Best Places In The World To Retire

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain...

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain rules with which we had to comply, and the quality of our medical systems was one of them. At that moment, there were two or three really famous Portuguese businessmen who invested heavily in medical facilities and systems, so today, and for the past 10 years, we are at the same level as any other civilized European country. So we have very good medical facilities at the moment.  We are on par with France, Great Britain, etc.
 
There was a trend 10 years ago when there was a big boom in the construction of private hospitals.  In the last 10 years, the Social Democratic Party took over, and one of their measures was to develop the public medical system, so they built all these new hospitals and clinics. I come from a middle-high class family and I use the public medical system. I compared the public and private system because I have private medical insurance and I have a public hospital near by and I use both. I didn’t used to go to the public system because of it having bad reputation in the old days. But the other day, I had a problem with my son and I took him to the public hospital and I was impressed because I got better service than at the private hospital. I don’t know if it was a coincidence but the hospital was brand new with a very quick reply. I went in and out in an hour and sometimes that doesn’t happen in hospitals around the world. So I am very, very impressed with our public medical system at the moment.  

 

(View of Hospital São José from Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)

The bus services within Panama City are good but normally crowded. Taxis are cheap and worth taking to get to Casco Viejo. If you do not know exactly where you want to go and where the buses stop it can be confusing. There is now a fleet of new Metro buses as well as the remainder of the old Red Devils. Sometimes the waiting line can be extremely long too as there are really not enough buses to meet the need. There are "pirata" coasters which you...

The bus services within Panama City are good but normally crowded. Taxis are cheap and worth taking to get to Casco Viejo. If you do not know exactly where you want to go and where the buses stop it can be confusing. There is now a fleet of new Metro buses as well as the remainder of the old Red Devils. Sometimes the waiting line can be extremely long too as there are really not enough buses to meet the need. There are "pirata" coasters which you can get once you are familiar with them and know where to get them. There will be the new Metro open shortly which should improve travel a great deal within the city. Buses are very cheap and the metro will not be expensive. 

 

For buses to go out of town the service is very good and you can buy a ticket at the main bus station easily and cheaply. They are air conditioned and so much so that you often need a sweater for the journey.

No, you don't need a second passport if you retire, work, or live abroad. There is a misconception people have that they need to either give up their US passport or US citizenship but no, you don’t need to. You can have your US passport. 
 
As Americans, we're lucky that we come from a country where we don't really need to apply for even a visa to visit most countries. We can go with our passport. We can usually stay in countries anywhere from 1 to 6 months,...

No, you don't need a second passport if you retire, work, or live abroad. There is a misconception people have that they need to either give up their US passport or US citizenship but no, you don’t need to. You can have your US passport. 
 
As Americans, we're lucky that we come from a country where we don't really need to apply for even a visa to visit most countries. We can go with our passport. We can usually stay in countries anywhere from 1 to 6 months, depending on the regulations of each country. In Mexico, for example, we can stay up to 180 days with a US passport. 
 
A lot of people who move abroad still want to go home once or twice a year and visit their family. You might be living in Nicaragua and stay 90 days before re-entering, because, without a visa, you have to leave and come back in. If you live in Nicaragua, maybe you want to go to Costa Rica or take a flight to Colombia. That’s basically what people do. They leave once or twice a year. They either travel around or go back to the US. You can do that all with your US passport. There's no need to make any changes. Just make sure that your passport is valid for a long time so that you don't have to go get a new one. Even if you lose your passport or you need to get a new passport, you usually can do so at the consulate in that country. It's not a big deal.  Also, if you're planning on traveling a lot, you can order passports now that have extra pages that should last you a long time or you can get pages added to them about $80. 
 
You can choose to continue doing this indefinitely in many countries. What you decide to do depends on the situation and the residency attorney could tell you about that. It could be expensive to get residency. It just depends on the country.  For example, the cost of getting residency in Nicaragua is a fraction of the cost of getting a residency in the UK or in some places in the Caribbean where it can cost over a million dollars. In some countries, it costs a few hundred thousand. In Nicaragua, in Mexico or generally in Latin America, it's always going to be a lot lower, for the most part under $10,000. That might be the route that you take but even if you do that, that doesn’t mean you're going to get a passport from the country that you have residency in. You'll still be traveling on your US passport. 
 
If, for example, you travel to Nicaragua on your US passport and then you want to get a permanent residency or temporary residency in Nicaragua, it could be up to 5 years. You'll still use your US passport to travel. The only time you would need to actually get a second passport would be if you obtain citizenship in that country, which can take 10 to 20 years. You won't really need your second passport under most any circumstances especially if you have a US passport. I can't think of any reason why you would need a second passport.  It would be a luxury to have a second one but it's not a requirement by any means.

 

(Kristen Wilson, relocation export, working on Mexico beach, pictured.)

San Juan del Sur is great for: 

You will find San Juan del Sur to be a very laid back town with great people, great prices and authentic Nicaraguan ambience.

San Juan del Sur is great for: 

You will find San Juan del Sur to be a very laid back town with great people, great prices and authentic Nicaraguan ambience.