Best Places In The World To Retire

Camping, I have not tried here in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area. But as an ardent environmentalist, I love the lush nature. The lake water quality has a bad reputation, despite a Harvard study finding it safe.

 

What's encouraging are the steps that the Mexican "green" movement and local and federal government are taking to elevate standards. More controls on emissions. More recycling. More organic stores, etc.

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Camping, I have not tried here in the Lake Chapala / Ajijic area. But as an ardent environmentalist, I love the lush nature. The lake water quality has a bad reputation, despite a Harvard study finding it safe.

 

What's encouraging are the steps that the Mexican "green" movement and local and federal government are taking to elevate standards. More controls on emissions. More recycling. More organic stores, etc.

 

As for outings in general, personally, I enjoy it all -- walks through the neighborhoods, dinners at the restaurants, the existence of popular bike lanes, hiking to the mountain-side waterfall, the movies, plays, concerts, and other entertaining events. Actually, there is more stuff to do than one can do -- you have to pick and choose. And if you're going to do any long distance work for pay, you'll really have to discipline yourself.

 

(Sailing on Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

• The weather is superb. The Algarve has than 3,000 hours and 300 days of sunlight. The Algarve has more sunlight and more sunny days than California. The weather is very similar to Southern California—San Diego, Santa...

• The weather is superb. The Algarve has than 3,000 hours and 300 days of sunlight. The Algarve has more sunlight and more sunny days than California. The weather is very similar to Southern California—San Diego, Santa Barbara—that kind of area. The Algarve also receives very little rainfall. It doesn’t get very hot, and it doesn’t get very cold. Whatever heat we get in the summer is moderated by the Atlantic, which keeps things moderate.

• The cost of living is very reasonable, if not low—certainly low in European standards.

• The healthcare is good. We have a great public healthcare system, and one in which, under certain circumstances, expats can participate.

• The Algarve is very safe.

• Most people in the Algarve speak English.

• There’s a huge range of activities to do in the Algarve even in the winter, whether it be sporting, wellness, or cultural.

• There is an existing expat population in the Algarve so it’s quite easy to integrate and you’ll probably easily find someone of your nationality. And if you don’t like your own nationality you’ll find someone with somebody else’s nationality. So there are plenty of options there.

• Generally speaking, people just like living here. They like the Portuguese people and the way that they are; the friendly nature of the local folk. 

• Portugal is probably the most tax efficient country in Europe at the moment. It has no income tax on pensions for most pensioners. It has no inheritance tax. It has no wealth tax. So there are a number of advantages from a taxation perspective that draws many people to Portugal and to the Algarve in specific.

• Portugal is a fairly bureaucratic country, so as a retiree even though the system is being simplified, initially come prepared for a little bit of bureaucracy. It will take a little bit of time to get things organized.  Dealing with public bodies is not easy at all. I’m someone who lives most of my time outside Portugal and therefore when I’m here I always feel a little bit frustrated by having to deal with public sector bodies that take too long and many times they don’t give you the right answer at the first go, so you have to be very careful about the advice that you take from them and double check it. It helps to have someone on the ground to help you along if you’re moving to the country just to make sure you avoid any mistakes and make sure that the transition goes smoothly.

• Getting Internet connectivity may be a bit of an issue. Once it’s working, it’s great. But it just takes a little bit of time to get things set up and organized.

• If you are thinking of building, planning, or constructing something, there may be challenges. If you have a passion to buy a piece of land and build a house, take great care because it’s a fairly long process and you need to make sure that planning is in place that you are authorized and build and develop what you want. And it’s something to be handled very, very carefully.

• Another challenge here in the Algarve for some people is that there are certain items that are not competitively priced, for example, electronics, motor vehicles, and fuel. So shop around. This is not necessary a negative point. In every country there are expensive or less expensive things. When you move and retire to the Algarve, make sure that you shop around because by doing so you can cut your cost of living tremendously.

Like most people in San Francisco Panama I live in a apartment so I do not need a gardener because the administration takes care of the common garden.

 

Even though most of the people in the San Francisco area of Panama City live in apartments, if you need one, you can get a gardener for as low as $20 for half a working day. 

Like most people in San Francisco Panama I live in a apartment so I do not need a gardener because the administration takes care of the common garden.

 

Even though most of the people in the San Francisco area of Panama City live in apartments, if you need one, you can get a gardener for as low as $20 for half a working day. 

You can rent a home in Nicaragua from US $200 per month to US $4,000 per month depending on location, size and region. A nice 3-bedroom home in Managua with hot water and Internet would run US $600 to $2,000 depending on the neighborhood. A similar home at the beach would rent for a similar amount generally, although some huge homes at the beach trend toward the higher numbers.

You can rent a home in Nicaragua from US $200 per month to US $4,000 per month depending on location, size and region. A nice 3-bedroom home in Managua with hot water and Internet would run US $600 to $2,000 depending on the neighborhood. A similar home at the beach would rent for a similar amount generally, although some huge homes at the beach trend toward the higher numbers.

Be very very careful when researching offshore asset protection strategies.  There are sharks in these waters.  Lots of people with absolutely no professional credentials whatsoever have set up shop as self-appointed offshore asset protection gurus, and they'll happily give you advice on all sorts of things they have no real understanding of.

 

In general, there are two main benefits to moving assets offshore:  (i) you potentially make yourself look...

Be very very careful when researching offshore asset protection strategies.  There are sharks in these waters.  Lots of people with absolutely no professional credentials whatsoever have set up shop as self-appointed offshore asset protection gurus, and they'll happily give you advice on all sorts of things they have no real understanding of.

 

In general, there are two main benefits to moving assets offshore:  (i) you potentially make yourself look less wealthy than you are to someone who may want to go after you, and (ii) you remove your assets from an environment where they can be frozen with a simple phone call from a judge or regulatory agency.  However, if push comes to shove, and you are at all interested in not lying under oath, then your creditors may still be able to reach assets you hold offshore (by forcing you to hand those assets over to them).

 

Holding assets offshore typically does NOT reduce your U.S. income tax liability. The typical offshore asset protection structure is tax-neutral, which means that it doesn't change your U.S. tax position at all--you are still subject to tax on income from passive investments you hold offshore. However, there are certain offshore strategies that DO work to reduce or defer payment of U.S. tax, but these are specialized structures that must be designed by working with a U.S. tax attorney.

 

(Shark Spotting Mac notebook sleeve by Jet Metier, pictured.)