Best Places In The World To Retire

Oaxaca state, where I live in Mexico, has a beautiful long coastline on the Pacific Ocean. This coastline has long, extended open beaches to small bays surrounded by rocks. The weather is always tropical, warm and sunny. The beaches of Oaxaca are located 250 km (about 155 miles) away from Oaxaca City. There are no dangerous animals in the ocean of Oaxaca. There are beaches with really high waves in which it is difficult to swim. Of course these beaches are popular by the surfers. You...

Oaxaca state, where I live in Mexico, has a beautiful long coastline on the Pacific Ocean. This coastline has long, extended open beaches to small bays surrounded by rocks. The weather is always tropical, warm and sunny. The beaches of Oaxaca are located 250 km (about 155 miles) away from Oaxaca City. There are no dangerous animals in the ocean of Oaxaca. There are beaches with really high waves in which it is difficult to swim. Of course these beaches are popular by the surfers. You don’t have to worry about sharks or other dangerous animals.

 

(The always warm beaches on the Mazunte Coast, Oaxaca, Mexico, pictured.)

 

Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, are the more known and biggest towns on the coast of the state of Oaxaca. Between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco many other small villages are located on the beach, with small hotels and restaurants.

 

Puerto Escondido is a small town on the coastline with many small to medium- sized hotels and restaurants. The touristic centrum is a street with lots of souvenir shops, diving shops and restaurants that turn at night into a promenade. Puerto Escondido has seven beaches, each different from the other. There are open, long sandy beaches, a bit more touristic beaches, and small quiet bays. One of the beaches, Zicatela, is famous among surfers from all over the world. In Puerto Escondido you can scuba dive or snorkel, take a boat tour and see dolphins and turtles, surf, visit different beaches, visit lagoons and national parks or just relax in your hammock with a fresh cocktail!

 

Bahías de Huatulco consists of eight bays that all are different from each other. Some bays are more developed for tourists where you can do several water sports and choose from a variety of restaurants. Other bays are very quiet with one or two restaurants, whilst others are only accessible by boat. Huatulco is a luxury tourist beach destination that attracts tourists from Mexico and USA throughout the year. It has medium to big beach resorts. In Huatulco, a lot of activities are organized; close by, the pretty bays are enjoyed where you can take boat tours to fish, scuba dive/snorkel, or travel to one of the coffee plantations. From November to January Huatulco offers you a special treat as whales swim along the coastline where you can see them from shore or you can take a boat out to them and see them up close.

 

(Bahias de Huatulco, the bay in Oaxaca, Mexico, pictured right.)

 

Close to Puerto Escondido lays a big lagoon called Manialtepec. In the raining season this lagoon breaks through to the ocean and the sweet salty waters turn into a paradise for bird lovers. A bit further from Puerto Escondido lays the National Park Lagunas de Chacahua, a beautiful island surrounded by beaches, tropical rainforest and mangroves. Close to Puerto Escondido lays also the village Mazunte, a small village known because of its National Turtle Centrum. Along the coast are several turtle projects, which are very worthwhile visiting.

 

In comparison to many other countries within Europe, Portugal is cheap. However, salaries here are not as high in Portugal as they are in other European countries, so for the Portuguese or others working in Portugal, it is not as cheap. 

 

Compared with what you would pay in other countries, in Portugal is it cheap for excellent restaurants, very good wines and you can certainly eat very well inexpensively in Portugal.  Most people in Portugal...

In comparison to many other countries within Europe, Portugal is cheap. However, salaries here are not as high in Portugal as they are in other European countries, so for the Portuguese or others working in Portugal, it is not as cheap. 

 

Compared with what you would pay in other countries, in Portugal is it cheap for excellent restaurants, very good wines and you can certainly eat very well inexpensively in Portugal.  Most people in Portugal drink Portuguese wines.

