Best Places In The World To Retire

The electricity in Chapala and Ajijic is generally reliable, depending on the area where you live. The areas that have the most expats are generally the ones that have the most reliable electrical service. Expats care about these things, and they ask for their rights. 

 

I live in Chula Vista, and each time something happens with our electricity, I know that I can go and tell the board, and they will do something to fix the problem. I used to be a...

The electricity in Chapala and Ajijic is generally reliable, depending on the area where you live. The areas that have the most expats are generally the ones that have the most reliable electrical service. Expats care about these things, and they ask for their rights. 

 

I live in Chula Vista, and each time something happens with our electricity, I know that I can go and tell the board, and they will do something to fix the problem. I used to be a member of the board, so when people would call us to report a problem, we would answer and act on it.

 

In Chula Vista, the electricity sometimes goes out, but only when it’s raining, which happens for 2-3 months in a year. In the rainy season, it is possible to lose power in Chula Vista up to twice a week, which may last for 1-10 hours, depending on the number of households that have called the board to have it fixed. They usually promise to address the problem within not more than 10 hours, and usually, their response is quicker than that. A generator in my home is not necessary, so I don’t have one.

 

(Home in Chula Vista, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

I think a woman would be better placed to respond to how women and girls are treated in Portugal, but I suppose I can provide a perspective. Women are generally respected in Portugal and having lived abroad for so many years and observing Portugal, I see a fondness for matriarchs that is perhaps not present in many Western countries. A particular concern for those visiting the country is whether women are safe – in a sense related to a sense of how women may be perceived –...

I think a woman would be better placed to respond to how women and girls are treated in Portugal, but I suppose I can provide a perspective. Women are generally respected in Portugal and having lived abroad for so many years and observing Portugal, I see a fondness for matriarchs that is perhaps not present in many Western countries. A particular concern for those visiting the country is whether women are safe – in a sense related to a sense of how women may be perceived – when visiting Portugal. I would have to say that it is one of the safest countries with which I have been associated, and in particular women can freely walk at night without substantially greater fear than men.

 

Women have historically had very traditional roles in Portuguese culture, namely those associated with providing a core stability of the family unit. This has unfortunately meant that tasks such as cooking, raising children, and matters relating to managing a household, are automatically associated with the mother and therefore changing this has been difficult. However, my perception is that the biggest catalyst for change is the workplace. Despite the balance still being far in favour of males in senior positions, there are many talented women who have proved their worth by choosing careers where the glass ceiling is less in evidence. Medical careers, including nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medicine, pharmacy, life sciences and to a certain extent teaching, have propelled women into more senior roles in business, R&D and education, for example. This has not happened in engineering, politics or construction, which continue to be male-dominated. I would say however, that women are no more likely to be treated poorly in the workplace than are men, and ironically my perception is that supervision by the opposite sex often results in better people management in Portugal than being managed by someone of one’s own sex.

 

Of course, I am happy to admit that I may have it all wrong as regards how women are truly perceived in the workplace… what I can say is that most traditional corporate environments in Portugal still expect men to work long hours whenever necessary and place much less emphasis on the importance of a male family role than, for example, many Anglo-Saxonic countries.

 

(Women of two generations, Portugal, pictured.)

The best way to get around in Ambergris Caye is by driving a golf cart.

 

The new traffic cops are trying to tighten up a little bit here, but it is not unusual to see two couples driving in the middle of the afternoon and all of them have an open beer in their hands. That is not technically legal but the traffic cops are trying to make the drivers not hold a beer when they are driving around. 

 

It’s not necessary to...

The best way to get around in Ambergris Caye is by driving a golf cart.

 

The new traffic cops are trying to tighten up a little bit here, but it is not unusual to see two couples driving in the middle of the afternoon and all of them have an open beer in their hands. That is not technically legal but the traffic cops are trying to make the drivers not hold a beer when they are driving around. 

 

It’s not necessary to have a golf cart. You can walk, depending on where you live. If you live within the town core of San Pedro (the only town on Ambergris Caye), you don’t need a golf cart. If you are going to stay at a hotel that is located 2 or 3 miles north, you can take a water taxi that goes about every half hour. It goes north and comes back and charges $10 BZ (US $5) each way. If you want a little more freedom, perhaps to go exploring, you can get a golf cart and rent that for a day or two and just drive around. It’s perfectly safe.

 

If you decide to live here, you would need a golf cart the same way you need a car back home. A brand new golf cart will set you back for about US $11,000 or $12,000.  We are getting some of the old golf carts off the golf courses in the US that were manufactured in 2007, 2008, up to 2010 to Belize to get refurbished. Those ones will set you back about $6,000 to $7,000.

 

The maintenance of golf carts is cheap but the main thing here in Ambergris Caye is that because there is so much salt in the water, air, and sand, a cart will rust out in 3 years. If you buy a golf cart here, if it has an aluminum frame on it, it doesn’t rust out. There are some golf carts here that run on electric and others run on gas. I have two golf carts and both of them run on gas. 

 

Generally, people here in Ambergris Caye do not have cars, but instead have golf carts. You drive around with the breeze on your face. You don’t need air-conditioning because golf carts are open.  Most of them have a windshield to stop the rain and keep you a little dry.  

 

(Golf carts parked along businesses in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, pictured.)