Best Places In The World To Retire

Taxi availability in Mexico depends on how far and where you want to go. For example, here in Mazatlán, if I go to the airport from my condo, it will cost roughly 400 pesos ($20) because of the traffic. If you take a taxi and just want to go to a well-known area which is around 10-15 minutes from where we are, it will cost 80-100 pesos (US $4 - $5).

 

Taxis and buses in Mazatlán are everywhere. Here in Mazatlán, there are different buses...

Taxi availability in Mexico depends on how far and where you want to go. For example, here in Mazatlán, if I go to the airport from my condo, it will cost roughly 400 pesos ($20) because of the traffic. If you take a taxi and just want to go to a well-known area which is around 10-15 minutes from where we are, it will cost 80-100 pesos (US $4 - $5).

 

Taxis and buses in Mazatlán are everywhere. Here in Mazatlán, there are different buses for different destinations. For example, if you want to go to one place, the green bus takes you there. If you want to go to a shopping mall, you need to take a different bus.

 

Some buses in Mazatlán charge 8 pesos ($0.40), and some charge 10 pesos ($0.55). The bus fare in Mexico is very cheap. I drive most of the time, so the last time I took a bus was three years ago. I don’t take the bus because I have my own car so I drive. It’s more convenient for me because I go to presentations a lot so I have a lot of stuff to carry.

 

 

If I drive from my condo to the airport, it would take me 30-45 minutes to get there depending on traffic. The cost for taxis are all based on different zones in Mazatlán. They charge per zone and don’t use a meter. You can’t negotiate with the airport taxi because the rates have all been set.  

 

(Taxi with an advertisement for Senior Frog, Mazatlan, Mexico, pictured. ) 

The construction standards in Portugal have been very, very high for the past 500 years. We’re a country with a lot of history, so there’s a lot of palaces and castles around Portugal that have been at the same place without any refurbishment for the past 400 to 500 years. The Portuguese have a history of being very dedicated to quality when it comes to building and to the construction of buildings.

 

We do not use a lot of wood. Instead, we use...

The construction standards in Portugal have been very, very high for the past 500 years. We’re a country with a lot of history, so there’s a lot of palaces and castles around Portugal that have been at the same place without any refurbishment for the past 400 to 500 years. The Portuguese have a history of being very dedicated to quality when it comes to building and to the construction of buildings.

 

We do not use a lot of wood. Instead, we use a lot of stones and we use a lot of bricks, so the construction in Portugal is very, very solid.

 

In Portugal, we have a very traditional culture; we tend to stick to the past. The things that worked in the past, we still use them today. So therefore, houses built out of wood or pre-fabricated houses do not have success in Portugal, even though they are very good and very warm.

 

When Portuguese look for a house and they knock on the wall and if the house is made of wood, they will not buy it.  The Portuguese are really used to the thick walls that keep the heat within the house in winter and outside the house in the summer. For that reason we are really, really stuck with the old traditional ways of constructing houses.

 

The foundation of the house is the most important element of the building, and it’s the most expensive part of the building. We had an earthquake in 1755 in Portugal and just the coastal area was affected. The rest of the country didn’t have any other problems. So yes, for many years, we are very proud of the way we construct and build properties in our land.  

 

(Thick walled construction of centuries old Portuguese buildings, pictured.)

Many people in San Juan Del Sur speak English, especially people who work in the restaurants. Most restaurants are bilingual, so ordering food in restaurants is not a problem if you only speak English.

 

I have noticed many North Americans, who do not speak Spanish at all, contract locals as drivers when they go to malls or somewhere else where they would need translation. Sometimes, the locals even work for the expats full time. The expats get by like that....

Many people in San Juan Del Sur speak English, especially people who work in the restaurants. Most restaurants are bilingual, so ordering food in restaurants is not a problem if you only speak English.

 

I have noticed many North Americans, who do not speak Spanish at all, contract locals as drivers when they go to malls or somewhere else where they would need translation. Sometimes, the locals even work for the expats full time. The expats get by like that. I know one expat who pays his chauffeur/interpreter US $200 per month, as well as for housing and food. This expat is a guy who likes to drink so when he does, with his chauffeur, he does not have to worry about drinking and driving. So I guess, it is great for him.

 

If you do not have an interpreter and you only know English, people will still try to help you, so you will get by even with zero Spanish. Nicaraguans are nice people. They like expats to feel at home. San Juan Del Sur is a tourist destination so the people here are used to seeing tourists come over who do not know any Spanish, so the locals tend to be very helpful.