Best Places In The World To Retire

Yes, there is good bus service here. There is a bus that runs all the way along the coast from Jocotepec all the way to Chapala. And there’s a bus that goes into Guadalajara. Anybody who wants it can take it. It’s available. We don’t discriminate. 

 

They’ve just upgraded the buses recently and it’s a good very bus service. I would venture to say that the buses are mainly used by the Mexican and local population but there...

Yes, there is good bus service here. There is a bus that runs all the way along the coast from Jocotepec all the way to Chapala. And there’s a bus that goes into Guadalajara. Anybody who wants it can take it. It’s available. We don’t discriminate. 

 

They’ve just upgraded the buses recently and it’s a good very bus service. I would venture to say that the buses are mainly used by the Mexican and local population but there are a lot of expats who don’t want a car. They don’t want the responsibility. They don’t want to drive so they catch the bus.

 

How convenient the bus is depends on where you live but if you live in the village of Ajijic and you want to go to Jocotepec, you walk out to the highway, get on a bus and it will take you directly to the Jocotepec and vice versa you can come right back with the same bus.

 

(Malecon with view of the volcano, as viewed from Jocotepec, Mexico, pictured.)

The cost to build a house in Corozal is between $85 and $100 per square foot for all concrete and steel construction.   This would include granite countertops but not air conditioning.  Where we are out on the coast, where we’ve got that sea breeze and it’s just not an issue.

 

The home would be concrete and steel, tile floors, probably 10-12 feet above sea level so you can take a little bit of a surge without having any issues. It...

The cost to build a house in Corozal is between $85 and $100 per square foot for all concrete and steel construction.   This would include granite countertops but not air conditioning.  Where we are out on the coast, where we’ve got that sea breeze and it’s just not an issue.

 

The home would be concrete and steel, tile floors, probably 10-12 feet above sea level so you can take a little bit of a surge without having any issues. It would have a flat roof so that at the same time you’re building the ceiling for your top story, you’re building the floor for your vista deck.

 

Typically you want to overbuild and then just self-insure. You can probably build for less, but then you may have some misgivings about the ability of your home to withstand high wind. I would prefer overbuilding and then just self-insure and not have to worry about sustaining damage in the unlikely event of high winds.

 

The house would have nice fixtures. We’re off the grid so you’re going to have your own solar system and system for water. Your utilities would amount to whatever you pay for a satellite dish for your entertainment and Internet.  There would be no landline, no electricity, no water bill; nothing like that. The cooking is done with Butane gas. I’ve been in several houses that are off the grid that are just as comfortable as anything you’d see in the States.

 

This price would include the solar system.  No one I know has a backup generator. Everybody that I’ve visited has more than adequate power with his or her solar system. Relative to water, they actually have to pull water off of their system because in Corozal they get about 50-60 inches of rain a year, which is more than adequate to supply your water for your system. In southern Belize, they get upwards of 200 inches. 

 

There will be some minor ongoing expenses for the solar system. At some point in time you’re going to be changing out batteries. I don’t know if the converter itself has a lifespan, but overall the ongoing expenses are relatively minor once the solar system is up, installed and running. 

 

For people who may just be looking at Corozal as an investment and maybe not really ever intending to relocate there, in Corozal you pay virtually no property tax, so you could you’re your land without it costing any money per month. Also, Belize has no capital gains tax. Someone can go into the Corozal area, purchase property, have virtually no expense and sell at a profit at some point in time with a significant gain and not pay taxes on the gain.

 

If your home doesn’t have six feet elevation above sea level on grade, then you’re going to need to bring in soil and fill your lot. Your actual lot is 6 feet above sea level. And then you want the design of your house to give you at least another six feet, and that gets you 12. 

