Best Places In The World To Retire

The new, successful and bigger developments we see here in Mexico could be in the States or in Canada. They build here with concrete and bricks as opposed to drywall and timber there but the homes generally comparable to what you would have in the United States in terms of the electrical, plumbing, and so on.

 

If you are buying a home, I recommend that you talk to a reputable builder and possibly a reputable realtor who can steer you away from builders that...

The new, successful and bigger developments we see here in Mexico could be in the States or in Canada. They build here with concrete and bricks as opposed to drywall and timber there but the homes generally comparable to what you would have in the United States in terms of the electrical, plumbing, and so on.

 

If you are buying a home, I recommend that you talk to a reputable builder and possibly a reputable realtor who can steer you away from builders that may not be as good. We have home inspections, so if a home is being built for you, it can be inspected as it is being built, so  that you shouldn’t have a problem later.  

 

(House in a planned community, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

 

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is...

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is a two-story house, you would layer a concrete slab across and then you would in fill with brick. You would lay and run the services and utilities by literally breaking the brick and creating a little tunnel for the electric, the sewerage, and all the plumbing.

 

Generally, construction here in Algarve is very solid.  This is not California in terms of earthquake risk but Portugal is not far away from a meeting of two of the tectonic plates in the Atlantic. The last major earthquake was quite some time ago, in 1755, it was very destructive so most of the modern buildings here are built to earthquake standards or close to it. From a physical construction perspective, you would find very solidly built properties. You will not be knocking on drywall and wooden structures here. 

 

In terms of the quality and finishing perspective, the structures here in Algarve are very good, especially the modern builds. There is a proliferation of marble in Portugal so you will see a lot of buildings or homes that were finished with marble and with big tiles, which are very modern and clean. There is a very modern look to the inside of the house. The bathrooms are modern as well, with suspended sinks and a lot of glass.

 

An average-sized property is 1/3 bigger in Portugal than it is in Spain. Sometimes the size is reflected on the price and sometimes it is not. The pricing depends on the area. We find that people remark that the residential construction here has more space than they would have expected. A typical two-bedroom apartment, for example, would be in the region of 80 to 100 square meters (860 square feet to 1,077 square feet), whereas in Spain, the average is about 60 to 80 square meters (646 square feet to 860 square feet).

 

( Modern Portuguese home, pictured.)

Retiring abroad always has significant challenges and risks that the person looking at moving abroad has to mitigate. For example, is your income going to be taxed in the country that you’re going to move to? How does the country you’re moving from tax the money if you don’t live in the country where you earned it?

 

Being an American citizen in Panama, which has a territorial tax system, what you’ll find in Panama depends on what...

Retiring abroad always has significant challenges and risks that the person looking at moving abroad has to mitigate. For example, is your income going to be taxed in the country that you’re going to move to? How does the country you’re moving from tax the money if you don’t live in the country where you earned it?

 

Being an American citizen in Panama, which has a territorial tax system, what you’ll find in Panama depends on what your income hurdles are. This means that the money that you earned from the United States is never going to be taxed the first cent in Panama, and if you don’t live in the United States, your first $100,000-plus of earnings in the United States isn’t going to be taxed.

 

There’s an advantageous living situation for an American citizen in Panama to enjoy without the burden of cumbersome United States taxes. That’s the overwhelming reason why many of the expats from the United States choose to live here in Panama, along with the food, and the rental and utility cost generally being at a par or much lower than in the United States. 

 

Another reason why someone would want to be hesitant in retiring abroad is the question of safety in the country that they’re looking at. Is the country safe for the retiree? There are many choices that you can make when moving abroad- there’s Europe, South America, Central America, and Asia. 

 

What I found here in Panama was a nice mixture of relative safety, not feeling like someone lives right on top of me all the time, feeling easy about going through American-style roads, feeling good that I can turn on the tap and drink the water out of it, being able to go to the grocery store and find things that I enjoy eating, and being able to go to the hardware store and find name brands that I enjoy using. For me here living in the Chiriqui Highlands, there’s also going into David and shopping for new name brand cars that I am familiar with and understand. These are all the reasons I was able to move to Panama and still feel like, in many ways, I still got to experience the American culture.  

 

(Gilbert children on a black sand beach, Panama, pictured.)

The first step to open a bank account in Panama is to be here in Panama, because you have to meet with the bank manager. If you’re an American, you should know that the banks here are pretty strict when it comes to compliance with FATCA. Apart from that, it should be very easy. As an American, you can open a bank account here in a matter of three weeks. For other nationalities, it only takes about a week to open a bank account. The process is longer for...

The first step to open a bank account in Panama is to be here in Panama, because you have to meet with the bank manager. If you’re an American, you should know that the banks here are pretty strict when it comes to compliance with FATCA. Apart from that, it should be very easy. As an American, you can open a bank account here in a matter of three weeks. For other nationalities, it only takes about a week to open a bank account. The process is longer for Americans because there are compliance issues with the IRS, etc. 

