Best Places In The World To Retire

For Mexicans, Mexico does have retirement benefits.  For example, being part of Stewart Title, I’m an employer, so part of what we pay goes into a retirement fund that every single employer must pay into on behalf of his or her employees.
 
These benefits also apply for general living. For example, there’s an area set aside for low income housing, which you can take advantage of if you’ve been working for a long time with the same company and that company...

For Mexicans, Mexico does have retirement benefits.  For example, being part of Stewart Title, I’m an employer, so part of what we pay goes into a retirement fund that every single employer must pay into on behalf of his or her employees.
 
These benefits also apply for general living. For example, there’s an area set aside for low income housing, which you can take advantage of if you’ve been working for a long time with the same company and that company pays a small amount of money towards your housing assistance.  

Move to Panama and you will discover that:

 

It is not necessary to be frantically busy 18 hours a day. There are places like Panama where people learn to slow down, relax and smell the roses. You can still be a valuable human being even if you no longer get 400 phone calls and email messages a day. Slow down! Enjoy life!

 

That new BMW? You don't need it. And no one here cares, anyway. Buy an old SUV with 4 wheel drive and spend the money you...

Move to Panama and you will discover that:

 

It is not necessary to be frantically busy 18 hours a day. There are places like Panama where people learn to slow down, relax and smell the roses. You can still be a valuable human being even if you no longer get 400 phone calls and email messages a day. Slow down! Enjoy life!

 

That new BMW? You don't need it. And no one here cares, anyway. Buy an old SUV with 4 wheel drive and spend the money you save on trips around this beautiful country. 

 

Sunshine is good for the soul. Panama has lots of it. Places like London, Vancouver

and Portland don't. Leave your miserable weather behind and come to Panama, where there is always lots of sun (except in October).

 

There might be American-trained doctors here in Cayo but a lot of the doctors here are trained in Cuba or some other Caribbean country. We have many good doctors in the Cayo district, and in Belize in general, and some of them might be American-trained.
 
The quality of healthcare here in Cayo is good. We have a private hospital in the Cayo area and we have public hospitals. Over the past 5 years, healthcare has improved a lot. Many years ago, people used to go over the border...

There might be American-trained doctors here in Cayo but a lot of the doctors here are trained in Cuba or some other Caribbean country. We have many good doctors in the Cayo district, and in Belize in general, and some of them might be American-trained.
 
The quality of healthcare here in Cayo is good. We have a private hospital in the Cayo area and we have public hospitals. Over the past 5 years, healthcare has improved a lot. Many years ago, people used to go over the border for healthcare, but now they're sticking to Belize, because the doctors here are well-trained.
 
For local injuries and non-emergency cases, healthcare is free at the government or public hospitals. For expats, it's the same thing. If they break their hand or if something happens to them, they could go to the public hospital and it’s free. For more major injuries, you would go to Belize City and it is still inexpensive compared to the US. A couple of years ago, John, my boss, had a surgery. It was twelve-hour operation in San Ignacio and it cost him about 50% less than would it would’ve cost in the US.
 
When you need to see a doctor here in Cayo, the cost will depend on where you go. I go to the public hospital and I don't get charged anything. If you need medication and they have it at a hospital, they give it to you for free. If not, you'll have to go to the pharmacy to buy it. Basic treatment is free as well. Blood tests and x-rays can be done at the public hospital for free. Anybody could go to a public hospital; even expats.
 
If you go to a public hospital for a surgery, whether you pay or not depends on what kind of surgery is needed but in case you have to pay, it's very inexpensive. An appendix surgery, for example, is inexpensive.  To have a child, there's only a minimum fee for staying in the hospital if you have to, for a couple of days, which I would think is about $10 a night. It's very inexpensive. The delivery is free. 
 
I don't have insurance here in Belize and I don't have a reason to get it because healthcare here is very inexpensive. A lot of people do not bother about getting health insurance because it's not needed. It's money that you really don't have to spend. Some companies, however, do offer insurance to their employees and then they would use it.

 

(Hon. Pablo Marin, the Minster of Health, Belize, pictured.)

Most of the expats in Nicaragua seem to live in Granada. 

 

Other than that, another favorite place is Estelí, which is a mountainous area north of Managua and east northeast of Leon.

 

In Estelí, the climate is much more moderate than in other parts of Nicaragua.  Estelí is an area where they grow tobacco and coffee farms.  If you didn’t like the beach and wanted more moderate weather, Estelí is a good...

Most of the expats in Nicaragua seem to live in Granada. 

 

Other than that, another favorite place is Estelí, which is a mountainous area north of Managua and east northeast of Leon.

 

In Estelí, the climate is much more moderate than in other parts of Nicaragua.  Estelí is an area where they grow tobacco and coffee farms.  If you didn’t like the beach and wanted more moderate weather, Estelí is a good place.  It’s not hot and it’s not cold, but it is a bit breezy.

There is excellent fishing in Portugal.
 
My birthday is on the 4th of April, and normally on the week of my birthday my present is to go fishing for a week. Last year, I caught a 200-kilo (441 pounds) tuna. In Portuguese we call the fish I caught the atum rabillo but in English I think it’s bluefin tuna. So an amateur like me caught a fish like that, which gives you an idea of how rich our waters are.
 
If you go fishing in the main cities—Lisbon or...

There is excellent fishing in Portugal.
 
My birthday is on the 4th of April, and normally on the week of my birthday my present is to go fishing for a week. Last year, I caught a 200-kilo (441 pounds) tuna. In Portuguese we call the fish I caught the atum rabillo but in English I think it’s bluefin tuna. So an amateur like me caught a fish like that, which gives you an idea of how rich our waters are.
 
If you go fishing in the main cities—Lisbon or Porto—you will see a lot of recreational fishing. There are a lot of little boats, which tend to scare the bigger fish but you always catch fish in Portugal.
 
Portugal is really well known for two things: soccer and fish. The fish we get is very, very good fish and very fresh fish. All the restaurants provide very, very fresh fish. Portugal is a really beautiful place to go fishing; very beautiful.  

 

(Fishing at Monte Clérigo, Portugal, pictured.)

In my case, when we moved here to Panama, we packed up a 40-foot container and it was literally full. The pricing was based on weight. To give you some rough numbers, the move of the furniture, the customs clearing, and everything else was approximately US $12,000.
 
We are a family of four and we are in the process of becoming residents here in Panama. We hired a local attorney, who brought us through the various phases of obtaining that residency. I believe the cost for our...

In my case, when we moved here to Panama, we packed up a 40-foot container and it was literally full. The pricing was based on weight. To give you some rough numbers, the move of the furniture, the customs clearing, and everything else was approximately US $12,000.
 
We are a family of four and we are in the process of becoming residents here in Panama. We hired a local attorney, who brought us through the various phases of obtaining that residency. I believe the cost for our attorney for all four of us is somewhere in the $6,000 range. For $20,000 or less you could have all of your stuff shipped and have your residency completed here in Panama.  

 

(Condo living room with tropical furniture, pictured.)