 

While you’re looking, one thing that I’ll mention that is available – for those who may have some interest in Belize, or anywhere else for that matter, there is a method where you can pool funding out of your IRA or your (401K) and you can purchase and hold property in Belize inside of your IRA. So you could actually buy property with tax-deferred funds, and then as long as you don’t build on it and use it and live on it, you can leave it in your IRA. If you do want to develop it, then you’re going to have to pay all of the expenses and everything out of your IRA, which could get a little labor intensive because you’re going to have to be moving money into it to fund all of that. But for someone that just wants to say, “Hey, I may want to retire to Belize one day. I’m 50 years old now, I’ve got a pool of several thousand dollars out of my (401K), so I want to buy a lot,” you could do that. You’re not actually spending money, you’re just moving money. You’re just moving some money that you already have and it’s not a taxable event.

 

(Elevated house, Belize, pictured.)

To have a Portuguese Passport it will be necessary to apply for Portuguese Nationality first.

 

The Permanent Residence Permit allows for citizens of third states to apply for the Portuguese Nationality after 6 (six) years of residence in the Portuguese Territory.

 

Nonetheless the citizen applying for the Portuguese Nationality shall also have to comply, namely, with the following requirements:

 

...

To have a Portuguese Passport it will be necessary to apply for Portuguese Nationality first.

 

The Permanent Residence Permit allows for citizens of third states to apply for the Portuguese Nationality after 6 (six) years of residence in the Portuguese Territory.

 

Nonetheless the citizen applying for the Portuguese Nationality shall also have to comply, namely, with the following requirements:

 

a)      Proof of residence in Portuguese territory for at least 6 years;

 

b)      The applicants must be over eighteen years old;

 

c)       Sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese Language;

 

d)      Absence of conviction for crime punishable in Portugal by imprisonment for more than 3 years;

 

e)      Birth certificate;

 

f)       Passport;

 

(Electronic passport from Portugal, pictured.)

 

g)      Incorporation about personal data as the name of the parents, profession, etc.;

 

h)      Countries where the applicant had residence besides Portugal;

 

i)        Criminal registry issued by the Portuguese entity of the county of birth or of the nationality where the applicant has its residence.

 

The Portuguese Passport allows the holder to establish residence and free movement in Portugal and in other European Union Countries. Thus, with a second passport to get into countries that require visas for certain citizens could benefit you in substantial costs and less paperwork and unnecessary bureaucracy to travel around.

 

Other advantages of having a Portuguese Passport are the access to medical assistance, to education and others publics rights on the same terms as the Portuguese without losing your American citizenship.

 

(Electronic passport from Portugal, pictured.)

There are several insurance strategies for living in Nicaragua.  Remember that most of the hospitals here are good but not necessarily great…..one exception being the Vivian Pellas Metropolitano Hospital (pictured to the right).  It is absolutely world-class and accepts several types of insurance.  You can go to their website and bring up info in Spanish or English about the types of insurance accepted.  Since this market changes, I’ll defer info...

There are several insurance strategies for living in Nicaragua.  Remember that most of the hospitals here are good but not necessarily great…..one exception being the Vivian Pellas Metropolitano Hospital (pictured to the right).  It is absolutely world-class and accepts several types of insurance.  You can go to their website and bring up info in Spanish or English about the types of insurance accepted.  Since this market changes, I’ll defer info for you to go the website.

 

Before we moved here to Nicaragua, I was “COBRA”d through my former employer and paid about $800 / month for the health service.  Now, my personal insurance is through Vivian Pellas Metropolitano Hospital's Club Salud (Health Club), which covers my wife and me while we are in Nicaragua.  When we relocated, I signed us up for the ‘gold’ version of the insurance….at about $100 / month total for my wife and me.  So, for $1,200 / year (and a discount by prepaying a year in advance) we had what I call ‘catastrophic’ insurance.  ER services were covered 100%, with most procedures covered from 50% to 80%, with pre-existing conditions under special review.  As with most insurance, you have to be covered for quite a while (18 months to several years) before an existing condition can be covered.  My high blood pressure and other small ailments did not warrant review.

 

The premiums had moved up to $61/month/person, though we still get a 10% discount by prepaying.  Cheap by any standards.

 

So your next question is, “at this price can it be any good?”.  A quick personal testimony:

Only drawback:  We are covered only in Nicaragua, so any trips abroad are a risk.  I’ll qualify for Medicare in about 2 years, so I’ll sign up at that time.