Best Places In The World To Retire

If you spend more than 183 days in Mexico, in theory you become a tax resident of Mexico, which means that you must pay your taxes here in Mexico.  However, if your country has a tax treaty with Mexico, the tax you pay here can be used as a credit against the tax you would have to pay in your own country.  The tax treaty would avoid double taxation on the same money you earn from two different countries.

 

For example, if you are living here in...

If you spend more than 183 days in Mexico, in theory you become a tax resident of Mexico, which means that you must pay your taxes here in Mexico.  However, if your country has a tax treaty with Mexico, the tax you pay here can be used as a credit against the tax you would have to pay in your own country.  The tax treaty would avoid double taxation on the same money you earn from two different countries.

 

For example, if you are living here in Mexico but the money you make is from the US, you still have to pay taxes in Mexico because you’re living here. That’s what the law says. But many people do not follow that rule because they would prefer to pay their taxes in the States, but that’s wrong. The law says you must accumulate all the income you have if you’re a tax resident in Mexico. However, no one I know has ever been prosecuted in Mexico for living in Mexico, earning money outside of Mexico, and not declaring his or her income to Mexico to be taxed.

 

When we studied for our master’s degree in taxes, a common situation was discussed whereby a person who is a legal tax resident of Mexico has an Internet business and some of the money that he gets from that business comes from Mexico but the money is paid through PayPal or some corporation which is outside of Mexico.  In this situation, he would still be liable to pay taxes in Mexico on this money, but as a practical matter, no one has ever been prosecuted for not paying those taxes.  As a practical matter, the authorities in Mexico would not know about these activities, so they haven’t prosecuted anyone for not paying taxes on them.

 

(White sand beach of Tulum, Mexico, pictured.)

In Boquete, there are many good things. There is good food, good vegetables, and good people. People here in Boquete are more polite. You will find really good workers and have good communication with people since they do speak English. You rarely experience communication problems here in Boquete compared to what you would experience in Panama City or in other places where expats say they do not understand the people. 

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In Boquete, there are many good things. There is good food, good vegetables, and good people. People here in Boquete are more polite. You will find really good workers and have good communication with people since they do speak English. You rarely experience communication problems here in Boquete compared to what you would experience in Panama City or in other places where expats say they do not understand the people. 

 

The bad thing about living in Boquete could be the wind. Many expats do not like when it is too windy. They have to find a good location where they want to live. The rainy season is good for the plants and vegetables. The weather also depends on your location. In Alto Boquete, it could be very windy. They have almost hurricane force winds. In the Jamarillo area, you will not have the winds. So Boquete has a lot of micro-climates where some areas are windy and some are not. Some are rainier than others and some are not, so you have to be careful to choose the proper area. As an example, where Lucero is, it’s not very windy but in other places, it can be. 

 

If you want a good area, you should follow a golfer. A golfer doesn’t like winds, especially hurricane force winds. A golfer doesn’t like rain. That’s why they come here to Lucero (which has a golf course), because they don’t want to experience those things. Here in Lucero, even in the winter, you will see the sun shine. In the rainy season it may start to rain at around 1 PM to 2 PM. Wintertime here in Lucero is from November to October. In October, it starts to rain every morning and every afternoon, which is why many of our residents move for a couple of months. They go to other countries and come back because many of them do not like rain, since in the rain, they cannot play golf. 

 

Overall, if you want to live in a place with the best weather with the least amount of wind and the least amount of rain, buy near a golf course because that is where they put the golf courses. I learned that here in Boquete. Golfers do not like the wind because, if it’s windy, how are they going to control the ball? 

 

(Pictured: Lucero master plan in Boquete, Panama.)

Without ascribing names to which places are the best places to live in the world, first of all, I would say that you would have to align your goals for yourself and your family with the goals of the place you’re looking at living. For example, if you’re looking for a freedom-loving country, or if you want to have or feel like you have more personal freedoms and liberties, you must look at a country that has that on the table. For example, people looking for more freedom...

Without ascribing names to which places are the best places to live in the world, first of all, I would say that you would have to align your goals for yourself and your family with the goals of the place you’re looking at living. For example, if you’re looking for a freedom-loving country, or if you want to have or feel like you have more personal freedoms and liberties, you must look at a country that has that on the table. For example, people looking for more freedom and liberty in their life are not necessarily looking to move to Iran. 

