Best Places In The World To Retire

There are a lot of extremely high-end, fancy restaurants that you can go to in Puerto Vallarta. The Malecon (which is the boardwalk) has all kinds of clubs, bars, and restaurants.
 
I am really big into watching Chicago sports. I can go down to one of the bars on Malecon where they are showing a game. They show different hockey, basketball, American football, and soccer games.
 
The clubs are really fun. If you go to the Malecon at night and walk around with all the...

There are a lot of extremely high-end, fancy restaurants that you can go to in Puerto Vallarta. The Malecon (which is the boardwalk) has all kinds of clubs, bars, and restaurants.
 
I am really big into watching Chicago sports. I can go down to one of the bars on Malecon where they are showing a game. They show different hockey, basketball, American football, and soccer games.
 
The clubs are really fun. If you go to the Malecon at night and walk around with all the people, there is always something going on and there are always people around, be it the Mexicans, the tourists, and the expats that are here. It is just really lively.
 
The Malecon is 100% safe. They have guards that walk the Malecon, probably 30 of them. These guards are visible every couple of feet. They ride the Segways where you lean forward on the wheels and it goes for you. There is absolutely not a single thing to worry about when you go around the Malecon because that is where most of the expats and tourists hang out. 
 
Puerto Vallarta's main source of business and their main income is the tourist market, so that is what the local government prepares for. They do not want to create a bad reputation of expats or tourists getting robbed or killed because then tourism will drop off and they will start losing their income. The local government depends on tourism so they want to make sure that people feel safe so they will come back or recommend their friends to come. On the Malecon, I have been out until four or five in the morning and I have never felt any fear.

 

(Night on the Malecon, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)

No, you don't need a Nicaraguan driver's license to drive in Nicaragua.  I have been living in Nicaragua for over a year and have presented my US driver's license at numerous traffic checkpoints and there has never had an issue.

 

In fact, according to my research you need to have residency in order to get a Nicaraguan-issued driver's license.  I found some information on a Nicaragua police website that discusses the requirements for licenses,...

No, you don't need a Nicaraguan driver's license to drive in Nicaragua.  I have been living in Nicaragua for over a year and have presented my US driver's license at numerous traffic checkpoints and there has never had an issue.

 

In fact, according to my research you need to have residency in order to get a Nicaraguan-issued driver's license.  I found some information on a Nicaragua police website that discusses the requirements for licenses, and the first requirement is a cedula de residencia. 

Belize is very diverse; it is like a multi-cultural melting pot. Like Canada, Belizeans celebrate diversity. They do not fear it. It's not like you have to be American first and then whatever culture is second. In Canada, first you’re your other culture, then you're Canadian. Likewise here in Belize, Belizeans consider themselves to be whatever their heritage is, but they are very proud Belizeans because their differences are accepted. There is significantly less racial tension...

Belize is very diverse; it is like a multi-cultural melting pot. Like Canada, Belizeans celebrate diversity. They do not fear it. It's not like you have to be American first and then whatever culture is second. In Canada, first you’re your other culture, then you're Canadian. Likewise here in Belize, Belizeans consider themselves to be whatever their heritage is, but they are very proud Belizeans because their differences are accepted. There is significantly less racial tension in Belize than in the US. Some of it is based on the fact that there are only 300,000 people in Belize.
 
There are a lot of different races in Belize, but surprisingly there is also a large Mennonite population. The Mennonites are accepted here along with all the other cultures, from the Mayan culture, which is one of the original cultures, to the Garifuna culture, which is also an original culture here because they are descendants of the slaves. There is also the Mestizo culture, which is the Spanish / slave mix. There is a Creole culture, which is the British / slave mix. Then there is the British-American culture, but all these different cultures kind of mix together into one. People of all different races and cultures hang out together and do things together here in Belize.

The Weather

One of the worst reasons to retire overseas is to do it because you want to be in a place with good weather. There are times when people decide to visit a certain place at a specific time of the year because somebody told them that they will experience the best weather. The same is not always true if you live in the same place for a whole year since the weather will change during the year. However nice the weather is at a certain time of the year, remember it can...

The Weather

One of the worst reasons to retire overseas is to do it because you want to be in a place with good weather. There are times when people decide to visit a certain place at a specific time of the year because somebody told them that they will experience the best weather. The same is not always true if you live in the same place for a whole year since the weather will change during the year. However nice the weather is at a certain time of the year, remember it can also can be the complete opposite during another season of year. Weather is a big factor when people make a decision to move to a different country but I think it also can be a letdown. The culture and the community are more practical factors with bigger benefits.
 
The Beach

A lot of people want to retire on the beach or live on the beach and that is great. The beach is beautiful and it has a lot of things that are attractive but it is particularly suited for visiting rather than living. The air on the beach is salty, which makes properties wear down. The sun is normally very hot on the beach and it gets uncomfortable. So if you live on the beach, you might find yourself constantly looking for shade.
 
There is not a lot of agriculture that can be supported at the beach. Vendors come to the beach on trucks in order to sell to the people there. That adds to the hustle and bustle brought about by visitors that come to the beach all the time. It is not ideal to be at the beach the whole year because it starts to wear on you after a while. I’ve known a lot of people who end up being more stressed out than any other time in their lives because they just had an impression that moving overseas and living on the beach was going to be perfect. Nothing is perfect, not even the beach. 

The best answer regarding good weather in Panama, is that the Panama Canal was built here, chosen from among other countries, precisely because Panama has no hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes or tsunamis.  Only beautiful weather all year-long.  Rain season between May and November, and beautiful rainforests with bird watching.

The best answer regarding good weather in Panama, is that the Panama Canal was built here, chosen from among other countries, precisely because Panama has no hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes or tsunamis.  Only beautiful weather all year-long.  Rain season between May and November, and beautiful rainforests with bird watching.