resident in Mexico would have all the rights of a Mexican citizen except voting and that means that the person, once he or she is permanent here, doesn’t have to worry about renewing or dealing with immigration every year. 
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in...
Here in Belize, I don’t have health insurance because the medical care in Belize is so cheap it is not really necessary for one to have it.
The economy in Nicaragua is looking good.
In the summer of 2015 a lady friend who had fallen in love with Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area years ago and wanted to get back there contacted me. Her vision was to run a bed and breakfast in the village, but she needed some assistance purchasing the property, so she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in an investment. After she had expounded upon the virtues of Ajijic through numerous phone calls I was intrigued to the point of flying down and meeting her...