Best Places In The World To Retire

There are very many very, very good restaurants in Chapala and Ajijic. 

 

During my residence in our surgical practice, I lived in Mexico City, which is world-renowned for its food, as well as Guadalajara, which is less than an hour from here.  One of the advantages of living in the Chapala – Ajijic area is that it is so close to Guadalajara.  Because I travel so often between the two areas, for me, they are sort of one city. But also in...

There are very many very, very good restaurants in Chapala and Ajijic. 

 

During my residence in our surgical practice, I lived in Mexico City, which is world-renowned for its food, as well as Guadalajara, which is less than an hour from here.  One of the advantages of living in the Chapala – Ajijic area is that it is so close to Guadalajara.  Because I travel so often between the two areas, for me, they are sort of one city. But also in Ajijic, we have very, very good restaurants, too, complete with international chefs.

 

We often go to Tango, right by the plaza, in Ajijic, and we go to Los Telares.  We have Italian restaurants here, such as La Taverna Dei Quattro Mori. There are many restaurants that are very good. 

 

For example, Tango has American cuts of meat with a very, very good chef. It’s also incredibly cheap. They also have wine. The level of the meal is very high.  The cost at Tango would be around 130 or 140 pesos (US $6-7) for a very good cut of meat.  If you want wine and desert, you’ll probably pay less than 300 pesos (US $15).  

 

(Los Telares restaurant, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

The economy in Portugal is treading water at the moment. It is not in very good shape. Certain sectors of the economy are doing better than others; particularly tourism. Portugal had one of the best tourist seasons ever. Real estate is also doing extremely well. Property in Lisbon is like the new El Dorado for some property investors and we have had inquiries from American investors about buying property in Lisbon because of the price ratio compared to places like Madrid, Barcelona,...

The economy in Portugal is treading water at the moment. It is not in very good shape. Certain sectors of the economy are doing better than others; particularly tourism. Portugal had one of the best tourist seasons ever. Real estate is also doing extremely well. Property in Lisbon is like the new El Dorado for some property investors and we have had inquiries from American investors about buying property in Lisbon because of the price ratio compared to places like Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, and London. Real estate prices in Portugal are very competitive. The property experts recon that the market here is still quite undervalued relative to other centers.

 

Generally, tourism is one of the main drivers of the economy in Portugal. Other industries such as cork, wine production, and footwear are also some of the drivers of the economy here but they are becoming less competitive.  A big drawback here in Portugal is that the labor laws are still very socialist and even communist-oriented so it’s not easy to fire somebody. It is quite a complicated process and it is expensive. This is one of the biggest drawbacks of the Portuguese economy. There is a lack of international competitiveness because of draconian labor laws.

 

(Douro wine region in Portugal, pictured.)

There are kayaking tours in San Juan Del Sur but they are not as organized as in other places. There are one or two kayaking options. Day tours usually take people out for ocean kayaking to neighboring beaches where the water is calm and there’s not a lot of big waves.

 

The most popular place for kayaking would be the lakes. There are several different lakes in Nicaragua where people go kayaking. One of the main places where they have kayaking tours...

There are kayaking tours in San Juan Del Sur but they are not as organized as in other places. There are one or two kayaking options. Day tours usually take people out for ocean kayaking to neighboring beaches where the water is calm and there’s not a lot of big waves.

 

The most popular place for kayaking would be the lakes. There are several different lakes in Nicaragua where people go kayaking. One of the main places where they have kayaking tours are through the islands of Granada in Lake Nicaragua (1 hour and 10 minutes by car). They have several different types of kayaking tours but most of them are geared towards bird watching, nature watching and tours of the islands of Nicaragua. Lake Nicaragua is a fresh water lake with lush vegetation. The lake has an area which has about 365 small islands that is called Las Isletas, which make for a nice, scenic kayaking experience.  

 

The only rafting spot in Nicaragua which I know of, would be in the north-eastern region close to the El Cañon de Somoto (about 5 hours from San Juan Del Sur by car). There are rivers over there that are great for rafting.