Best Places In The World To Retire

There is no doubt that you can live quite comfortably in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area and not speak more than a few words of Spanish; expats do it all the time.  Most doctors speak English, and you can always find housekeepers, gardeners, repair people, waiters, etc., who also speak English.  I even know of several business owners who don’t speak any more than second year High School Spanish who seem to get by just fine.
 
The people in the service industries here...

There is no doubt that you can live quite comfortably in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area and not speak more than a few words of Spanish; expats do it all the time.  Most doctors speak English, and you can always find housekeepers, gardeners, repair people, waiters, etc., who also speak English.  I even know of several business owners who don’t speak any more than second year High School Spanish who seem to get by just fine.
 
The people in the service industries here in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area will tend to cater to English-speakers because its good for business.  You will also find lots of local Mexicans who have lived in the US and as a result, either speak good, or fluent English.
 
All that being said, I recommend that you try very hard to learn some Spanish, for several reasons, including that doing so is polite (you are, after all, a guest in Mexico) and you will get so much more out of your interpersonal relationships and overall experience if you do, like being able to talk with the woman above, who did some sewing for me in the village of Ajijic.
 

At a minimum, you should know how to say things like “good morning,” “good afternoon,” “thank you,” and “good bye.”  The locals in the overall Lakeside area (Jocotepec to Chapala, including Ajijic) will tend to be more traditional and more community-oriented than you may be used to, because Lakeside is really just a series of villages, where most people know each other and are more interested in each other as human beings, so it would be rude not to acknowledge another person with a warm “Buenos dias” or something similar.  You will find that almost all the locals here greet each other that way and greet you that way, too.  And if you can muster a “buen provecho” (essentially, “hearty appetite”) to a couple of visiting Guadalajarans sitting in a restaurant as you walk by to your table, you will be greeted with very warm smiles and a reply greeting of goodwill to you.
 
If you do learn Spanish, you will be able to have more in depth conversations with the local Mexicans here, which is a very enriching and human experience, and one very much worth having.  You may even make some genuine friends, which is always a good thing.
 
The local Mexicans are thrilled when you make any attempt, no matter how bad, at speaking Spanish.  They will do their best to understand you and encourage you to speak and learn more.  It is not at all unusual for a local Mexican to tell you that while you are trying to learn Spanish, they are trying to improve their English, even though they are in Mexico and Spanish is the official language here.
 
So, to summarize, yes, you can get by without speaking any Spanish in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area, but it would be better for you if you learned to speak Spanish.  You don’t have to be anywhere near perfect, and anything you learn will pay you big dividends in understanding, a feeling of competence, and some real friendships.
 
Interested in moving to Mexico?  Check out Best Mexico Movers.

Vintage golf, anyone? The Coronado Golf Club offers 18 holes of the original Donald Ross design. Challenging greens, some well-placed bunkers, and thank God, shade trees! It gets very warm in Coronado. This golf community and resort include five pools, a fitness center, group activities, and the Beach Club has a  shaded dining room, pool with a view of the ocean, access to the beach and showers, plus it is easy to get in and out of. An important feature for people with limited...

Vintage golf, anyone? The Coronado Golf Club offers 18 holes of the original Donald Ross design. Challenging greens, some well-placed bunkers, and thank God, shade trees! It gets very warm in Coronado. This golf community and resort include five pools, a fitness center, group activities, and the Beach Club has a  shaded dining room, pool with a view of the ocean, access to the beach and showers, plus it is easy to get in and out of. An important feature for people with limited mobility.

 

Retirees can choose from a number of gleaming, elegant high rise condo communities with floor plans to suit the average person or as upscale as your want it to be. The Coronado community is in a state of building! New shopping centers, new  stores, and businesses of all kinds are either started or almost finished. Construction is everywhere. Wealthy Panamanians have been flocking to this location for decades. Mansions and estates line the coastline rivaling the dazzling high rises still popping up.

 

Walking trails, bicycling, water sports, sports fishing, bird watching are some of the basic interests of the people in Coronado. Nightlife is found everywhere in town, in the condos and hotels, along the main streets and back streets, too. Food, dancing, cocktails, music and people watching is easy enough to find.

