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Recently Answered Questions

How’s the economy in Mexico?

Tom Leonard - Hotel Perico

Volkswagen Beetle plant, Puebla, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

The overall economy of Mexico right now is pretty good. I read online that for the first few months of 2017, Mexico had one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The economy would be even stronger if there were less corruption, especially with big companies. Mexico is heading in the direction of less corruption. They're trying to, but it takes a while.

There are a lot of questions on how Trump's...

In general, what do I need to know about FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report)?

Jay Butler - Asset Protection Services of America

According to the Foreign Bank and Financial Authority (FBAR) regulations, the IRS must allow individuals to open private offshore bank accounts. So long as the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts does not exceed $10,000 (USD) at any time during the calendar year, the assets need not be reported. Be mindful of interest bearing accounts, for if your total offshore accounts exceed $10,000 (USD) the IRS requires you to report it or risk facing a maximum penalty of five years in...

Are there American-trained doctors in Ambergris Caye?

David Drummond - Georgetown Trust

Most of the doctors that I have met here in Ambergris Caye were trained in Cuba. They are very good doctors and with great medical programs. I am not saying that there are no American doctors here. For example, my chiropractor on the island is from America. It is, however, more common to see a Canadian doctor than a US doctor based in Ambergris Caye.

Typically, you are going to find Central American schooled doctors – Belize doctors who trained in the States and came...

How much does it cost to buy a car in Portugal?

Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living

Fiat Cinquecento in Portugal – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

It is typically more expensive to buy a new car in Portugal. It is very difficult to find a new car in Portugal unless it is a small new car that costs under € 10,000 (about US $ 10,800 or £ 7,370). Most new cars when compared to the UK, will be at a premium of about 25% to 30% and when compared to the US, will be at a premium of about 40% to 50%.

The market for second hand cars hardly existed until about 5 years ago and now there are about...

The market for second hand cars hardly existed until about 5 years ago and now there are about three or four specialists but it is still more expensive than buying a second hand car in the US, where you could into Daytona Beach and buy a pickup truck for US $500 (€ 460 or £ 340). You can’t do that in Portugal. A fairly nice condition, second hand car would cost about €5,000 (US $ 5,500 or £ 3,700). Vehicle taxes in Portugal are astronomical; they are the highest in Europe.

I am not really certain why we didn’t have a second hand car market in Portugal until recently but I think it is partly cultural and partly as a result of legislation. Culturally, even though Portugal is not a wealthy nation, it hates to buy things that are second hand. If you offer somebody second hand clothes, for example, they will look at you lop-sided because they consider that pretty much an insult. Until recently, any second hand items of any nature were frowned upon, whereas, if you go to England, for example, second hand sales are all the rage. In Portugal, that was frowned upon. I think that extended to vehicles. Vehicles are seen as a status symbol so people do not like to be seen in second hand cars.

The other thing was that the taxation process, in terms of imported vehicles is so onerous. There are such high taxes in terms of imported vehicles that it just didn’t pay to import and to buy an imported, nice second hand car because the price would be too close to brand new cars. Only in the course of the last few years has that appeared to change.

(Fiat Cinquecento in Portugal, pictured.)

How long will I have to wait for a doctor's appointment in the Pedasi, Azuero, Panama area?

Isha Edwards

If it is an emergency, of course, you would be able to see a doctor in Pedasi right away. But if you go to the Centro de Salud, which is the public health clinic, and you try get a doctor’s appointment, you might have to wait from one week to one month, depending on what kind of specialist you are looking for. If you are looking for a general practitioner, your time to wait for an appointment would be less because they have a lot of doctors who are general...

Where are the best beaches in and around Granada, Nicaragua?

John-Marc Gallagher - GPS Real Estate

Granada, Nicaragua is an hour and a half by Playa Madera Nicaragua – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

car from San Juan del Sur (a beach town on the Nicaraguan Pacific Coast) and all the little beaches on the ocean to the north and south of San Juan del Sur. There are dozens of them, among them Ostioinal, Playa de Coco, Playa Madera.

When you get to these beaches on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast, literally, there are two or three houses, two or three tiki bars (beach bars), cold beer, rum, fresh fish, and six people...

Granada, Nicaragua is an hour and a half by Playa Madera Nicaragua – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

When you get to these beaches on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast, literally, there are two or three houses, two or three tiki bars (beach bars), cold beer, rum, fresh fish, and six people total on the beach. It’s amazing and it’s just beautiful. (For more explanation of the beaches in Nicaragua, please also see my answer about beaches in Nicaragua in general, also on this site.)

The beaches on the lake closest to Granada are not attractive and we don’t use them as one would normally use a city beach. In Granada on the lake, we don’t have a beach, per se, to go to. Of course, we border the 10^th largest lake in the world, Lake Nicaragua, but there’s not much of a beach on the lake. The beaches around Lake Nicaragua are sandy, but its not what the Europeans would consider to be well kept, and its not inviting. You’re still in the Third World, and the local’s idea of trash pickup is still 30 – 40 years behind the United States.

People fish and swim in Lake Nicaragua. It’s absolutely beautiful, but the beaches are not great. I personally would swim in Lake Nicaragua, but a mile north or south of Granada.

The beaches on the oceans in Nicaragua in general and specifically closest to Granada, however, do not have trash on them. The primary reason is the 10 – 12 foot tides that take out to sea whatever trash there’s there, not to be seen again. (There’s also very, very low population density around almost all of the beaches in Nicaragua.)

Recently Posted Expat Stories

Helping The Most Most Vulnerable Among Us

Indigenous Indian children, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

I came to San Miguel in 2011 to do a presentation to a group of dentists who belong to the local dental association and fell in love with the people (the indigenous Mexicans), so I returned to the USA and decided to retire and come back to live in San Miguel.

My initial plans were to retire to San Tropez in the South of France, but fate has a way of planning dreams and for some reason not revealed clearly to me, I decided to move to San Miguel de...

Willy and Karan TwoLives / Chapter I-Panama

After three years in Africa, first with Habitat for Humanity and then with the Peace Corps, Willy and Karan Schreiber again joined the Peace Corps and were embedded with the Embera Indigenous Tribe in the Darien Province of Panama, next to the Colombian border.

They empowered their new neighbors, friends, and the Tribal Leaders to start a sustainable business selling the extraordinary handicrafts that the Embera create. The result was a Tribal Cooperative for the manufacture and sale...

Panama’s Gonzalo de la Guardia: From Origins to Legacy

Gonzalo de la Guardia is leaving a video legacy for his grandchildren of their Saturday outings together discovering the meaningful places and communities in Panama. In Jet Metier’s talk with Gonzalo, or “Allo” as his grandchildren call him, she learns the other side of being an expat from Panama and how Panama is center to larger movements in the world.

Jet Metier: Hello, Gonzalo. I was inspired by the video you posted on our site in the...