Best Places In The World To Retire

What retirement would be like in Chapala and Ajijic depends where you come from. Retiring here is like getting a new life and getting away from your normal life that you’ve been in for a long time. It’s a new life where being on time or being early for an appointment is a breach of etiquette. 

 

There’s no hurry, and no stress. Nobody is going to get bent out of shape if you’re ten minutes late or half an hour late for an...

What retirement would be like in Chapala and Ajijic depends where you come from. Retiring here is like getting a new life and getting away from your normal life that you’ve been in for a long time. It’s a new life where being on time or being early for an appointment is a breach of etiquette. 

 

There’s no hurry, and no stress. Nobody is going to get bent out of shape if you’re ten minutes late or half an hour late for an appointment. And in some cases they don’t get angry even if you don’t show up at all. 

 

For example, I’ve had 3 appointments with a guy in the last week and he’s always got an excuse. He does call me and tells me he’s not coming. In the States it’s a horse of a different color.  There is more tolerance here. 

 

A typical day for a retired expat here would include a visit their retired friends. They entertain a lot. There’s a lot of entertaining at homes. “Come over for dinner; we’re going to have a party Friday.”  There may be 25 to 30 people in the party, and they re-entertain each other.

 

 

If they’re interested in some cultural events, Guadalajara (just 45 minutes away) is packed with cultural events. Just within the last month or so there’s been a lot of jazz festivals in Guadalajara, and Guadalajara has some good theater and international entertainment. There are buses that take people into Guadalajara to the theater, maybe an opera and maybe a ballet folklorico. Most of the times they will get a hotel and spend the night and then come back the next day on a bus. They could go on just a normal bus or sometimes, the expats get together, form a little club, rent a bus and they all go together. The bus brings them right back and drops them right off. Alternatively, a lot of them drive.  

 

(Expat cast in local theater production, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

Starting a business in Portugal can be relatively simple because Portugal has an “On The Hour” facility whereby you can walk into a government department and basically set up a company in an hour.

 

Once you get the company running, that’s the only time the problem starts, because the bureaucracy comes in. It’s easy to start a business but it’s the rules after that which makes it a bit frustrating.

 

...

Starting a business in Portugal can be relatively simple because Portugal has an “On The Hour” facility whereby you can walk into a government department and basically set up a company in an hour.

 

Once you get the company running, that’s the only time the problem starts, because the bureaucracy comes in. It’s easy to start a business but it’s the rules after that which makes it a bit frustrating.

 

(Mário Centeno Minister of Finance, Portugal, pictured.)

Unfortunately, the answer to the question of what are the best places to live in the world is an example of the kinds of questions that so many websites try to answer. The answer is totally determined by the individual’s taste and what they are looking for. Honestly, it’s one of those impossible questions for me to answer for a specific person, because people are just so different.

 

Some older or retired people may want to remain within,...

Unfortunately, the answer to the question of what are the best places to live in the world is an example of the kinds of questions that so many websites try to answer. The answer is totally determined by the individual’s taste and what they are looking for. Honestly, it’s one of those impossible questions for me to answer for a specific person, because people are just so different.

 

Some older or retired people may want to remain within, let’s say, two to four hours of travel distance from their home area where they have their children or grandchildren, so they can get back there or maybe they plan to visit. If you live a seven or eight hour flight away, it may cost you US $1,500 to $2,000 for a plane ticket, which makes it difficult. That is why so many Americans or Canadians end up in Central America; Panama, Mexico and the Caribbean, because it’s easy and a quick distance. Those who go to places like Uruguay or Chile end up having to pay a lot more money and it takes a lot more time so they don’t get home as frequently. If there’s a reason to get home quickly, it’s much more difficult and expensive for them than people, for example, who live in Panama.

 

Overall, what I think you should your choice from the viewpoint of where you want go, where you want live, and the experience you want to have.  Then, look for the countries that seem to offer that and then pick one. The country that’s closest to you might not be the appropriate one.

Your neighbors in Corozal would be people who are seeking a slower lifestyle, people who enjoy socializing, and people who have common interests- whether it’s in the weather, or their diet, or fishing.

 

As an example, a couple we spent an afternoon with just moved in at Mark Leonard’s subdivision in Cerros Sands- Bruce and Shelley Clark. Bruce was telling us that since moving to Corozal, he had lost 30 pounds while eating all he wants. But...

Your neighbors in Corozal would be people who are seeking a slower lifestyle, people who enjoy socializing, and people who have common interests- whether it’s in the weather, or their diet, or fishing.

 

As an example, a couple we spent an afternoon with just moved in at Mark Leonard’s subdivision in Cerros Sands- Bruce and Shelley Clark. Bruce was telling us that since moving to Corozal, he had lost 30 pounds while eating all he wants. But he’s eating healthy- he’s eating fish and fresh fruits, and he’s just as happy as he could be.

 

There’s a Belgian gentleman who’s building in the same development who probably is going to move in some time this year. He’s just looking for the freedom, the weather, the climate, and the culture.

 

Your neighbors are going to be probably similar interests. We’ve met people from Canada that are just delightful. Your neighbors are going to be just people who are looking for a slower, more peaceful, more pleasant lifestyle.

 

(Beachgoers at Cerros Sand, Corozal, Belize, pictured.)

The cost for cellphone service here in Nicaragua varies depending on what you prefer. If you get a postpaid account, it locks you in with the cellphone company for 12 to 18 months and the price depends on what is included in your plan. My postpaid plan costs US $50. It gives me a certain amount of free calls. The plan also includes around 30 megabytes allowance for Internet. I have Internet all the time. There is a plan that costs only about $20 a month, which includes less. It might...

The cost for cellphone service here in Nicaragua varies depending on what you prefer. If you get a postpaid account, it locks you in with the cellphone company for 12 to 18 months and the price depends on what is included in your plan. My postpaid plan costs US $50. It gives me a certain amount of free calls. The plan also includes around 30 megabytes allowance for Internet. I have Internet all the time. There is a plan that costs only about $20 a month, which includes less. It might only include 60 minutes of free national calls and a few megabytes of Internet usage. There are a lot of plans to choose from and it all depends on how you use your phone.

 

You could also opt to have prepaid service, where you would top up your phone with credits so that you can use it. You put in $10, for example, which may be good for 2 weeks depending on your usage. It allows you to make international and national calls. They also have promos where if you register for a certain promo with a certain cost, they would double or triple the amount of credits that are loaded on your phone. Some people prefer to use prepaid and use their phones on days where there are special offers, while some people prefer to have a postpaid account where they pay a monthly fee for the plan.

 

(Graphic for Ultra Mobile Data Plus, which has roaming in Nicaragua, pictured.)

Fort Clayton is an area of Panama where there is a lot of movement of expats because of the Ciudad Del Saber or "the City of Knowledge," which is located in that area. Fort Clayton has research centers and branches of universities from around the world. The neighborhoods around Fort Clayton seem to attract a lot of expats because of the Ciudad Del Saber. Fort Clayton is also very close to the Panama Cana,l so it is very common to run into expats in Fort Clayton. Fort...

Fort Clayton is an area of Panama where there is a lot of movement of expats because of the Ciudad Del Saber or "the City of Knowledge," which is located in that area. Fort Clayton has research centers and branches of universities from around the world. The neighborhoods around Fort Clayton seem to attract a lot of expats because of the Ciudad Del Saber. Fort Clayton is also very close to the Panama Cana,l so it is very common to run into expats in Fort Clayton. Fort Clayton also has many high schools whose students are mainly expats.