Best Places In The World To Retire

In the Yucatan Peninsula, there are professional construction standards and there are construction regulations both on the local and in the state level requiring builders to get permits. There are officials from the city that authorize the design of the project so there are good checks and balances in the system. Licensed engineers need to sign off on your project before you are permitted to start building.
 
For new construction, the first owners of the house do have guarantees...

In the Yucatan Peninsula, there are professional construction standards and there are construction regulations both on the local and in the state level requiring builders to get permits. There are officials from the city that authorize the design of the project so there are good checks and balances in the system. Licensed engineers need to sign off on your project before you are permitted to start building.
 
For new construction, the first owners of the house do have guarantees as the law mandates guarantees for hidden defects on all new construction. This construction standard includes the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo; the whole Yucatan Peninsula. It’s a mature system. There’s not a large risk of having a building that’s going to collapse or be built to poor standards. 
 
One of the things I noticed when I first moved to the Yucatan Peninsula is that around 95% of all construction here is made of cement blocks, which is one of the least expensive construction materials to be utilized here in Mexico. Cement blocks also do very well against strong winds. When a hurricane goes through Florida or even in the Caribbean Islands where they build using lumber, you will see quite a bit of destruction. You won’t see that happen as much in the Yucatan. Building with cement blocks is a big plus.
 
There are different sizes of cement blocks. When you go into the low-income areas of Yucatan, sometimes it’s a shame that you will see some construction made of small blocks that absorb the heat and you can feel the heat radiating from the blocks. You can tell a good construction by the size of the block and the type of support that they have on them. Having a good home inspector or a good realtor that understands the quality issues is a big plus. 
 
Right now, we have a smaller project where the homes duplexes share walls. One of the things that we did on our project, even though it is a duplex with a shared wall, is that we built two complete walls. Building this way greatly reduces the noise, so you don’t hear your neighbors and it just makes the structure stronger. These are some of the little details that you can look up to in order to make sure that you get a good quality house or condo.
 
I’m not quite sure if there is any kind of regulation relative to the amount of rebar used. I do know that some developers show buyers the size of rebar that they’re using. Within that regulation, some developers use the smallest amount or the smallest diameter size and some use the higher quality, in order to make sure the structure is well built.
 
In our team at Top Mexico Real Estate, we always introduce a professional home inspector, especially for re-sales. They check on issues throughout the home such as electrical, pipes and even water pressure. One of the things I hear in the Yucatan is that there is a higher buildup of materials inside the water pipes, which is something that you have to have maintenance on because it builds up and then it reduces the amount of water coming through your pipes. It starts to build up over 5 to 7 years.  

 

(Luxury condos built around a golf course, Playacar Phase 2, Playa del Carmen, Mexico, pictured.)

Who your neighbors would be in Nicaragua depends on where you live. My neighbors are pretty cool. Some of them speak English, and some of them actually went to school in the US and then came back. Some of my neighbors are Brazilian, so they speak Portuguese. There is a mix of everything so who your neighbors are would really depend on where you live.
 
If you’re an expat that has gotten it into your mind that you will live at the beach, then you’re probably going to...

Who your neighbors would be in Nicaragua depends on where you live. My neighbors are pretty cool. Some of them speak English, and some of them actually went to school in the US and then came back. Some of my neighbors are Brazilian, so they speak Portuguese. There is a mix of everything so who your neighbors are would really depend on where you live.
 
If you’re an expat that has gotten it into your mind that you will live at the beach, then you’re probably going to run into a lot of foreigners.
 
If you’re an expat who’s thinking you would live up in the mountains up north then you will probably meet a lot of people that are country folk or simple folk. They are very sweet but they do not have much exposure to culture because they are up north.
 
People from Leon or those from the south are also really sweet. They do not look like they live in the city even if they are living in the city. They are just ordinary people who like to help you get around so if you ask for help, they will help you out and explain things to you. They will explain the white taxi to you, and where you get charged a little bit more if you look foreign. In Nicaragua, if you are gringo but you know the ropes, they would not charge you ”the gringo tax.” Just tell them, “No, I know that’s not what it costs.” You also haggle in the market.
 
