Best Places In The World To Retire

In inland Belize, cable TV costs 45 Belize dollars, which is US $22.50 per month. You get 125 channels, including FOX news, MSNBC, ABC, Discovery, History, ACTV, HATV and lots of US channels. You also get six to seven Belizean channels. There are also Mexican, South American and Asian channels.

There’s Dibo which is I think the counterpart of Tivo in the US. It is a digital box and you get digital TV. Dibo costs $100 as a one-time cost and it gets you about 60 additional...

In inland Belize, cable TV costs 45 Belize dollars, which is US $22.50 per month. You get 125 channels, including FOX news, MSNBC, ABC, Discovery, History, ACTV, HATV and lots of US channels. You also get six to seven Belizean channels. There are also Mexican, South American and Asian channels.

There’s Dibo which is I think the counterpart of Tivo in the US. It is a digital box and you get digital TV. Dibo costs $100 as a one-time cost and it gets you about 60 additional channels, 50 of which are HD. “Dibo” is short for “Digital Boss.” $100 is just for the Dibo box. You still have to pay $22.50 every month for cable.

 

We didn't have a car for the first 2.5 years we lived in Managua. I had a trustworthy and very reliable taxi driver with whom I organized most of my trips in Managua. We also used the Mini Express buses to get into town and to travel to Masaya, Granada or León.

 

While it is possible to get along without a car, it's far easier when you have one. Especially if you want to go out at night it can be difficult to get transportation, at least when you live in...

We didn't have a car for the first 2.5 years we lived in Managua. I had a trustworthy and very reliable taxi driver with whom I organized most of my trips in Managua. We also used the Mini Express buses to get into town and to travel to Masaya, Granada or León.

 

While it is possible to get along without a car, it's far easier when you have one. Especially if you want to go out at night it can be difficult to get transportation, at least when you live in Carretera Sur, as we do. Despite offering to pay a premium, I sometimes could not find a taxi driver to pick me up from my house in the evening and take me to town. Getting back home from town is easier.

 

(Bell tower of the Basilica Catedral de la Asuncion, Leon, Nicaragua, pictured.)

When I moved to Panama, I figured to take care of my medical needs using local resources (I live in Coronado, but Panama City is only an hour away), because they are good and very economical.  For instance, a doctor's routine visit for a checkup or specific problem, such as diagnosing a cold, is less than ten dollars if you use your Julibilado Visa.  For more serious problems, like a knee replacement, I planned to fly to the US to use my Medicare.

 

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When I moved to Panama, I figured to take care of my medical needs using local resources (I live in Coronado, but Panama City is only an hour away), because they are good and very economical.  For instance, a doctor's routine visit for a checkup or specific problem, such as diagnosing a cold, is less than ten dollars if you use your Julibilado Visa.  For more serious problems, like a knee replacement, I planned to fly to the US to use my Medicare.

 

The problem is with a medical issue that is an emergency, such as a heart attack - flying is not an option then.  Last year I had an accident swimming, and wound up in Panama City at the National Hospital.  Two days in the ICU, plus two more in a regular room, plus all the other stuff, cost me $7,500.  Without any insurance to cover that, they want cash before you leave the facility - or a credit card.  Fortunately they took American Express.  The wife of a Canadian friend of mine had to have emergency heart surgery, and his bill was in the tens of thousands.

 

Before moving to a foreign country, make plans to deal with all of your potential health needs. 

 

(The native Kuna people of Panama are distinctive because they have relatively low incident of high blood pressure, pictured.)

The expat community in Boquete doesn’t fit a specific profile since there is so much diversity in the population.   One of the common misconceptions about Boquete is the exact number of expats that live here.  As I’ve mentioned before, the municipality of Boquete is quite large and the community is spread out over several districts and neighborhoods.  I estimate that there are probably around 1,000 expat households in the greater Boquete area with a total...

The expat community in Boquete doesn’t fit a specific profile since there is so much diversity in the population.   One of the common misconceptions about Boquete is the exact number of expats that live here.  As I’ve mentioned before, the municipality of Boquete is quite large and the community is spread out over several districts and neighborhoods.  I estimate that there are probably around 1,000 expat households in the greater Boquete area with a total expat population of 1,500 to 2,000 individuals.   The latest census (2010) showed that there were just over 21,000 people living in the municipality of Boquete so expats represent just under 10% of the total population in the area.
 
Although a majority of the expat community comes from North America (the US and a large number from Canada) there are residents from all over the world living here.  I personally know people from the UK, France, Italy, South Africa, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, China, Japan just to name a few.  Most of the expats are retired couples but we’ve seen a growing number of families with children moving into the area in recent years.
 
You’ll find that the expat residents here are fairly representative of the overall populations from the countries that they come from.   There are doctors, lawyers, business owners, former captains of industry, contractors, firemen, policemen, nurses, teachers, writers, artists…… people from just about every walk of life you can imagine.  Politically, we have conservatives, liberals, moderates and libertarians.  No single philosophy or political affiliation stands out.   We have golfers, sport fisherman, nature lovers, bird watchers, gardeners, actors, community volunteers and just about any other interest group you can think of.
 
In short, there’s no “typical” expat in Boquete and you’ll find an incredibly diverse group of people and personalities living here.  However, the expats do share one common characteristic – regardless of background, politics, wealth or education everyone here has a strong sense of adventure and a desire to experience new things.   That’s the thread that ties the community together.