Best Places In The World To Retire

How much will I pay in real estate or property tax in Mexico?

David Schwendeman - Mexlend

Real estate taxes in Mexico are surprisingly low. Rates fluctuate a bit from location to location and just like the US and many other places your costs are based on the Tax Value or "Catastral Value" of the property. As a general rule, owners pay about $100.00 US per $100K in Tax Value. In other words a property valued at $100K will have a yearly tax of approximately $100.00 US - $500K will mean $500.00 US, etc.

What's the crime rate against Americans and other expats in Boquete, Panama?

Dennis Reason

It's very disingenuous to say crime is unheard of here and this misinformation may be actually be contributing to the rising crime rates. We have been living in Boquete and Volcan for three years and have noticed a marked increase in violent crimes against expats including deaths. We have had only one attempted break in but have had several neighbors who have had to fight off break ins while they were in progress from inside their home. We need businesses and...

What is Nicaragua's economic system? More free market, capitalistic, socialist, etc.?

Daniel Snider - Snider's Realty Nicaragua

real estate developments, Nicargua, Daniel Snider – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

Nicaragua is a capitalistic, free market system that wants to incentive growth through capitalistic models via investments, financing, and being able to create value out of that. With the new incentives that the government offers, businesses are able to build infrastructure and do business.

Traditionally, the economy of Nicaragua is focused primarily on agriculture, which is the number one economic output of the country. Tourism and trade are also...

Nicaragua is a capitalistic, free market system that wants to incentive growth through capitalistic models via investments, financing, and being able to create value out of that. With the new incentives that the government offers, businesses are able to build infrastructure and do business.

Traditionally, the economy of Nicaragua is focused primarily on agriculture, which is the number one economic output of the country. Tourism and trade are also growing quite quickly in Nicaragua. In April 2006, the US-Central American Free Trade went into effect and that helped dramatically in industries like textile, leather, and other Nicaraguan goods. Nicaragua can now produce in larger volumes because of the free trade agreement.

My family has had a business in Nicaragua for over a century. My father has had a business here in Nicaragua for the past 19 years selling real estate and has been very successful at it. 19 years ago, he came in as a pioneer and had an important role in helping develop several beach communities here in Nicaragua, such as Rancho Santana, Iguana Beach and Golf Club, and Guacalito, among other,s so we have seen these grow over the years.

As far as being an expat coming into a different country to start a business, it turned out well for my father. We are not going anywhere else right now. We don’t have to worry about the government expropriating our properties and just take them from us.

I am actually more worried if bigger external economies like China or the US tank. That worries me more than Nicaraguan expropriation because things like tourism in Nicaragua are highly dependent on the US economy and how it is functioning at any moment. Although, my gut feeling and what I have been hearing from clients is that if the economy of the US, for some reason, tanks, they are all going to come down here to Nicaragua. So it might even be a good thing for us here in Nicaragua because there will be a huge influx of expats trying to get out of the US if it happens.

Are there English-speaking doctors in Portugal?

Carol Bartlett Ribeiro - Carol Bartlett Ribeiro, Property Consultant

I often say that you feel safer if you can be sick in your own language. There are excellent hospitals and excellent doctors in Portugal, all of whom speak English. The nurses also speak English. You are very well cared for.

I have a lot of experience with the healthcare system in Portugal is because of my husband having been in hospital so much before he died last year. Whether you go to a public hospital or if you have private insurance, the doctors here...

I often say that you feel safer if you can be sick in your own language. There are excellent hospitals and excellent doctors in Portugal, all of whom speak English. The nurses also speak English. You are very well cared for.

I have a lot of experience with the healthcare system in Portugal is because of my husband having been in hospital so much before he died last year. Whether you go to a public hospital or if you have private insurance, the doctors here are very, very good. And there is a lot of ongoing very high quality research going on. I often say to visitors to Portugal that you don’t need to think about getting on a plane and flying home unless you’re doing so for a specific doctor who you don’t have here. Other than that, from a healthcare perspective, there’s everything here.

