Best Places In The World To Retire

Philosophically, when we decided to move to Mexico, we took precautions. For instance, all of our assets basically are in the US, with the exception of this house. We have a Mexican bank account, which by the way is a pain in the neck now, because of the requirements of the US government whereby we have to file annually, a 13-page form about where the money in that account came from and what's your average balance was and all that. We have a deed to this house. We own a car here.
...

Philosophically, when we decided to move to Mexico, we took precautions. For instance, all of our assets basically are in the US, with the exception of this house. We have a Mexican bank account, which by the way is a pain in the neck now, because of the requirements of the US government whereby we have to file annually, a 13-page form about where the money in that account came from and what's your average balance was and all that. We have a deed to this house. We own a car here.
 
All of our investments are all basically in the US and we just periodically, in addition to our Social Security and US bank accounts, credit card bills are paid out there. Every once in a while I transfer some money via wire transfer to our Datamex Mexico Bank account. Then I get a certain amount of pesos and I use that for just day to day stuff. I think, however, in any foreign country, you need to be aware and respectful and knowledgeable about their rules, laws, and customs. As long as you play within those rules, I think generally, whether it is Panama or Honduras or Ecuador, generally, you are safe. Also, expats with few exceptions are small fish.
 
We have one of the best lawyers in all of Yucatan. He was our lawyer when we bought the house, when we made sure it has clear title to it. We pay the taxes on time. We do all the things we are supposed to. We do not have any problems. All of our employees are legal. Nobody is going to come and sue us for back wages or anything else like that, because our co-administrator puts their salaries in their bank accounts directly. We pay our employees their bonuses. We pay their Social Security taxes. We play by the rules and we have no problems.

 

(Dorianne and John Venator with puppy in Valladolid, Mexico, pictured.)

And then the expat community has a number of projects or activities. One is going out and picking up trash along some of the main roads in El Valle on Mondays after the “weekenders” (people who come up on a bus) have been here. In addition to that there is a spay and neuter clinic every three or four months and in addition to that there is a recycling program where the expats will take in and encourage the natives to save recyclables. Then if the natives bring them in, the expats pay them recycled dollars which can be used in a monthly patio sale that again, the expats do. They have done this by neighborhood. These are just some of the unique expat activities that they have here. 

Yes. Portugal is a laic state with religious freedom and tolerance. Although Portugal has a long lasting Catholic tradition, it is one of the best European examples of religious tolerance with successful integration of the minority religions, as there is no track record of any religious conflicts.

 

(Batalha Monastery, Leiria, Portugal, pictured.)

Yes. Portugal is a laic state with religious freedom and tolerance. Although Portugal has a long lasting Catholic tradition, it is one of the best European examples of religious tolerance with successful integration of the minority religions, as there is no track record of any religious conflicts.

 

(Batalha Monastery, Leiria, Portugal, pictured.)

Some people are only happy when they are unhappy.   Moving overseas to fix a happiness problem isn't going to work because "no matter where you go, there you are." 

Some people are only happy when they are unhappy.   Moving overseas to fix a happiness problem isn't going to work because "no matter where you go, there you are." 

It is easy to apply for a permanent residency in Nicaragua. You can do this yourself, but it is always easier and faster to hire an attorney to do this for you. The laws, language, and bureaucracy make it challenging for someone not used to them to get through to the other side successfully. Service providers do a great job and certainly earn their fees.

It is easy to apply for a permanent residency in Nicaragua. You can do this yourself, but it is always easier and faster to hire an attorney to do this for you. The laws, language, and bureaucracy make it challenging for someone not used to them to get through to the other side successfully. Service providers do a great job and certainly earn their fees.