Best Places In The World To Retire

What your neighbors would be like in Puerto Vallarta depends on where you live. There are some neighborhoods inhabited by mostly foreign residents —most often, US and Canadian. Some are more heavily US and some are more heavily Canadian.  There are also many neighborhoods that are primarily Mexican.  And there are also neighborhoods that are totally mixed. Of course there’s a smattering of folks from other parts of the world too—Europe, Asia, South America,...

What your neighbors would be like in Puerto Vallarta depends on where you live. There are some neighborhoods inhabited by mostly foreign residents —most often, US and Canadian. Some are more heavily US and some are more heavily Canadian.  There are also many neighborhoods that are primarily Mexican.  And there are also neighborhoods that are totally mixed. Of course there’s a smattering of folks from other parts of the world too—Europe, Asia, South America, Africa—it’s an interesting place to live and that there is considerable diversity here. 

 

Comparing Puerto Vallarta to New York City, New York City is largely vertical; there’s high-rise after high-rise. Puerto Vallarta is a lot more horizontal. Of course, we do have some high rises, particularly in areas near beach and more tourist oriented places.  But if you get away from that, either up in the hills or in the flatlands off the beach, it’s more horizontal.  So you’re looking at more single family homes and the occasional multi-family home.  As a result, Puerto Vallarta is less congested; there’s not as much population density.

 

It is sometimes suggested that people from New York are rude and I might be biased, having live there for 22 year.  I think New Yorkers are GREAT!  But Puerto Vallarta, it’s going to seem friendlier. I believe Puerto Vallarta was voted the friendliest city in the world maybe 3 or 4 years ago and I’m sure that still stands to large extent.  Mexico in general is a super friendly place where friendship and good will are paramount.  

 

(In 1963 Robby Krieger, The Door's guitarist taught himself flamenco guitar while on holiday, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico , pictured.)

Nicaraguans who lived outside of Nicaragua and then either moved back to Nicaragua or moved to Nicaragua for the first time think that they are living happily ever after because they have seen the best of both worlds. As people living outside of Nicaragua, we have learned how to work hard, not to expect anything from anybody, and make money in order to have a happy ending ahead of our lives. We learned, for example, how to work hard in the US, and we apply...

Nicaraguans who lived outside of Nicaragua and then either moved back to Nicaragua or moved to Nicaragua for the first time think that they are living happily ever after because they have seen the best of both worlds. As people living outside of Nicaragua, we have learned how to work hard, not to expect anything from anybody, and make money in order to have a happy ending ahead of our lives. We learned, for example, how to work hard in the US, and we apply that knowledge in Nicaragua, which is an under developed country. So having lived in one of the most developed country in the world gives us a sense of ethics, but applying it to the environment we have here in Nicaragua. Compared with other places like in the US, the people here in Nicaragua can be considered lazy and that is a fact, but we try to move forward and learn from our mistakes. We expect to enjoy the money that we make in years ahead.

 

I have seen many Americans come here for the first time, and who trust my friends who are businessmen here, because the Americans have never been here before. What these American expats tell me once they get here, is that they have decided to sell their things in the US and they are moving to Nicaragua. I have heard that a lot from many American expats. They get very surprised when they get here. Here in Nicaragua, you won’t see a cop on the street asking for your paperwork. You won’t see the military equipment that you see in El Salvador or Honduras or Mexico. You will rarely see a police officer on the streets of Nicaragua. It is not that we are not being taken care of, but it means that the crime rate is very low.

 

Nicaragua is a beautiful country and the expats see that. Once you get off your plane in Managua, you land on the side of a beautiful lake. We have two of the biggest lakes in Central America. It is a beautiful scene. The planes will also take you around volcanoes. We have the most volcanoes in one country in Central America. We have everything beautiful such as the mountains, the lakes, the islands in the Caribbean, and the sandy beaches.

 

Expats find a lot of things to do here in Nicaragua and there are a lot of things to be done. We are developing and we have many gaps, so people are coming in to fill these gaps when they see the opportunities. That is why people from other countries seek to establish themselves in Nicaragua now instead of later.

 

The expats who move to Managua become less pre-occupied by the social environment because even though Nicaragua has a connotation of being a poor country, you won’t see poverty unless you go to the poverty-stricken areas. If you take your car and go around the city, what you will see are new buildings, new shopping malls, construction, developments, cars, traffic, etc. We have poverty amongst us, but you will not see it because they are confined to certain neighborhoods. Don’t be surprised if people say that they have been to Nicaragua and they didn’t see any poor people.  Managua is a very small place that you can go around in an hour and a half. So many expats in Managua are very surprised at what they see here because Managua is very nice and it is safe. As soon as they step out of the airport, they feel that safety and they find that the people of Nicaragua are content with their lives.  

There are a variety is issues which could give rise to avoid retiring overseas.  Of those reasons, herein are my “top 3” worst reasons to retire overseas:

 

HEALTHCARE

 

While some jurisdictions may, in fact, have superior healthcare facilities to those in the United States, the healthcare services of many countries are far inferior to those in America.  Consistent access to quality medication at affordable...

There are a variety is issues which could give rise to avoid retiring overseas.  Of those reasons, herein are my “top 3” worst reasons to retire overseas:

 

HEALTHCARE

 

While some jurisdictions may, in fact, have superior healthcare facilities to those in the United States, the healthcare services of many countries are far inferior to those in America.  Consistent access to quality medication at affordable rates can, surprisingly, be more challenging than you may realize.  Also, when you are of retirement age and experience a serious medical challenge, it can be extremely expense, if not life threatening, to travel (or be transported) to a neighboring country which has qualified physicians needed to properly treat your ailment.  While you may do your best to choose a favorable jurisdiction for your golden age, countries which boast low-cost retirement havens often lack proper medical facilities.

 

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 

Assuming you have children, you may find yourself missing out on watching your grandson’s first baseball game or granddaughter’s communion.  Lifelong friends, who are also of retirement age, may not have the resources to come and visit you but once every few years.  Unless you are part of a small community to provide you with the emotional support needed to maintain a healthy emotional state of mind, it is easy to become increasingly depressed living isolated from family and friends.  Are you mentally and emotionally prepared to communicate with your closest of friends and family via video or social media?  When you no longer wish to travel back to the United States, there may be extended periods of time when no comes to visit you either.

 

FINANCES AND EXCHANGE RATES

 

Lack of finances ranks among the primary causes of tremendous stress.  Unless you have reasonably substantial savings for your retirement, you may find yourself in an extremely uncomfortable position overseas.  Adding insult to injury, if you wished to work part-time to generate some additional income, most retirement visa’s do not allow for any formal work to be undertaken by a retiree as it places unnecessary burdens on the local community whom often struggle with finding work for their families.  Additionally, currencies and exchange rate are subject to slow degradations as well as massive swings.  Meaning, you may have moved to a country wherein you enjoyed a favorable exchange rate when you arrived but find yourself getting far less ‘bang for your buck’ as time moves on.