Best Places In The World To Retire

Yes, Los Cabos and La Paz are safe. We always tell people that if you stay away from doing drugs and you keep aware of your surroundings, you’re safe. Even in my state of Michoacán in Uruapan (on the mainland between Guadalajara and Mexico City), the Canadian embassy says it’s not safe outside our area but where we live, we walk on the street and everywhere else and security is not really a problem for people, especially to tourists. The people who get shot are the...

Yes, Los Cabos and La Paz are safe. We always tell people that if you stay away from doing drugs and you keep aware of your surroundings, you’re safe. Even in my state of Michoacán in Uruapan (on the mainland between Guadalajara and Mexico City), the Canadian embassy says it’s not safe outside our area but where we live, we walk on the street and everywhere else and security is not really a problem for people, especially to tourists. The people who get shot are the people who are into the drug business but we don’t have drug wars that happen in other Mexican states and near the US border. You might hear about some petty theft here but that type of crime happens everywhere in the world. My wife and I walk everywhere. Two years ago, my wife drove from Mazatlan up to the Arizona border by herself and then across to San Jose, California and she didn’t have any concerns.
 
I am going to give the news companies in the US a map because they seem to paint the whole country of Mexico with a broad brush and also they keep talking about things that happened 10 to 12 years ago. Yes, there is a thin line along the US and Mexico border and there are a few hot spots but I would rather spend a night there than in East Los Angeles. Other than those areas, it’s safe.

 

(Sea of Cortez, La Paz, Mexico, pictured.)

There are many good reasons for retiring overseas, and I'll address them elsewhere in another answer. The worst reasons? I have a list of some things to consider:-

 

1). Don't head overseas just because you are running away from something!

 

It is no good going overseas to retire just because you don't want to be where you are now. You have to do your research, and have to really want to live in the place you decide to retire to.

...

There are many good reasons for retiring overseas, and I'll address them elsewhere in another answer. The worst reasons? I have a list of some things to consider:-

 

1). Don't head overseas just because you are running away from something!

 

It is no good going overseas to retire just because you don't want to be where you are now. You have to do your research, and have to really want to live in the place you decide to retire to.

 

2). Don't think it is going to be easy!

 

For reference, see the picture above. Wherever you go things are going to be different, and there will be challenges to face and hurdles to overcome. Maybe you won't have to rescue a boat from the seabed, but you will face challenges.

 

A new language to learn. New customs. Distance from friends and family.

 

3). Social circle.

 

You are more than likely going to move to a place where you know few, if any, people. You will have to develop a new social circle and support network in your new location. It's fun to do, but you will have to be prepared to make the effort to do so too.

 

4). Do your research!!

 

This is so important, and is what this website is all about. Make sure you are fully informed and fully prepared before you make the leap. The biggest mistake is not knowing what to expect, and therefore being completely unprepared.
 

Once you've done your research, and are confident you are ready for the challenges and adventure ahead, jump in with both feet. After all, life really is meant to be an adventure, isn't it?

 

Here's to a happy and fulfilling retirement.

In the oceans of Portugal, there are no harmful animals like sharks but we do have jellyfish starting in the winter season. From November to January, you will find quite a lot of jellyfish on the shores. Some are still whole and some are bits but you just have to avoid them. Don’t step on them, which is easy enough to do because you would see them on the shore.
 
You’d usually see jellyfish on the rough beaches and where the sea is rough. You won’t see them on...

In the oceans of Portugal, there are no harmful animals like sharks but we do have jellyfish starting in the winter season. From November to January, you will find quite a lot of jellyfish on the shores. Some are still whole and some are bits but you just have to avoid them. Don’t step on them, which is easy enough to do because you would see them on the shore.
 
You’d usually see jellyfish on the rough beaches and where the sea is rough. You won’t see them on the bays. Cascais (an upscale area just to the west of Lisbon) is all bays. If you go up to the coasts of Sintra, where the seas are very rough and where they practice the radical sports, there is where you will see the jellyfish.
 
