Best Places In The World To Retire

I believe there are several American trained doctors in Chapala and Ajijic. However, the level of training here in Mexico is the same as in the US.   The reason I say this is because in the specialties like mine (neurosurgery), we go to conferences around the world and we interact with the American doctors all the time. In those interactions, we discuss the newest techniques and latest medical developments.  From these interactions, I can see that there is no difference...

I believe there are several American trained doctors in Chapala and Ajijic. However, the level of training here in Mexico is the same as in the US.   The reason I say this is because in the specialties like mine (neurosurgery), we go to conferences around the world and we interact with the American doctors all the time. In those interactions, we discuss the newest techniques and latest medical developments.  From these interactions, I can see that there is no difference in how we treat patients, follow up, etc.  Also, after having done a surgical procedure on an American or Canadian patient, many times they tell me that they are very, very happy for the attention and technical expertise they received.

 

It’s very common when a patient tells me, “Wow, the medical care here is much better than in the US,” or, “Here is much better than Canada.”

 

In Guadalajara (about 40 minutes from here by car), they have the best medical technology. We have a gamma knife, for example. We have all the diagnostic tests like the PET Scans, MRIs, CT Scans. We have a center for radiotherapy. We have everything we need. 

 

In addition, patients have told me many times that the kind of surgical procedure I performed on them here costs five or ten times more in the US.  Also, the relationship between doctors and patients here is very calm, and very warm. 

 

The work between the patient and doctors is warmer here. For example, after surgical procedures and the follow up, 80% of my patients become my very good friends. They often invite me to take food in their houses or in restaurants.  

 

(Dr. Gabriel Varela in his office, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

Some people comment that there is not just one culture in Ambergris Caye because it is a real melting pot of people and everybody brings in a little bit of something. From here in Belize, there are Mayans, Mestizos, Spanish, British, and we also have the influences of people visiting or moving here from Canada and the US. Other than England, there is not much other European influence here. There are a few German influences, but overall Ambergris Caye is a melting pot of...

Some people comment that there is not just one culture in Ambergris Caye because it is a real melting pot of people and everybody brings in a little bit of something. From here in Belize, there are Mayans, Mestizos, Spanish, British, and we also have the influences of people visiting or moving here from Canada and the US. Other than England, there is not much other European influence here. There are a few German influences, but overall Ambergris Caye is a melting pot of cultures from all over the world.

 

You can always find a clique or a niche of people with whom you can relate. Some people do not like the mixture of cultures in Ambergris Caye, and they only want to see all the Mayan ladies dressed up in their Mayan dress, which they do see, but they are only on the beaches selling the blankets and jewelry.

 

Ambergris Caye is also a melting pot of different religions. There are a lot of different churches on this tiny island. There is the Living Word Church, which we support greatly at Caye Bank. There are also Mormons, Catholics, and people who go to other churches. Everybody has their own place of prayer and everybody just mixes in together.

I wish I were a normal retiree, so I could probably answer this question of the best things to do in Panama better.

 

I enjoy the whole experience of living here, meeting people, doing things and getting out there. There are tons of activities going on here in Panama. I live in Panama City (pictured to the right) so there are more activities than I can ever possibly involve myself in. I just do what sounds interesting to me and take it a day at a time. ...

I wish I were a normal retiree, so I could probably answer this question of the best things to do in Panama better.

 

I enjoy the whole experience of living here, meeting people, doing things and getting out there. There are tons of activities going on here in Panama. I live in Panama City (pictured to the right) so there are more activities than I can ever possibly involve myself in. I just do what sounds interesting to me and take it a day at a time.  I’m always busy.

 

For many retirees who are not working on something or have a business, they spend a great deal of their time traveling and going to places in the countryside and socializing with others.

 

Going to the beach is a big deal. Some people love to go to the mountains. We have very cool temperatures up there in the mountains and we city people enjoy that every once in a while.

 

Some people are very much into the arts.  Those people tend to be mostly located in the Panama City area where we have the National Symphony and the ballet. We have art shows every week.

 

It’s not really any different than what you’d expect to find when you were living elsewhere, except I think that people who move down to Panama go out to find things to do in contrast to how they acted when they were back in their homes in the United States or Canada or Britain when they rarely went out because they thought they had seen it all. They just didn’t visit new places in their old community.