Best Places In The World To Retire

According to the U.S. Department of State Travel website:
 

Obtaining medical treatment and hospital care abroad can be expensive, and medical evacuation to the U.S. can cost more than $50,000. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the United States, nor do the Social Security Medicare and Medicaid programs provide coverage for hospital or medical costs outside the United States. 

 

There are health insurance policies...

According to the U.S. Department of State Travel website:
 

Obtaining medical treatment and hospital care abroad can be expensive, and medical evacuation to the U.S. can cost more than $50,000. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the United States, nor do the Social Security Medicare and Medicaid programs provide coverage for hospital or medical costs outside the United States. 

 

There are health insurance policies both for short term trips and longer stays abroad that you can purchase which will provide full coverage outside the US. 

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,...

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, people from New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa because this region is very famous because of the Port Wine.  There are a lot of wine vineyards up north in Portugal and these people come to retire because of the weather, because of the lifestye, and many other factors. They tend to come straight to the north of Portugal.  There are also a lot of old beautiful palaces and villas for which the purchase price in Portugal is very affordable for people coming from these countries. So it tends to be divided. Europeans go more to the south of Portugal, the wine-producing countries go to the north of Portugal, and in Lisbon it’s a mixture of many cultures.
 
In order to make any generalizations about the expats in Portugal depends a lot on the age factor.  Several weeks ago the Portuguese Tourism Board released a brilliant video just with foreigners, expats talking about our country. In this video are shown people from all ages, from all sectors talking about our country. From a scientist to doctors, to architects—every single field is represented and there’s someone telling their story about Portugal.
 
The view of these people of Portugal is that it’s great living here.  When, as a country, we struggled economically a few years ago, we immediately understood that we’re dependent on every single penny that entered our country. So for a long time, 500 years ago when we started discovering the world, we’re all in contact with many cultures and we had to have a lot of public relations in our blood to achieve what we did. We negotiated with India, Asia, Brazil, and that made us a very easygoing culture. We’ve adapted through all these years and when we had the economic struggle a few years ago, we knew immediately that we had to treat foreigners very well coming here so they would remain and they would spend their money here and they would help us economically. So therefore, we got used to that way to exchange information with foreigners and the process had been like this for the last 20 or 30 years.
 
In Portugal we like foreigners because the foreigners have done a lot of good for us that helped develop our country. So we are very grateful for the foreigners; very, very grateful. And we all have open smiles, we open our houses to foreigners, we invite them with food because we’re so eager for them to get to know our culture that we receive them very well. Our opinion about foreigners is wonderful; it’s great, absolutely great. 
 
Recently, there have been a few issues because the European Union now is wide open, and because of all these problems with the Middle East and we have become a bit suspicious of some of the people from Middle Eastern countries, but with the rest of the world we are completely open-hearted.  

 

(Visitors at Blue Hostel and Suites, Cascais,  Portugal, pictured.)

History, Panamá

 Marbella is a small neighborhood in the city of Panamá.  It´s an important area, though, because it is generally known as the banking area.  The Marbella area of the city of Panamá is in the central part of the city of Panamá, and has many tall buildings, some of them with beautiful ocean views.  You can access Marbella from the international airport via the "Corredor Sur" (an expressway) that goes...

History, Panamá

 Marbella is a small neighborhood in the city of Panamá.  It´s an important area, though, because it is generally known as the banking area.  The Marbella area of the city of Panamá is in the central part of the city of Panamá, and has many tall buildings, some of them with beautiful ocean views.  You can access Marbella from the international airport via the "Corredor Sur" (an expressway) that goes along the bay, also with beautiful views.
 
Transportation in Marbella is easy.  You can take the metro bus public transportation, or the new metro, or simply, rent a car, or walk, as Marbella is very close by several other neighborhoods where you can find everything and anything.  In the Marbella area in specific, because there are so many foreigners, you can always hear several languages spoken, mainly in the malls, like the Multiplaza, Multicentro  or Albrook.  You will not see a large green area in this neighborhood, though.
 
The area of Marbella does not have a history of its own, as separate from the history of the city of Panamá (because Marbella is part of the city of Panamá), and of the Republic of Panamá in general.  For that reason, I’ll explain the history of Marbella within the broader context of the country of Panamá, and the city of Panamá.
 
Panamá has a very old and peculiar history.  Traditionally, it has been a trade center, since the colonial times, where all the gold was transported from Peru and other countries in South America, into Spain, through Panamá.
 
Pirates burned the old city in the 15th century, and still visitors can enjoy the ruins and the historical tower from the church (you can see it coming from the airport).  One important thing to mention here is the famous story of when the locals hid a pure gold altar when the city was taken, and it´s now at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, in Casco Viejo, which is very close by Marbella.  This is something worth seeing.
 
Then, in the same century, the new city was built which we know now as "Casco Viejo".  In general, the houses in Casco Viejo are only 2 floors high, and with picturesque balconies.  Many of them have been renovated, but still many very old buildings remain.  There is a law to protect the colonial architecture, as Casco Viejo has been named a "Worldwide Patrimony" by UNESCO.
 
Recently, the beautiful "cinta costera" was inaugurated, giving new life to the city of Panamá, and surrounding the area of "Casco Viejo", which runs until the Bridge of the Americas, by the Pacific site of the Panamá Canal.
 
I´m giving here only the main relevant facts of history, as Panamá is very rich in history, and it will impossible to mention it all.
 
There is also the history of the Canal, in which thousands and thousands of people, mainly from the Caribbean area, Africa and Asia were brought in to be construction workers.  At that time, also many people came from Europe and the United States, and colonies were established, which is the reason why Panamá is a place where you can see all kinds of races and other country’s citizens.  Everyone lives in perfect harmony.  Today, there is a beautiful French cemetery that remains in the area, near the Canal.
The Canal operations business takes place in the Administration Building, which was recently restored and is a beautiful building constructed in the early years of the 20th century.
 
One classic place to visit and to read an important part of the history of Panamá and the canal is the "Bóvedas", in Casco Viejo, situated in front of the French Embassy.  Not only is the Bóvedas historical, but also is a great place because of its view of the city, the causeway, the entrance of the canal, and to take great pictures.
 
Many things can be said about the history of Panamá, their people, and their landmarks, and information can be found through museums, books, and visiting historical sites.