Best Places In The World To Retire

Many small countries but with developing economies like Panama can offer you a combination of things, such as: good and affordable health care, safety, good economy with a lot of investment opportunities, friendly people, good weather and beautiful places to go.

Many small countries but with developing economies like Panama can offer you a combination of things, such as: good and affordable health care, safety, good economy with a lot of investment opportunities, friendly people, good weather and beautiful places to go.

Full time housekeepers in Granada, Nicaragua are paid the minimum wage, which is 6,300 to 6,400 córdobas (about US $208 to $212) per month at this point. There's a regulation on this. The minimum wage goes up a little bit from year-to-year. 

There are also different alternatives of hiring people on part-time basis and spend a lot less. There are some households that spend 4,000 córdobas (about $130) on housekeepers. If the housekeeper comes in once a week for a...

Full time housekeepers in Granada, Nicaragua are paid the minimum wage, which is 6,300 to 6,400 córdobas (about US $208 to $212) per month at this point. There's a regulation on this. The minimum wage goes up a little bit from year-to-year. 

There are also different alternatives of hiring people on part-time basis and spend a lot less. There are some households that spend 4,000 córdobas (about $130) on housekeepers. If the housekeeper comes in once a week for a day, the rate is around 200 to 400 córdobas (around $7 to $14). 
 
It is a bit tricky to find housekeepers who do a good job. You have to really get to know the person. There are some very nice stories about housekeepers, especially the Nicaraguans because they do get attached to the people they serve and have spent years with. There are also a lot of horror stories. There are some people who come into your house and you pay them, but then they either steal or break stuff. Your satisfaction with the housekeeper's job depends on your demands and whatever you're expecting to get out of their service.

One of the ways to find a good housekeeper is to try to get leads from word of mouth. My family's strategy is to not hire a local from your town. For example, if you are living in Masaya and plan to keep working with a housekeeper for a long time, do not hire someone who is from Masaya. Hire someone from the central part of the country like Matagalpa or Estelí. 

Workers from a different part of the country tend to have a better relationship and attachment with their employer because they live in the employer's house, but get to visit their family every 15 days, whereas a person who is local from your town can come into your house at any time and have their whole family running around the city as well so stuff can happen. 

To find a housekeeper from another part of the country, you must establish networks and get to know people. You have to ask around a lot, especially from traditional families within the city who can help out. These families would usually have elder members who know people who have a farm in Matagalpa and tell you, "I can get you hooked up with someone who may come into your house who would be willing to travel from Matagalpa, especially if you give them a nice place to stay." Most known families have farms not only in Granada, but also in Matagalpa or other big places and can look for housekeepers. 

The network you create is not a formal one and you need to search a bit to get good references, but it's worthwhile to go through the process to get a really good housekeeper who will do quality work helping out in your house. 

You have to live in Nicaragua to know how to work it. Most people would advise you to put up a poster and pray that you get someone to help you out with the house. The best housekeepers come from outside the cities, not within the cities.

 

(Woman from Estelí, Nicaragua, pictured.)
 
 
 

The best way to choose a real estate agent in Panama would be to request his or her license number. In many states in the U.S., such as Florida for example, it's a felony to practice real estate without a license, which is punishable by jail and fines. A license is also mandatory in Panama, but the law is loosely enforced. It's obviously hard to come up with precise figures, but I suspect the majority of so-called "agents" operate without a license, without experience and...

The best way to choose a real estate agent in Panama would be to request his or her license number. In many states in the U.S., such as Florida for example, it's a felony to practice real estate without a license, which is punishable by jail and fines. A license is also mandatory in Panama, but the law is loosely enforced. It's obviously hard to come up with precise figures, but I suspect the majority of so-called "agents" operate without a license, without experience and without any sense of ethics. Especially the "independent agents" who don't even carry a business card (to better cover their tracks). If they do not carry a real estate license (a blue plastic card, similar to a credit card) you'd better move on... Please note however that an agent associated with a bona fide real estate company is covered by the company's license and is not required to be individually licensed. Those usually carry a business card with the company logo. Be especially wary of an agent demanding a fee: commissions are paid by the sellers, never by the buyers! 

English is the official language of Belize. Other than recent immigrants to Belize from other Latin American countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, everybody speaks English. 
 
The Lingua Franca in Belize is Creole so native Belizeans all speak Creole. It is like English pidgin language. It is kind of hard to adapt to, but once you’ve heard it enough and you dissect it, you start to understand it. I can hear it and for the most part understand it, too, but...

English is the official language of Belize. Other than recent immigrants to Belize from other Latin American countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, everybody speaks English. 
 
The Lingua Franca in Belize is Creole so native Belizeans all speak Creole. It is like English pidgin language. It is kind of hard to adapt to, but once you’ve heard it enough and you dissect it, you start to understand it. I can hear it and for the most part understand it, too, but it’s very difficult for me to get my lips to form the words. 
 
The second language of Belize is Spanish, especially around the border of Mexico and Guatemala. In these areas, you’re going to find a lot of Spanish speakers. In the islands, there is not so much Spanish, but you’ll find English and Creole.  The native Belizeans, the ones that do not speak English or just a very little English, are going to be first or second-generation immigrants who came from Guatemala or El Salvador. 
 
Belize Creole is like Jamaican Creole; it’s similar to that but it is unique to Belize. Belize Creole is different than any other Creole. Most Americans would think of Creole as the Creole spoken in New Orleans, but that’s French Creole. Here in Belize, the Creole is like an English dialect. They use a lot in idioms. If you don’t understand the culture, you won’t understand what they are saying. It’s not because you can’t understand the different syllables; it’s just that you don’t know what the words mean.
 
For example, if you and I are sitting at a dinner and I called to you and said, “Hey, Blue…” “blue means that you are sad and blue. “Blue” comes from a type of fly that will go and defecate in somebody’s meal and ruins it. So when someone calls you “blue”, he or she is “dissing” on you. If you don’t know the history of the words, you wouldn’t know what they are talking about. That’s one of the reasons why Creole is hard to understand; it is composed of proverbs and idioms. 
 
Native Belizeans can switch on and off. They can speak English and people understand them fine, but then if there are three of you standing there with you as a foreigner and two Belizeans, they will talk to you in very clear English and they will turn to each other and speak Creole.

 

(Sign written in Creole about "da wata" fountain found in Belize, pictured.)