Best Places In The World To Retire

I do not know how accurate are the statistics that we are getting from any of the governments anywhere in the world. I am a single woman and I don’t feel afraid to live here in San Miguel de Allende. I watch where I go and I am careful about what I do.

 

There are certain areas in San Miguel that I wouldn’t go into just like there are areas that I won’t go into in the United States. I don’t know that we have a crime rate for expats...

I do not know how accurate are the statistics that we are getting from any of the governments anywhere in the world. I am a single woman and I don’t feel afraid to live here in San Miguel de Allende. I watch where I go and I am careful about what I do.

 

There are certain areas in San Miguel that I wouldn’t go into just like there are areas that I won’t go into in the United States. I don’t know that we have a crime rate for expats here in San Miguel de Allende but I know that the crimes that people hear about from Mexico do not generally happen with Americans. It is usually Mexican to Mexican; not that it is any more acceptable but they are not going to get involved with US problem. They are not kidnapping Americans or Canadians here.

 

I know that sometimes when there are crimes that happen to expats here in San Miguel, we feel more impacted by it than we do when we live in the US or Canada in cities that have populations of over a million people because we didn’t know those people. We know many of the expats here in San Miguel de Allende since we are only about 12% of the community and we’re very visible since we are out on the streets all the time. If crimes happen against us, we get word of it and it seems like it hits closer to home than it does if you live in Atlanta, where I am from as we seem more disengaged there. Here one really feels part of a community

 

Overall, I feel much less concerned about crime here than I do in the States. I don’t think that there is ever any case in Mexico of people walking into Wal-Mart and opening fire or people going to a school and opening fire or any of that sort of crazy kind of crime that happens in the United States. Crime here in San Miguel de Allende is probably related more to poverty and to drug situations and just like anywhere else, if you get caught in the crossfire of a drug scenario, you’re caught in the crossfire of it. I am generally not in an area where that is happening just like in the US. San Miguel de Allende is very dependent on its large expat community and they work really hard to make us feel secure here. 

 

When I first moved here I promised my best friends that I would not walk by myself at night to my home no matter where I live because the taxis cost 40 pesos; they are about US $2. They said, I made them that promise because they said, “Just like anywhere else if you have a bad experience in your hometown, you will never feel the same again.” And we’re talking about a $2 taxi ride. So that’s what I do and that is my advice for people to do here because it is so much easier to be safe than sorry.

 

I don’t feel like I have to stay in in the evenings. I feel comfortable going out, but I call taxis. If it’s early evening and it’s not dark, I walk home just like I walk all around town. I don’t even have a car as a real estate agent because drivers are so inexpensive that I just hire a driver when I have a buyer. The more I walk the more desserts I get to eat, right?

 

In general, I don’t feel like I have to look over my shoulder here. Things go on. If people tell you that they are not going on in other cities, they are not telling you the truth. People sometimes come here and because San Miguel is so beautiful it is kind of like being in Disneyland meaning that sometimes they do not pay attention to their surroundings when they need to. You just have to be observant, especially on weekends or holidays. We are a big holiday destination because we are on the Independence Route so we are packed with people, especially during Independence Day, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and on Easter weekend. There are people who come from other cities and take advantage of these crowds. You would pay attention like you would if you were in any big crowd but on a day-to-day basis, I don’t feel uncomfortable living here and that is coming from a single woman.

 

(Ivy del Pozzo and her tango dance partner, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

There is a lot of great ocean sport fishing in and around San Juan Del Sur. We have really good, world class sail fishing and dorado fishing. San Juan Del Sur is very well known for these two types of fishing, especially in the areas closer to the peninsula, getting closer to Costa Rica. They hold different types of fishing events for different types of people to join.

 

Besides that, there is really good bass fishing in the lake just right behind San Juan...

There is a lot of great ocean sport fishing in and around San Juan Del Sur. We have really good, world class sail fishing and dorado fishing. San Juan Del Sur is very well known for these two types of fishing, especially in the areas closer to the peninsula, getting closer to Costa Rica. They hold different types of fishing events for different types of people to join.

 

Besides that, there is really good bass fishing in the lake just right behind San Juan Del Sur. That is where they catch guapote, which is a fresh water bass that is really good for eating and really good for sport fishing because they put up a really good fight, so it is more for the rapala angler.

 

San Juan Del Sur is also known for really good tarpon fishing near the opening of the Rio San Juan, or the San Juan River. Tarpon fishing in San Juan Del Sur is a catch and release type of fishing. You could catch a 100 or 200 pound tarpon, reel it in, and then release it back into the water.

 

I am an avid spear fisher. During the months when the water gets very clear, when the rainy season ends, which is usually from the beginning of November up to the end of March, I do inshore spear fishing, closer to the reef where you will find parrot fish, snapper, grouper, and any other fish that lives in the reef.

 

I also go spear fishing when you get on a boat, and they take you out close to a buoy or a FAD (Fish Attracting Device). You plunge into the deep blue, where you will be surrounded by deep ocean water and then you will be able to spear fish anything that comes close to you. You will usually catch barracuda and other big blue water ocean grown fish.

 

Deep blue water ocean fishing is a little harder because sometimes the blue water will come in with the rain. When strong offshore winds pick up, they might make the water really nice and clear close to the shore, but that offshore wind is blowing sedimentation further out to the sea. So, it depends on the day when you will get really clear ocean blue water. However, it usually happens between November and March.

 

All these are the most popular fun types of fishing within the San Juan Del Sur area.

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is...

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is a two-story house, you would layer a concrete slab across and then you would in fill with brick. You would lay and run the services and utilities by literally breaking the brick and creating a little tunnel for the electric, the sewerage, and all the plumbing.

 

Generally, construction here in Algarve is very solid.  This is not California in terms of earthquake risk but Portugal is not far away from a meeting of two of the tectonic plates in the Atlantic. The last major earthquake was quite some time ago, in 1755, it was very destructive so most of the modern buildings here are built to earthquake standards or close to it. From a physical construction perspective, you would find very solidly built properties. You will not be knocking on drywall and wooden structures here. 

 

In terms of the quality and finishing perspective, the structures here in Algarve are very good, especially the modern builds. There is a proliferation of marble in Portugal so you will see a lot of buildings or homes that were finished with marble and with big tiles, which are very modern and clean. There is a very modern look to the inside of the house. The bathrooms are modern as well, with suspended sinks and a lot of glass.

 

An average-sized property is 1/3 bigger in Portugal than it is in Spain. Sometimes the size is reflected on the price and sometimes it is not. The pricing depends on the area. We find that people remark that the residential construction here has more space than they would have expected. A typical two-bedroom apartment, for example, would be in the region of 80 to 100 square meters (860 square feet to 1,077 square feet), whereas in Spain, the average is about 60 to 80 square meters (646 square feet to 860 square feet).

 

( Modern Portuguese home, pictured.)