Best Places In The World To Retire

I have not encountered any racial tension here in Mexico. We have a lot of gay people here. We are all friends and we get along together.

 

There were some really nasty people that come from Canada and the United States for which we wanted to chip in and send home. They don’t want to pay even really cheap rates and they complain about the Spanish and they complain about using pesos. The locals say, “Here in Mexico, we speak Spanish and we use...

I have not encountered any racial tension here in Mexico. We have a lot of gay people here. We are all friends and we get along together.

 

There were some really nasty people that come from Canada and the United States for which we wanted to chip in and send home. They don’t want to pay even really cheap rates and they complain about the Spanish and they complain about using pesos. The locals say, “Here in Mexico, we speak Spanish and we use pesos and if you don’t like it then you shouldn’t be here.”

 

As far as racial tension similar to what they have in the US, I don’t see that here in Mexico. Mexico has lots of different minorities and little tribes. The Tarahumara, for example, are a very interesting group who live in caves down at the bottom of Copper Canyon in northern Mexico. They don’t want to change their lifestyle or their language to fit in. We gather up clothing and blankets and so on to take to them so they don’t freeze in the winter, but we won’t put them in a development and build homes for them or put them in the public school system because they won’t go.

 

Overall, there is no discrimination here. We have black people living here and they are not discriminated against; that I know. I am sure there are some bigoted people but we just do not have the same kind of thing here in Mexico as they do in the US.

 

As you go to different towns in Mexico, you would see that some of the people wear their customary dress. They are shorter and maybe heavier and darker. They eat different foods. Most of them speak some English so you could communicate with them. I just do not see any racial tension with them, or other groups here in Mexico.  

 

(Steve Cross's message found at Lake Chapala Real Estate office, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

 

I have only been here in San Juan Del Sur for two years but I have noticed a significant improvement relative to the reliability of the supply of electricity. We had a lot more black outs last year compared to this year. Last year, we had at least one black out every week when the power is off for most of the day. This year, the black outs only happen once a month, so apparently, they are getting the problem solved.

 

There is no problem with the supply...

I have only been here in San Juan Del Sur for two years but I have noticed a significant improvement relative to the reliability of the supply of electricity. We had a lot more black outs last year compared to this year. Last year, we had at least one black out every week when the power is off for most of the day. This year, the black outs only happen once a month, so apparently, they are getting the problem solved.

 

There is no problem with the supply of power here in San Juan del Sur. The distribution of power is the main issue. There is poor electrical infrastructure in San Juan Del Sur so you will still see old wooden electrical posts, but they have been replacing those with the concrete posts now recently. As a result of this upgrade work and other factors, the reliability of electricity has improved a lot since last year.

I basically live a North American standard in Belize. I have a 1,600 square foot, concrete house.  I have almost all of the amenities you would want, such as satellite dish and everything else. You don't have to live like that here.  If you want to live with less stuff, you can live with less stuff. However you chose to do it, the standard of living in Belize is good. 

 

The problem with me answering this question is that I lived here most...

I basically live a North American standard in Belize. I have a 1,600 square foot, concrete house.  I have almost all of the amenities you would want, such as satellite dish and everything else. You don't have to live like that here.  If you want to live with less stuff, you can live with less stuff. However you chose to do it, the standard of living in Belize is good. 

 

The problem with me answering this question is that I lived here most of my life, so I don't really have a lot to compare it with. I'm not someone that lived 60 years in another country and moved to Belize, so it's difficult for me to answer.  With that said, I'd say that the standard of living here is pretty good. There isn't a person in the area in Corozal that I would say is a homeless person. There is no such thing as homeless people. Everybody looks after everybody. Family is very important in this country. If it's not you who looks after a person, then an uncle or an aunt or a nephew or somebody down the line is going to bring this person in so they can sleep at night and make sure that they have food and clothing. Even if they're out on the streets they come back in a couple of days and they look after them again. It's very important to these people. The quality of life and taking care of others is very important to these people.  

 

(Corazal Town, Belize, where Bently Wildman refers, pcitured.)

In order to have a gun in Portugal, you have to have a license.  Foreigners can own guns in Portugal.  

 

Most of the people who have guns in Portugal, and how gun ownership started is that the guns were for hunters for the hunting season, but there are very strict rules for that. 

 

The actual details of what would be required to get a license to have a gun and what it would cost, I don’t know. The reason...

In order to have a gun in Portugal, you have to have a license.  Foreigners can own guns in Portugal.  

 

Most of the people who have guns in Portugal, and how gun ownership started is that the guns were for hunters for the hunting season, but there are very strict rules for that. 

 

The actual details of what would be required to get a license to have a gun and what it would cost, I don’t know. The reason is we don’t really discuss guns very much apart from if you see on television that they’ve arrested people because of drugs or something similar.  Apart from that, fortunately, at this point in time, I think when you see what’s going on in the world, we feel reasonably safe without guns. 

 

(1934 photo of a  hunter in Peralcovo, Portugal, pictured.)