Best Places In The World To Retire

We don’t do rentals but we do have a list of rental companies that we give to people and a couple that we recommend.

 

You can start with a little casita, which might be two rooms of a big house or a little two-room casita behind a house for US $200 to $400 a month, depending on the size and the location. Then you get into some of the smaller houses in Chapala and outlying areas. Rentals cost $400 to $600 per month for a house that might be quite...

We don’t do rentals but we do have a list of rental companies that we give to people and a couple that we recommend.

 

You can start with a little casita, which might be two rooms of a big house or a little two-room casita behind a house for US $200 to $400 a month, depending on the size and the location. Then you get into some of the smaller houses in Chapala and outlying areas. Rentals cost $400 to $600 per month for a house that might be quite “rustico” inside. You should get a nice house with a budget of $800 to $900. It would have two bedrooms, a den, a two-car parking area, and a nice yard. That is good for long term rentals.

 

A lot of people here are now renting through VRBO and want to come for 1 to 6 months.  They get hit with higher rental prices because they lock in from afar. They haven’t been here to see the house and what is there. They typically spend 1/3 or even ½ more than how much it costs if you look for the rentals once you get here. You could find a house that you could rent locally for $800 a month but you might find that the one next door to it has been rented via VRBO for $1,200 to $1,400 a month.

 

One of my favorite stories is in Birds of Paradise, which is a development of upper and lower condos and a group of one-story condos below. Some of them have wonderful views and some of them are ground level. They have an excellent exercise area with all kinds of exercise equipment, a beautiful pool, Jacuzzi, a clubhouse, a little store, a “Honey Do Room” where there is a bunch of tools. This is so if your picture frame falls off the wall you can say, “Honey, do you mind going and getting a hammer and a nail and hang the picture again?” 

 

Traditionally, utilities are extra if the rent is for 3 months or longer. You have to pay for your electric, your propane, telephone, and satellite TV. Typically, these utilities cost $150 to $200 a month depending on your usage. For the television package, you can get a $30 or $50 package. For a 1 to 3-month rent, it is just not worth measuring all things and doing all the stuff so instead of $800 a month, they will charge $1,000 and that includes utilities.

 

There were two men in the pool at Birds of Paradise, and one said, “I’ve been renting here locally for $800.” The other guys says, “I’ve been paying $1,400!” And their houses are basically the same.

 

(Condo at Birds of Paradise, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

To get a gardener in Belize who will come just to cut grass, whether they use a machete, a weeder, or if they actually bring a lawn mower, it is going to cost you around US $15 for a normal-sized house. If you want them to work all day long to do some planting, trimming and to really grow plants for you on a consistent basis, it would cost you around $20 per day.

 

 If you are on the island and you are looking for a gardener, well, most of the...

To get a gardener in Belize who will come just to cut grass, whether they use a machete, a weeder, or if they actually bring a lawn mower, it is going to cost you around US $15 for a normal-sized house. If you want them to work all day long to do some planting, trimming and to really grow plants for you on a consistent basis, it would cost you around $20 per day.

 

 If you are on the island and you are looking for a gardener, well, most of the yards are sand and there is not a lot of shrubbery, so it will be around the same price as getting a gardener inland, which is $15 per day.

 

(Cane machete or cane knife, pictured.)

The Algarve has hardly any blackouts or brownouts. We have a very, very reliable power source.   In a typical year, we will have zero blackouts or brownouts. 

 

(Night lights at the pool and restaurant at Algarve Senior Living, Portugal, pictured.)

The Algarve has hardly any blackouts or brownouts. We have a very, very reliable power source.   In a typical year, we will have zero blackouts or brownouts. 

 

(Night lights at the pool and restaurant at Algarve Senior Living, Portugal, pictured.)

You can make a deal for almost everything here in Granada and you can choose to pay on a per project basis or per day. If you hire a gardener per day, you will pay around 150 to 200 Cordobas, which is about US $10 per day. You buy all the plants and the gardener will come and fix the garden for you. You can also come to an agreement with them and delegate other tasks you would like them to do and agree to pay $50, for example. It depends on what kind of job you want done, but it...

You can make a deal for almost everything here in Granada and you can choose to pay on a per project basis or per day. If you hire a gardener per day, you will pay around 150 to 200 Cordobas, which is about US $10 per day. You buy all the plants and the gardener will come and fix the garden for you. You can also come to an agreement with them and delegate other tasks you would like them to do and agree to pay $50, for example. It depends on what kind of job you want done, but it will always be cheaper when you do not pay per hour.

 

You can even go to the places where they sell the plants and agree to buy some plants and have them plant them in your garden for you for a good deal. For a good-sized garden of 100 to 200 square meters (roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet), it would cost you around $200. Everything is negotiable here in Granada, so you can avoid paying crazy prices.