Best Places In The World To Retire

If you go to the Caribbean, you will see incredible things. The color of the ocean on the Caribbean is incredible. You would see very nice areas just standing there. I have been going there for the past 40 years and every time that I go to Cancun and see the water, I just stand in awe and say, “This place is incredible!” The activities around the Caribbean are endless. That area is made for tourists so you can do whatever you want. 

 

In...

If you go to the Caribbean, you will see incredible things. The color of the ocean on the Caribbean is incredible. You would see very nice areas just standing there. I have been going there for the past 40 years and every time that I go to Cancun and see the water, I just stand in awe and say, “This place is incredible!” The activities around the Caribbean are endless. That area is made for tourists so you can do whatever you want. 

 

In Merida, it is different because it is a city of 1 million people. There are different areas around it that you can go to. One of the several activities that you can do in the area is going to the cenotes, which are underground rivers that are all around Merida. There was a meteor that crashed in the Chicxulub area (on the coast, close to Merida) that changed the whole structure of the Yucatan peninsula. According to experts, that was one of the reasons why dinosaurs disappeared from the Earth. This meteor made the land in the Yucatan Peninsula very porous and resulted into these underwater rivers. Most of these underwater rivers are fresh water. It is beautiful to get into them.

 

We also have the flamingos you can see all over the coast on the beaches near to Merida. Celestún is very famous for flamingo sightseeing. Sisal also has flamingos on the coast. When you see the flock of birds flying, it’s just an incredible view.

 

Every single area in the Yucatan has different options for sightseeing. There are so many things and different activities here that you can do whether you are on the beach, or in the city.  

 

(The flamingos in "Yucatan Escape Plan, serenity and beauty in an undiscovered land" by Jet Metier, pictured.)

Portugal has cut down quite a lot of holidays.  Portugal is a Catholic country that had a tremendous amount of holidays for saints that they’ve had to cut down on.

 

Portugal has Easter, but you don’t have like you do in England, as Easter Monday. You just have Good Friday and Easter Sunday and then at Christmas you don’t have like you do in England with Boxing Day, which is a day after that. It doesn’t exist here in Portugal....

Portugal has cut down quite a lot of holidays.  Portugal is a Catholic country that had a tremendous amount of holidays for saints that they’ve had to cut down on.

 

Portugal has Easter, but you don’t have like you do in England, as Easter Monday. You just have Good Friday and Easter Sunday and then at Christmas you don’t have like you do in England with Boxing Day, which is a day after that. It doesn’t exist here in Portugal. You just have December 24th, which is more celebrated than December 25th here.

 

In June you have quite a few holidays.  The municipality of Lisbon will have a day in June and then the municipality of Cascais will have a day then another municipality will have a day, and so on. June is the month where they have the fairs, which are a bit like carnivals, where they eat all the sardines and they grill the sardines in the streets in Lisbon. June is sort of the holiday season.

 

Then you have days of saints, many of which are in the month of August. In England, the holidays occur on a Mondays, whereas here in Portugal, the holiday could be on a Thursday, so everybody, of course, will take the Friday off. There are quite a few holidays here.

 

(The Feast of Trays, or Feast of the Holy Spirit, Tomar, Portugal, pictured.)

The coral reef in Placencia is amazing. One of the best things to do in Placencia is snorkeling. I haven’t been snorkeling that much, but when I did, the coral reef was really amazing. The corals are beautiful at the Laughing Bird Caye.

 

There are plenty of other cayes where you can snorkel. To go to snorkeling, you have to go to the smaller islands near Placencia because the Placencia beachfront does not have any coral. If you go further into the...

The coral reef in Placencia is amazing. One of the best things to do in Placencia is snorkeling. I haven’t been snorkeling that much, but when I did, the coral reef was really amazing. The corals are beautiful at the Laughing Bird Caye.

 

There are plenty of other cayes where you can snorkel. To go to snorkeling, you have to go to the smaller islands near Placencia because the Placencia beachfront does not have any coral. If you go further into the water, you will reach Placencia Caye. Right at the back of that, you might see some marine life. The best thing to do is charter a boat and go to the small cayes nearby. The boat ride would take about 30 to 45 minutes. 

Retiring overseas may definitely sometimes be a difficult decision but once you have found the right place, its totally worth it.

 

Retiring overseas may definitely sometimes be a difficult decision but once you have found the right place, its totally worth it.

 

I have enjoyed living in Panama half a year and New York the other half of the year.  I never compare the two places because I never compare any two places for the reason that all places have their pros and cons no matter where they are or what they’re about.

 

Panama is what I would call one of the best places in the world to live. Why? I chose it carefully. Being an American I wanted to go somewhere and invest and live with confidence where it...

I have enjoyed living in Panama half a year and New York the other half of the year.  I never compare the two places because I never compare any two places for the reason that all places have their pros and cons no matter where they are or what they’re about.

 

Panama is what I would call one of the best places in the world to live. Why? I chose it carefully. Being an American I wanted to go somewhere and invest and live with confidence where it was safe economically, safe in all respects for me, my family, and my property and our investments. I am very happy that I made that choice, especially in comparison to many other choices that I might have made.

 

Panama offers not only spectacular economic stability due to the Panama Canal and its growth, which encourages international business and attracts an international population that is increasing all the time because of its location and its tremendous economic advantages. Panama is a safe place to invest, a safe place to live and a small country with a small population, still with half the country to be developed, or not,which is a great benefit if you love nature, which I do.

 

One of the reasons I came to Panama that it has a wonderful, big city which is cosmopolitan and international and growing, with all the modern conveniences, and yet you have spectacular nature—mountains, beaches, islands.  Panama City is only 5 hours direct from New York City, two and a half hours direct from Miami, and now with the growth of Copa Airlines, it is just hours from almost any place. Panama has increased infrastructure that cannot be matched anywhere else in that part of the world.

 

All these add up to the fact that on many levels, whether personally, business-wise, investment-wise, family-wise, whatever your reasons for seeking a place to be, that Panama is one of, if not the best place in the world to live, retire, and invest. As a general answer to the question, “Yes, Panama.”  

 

(Howard and Daryl Ries, Panama, pictured.)