Best Places In The World To Retire

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Recently Answered Questions

Do I need to own a car in Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?

Centeya - Radisson Blu Ajijic

The Waffle House, or better known as La Casa del Waffle, a popular landmark on the main road of Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

In Ajijic, you do not need to own a car. Everything in Ajijic is walking distance. If you’re living in Chapala as an expat, you may want to visit Ajijic more frequently because of the higher concentration of restaurants, shops and event galleries, and if you don’t mind taking the bus, you won’t need a car.

There’s a bus line that runs from Chapala to Jocotepec (most of the main area where expats would go) on the main road, and it...

What do I need to know about living overseas and retiring abroad?

Allen Rosen - Chiriqui Coastal Real Estate

I am a Canadian who has lived in Panama for 6 years.

The most important -- and difficult -- lesson I have learned in Panama is this:

If you arrive in your new country with an open mind and a willingness to adapt to its culture, you will thrive.

If you arrive with a 'gringo mindset' and believe that your new country has an obligation to adapt to you and your values, well, you are going to end up being miserable and...

How's the ecotourism in and around Panama?

lars forsberg - Longboat Retirement

People often ask how is the ecotourism in and around Panama?

I answer, well - it's improving, but it has a ways to go to become a destination. I prefer it to be a little more natural and raw myself, but some people want it to be more tourism than eco - if you know what I mean.

The nature is there, but the tourist operations are not, which I like, but you may not. The opportunities for someone to open ecotourism operations...

How's the medical and dental tourism in Belize?

Christian Burn

Medical tourism is the next big project in Belize. The government is heavily trying to figure it out. That is definitely up and coming here in Belize, especially in the islands.

The funny thing that’s going on from my understanding is that, the Belizean doctors here don’t want to lose their market share to foreign doctors. So from my gathering, the foreign doctors will have to bring in a foreign patient, and the local doctors will treat anyone who is already here....

What are the best things to do in and around Algarve?

Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living

Via Algarviana – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

Golf is definitely one of the best things to do in Algarve. Sun and sand is great in Algarve so spending time on the beach is another best thing to do here. Water sports and other related activities such as sailing, surfing on the west coast, fishing, canoeing in rivers are fantastic activities do to in Algarve. Rambling and walking are also popular in the Algarve.

We have fantastic coastal walks and we have an inland walk called the Via Algarviana, which...

We have fantastic coastal walks and we have an inland walk called the Via Algarviana, which is fantastic for seeing the interior beaches of the Algarve, either on foot or on a bicycle. Anything related to the outdoor, sports, nature, and wellness is absolutely superb in Algarve.

Then we have gastronomy. Gastronomy is probably one of the best things to do anywhere in Portugal, but here in Algarve, there are fantastic restaurants, great seafood, wonderful fish, etc. so eating out is a part of the culture of people who move to the region of the Algarve and a major part of the culture of the people who are locals.

We also have an immense amount of cultural activity that goes on all year round. Even in the winter, when most people think the cultural activities have shut down, we have the ballet, jazz, local orchestras and international orchestras that play, and we have performing arts of different kinds. A lot of people are not aware that this goes on. There is a lot of cultural activity here in Algarve but you need to know where to find them. This surprises most people because they do not expect that a destination such as the Algarve, which is known for sea, sand, and golf, has as much of a variety on the cultural front.

We had a guest, who was staying at one of our locations near the city of Portimão, although she was on the Lagoa, municipal side. A ballet came for several performances at the Images for Pavilhao Do Arade, which is a very big, modern, exhibition and performance venue just off the River Arade. Our guest was so amazed. She said, “To do this in London, I would have had to go into London, and book a hotel for a night. I would then have had to catch a taxi to the West End, have dinner at the West End, see the show, go back to the hotel, and go out. The cost to do this would easily be £200 (about US $300).”

And she said, “I walked over to the venue, and to be fair, it is in a fairly industrial area but I felt completely safe. I walked over from my hotel to the venue, saw the show, and walked back to the hotel at 11:30 PM. It was very safe. I had my dinner in the local restaurant before. The show cost me about €24 ($27 or £18), and the dinner cost me €8 ($9 or £6), so for around €32 ($35 or £23), I saw a world class performance that was convenient, safe, and very inexpensive.” It’s that type of thing that exists in the Algarve if you know where to look.

(Map of the Via Algarviana, Algarve, Portugal pictured.)

What's retirement in Managua, Nicaragua like?

Kent Payne

Managua Nicaragua Gran Pacifica woman in chair at pool at sunset at beach – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

The answer to what it would be like to retire in Managua is different, depending on whether you’re talking about the city of Managua, or out at the beach, 42 miles away (about an hour by car), which is where I live, at Gran Pacifica.

In Managua itself, if you need to be close to shopping and to browse for clothing at one of the nice stores, you should check out Siman, which would be very comparable to a Neiman Marcus. It would not be quite as expensive as Niman Marcus but it would certainly be upscale for Nicaragua. To give you an idea of the prices there, Levis are $75 each. If you really like the city and its shopping, then it’s a great place to go.

For a nice place for expats to live, in a nice neighborhood, rents run from US $1,200 - $1,500 / month for a furnished place, plus you pay your own utilities.

The city of Managua has a little higher elevation, so it’s a little bit cooler than we are right here at the ocean. A family of two could live fairly comfortably somewhere in the neighborhood of probably $3,000 / month for everything, all in. it’s about the same for us out here at Gran Pacifica.

If you live in town, you can catch a taxi where you want to go, because it seems like there are millions of them. None of them have shocks and none of them have headliners, but you can get taxis everywhere.

Retirement in Managua town itself is not my cup of tea just because of the amount of traffic and the fact that you have to live behind razor wire and that kind of goes against my way of wanting to live. When it was being rebuild in the 1970s the town went through some difficult political times. So, every home and every neighborhood built walls to protect themselves from people from the outside. Here at Gran Pacifica, its just the opposite. We don’t even allow walls. Retaining walls are all that’s allowed and there has to be a variance from the architectural committee to put up any type of wall.

Gran Pacifica is a planned urban development that was planned by the same people responsible for Walt Disney Celebration, what many regard as a perfect American town, in Florida. For Gran Pacifica, however, they planned the town with Nicaraguan flavor instead of picket fences and big front porches with stoops like they did in Florida. Here, we have lots of outdoor terraces and lots of green space because we have the room for it.

Gran Pacifica has a community feel but not a city feel. That’s going to be amended as we continue to grow because there will be a little commercial district, stores like laundromats and ice cream shops, etc. Gran Pacifica is a planned development with little neighborhoods. We are in Phase 1 right now, called “San Diego Viejo” (Old San Diego). There are cobblestone streets and brick sidewalks, streetlights with brand new LED lights on order right now. So, we have the amenities of the 21st century but the look of an old town.

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Two of the best things about living at the Lake Chapala area have to do with aviation:

1. Through what I can only assume is dumb luck, Guadalajara International Airport was placed at the south side of that huge metropolis as opposed to the north side, so us fortunate enough to live at Lake Chapala can get to the airport without having to first pass through 30 miles of the worst traffic this side of Mexico City.

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Jet Metier: Good morning, Sarah!

Sarah Booth: Hi Jet!

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