My neighbors in Managua are different from the neighbors in South Pasadena, California, where I come from, in a sense that my neighbors here have this Latin American vibe. People here are more laidback. I live in a gated community so everybody knows everybody, which is something that you do not have in the States. In the States, I never got to know my neighbors. I wouldn’t go to their house and have a barbecue with them. But now, I’d go to my neighbor’s house, I’d have a glass of wine, have a barbecue, etc.

 

(Meal in a backyard in Managua, Nicaragua, pictured.)

Yes, especially via the Internet, you can get anything you’d like. We actually could even get Canadian TV, I think it’s available here in Belize because there are a lot of Canadians living here. 
 
We get Mexico channels because we’re so close the Mexican border here. The regular radio stations are Belizean, of course, but they play a lot of different music for different ethnic groups and people. We get a lot of country western here in Corozal and we get a...

Yes, especially via the Internet, you can get anything you’d like. We actually could even get Canadian TV, I think it’s available here in Belize because there are a lot of Canadians living here. 
 
We get Mexico channels because we’re so close the Mexican border here. The regular radio stations are Belizean, of course, but they play a lot of different music for different ethnic groups and people. We get a lot of country western here in Corozal and we get a lot of other kinds of music as well, but mainly in Belize it’s reggae through the radio stations.
 
The official and the day-to-day language of Belize is English so the Belizean ones, will be talking in English.

 

(Home in Bullet Tree, Cayo District, Belize, pictured.)

For me, Switzerland is one of the best places in the world to retire. I lived in Switzerland as a retiree for three years. When I was living in Switzerland, the US dollar was very strong compared to the Swiss franc, and although that changed almost 15 years ago, there are still a lot of pluses to retiring in Switzerland. These advantages include absolute top-notch medical care that also comes with top-notch prices, and since I lived in Lake Geneva, I got to have a moderate climate...

For me, Switzerland is one of the best places in the world to retire. I lived in Switzerland as a retiree for three years. When I was living in Switzerland, the US dollar was very strong compared to the Swiss franc, and although that changed almost 15 years ago, there are still a lot of pluses to retiring in Switzerland. These advantages include absolute top-notch medical care that also comes with top-notch prices, and since I lived in Lake Geneva, I got to have a moderate climate year-round.
 
Where I live, in Lake Geneva, we had palm trees just a few meters away from our house. Lake Geneva is surrounded by mountains and provided easy access to all of Europe, making it a wonderful base for exploring Europe. Living and retiring in Switzerland does require a certain amount of money. This means retiring on $1,000 a month in Geneva is not a good idea.
 
I left Switzerland after living there for three years because I found Switzerland to be too peaceful and too quiet for me. Three years in Switzerland was all I could take as an American. But then again, if you have the money and if you’re looking for a place to have a safe, secure and pleasant base in the center of Europe, Switzerland is fantastic.
 
Aside from Switzerland, I have also lived and retired in Costa Rica, and have visited Panama many times. I prefer Costa Rica to Panama because I like the climate and the lifestyle in Costa Rica better. That being said, there are also people who prefer living in Panama over Costa Rica.
 
Costa Rica for me is the best place in the world to retire because it is easily accessible to the United States, whereas Switzerland is not. For me, the weather in Costa Rica is perfect. The only two places in the United States where I enjoyed living were South Florida and Southern California. I enjoyed these places because I tend to like warmer weather.
 
The huge advantage of Costa Rica over South Florida is that the lifestyle in Costa Rica is slower. With that, I mean in Costa Rica, life is more laid back and more peaceful. If you’re going to retire, you’re most likely looking for these things. I found life in Switzerland more peaceful and laid back than I needed. Here in Costa Rica, life is sufficiently a mix of things, so that I can pick whatever lifestyle I want to pick just by with whom I associate-- be it the Tico’s (Costa Ricans), the Americans, the Brits, the Canadians, or my next-door neighbors from Switzerland. I can pick and choose, so I can vary with my lifestyle.
 
For me, Costa Rica’s the best place to retire in the world. If you have the money, I’d consider Switzerland and California.  

 

(Beach at The Oaks Tamarindo Condominiums, Costa Rica, pictured.)