Best Places In The World To Retire

Here in Mexico, you can spend 1,000 pesos (about US $60) per week for food and you will be fine. It will only be more expensive if you buy international products, like wine or French cheese. These products are expensive. The budget of 1000 pesos will be good for two people. Food, local products are inexpensive here in Oaxaca. Furniture, cleaning products are more expensive to buy. 
 
In Oaxaca, eggs are 2 pesos (12 cents) each. I go to the local market to buy eggs. I prefer...

Here in Mexico, you can spend 1,000 pesos (about US $60) per week for food and you will be fine. It will only be more expensive if you buy international products, like wine or French cheese. These products are expensive. The budget of 1000 pesos will be good for two people. Food, local products are inexpensive here in Oaxaca. Furniture, cleaning products are more expensive to buy. 
 
In Oaxaca, eggs are 2 pesos (12 cents) each. I go to the local market to buy eggs. I prefer buying eggs per piece rather than by the dozen because it is fresher that way. You could also go to Wal-Mart and buy eggs in trays. You can choose to buy twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-six eggs in one tray. If you buy fresh bread like bolillo (which is a roll of bread/sandwich), it also costs 12 cents per roll. There are foreigners or expats in Oaxaca who have their own bakeries in the centre and they sell loaves of bread. They are more expensive since they sell their bread at expat prices, around $1.50 for one loaf of bread.

Going to eat outside the house, in a restaurant, is very cheap in Oaxaca. Sometimes cheaper than to cook at home! In many local restaurants they sell menus for 60 pesos (3.3 USD), and they serve you a starter (salad or soup), main dish (fish/meat with vegetables), desert and a glass of fresh water made of fruits.

 

(Selling aqua de fresca, fruit drinks out of a VW bug in Oaxaca, Mexico, pictured.)

There's no problem with speaking and understanding English here. Some people in Belize aren't really educated, but you can't tell me that that Honey Boo Boo on the television is educated, and she lives in a first world country. They have to put subtitles underneath her, even though she is speaking English into the camera. It is a lot easier to understand people in Belize when you get off a plane than Honey Boo Boo on reality TV.

I have not been back to Europe for many years. But when I was there, it was already expensive and I think it is even more expensive now. Many places are expensive. I have also lived in Australia for five months and in New Zealand for two months and both these places have gotten expensive now. I think it also depends on your budget but I love Australia and New Zealand.

For me, the worst places to retire would be any place that is cold; any place where the weather drops below...

I have not been back to Europe for many years. But when I was there, it was already expensive and I think it is even more expensive now. Many places are expensive. I have also lived in Australia for five months and in New Zealand for two months and both these places have gotten expensive now. I think it also depends on your budget but I love Australia and New Zealand.

For me, the worst places to retire would be any place that is cold; any place where the weather drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I got spoiled in Hawaii because I need a warm climate all year round, I need the ocean and I get that here in Panama. So for me, out here in Panama is ideal. Any place that has cold weather, for me, is out of the question, especially being that I have only one long-sleeved shirt to my name and I have no jackets whatsoever.

 

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain...

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain rules with which we had to comply, and the quality of our medical systems was one of them. At that moment, there were two or three really famous Portuguese businessmen who invested heavily in medical facilities and systems, so today, and for the past 10 years, we are at the same level as any other civilized European country. So we have very good medical facilities at the moment.  We are on par with France, Great Britain, etc.
 
There was a trend 10 years ago when there was a big boom in the construction of private hospitals.  In the last 10 years, the Social Democratic Party took over, and one of their measures was to develop the public medical system, so they built all these new hospitals and clinics. I come from a middle-high class family and I use the public medical system. I compared the public and private system because I have private medical insurance and I have a public hospital near by and I use both. I didn’t used to go to the public system because of it having bad reputation in the old days. But the other day, I had a problem with my son and I took him to the public hospital and I was impressed because I got better service than at the private hospital. I don’t know if it was a coincidence but the hospital was brand new with a very quick reply. I went in and out in an hour and sometimes that doesn’t happen in hospitals around the world. So I am very, very impressed with our public medical system at the moment.  

 

(View of Hospital São José from Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)

There are some really good hospitals around the area of Casco Viejo, although not in Casco Viejo, itself.

 

Usually doctors see patients at certain times of the day.  Let's say you have an appointment between 2 and 4 PM.  10 other people will have the same appointment. The first to arrive is the first to be seen. So get there at 1:30 PM.

There are some really good hospitals around the area of Casco Viejo, although not in Casco Viejo, itself.

 

Usually doctors see patients at certain times of the day.  Let's say you have an appointment between 2 and 4 PM.  10 other people will have the same appointment. The first to arrive is the first to be seen. So get there at 1:30 PM.

Interestingly, it costs a little bit more to build a house out by the ocean where we are (about an hour away from Managua; 42 miles) than in the town of Managua, itself.  Here are the main reasons:

• Logistics and transportation.  In Managua, it’s handy to have your materials and labor wherever you need it.  Out by the ocean, we have to bring material and labor out from Managua.

• Labor laws.  Given our location, for example, we have to...

Interestingly, it costs a little bit more to build a house out by the ocean where we are (about an hour away from Managua; 42 miles) than in the town of Managua, itself.  Here are the main reasons:

• Logistics and transportation.  In Managua, it’s handy to have your materials and labor wherever you need it.  Out by the ocean, we have to bring material and labor out from Managua.

• Labor laws.  Given our location, for example, we have to serve two meals that come out before 6 o’clock in the morning - you have to pay for lunch and breakfast.

• Quality materials.  We build with higher quality materials.  In many places in Managua itself, they build with lighter weight materials and with a lighter roof.

• Seismic standards.  We build to California seismic standards. The reason we do is if we have a little earthquake, or we have a drought, or we have a lot of rain and the earth swells or shrinks, we don't want to have any foundation problems.  We understand the seismic necessity of our type of construction, so we build homes that will hopefully be here 150 years from now.