The waters in the ocean of Portugal are cold so sharks do not like it, especially on the west facing coasts, including the beaches west of Lisbon.  Because the air temperatures can be a maximum of 35 to 37 Celsius (95 to 98.6 Fahrenheit), it’s hot, so it’s a pleasure to go into that cold water.
 
The oceans in the Algarve (which face south) are completely different from the oceans in Lisbon.  The Algarve gets warms waters because of the Gulf Stream and because of the Mediterranean. The temperatures in the waters of the Algarve could be around 20 to 22 degrees Celsius (68 to 71.6 Fahrenheit) and up here in Lisbon, it’s around 17 to 18 degrees Celsius (62.6 to 64.4 Fahrenheit). It’s hotter and less windy in the Algarve as well. Lisbon is a windy area because we are on the westernmost part of the European continent. There is also a breeze here so we don’t use air-conditioning in the summer because we don’t need it.
 
The coasts of Sintra get rough waves but overall, the other coasts of Algarve and Lisbon are perfectly safe for swimming.  

 

(The village of Azenhas do Mar on the coast of Sintra, Portugal, pictured.)

Based on moving between Panamá and the USA several times through the years, with our entire family, I can assure you this:

The reason for this is that you can get everything and anything in Panamá, at very low, ridiculous prices, from a pack of needles, to...

Based on moving between Panamá and the USA several times through the years, with our entire family, I can assure you this:

The reason for this is that you can get everything and anything in Panamá, at very low, ridiculous prices, from a pack of needles, to the most modern car.  And, you will save a lot of money.  There are several malls that will surprise you with what you can get, and at the prices you have never experienced.
 
For example, the Albrook, El Dorado and Metro, in the city of Panamá and the Westland in Arraiján, three malls in Coronado (Pacific beach areas, about an hour from the city of Panamá) are very well known for selling everything, have great food courts and restaurants at envious prices.
 
There is the Multi Plaza Mall in the city, which carries every single upscale brand of the very best fashion from Europe, US and around the world, so, if you are in a budget, or not, you will find here everything you are looking for.
 
And if your location is Boquete, or some other town in the "interior" (countryside), there are shopping centers, and small malls in all of them, like in Chitré, Chorrera, Penonomé, David, among others
 
Remember that items are imported from all over the world to Panamá, which is the reason why merchandise can be offered at very low prices.  You just need time to look everything, and you will have a very difficult time choosing because you will want to buy everything.
 
And if you go to Chitré or El Valle, you can buy beautiful art and crafts, "molas" and hammocks at an enviable prices.
 
Coincidentally, I just received an ad from Wal-Mart in the US offering a hammock with metal legs at $128.00 on clearance.  Well, in Panamá, you can buy a way better one for between $50.00 and $85.00. There is a store by the Interamericana Highway that, while you drive to the "interior", you can stop and buy one, or in El Valle.
 
I know people who brought by a full 40-foot container, and have been ruined because they either couldn’t fit all their items into their new house, or didn´t get the house they were looking for on time.

So, here’s some good advice:  Bring no more than 10 boxes with all your belongings.   It’s easy to manage, inexpensive, and practical.  No winter clothes, no heavy things.

The good thing about home insurance here in Belize is that it covers everything. It covers fire, earthquake and hurricane. It also covers you if an airplane crashes into your house. The insurance policies here in Belize are cheaper than the policies in the US.
 
For the $250,000 condominium that I bought, the insurance premium is $579 Belizean a year or US $290 per year and that’s just content insurance. A liability and catastrophic insurance premium for a commercial unit...

The good thing about home insurance here in Belize is that it covers everything. It covers fire, earthquake and hurricane. It also covers you if an airplane crashes into your house. The insurance policies here in Belize are cheaper than the policies in the US.
 
For the $250,000 condominium that I bought, the insurance premium is $579 Belizean a year or US $290 per year and that’s just content insurance. A liability and catastrophic insurance premium for a commercial unit is $4,000 per year. So let us say for a $500,000 home, the premium would be very roughly close to $6,000 a year, which would cover a lot of things such as fire, lightning, hurricane, windstorm, hailstorm, earthquake, tornado, volcano eruption or tidal wave, riots, strikes, explosions, damage from aircraft, flood, and burst pipes.