Best Places In The World To Retire

The construction standards in Chapala and Ajijic are exactly like the anywhere else in the country of Mexico. The city is very strict about giving out permits and in you presenting your project. The construction standards would vary depending on who you hire and who you trust. There is a lot of people that I would recommend. They are not even educated people but they have been working on this for so long that they know a little bit more probably more than engineers.

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The construction standards in Chapala and Ajijic are exactly like the anywhere else in the country of Mexico. The city is very strict about giving out permits and in you presenting your project. The construction standards would vary depending on who you hire and who you trust. There is a lot of people that I would recommend. They are not even educated people but they have been working on this for so long that they know a little bit more probably more than engineers.

 

That would be a lot cheaper and their constructions would be really well made because they are familiar with the soil here. The soil is very different depending on the area. So the convenience of hiring someone here is that they know where you are going to build so they will adjust some things for your house to be the best it can be relative to the area where you are building. 

 

If someone comes from Guadalajara to build your house, he might not know that in Riberas del Pilar the percolation is different, so they would need to build a house in a position that won’t ever get flooded by big rains, for example. We always recommend to our clients that if they are coming to build, they should talk to local people first and they can surely find someone to fulfill their needs. It will be a lot more satisfactory and cheaper. 

 

The quality of the construction here in Chapala and Ajijic is great. The materials being used here are Grade A, starting from the metal, to brick, cement, etc. We are an exporter of cement in Mexico so you will get everything that you need for your construction and it will be high quality.

 

The prime matter is everything. And after prime matter, if you have the budget and you let your builder know that you will pay for what we call castillos, which are the metal structures that are used in every meter to sustain a certain amount of brick, you will have a well built home.  For example, there are some people who would say, “No, instead of three, you put two.” That will be your responsibility. If you’re willing to make a good construction with the standards that you are presented with, and you don’t want to make cuts here and there, you’re going to get a great and sturdy construction that will withstand whatever. The other thing is that we are not in an area where there is a lot of earthquakes or things that would put your property in danger, so your construction will be pretty stable.

 

We don’t have a building inspector and zoning regulations like they do in the United States. It doesn’t work the same way here. The government will ask you to present them your project and they will trust you because that project is for you so if you want to do it right or wrong it is your responsibility because it is your project. They will send an inspector every once in a while just to see that you’re not building something you didn’t report you were going to build, but the quality or standards of construction is your responsibility. They trust that you wouldn’t want the roof to fall on your head.

 

If you are going to buy a house that is already built, there are really great inspectors here that can help you with that. As a real estate agent, the first thing that I tell my client is, “Okay, you like this house? Perfect, let’s get it inspected.” We have very good inspection service providers that are very thorough and they will surely let you know, for example, if a certain outlet needs to be changed because it might have problems very soon.

 

(Home with extensive brickwork, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

I never had a problem with illegal drug traffic in my 5-year stay here in Panama. Maybe it’s not like New York where you can go walking at 3 AM on the streets but in general, there is no problem. It depends where you go, but inside the city (Panama City) and the places where Americans are, everything is okay and in order.

 

A typical North American would not be involved in any way with whatever issues there are with the illegal drug traffic in Panama...

I never had a problem with illegal drug traffic in my 5-year stay here in Panama. Maybe it’s not like New York where you can go walking at 3 AM on the streets but in general, there is no problem. It depends where you go, but inside the city (Panama City) and the places where Americans are, everything is okay and in order.

 

A typical North American would not be involved in any way with whatever issues there are with the illegal drug traffic in Panama unless he went to certain areas which there would be no reason to go to unless he was involved in illegal drug traffic.

 

(Harbors in Panama City, Panama are watched for smuggling, pictured.)

Most of the furniture you can buy in Corozal is handmade, and made out of the local hardwood.  All my cabinets are made out of mahogany. There’s also teak. There are all kinds of different woods in Corozal. And you can get about anything made that you’d like to have made. You’d have to probably go to some of the big stores in Belize City to get a really good mattress or something like that or just ship it in, but other than that, you can get anything you...

Most of the furniture you can buy in Corozal is handmade, and made out of the local hardwood.  All my cabinets are made out of mahogany. There’s also teak. There are all kinds of different woods in Corozal. And you can get about anything made that you’d like to have made. You’d have to probably go to some of the big stores in Belize City to get a really good mattress or something like that or just ship it in, but other than that, you can get anything you need. 

 

We had all the main furniture in our house handmade.  Some of the furniture we did ship in from the States, such as the mattresses, but I had all the headboards made locally.  The chairs and tables and all the kitchen furniture we had made locally. We have some patio furniture that we shipped in from the States because we had some other stuff coming anyway.

 

You can get just basic furniture made for you or you can contract with some really good craftsman who can make great furniture. For example, I saw a handmade mahogany bathtub that was just absolutely beautiful. 

 

The price to have furniture made for you in Corozal is very reasonable.  For example, if you’re going to buy that same table I had made here in Corozal in the US I bet you couldn’t touch it for less than a grand.  In Corozal, it cost me about $300.  

 

(Cerros beach Resort dining room set for the Christmas meal, Corozal, Belize, pictured.)

In Portugal, we have the national health insurance and the national health system, which is not terribly efficient and it has long waiting lists so it is advisable for people to have private health insurance, which is not expensive.

 

There are some very good private clinics and hospitals here in the major centers of Portugal. I have a health insurance policy for myself, for my wife, and my three children even though they are adults now. It costs me...

In Portugal, we have the national health insurance and the national health system, which is not terribly efficient and it has long waiting lists so it is advisable for people to have private health insurance, which is not expensive.

 

There are some very good private clinics and hospitals here in the major centers of Portugal. I have a health insurance policy for myself, for my wife, and my three children even though they are adults now. It costs me €200 (US $218 or £147) a month and it covers basically everything except dental.

 

(Logo for Pacific Prime, private medical insurance offered in Portugal, pictured.)