 

A word of caution: it is hot in Coronado. It can feel rather like a steam sauna, depending on the time of day.

 

Night time beckons because it is cool, breezes blow and the Pacific looks dazzling and romantic as the moonlight glistens over the sea. The sound of the surf breaking onto shore is a lullaby. This is what retired people do; hold hands, hug, and take pictures from the patio or balcony, make friends and RELAX! Do not take anyone's word for it, try them all. Eat drink and be merry in Coronado.

 

In my opinion, the best place in Nicaragua to live is Managua.  It’s still not super-developed, but it’s just developed enough for you to have a comfortable life. Managua has modern technology and it’s not that expensive to live here.  The weather’s kind of hot, but you can put the air conditioning on.
 
Granada is a little bit more expensive, because it’s more touristic.
 
Within Managua, the best place to live is all the area...

In my opinion, the best place in Nicaragua to live is Managua.  It’s still not super-developed, but it’s just developed enough for you to have a comfortable life. Managua has modern technology and it’s not that expensive to live here.  The weather’s kind of hot, but you can put the air conditioning on.
 
Granada is a little bit more expensive, because it’s more touristic.
 
Within Managua, the best place to live is all the area surrounding Carretera Masaya.  Carretera Masaya is a very good, upper middle class and wealthy residential neighborhood outside of the center of Managua with lots of condominiums and houses and very little commercial development.  Carretera Masaya has both gate guarded communities and non-gate guarded communities.

North of the bridge is a more expensive, beachfront community that provides a more isolated way of life, where you have to travel to town  to get things all the time. Town life, on the other hand, is where everything is within walking distance. It may be a little noisy and busy, but I like that. I love people watching and I love being close to everything.

There's quite a bit of misinformation and fear surrounding FATCA, but the bottom line is that it's not a big deal at all (assuming that you are OK with being 100% honest and open when it comes to complying with your U.S. federal income tax responsibilities).

 

If all you do is move your residence overseas, then FATCA will have no effect on you whatsoever.  You could live your whole life overseas and never say or read "FATCA" ever again.  Some...

There's quite a bit of misinformation and fear surrounding FATCA, but the bottom line is that it's not a big deal at all (assuming that you are OK with being 100% honest and open when it comes to complying with your U.S. federal income tax responsibilities).

 

If all you do is move your residence overseas, then FATCA will have no effect on you whatsoever.  You could live your whole life overseas and never say or read "FATCA" ever again.  Some people seem to think that FATCA requires 30% withholding on all international wire transfers or all amounts paid to persons who live overseas, but that is not the case at all.  FATCA withholding only applies in very limited circumstances generally related to U.S. banks and brokers paying interest or dividends to non-U.S. persons.

 

Now, if you also move some assets overseas with you, or otherwise invest in non-U.S. assets (e.g., by forming a non-U.S. corporation, or opening non-U.S. bank accounts), then FATCA will be something you'll need to think about.  However, it still won't negatively affect your life (as long as the assumption in the first sentence of my answer holds true).

 

FATCA is mainly an information-gathering tool for the IRS, and it has two parts.  

 

First, FATCA requires some additional disclosure on your U.S. tax return--this is IRS Form 8938.  So, you'll need to add a few extra pages to your return to tell the IRS about your non-U.S. bank accounts or interests in non-U.S. entities.  No big deal (assuming you have your U.S. tax return prepared by someone knowledgeable in this area).

 

Second, FATCA essentially requires non-U.S. banks and brokers to provide information about their U.S. account holders.  (I say "essentially requires" because FATCA subjects them to a punitive withholding regime if they don't comply.)  So, when you open a non-U.S. financial account, you'll have some extra paperwork to fill out.  Then, if you invest through fancy offshore structures, you'll need to make sure it is structured in a way that makes FATCA compliance easy (you'll need a tax attorney on board).  Again, FATCA should not ultimately have a negative impact on your life.

 

So, no need to worry about FATCA--just enjoy your new life abroad!

 

(Lake Nicaragua  and the island volcano Ometepe, Nicaragua, pictured.)