Best Places In The World To Retire

How easy it would be for you to find a job in Nicaragua depends on how old you are. About 50% of the population of native Nicaraguans is around 17 or 18 years old. Because of this large percentage of young people, the older people in Nicaragua tend to hold upper management positions.  However, many of those between the age of those in their late teens and those in their 50s are slowly taking over because they have had 20 years of steady education from universities. They are armed...

How easy it would be for you to find a job in Nicaragua depends on how old you are. About 50% of the population of native Nicaraguans is around 17 or 18 years old. Because of this large percentage of young people, the older people in Nicaragua tend to hold upper management positions.  However, many of those between the age of those in their late teens and those in their 50s are slowly taking over because they have had 20 years of steady education from universities. They are armed with this knowledge when they entered the work force. The older people are still part of the majority and are in charge of the majority of businesses, but the new generation of those just a little younger than them is closing the gap.  I predict that in three to five years, those in their 50s will have a harder time getting a job. The older you get, the harder it gets.

As for expats who want to go to Nicaragua and find a job in Nicaragua, they have the same issues mentioned above. They may have experience working in the relevant job category, but it would be a bit more of a challenge finding work in another country because there are existing Nicaraguans who are competing for the same job. My advice for expats is, rather than come here to look for a job, to come with a business plan and open a small business of their own. This would be a wise move when going to Nicaragua, unless you are coming here as part of a job transfer from company or a foreign institution. 

 

(Expat Ellen Winter, pictured.)

 

There never used to be any racial tension in Portugal, but there is a little bit now. In general, however, compared to a lot of other countries, even though some racial tension exists, it is very minimal.

 

There’s no discrimination like we have in South Africa but sometimes there are comments.  The issues we have here are cultural.  Portugal used to have colonies in Mozambique and Angola, so you would hear people asking why certain people do things...

There never used to be any racial tension in Portugal, but there is a little bit now. In general, however, compared to a lot of other countries, even though some racial tension exists, it is very minimal.

 

There’s no discrimination like we have in South Africa but sometimes there are comments.  The issues we have here are cultural.  Portugal used to have colonies in Mozambique and Angola, so you would hear people asking why certain people do things certain ways.   We’ve had lots black clients from the US embassy, however, and we’ve never ever had problems. 

 

We can also have economic issues.  For example, there was a time when the less wealthy Brazilians were migrating and taking jobs as maids or gardeners that the Portuguese would have wanted, so here was some resentment there.   But now the level of Brazilians who are coming into the country are the wealthy Brazilians who want to get out of Brazil because of the corruption and because of the criminalities. Well, criminalities always been in Brazil but it’s a lot worse now, so that’s why the wealthy Brazilians are getting out. So it all have to do with what level of people are migrating and if they’re competing for jobs.   

 

(Portuguese air force during the 1960's in Luanda Air Base, Angola, pictured.)

If you buy something on Amazon, they ship here to Belize; it is doable. You have to have a PO Box. Unfortunately, if you do that, you pay a fair bit of duty, so I do not know if it is really worth it. There are also providers of mail receiving services like in Canada we have mailboxes. It’s not just like having a PO box, but you can have someone in the store receiving packages or mail for you. We have UPS and we have FedEx in Belize, too. It is all very possible.
 
The...

If you buy something on Amazon, they ship here to Belize; it is doable. You have to have a PO Box. Unfortunately, if you do that, you pay a fair bit of duty, so I do not know if it is really worth it. There are also providers of mail receiving services like in Canada we have mailboxes. It’s not just like having a PO box, but you can have someone in the store receiving packages or mail for you. We have UPS and we have FedEx in Belize, too. It is all very possible.
 
The delivery will take a little longer than you would expect, but you can definitely do that. You just have to pay for it. But your mailing address for your credit cards generally speaking should be from the US. A good amount of retailers will actually ship directly to Belize.
 
I do know that there is a Qualified Retired Residency Program in Belize. The duties in Belize from importing are based on the goods. When you move to Belize and you sign up for the Qualified Retired Residency Program, you get a year to import whatever you want and need from the US as long as it is personal, and it will be duty free.
 
After a year and let us say you buy something from Amazon, for example.  Belize will tend to charge you import duties. I had some things sent from the US to me here in Ambergris Caye, Belize. I had to go to the post office to receive the package, where they opened the box in front of me. They will open the box with you standing there, go through the box, and they will decide how much duty you have to pay.
 
If a friend sends you gifts they will not charge you duties if your friend who sent it put a value on the gift of zero dollars because it is a gift. If it's a brand new item like a CD player or an iPod, the Belizean authorities still decide on how much duty you have to pay
 
Electronic goods are something they always charge a duty on. It will probably not be too much, but there would be duty for sure on anything electronic. If a friend sends you a brand new apple MacBook Pro, the duty on that I believe it can be as high as 40% of the total cost of the laptop. It is very high and it is not an advantage to you for a laptop to be sent to you in Belize. However, you can buy laptops in Belize. They are trying to encourage people to buy electronics in Belize, since we have people selling electronics here and they pay the legitimate import fees. They try to sell their goods here in Belize, but without the import fees they cannot compete with the American market.

There are several key advantages to holding a second passport (or dual citizenship) which include, but are not limited to, the ability to:

There are several key advantages to holding a second passport (or dual citizenship) which include, but are not limited to, the ability to:

Coronado Beach Panama is a great place for you to live.  My wife & I and our Calico Cat named Purr-Cie live in a 34 story tower named Coronado Golf.  We enjoy fantastic views of the golf course, Pacific Ocean, mountains and palatial estates lining the Pacific Ocean shore.  The slogan for Coronado Golf is "It's Time To Settle For Everything!"

 

Many Expatriates live in the Coronado area and an Ex-Pat from the United States who uses the...

Coronado Beach Panama is a great place for you to live.  My wife & I and our Calico Cat named Purr-Cie live in a 34 story tower named Coronado Golf.  We enjoy fantastic views of the golf course, Pacific Ocean, mountains and palatial estates lining the Pacific Ocean shore.  The slogan for Coronado Golf is "It's Time To Settle For Everything!"

 

Many Expatriates live in the Coronado area and an Ex-Pat from the United States who uses the "handle" of Joe THE Painter told us about our cleaning person (lady).  Our cleaning lady cleans our apartment once each week on Tuesdays and she is a veritable cleaning machine.  She cleans non stop for about 5 hours and we pay her $28 - which equates to about $5 per hour plus a few bucks for a round trip taxi ride from her place to ours.  Come To Panama & Turn YOUR Frown Upside Down!