Things have changed so much regarding the language here. It’s important to perhaps pick up some words in Portuguese and there are lots of schools you can go to but the Portuguese are quite happy if speaking English to you. They prefer to speak English to you in order to practice their English rather than you struggling Portuguese, but it’s always good to say “obrigado” (please) and “faz favor” (thank you).

The Portuguese spoken in Portugal is more formal than the Portuguese spoken in Brazil. For many people it’s easier to pick up Portuguese from the Brazilians because the way Brazilians speak Portuguese is more musical as opposed to the way those the Portuguese speak it, wherein they would tend to sometimes swallow the end of the word. I learned my Portuguese in Brazil when we were living there. The difference is it’s a little bit like the difference between American English and English from England, where you have the same word but maybe different meanings.

(Logo for Todos os Santos clinic, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)

In general, how does the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) affect me if I move overseas?

Mike Cobb - ECI Development

FATCA (or the HIRE Act) requires US citizens Street signs pointing to Facta and the facts – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

to file a new form on their tax returns called the 8938. It is a disclosure form of all foreign financial assets, and includes everything but property held in your own name and gold held in your own name. All other financial assets, trusts, companies, LLC's, stocks, partnerships, etc., must be disclosed on this form.

Are there rivers and lakes in or around Belize?

Giancarlo Vega - Black Orchid Resort

Tubing through Belize's underground rivers – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

I am a sea person so I don’t go to lagoons quite often and lagoons here in Belize mostly serve a different purpose.

We have many rivers in Belize. Some of them are the Belize River, Mopan River, Monkey River, New River, Macal River, Sibun River, Rio Hondo, Sarstoon River, and Rio Blanco.

The Macal River is mostly for river canoeing, which is usually combined with bird watching, wildlife, and flora and fauna tours. The Mopan River is the same as the Macal River...

I am a sea person so I don’t go to lagoons quite often and lagoons here in Belize mostly serve a different purpose.

We have many rivers in Belize. Some of them are the Belize River, Mopan River, Monkey River, New River, Macal River, Sibun River, Rio Hondo, Sarstoon River, and Rio Blanco.

The Macal River is mostly for river canoeing, which is usually combined with bird watching, wildlife, and flora and fauna tours. The Mopan River is the same as the Macal River but you can also do a lot of tubing and kayaking rather than canoeing there. There are people who go to the Mayan Ruins, then hop in a canoe, go down the river and then go cave tubing. You can do all these on a combination tour. The River Lagoon is a combination tour of wildlife, flora and fauna, and we use that to go to Lamanai, which is a major Mayan ruin in northern Belize.

In southern Belize, the rivers are mostly great for kayaking, rafting, and flora and fauna tours. You can also go river tubing on the Rio Blanco. Rio Blanco offers a lot of water activities such as tubing, canoeing, rafting, kayaking, paddle boating, and crocodile spotting.

Most of the rivers in Belize are very slow moving shallow rivers. We do have some rapids but most of the rivers are very safe and slow moving. 95% of the rivers in Belize are clean with crystal clear waters so you can go swimming in them without worrying about getting bacteria. I wouldn’t swim in the New River and Rio Hondo. I wouldn’t swim in the Belize River but some locals do it. Mopan River and Macal are both excellent for swimming.

If you are in Southern Belize, the Sibun River and Rio Blanco are also good for swimming. The river around our resort, the Black Orchid, is the Belize River, which I do not recommend clients to swim in but as I’ve mentioned some locals do swim in the Belize River. Around 30 minutes away from the Black Orchid, you can get to rivers that are nice, clean, and safe to swim and have fun in.

(Tubing through Belize's underground rivers, pictured.)

Recently Answered Questions

How much will I pay in real estate or property tax in Mexico?

What's the crime rate against Americans and other expats in Boquete, Panama?

What is Nicaragua's economic system? More free market, capitalistic, socialist, etc.?

Are there English-speaking doctors in Portugal?

In general, how does the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) affect me if I move overseas?

Are there rivers and lakes in or around Belize?

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Best Places In The World To Retire