 

There are banks in Panama that do not want to open accounts for Americans anymore because the costs of complying with the IRS and FATCA has become greater than the benefit that they receive from dealing with American clients.  

 

Panama is currently on the Gray List (an official list of countries that need to be more strict in monitoring money laundering activities), so they are tightening up all security and due diligence when it comes to their clients. As a result there is a law here saying that the bank has to know who its client is. A bank cannot just open up a bank account for somebody it doesn’t know, so part of the compliance with this is meeting with the person who wants to open the account. If you apply for a bank account, they will talk with you, and they will check your documents. You have to bring two bank references and one personal reference. The bank then does their own due diligence, including looking you up online. 

 

(Pictured: Panama City, Panama skyline at night.) 

San Juan Del Sur used to have a bad reputation for crime, but lately, tourism has gone up and there has been more of a police presence, which makes San Juan Del Sur secure and safe.

 

The crime rate here in San Juan Del Sur is a lot different from the crime rate in Gainesville, Florida, where I come from. In the States, the crimes are more gang related, whereas here in Nicaragua, the crimes are more of petty crimes against property. Here, they will go...

San Juan Del Sur used to have a bad reputation for crime, but lately, tourism has gone up and there has been more of a police presence, which makes San Juan Del Sur secure and safe.

 

The crime rate here in San Juan Del Sur is a lot different from the crime rate in Gainesville, Florida, where I come from. In the States, the crimes are more gang related, whereas here in Nicaragua, the crimes are more of petty crimes against property. Here, they will go after your cell phones or wallets. It is not the same as in the States where everybody has a gun. Here in Nicaragua, not everybody has a gun.

 

During the past four years or so, San Juan Del Sur has been growing because of tourism, so the former gang members now have restaurants or bars or they teach people how to surf. They now have jobs or businesses and they have integrated into the society in a positive way, so they are no longer inclined to commit crimes.  San Juan Del Sur is safer, for example, than Gainesville, Florida.

 

I do walk by myself at night here in San Juan Del Sur, although of course, I am not going to walk into every corner and essentially ask to be robbed.  I have gone out at night with friends and I have friends who go in their cars, but I just walk, since everything is just walking distance here in San Juan Del Sur. It is safe to walk even at night.  Just do not go to dark corners asking for trouble, which is the same anywhere.

 

You probably need to be a bit more careful during Christmas and New Year’s, since there are lots of people at that time of year who need money, who could go after your cell phone. If you show your cell phone in front of someone that you shouldn’t be showing it to, then you are asking for trouble.

​Corozo (the Attalea cohune) is a type of tree, which is where the name of “Corozal” came from. It is a kind of palm tree. The Mayan history of Corozal is the oldest. The Cerros Ruins are right here in Corozal and that was the Mayan world’s defense. It was the only Mayan temple that is on the sea and they use that to protect the inland Mayan world. 

 

There were hurricanes the wiped out Corozal and it was rebuilt around the 1960s....

​Corozo (the Attalea cohune) is a type of tree, which is where the name of “Corozal” came from. It is a kind of palm tree. The Mayan history of Corozal is the oldest. The Cerros Ruins are right here in Corozal and that was the Mayan world’s defense. It was the only Mayan temple that is on the sea and they use that to protect the inland Mayan world. 

 

There were hurricanes the wiped out Corozal and it was rebuilt around the 1960s. Now Corozal looks like it is time to rebuild it again but it is a great town. I like everything in Corozal, but it is getting old now. 

 

There was a lot of sugarcane farming in the northern part of Corozal, so we have some agriculture. Most people fish or just get small jobs. There is not a large economy here and tourism is also pretty new here in the northern part of Belize. 

 

The Chinese came here around 1997 when Hong Kong was handed back to China. Hong Kong was a British Commonwealth before the country was handed back to China so the people had an option to either become Chinese or move to another commonwealth country. So some of the Chinese came to Belize because Belize is a British Commonwealth country. The Chinese run most of the shops here in Corozal. All the grocery stores here are Chinese-run. 

 

The first developments that started bringing in expats from North America were Consejo Shores and Sarteneja. It was around the mid-90s so it wasn’t very long ago that expats started coming to Belize. Consejo Shores built a lot of homes but a lot of expats do not use their homes anymore and a lot of them do not live there full time. Orchid Bay, where I live, started around 2006 - 2007 along with Cerro Sands, which attracted mostly expats. Orchid Bay targets Americans and Canadians as customers. So now we have a mix of Chinese, Hindus, North Americans, and local Belizeans. The population of Corozal is a mix of all these people together. There is no majority here; we are all the minority.

 

( Lamanai temple, near Orchid Bay resort and development, Belize, pictured.)