Best Places In The World To Retire

I don’t think we would have enough time if I would tell you all the best things about living and retiring here in Yucatan. I love living here!
 
Some people come here to retire and when they get here, they realize that their life is no different than what it was in the US and they become really disenchanted. They have a language barrier. All the products that they are used to in the US aren’t here and that makes them disenchanted. Other people come here to literally...

I don’t think we would have enough time if I would tell you all the best things about living and retiring here in Yucatan. I love living here!
 
Some people come here to retire and when they get here, they realize that their life is no different than what it was in the US and they become really disenchanted. They have a language barrier. All the products that they are used to in the US aren’t here and that makes them disenchanted. Other people come here to literally explore and to live. I didn’t come here to retire. I came here to live.
 
I love working, so working is life. I love going into a store and not having to pay ungodly prices for things. I love having a plumber come to my house and not charge me $150 just for showing up and $75 for every half hour. On the other side of that, I don’t like when a plumber comes and he doesn’t know what he has and he doesn’t have any parts in his truck or if he doesn’t have a truck, he has a motorcycle or a bike. So there is good and bad on everything. Do not come here with high expectations because if you do, you are going to be let down. Come to Mexico with open arms, embrace the community and you can have an incredible life. 
 
What I don’t like about living in Mexico is paying the high price of the gasoline but that made me realize that maybe I do not need big SUVs. I don’t have a lot of “I don’t likes” here.
 
Spay and neuter clinics were big in the last few years but there are still lots of animals walking on the streets. We do a lot of adopting and fostering ourselves. That is probably the biggest thing I don’t like. I still don’t like some of the garbage, too. Go back to the 1960s before Americans were literally educated on not littering, and you’ll find that American streets were pretty littered. A lot of the streets on the beach are the same way. If you go to Merida, it is much cleaner. The Mexican people need to be educated on littering; they still need to be educated on all the things that we needed to be educated on. That is the downside of Mexico and that is one of the very few. The upside totally outweighs the downside.

 

(The staff of Yucatan Beach Homes taking a sieta after lunch, Merida, Yucantan, Mexico, pictured.)

“What’s it like to live in Boquete?” is a broad question.  For me, my life in the Boquete area is vastly different than 95% of the expats.
 
I own and run a tourist business and have an intense love for my art and nature resort, so today started out at 7:00 AM, opening the gate for my workers, making coffee, feeding my fish and turtles, and taking a swim with my dog in the Caldera river.
 
Then I do the pool maintenance, patrol the property and...

“What’s it like to live in Boquete?” is a broad question.  For me, my life in the Boquete area is vastly different than 95% of the expats.
 
I own and run a tourist business and have an intense love for my art and nature resort, so today started out at 7:00 AM, opening the gate for my workers, making coffee, feeding my fish and turtles, and taking a swim with my dog in the Caldera river.
 
Then I do the pool maintenance, patrol the property and most important now, make work plans to finish my tree tower tree house right on the river.
 
By about 9 AM, my maid ($15 a day) has breakfast ready.  After breakfast, we had a meeting in Caldera regarding community projects, which I am very involved in. Then the rest of the day was a trip to Boquete, 15 minutes away, for business, banking and shopping.  Then in the late PM, a little work out, swim in my pool, dinner and retire for the night.
 
Frankly, I would have to be a multimillionaire in North America to live and have what I have here, but I bought and built my project years ago, before the big gringo price inflation.  I’ve got 100 acres, 5 homes, a pool, rancho, designer tree house and no property taxes.  I have 5 employees.  Even without my rental income I could still live on my pension, which, when I left Seattle, Washington, i was living on in a 40 year old trailer in a trailer park.
 
So, we do have options in life. But my advice to newcomers is to rent for a year and check it all out so you don’t make some serious mistakes.
 
 

Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
 
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because...

Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
 
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because the unemployment rate in Portugal at the moment is 18%. So a lot of people, the unemployed, when they cannot find jobs, they apply for either taking care of children or elder people, so it’s actually quite easy to find that sort of help. You get people who would really take care, bathe the elder people, cook them a proper meal, all of this. But if the elder gets sick or has a stroke or something, they would not be prepared to help them medically. They would have to call 112, which is our version of 911. 
 
You can hire more sophisticated help such as nurses, but then the price increases a lot. You can have an average healthcare worker with no medical experience full-time working for you for €700 to €800 (US $780 to $890) a month. A live- in person would cost around $1,000 a month.  If it’s a person with medical expertise and a degree, it will cost you triple.
 

 

(Portuguese women at work, pictured.)

Yvon Marier is correct about the importance of not "traveling naked". When Snowbirds and travelers come down to Mexico they often neglect to consider what might happen in a Medical Emergency in Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some important things to consider before you travel:

Yvon Marier is correct about the importance of not "traveling naked". When Snowbirds and travelers come down to Mexico they often neglect to consider what might happen in a Medical Emergency in Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some important things to consider before you travel:

2. How would I pay for a medical emergency?- Private hospitals in Mexico only take cash, debit or credit cards. You will need to have credit or debit cards with at least a $10,000 USD balance to cover any medical emergency.

 

3. Will my health or traveler´s insurance pay for my hospital bill? - Showing an insurance card at any private Mexican hospital does not guarantee you service. Hospitals take from 48 to 72 hours to verify health insurance coverage & benefits. Private hospitals, therefore, require payment up front for services.