 

Up until recently, the real estate market here in Portugal had been difficult. Recently, however, we’ve seen a big improvement because of the new laws introduced into Portugal, which has caused an influx of people coming into Portugal from the Schengen countries (European countries such as Sweden, France, and England, as well as many others). We’ve also seen a large increase in people coming to Portugal from non-Schengen countries such as South Africa and Brazil, whose citizens have been given Golden Visas. As a result of these factors and others, the real estate market has gone up and all of a sudden it’s like Portugal is being rediscovered. They’re actually calling Portugal "the Florida of Europe."

 

The prices for real estate in Portugal will depend on several factors, including location. The most desirable location now is Estoril or Cascais (west of Lisbon about 20 minutes), which has expanded a great deal. In this area, for a good 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment, you can pay €250,000 (about $264,900 / £176,000) or you can pay €400,000 (around $424,000 / £282,000) depending whether it’s in a condominium with a pool and security. 

 

Another hot market is for properties people buy for the rental market in which they make significant improvements.  They may purchase a a 2-bedroom apartment for €160,000 or €180,000 (about $170,000 / £113,000 to $191,000 / £127,000) and "do it all up" and either re-sell it for €300,000 (about $318,000 / £211,000) or keep it as a good rental. At the moment, to invest in that kind of thing here is a good idea because there’s less and less inventory.  There was a time we were saying, “Where are the clients?” Now we’re saying, “We need the products.”

 

Originally Cascais was a little fishing village and now it’s grown much larger to the point where it's quite a municipality. A lot of people would like to be in the center of Cascais, which is  walking distance to the train station, where you can take a train to Lisbon for about 25 minutes along the sea. Not everybody needs to take their car into Lisbon cause like anywhere else there’s always traffic in the morning that takes forever. 

 

Relative to food, you can spend per month from €120 - €150 (about $130 / £86   to $160 / £110) for general items in the supermarket for two people. There are a lot of people in Portugal who go to the local markets (individual stores; not supermarkets) here where you can get fish, meat, vegetables and fruit.  In Cascais the market is on Wednesday and Saturday, or you can up the coast, where the market is held over the weekend. The markets have products from all sorts of local farmers who get together and sell their produce.

 

If you went to a little family run restaurant for a very good meal for 4 people with wine, desert, and coffee you would probably pay anything from €40 to €60 (about $42 / £28 to $63 / £42). But then you can go to other restaurants which are along the coast and you can spend €300 (about $320 / £210) depending on the wine you get and which restaurant you choose. So there is a very good variety and selection of restaurants in which to dine. There is a variety and you do eat very well here. 

 

Relative to the cost for utilities, they have just privatized a lot of companies now and the electricity department, which was a state owned, now has a percentage of it owned by the Chinese. As a result, now you can put together your electricity and gas, for example.  The price for electricity has gone up to where, now, if you are in a 2-bedroom home, you would pay probably €78 (about $82 / £55). You don’t need to have your heater on all day long even in the winter. A lot of people will just have a fireplace or just put the heating unit on for a couple of hours. 

 

Compared to living in England, it is much cheaper to live in Portugal.  London is terribly expensive, so Portugal would probably cost half of what you would pay in England for living costs.

 

(Pictured: Cascais, Portugal )

The expats in Panama are normal people I run into at the Coronado beach areas who are over 65-70 years old. They have their dog, their wife, or somebody who lives with them. Very few expats over there are single- they are always together. They have pizza and beer, mostly in this place where they all hang out. They’re all tuning up their car, fixing their things, and always tinkering with something. They keep busy.

 

The expats are nice people- they...

The expats in Panama are normal people I run into at the Coronado beach areas who are over 65-70 years old. They have their dog, their wife, or somebody who lives with them. Very few expats over there are single- they are always together. They have pizza and beer, mostly in this place where they all hang out. They’re all tuning up their car, fixing their things, and always tinkering with something. They keep busy.

 

The expats are nice people- they don’t mess with anybody. I don’t know if they speak any Spanish, but if they don’t, I guess most of them try.  

 

(Music and dancing at Picasso Care, Bar and Ristorante, Coronado, Panama, pictured.)