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The standard of living in San Miguel de Allende is like everywhere else- it depends on how much money you have. I have lived very economically where I was paying US $200 a month for rent for a clean, decent apartment that was nice and wasn’t a dump. I had nice neighbors and it was quiet and clean. It was small, but for $200, what would you expect? 
The expats who live in Ambergris Caye are mostly Canadians and Americans. Most of them are snow birds. They come over during the winter months, which is from December to around May or June. We also have Belizeans, and a lot of mestizo and people with Mayan descent as well. We also have Mennonites in Ambergris Caye. I actually buy fresh produce every Tuesday from the Mennonites who come here to sell the their goods. (Pictured: boiled vegetables for Belize national dish.) There is a...
Portugal is divided into three regions—north, center, and south. The southern part of Portugal is more rural and is where we tend to get a lot of European expats from Germany, England, and France. The center of Portugal, where Lisbon is included, we tend to get other nationalities, such as Brazilians, we’re starting to get some Americans, Canadians, and even from Asia; Japanese. And then in the north of Portugal, we get a lot of expats from the the wine producing countries,...
I would say the worst places to retire would be anywhere where my life is endangered all the time, and that could be anywhere; from Jamaica to Brazil to South Africa or any African country at the moment and to the Far East. I know Dubai and a few other places are fine for a while, but we have seen the volatility of the world that may change this. Unfortunately, these places have some attributes that I do not think can be compensated for. The Drive from Mazatlan to Lo de Marcos, Nayarit: Confusion, No Shortage of Dried Shrimp, and Then the Prize in a Disneyland-like Jungle
So there we were, in our van, after taking the Baja Ferry from La Paz and disembarking at the port at Mazatlán. Given that we had just spent more than six weeks in the Baja California desert, even in the parking lot of the harbor in Mazatlán, we were struck by the profusion of plant life. Palm trees, vines, and other types of jungle shrubbery seemed to be growing everywhere, sometimes on top of each other, successfully utilizing any amount of even the...
who lays on the sidewalk near the president’s security guard (who seems to be the only dog in a city of cats); the smell of beef broth from an open door whose meaty heat is added to the saturated heat of close dwellings and narrow passage ways, causing a linear view of the sea, its pungency carried by erratic winds; and remembering to walk just past the ruins of a convent that...