 

Personal freedom was high on my list, and that’s why I chose a country that had that, or had the ability to have that. My family and I wanted to live in a place where my wife and I could raise our children and where I could live my life with little to no government intrusion, which we found here in Panama, which was a great fit for us.

 

In general, Panama is a little bit more socialistic than the US regarding labor laws. There are a lot of labor rights that the people working for a company get to have. They’re actually a little bit on the oppressive side toward the business, but when you’re looking at the country as a whole, Panama has a bicameral legislature, a president, a supreme court, and a stable and steady judicial system that is blind to your nationality- whether you are a Panamanian or a foreigner. 

 

Here in Panama, there are true property rights, and titled property and land rights. As a foreigner, I can invest here in Panama freely in the real estate market whether in my own name or under a corporate name.

 

The territorial tax system in Panama is advantageous. In the United States, I am taxed on my income on a certain percentage. If I live outside of the United States for 330 days a year, my wife and I get the advantage of a US credit of more than $100,000 for each of us against each of our income taxes. That means that if we’re married and we file separately, we can double up on that exclusion. Being here in Panama where they have a territorial tax system, my income earned in the United States is not taxed up to the amount of the exclusion. That makes it tremendously advantageous for high-income US wage earners who have the ability to work remotely from Panama.

 

In a lot of these countries, though the government wants to get more involved in your business, they can’t because they don’t have the ability to do so. Irrespective of how socialist the country may or may not be, like Nicaragua for example, a government with few resources will just leave you alone because they don’t have the ability to get into your business. 

 

Here in Panama, there’s no FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, OSHA, or any of these other three-letter or four-letter organizations that what we have in the United States that when taken individually may not be an inherently oppressive system, but when taken macro economically, you’ll see all the many different ways that America tries to control your life and makes you start to realize that maybe you’re a slave to the system without even knowing it. Maybe you don’t have the freedoms any more than you thought you did, because you existed alongside these little three-letter entities. 

 

I didn’t want to feel like that anymore, so I came to Panama where those things don’t exist. Here in Panama, I can be myself and I can do whatever I want without worrying about looking over my shoulder. For example, if I annoy someone by accident, or if I said the wrong words, I’m not going to be ostracized by the community because that just doesn’t exist here. 

 

All the things that exist in America, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement and the crazy Leftist ideologies, are not systemic and epidemic here in Panama. They’re simply not part of the equation.

 

(The Gilbert girls gather leaf matter from their property for their chicken coop, Volcan, Panama, pictured.)

Living in Portugal is very “summery.” This time of year we’re in winter but the Portuguese are very outdoor people. They are very hospitable.  If you are in a condominium and they’ve got a big pool, most of the people at the pool will be foreigners there because all the Portuguese will be on the beach.  Come the summer, the Portuguese are very much outdoors—on the beach, walking along the beach, riding.

 

The...

Living in Portugal is very “summery.” This time of year we’re in winter but the Portuguese are very outdoor people. They are very hospitable.  If you are in a condominium and they’ve got a big pool, most of the people at the pool will be foreigners there because all the Portuguese will be on the beach.  Come the summer, the Portuguese are very much outdoors—on the beach, walking along the beach, riding.

 

The Portuguese are very sociable people. They are friendly people. They can be very reserved until they’ve decided whether they accept you but I think that’s probably the case in a lot of countries. I have learned that one thing that’s very important here as a foreigner is to say, “Oh please, could you help me?” If you’re going to a government department, for example, say, “Oh please, I wonder if you could help me because I don’t know this” and the Portuguese would go over the top to help you. “Please” and “thank you” and “how are you” and “isn’t it hot” and “isn’t it cold” make all the difference. They are more than affable to you and it’s an easy way of life. Going for a coffee is very important; it’s almost part of your important everyday life, which is coffee in the morning and going out for lunch. Most people eat out a lot. That’s why the South Africans coming here find it so easy to adapt because it’s a similar lifestyle to “open horizons.”

 

“Open horizons” refers to a perspective which is says that the horizon is far away, as opposed to the skies and horizon being on top of your head and being narrow. The open horizons way of looking at things is broad and people with an open horizons way of seeing the world like to be outdoors  (As a point of contrast, the weather conditions don’t help but in England people are much more conservative.)  Here in Portugal everybody is very often outdoors and people are enjoying themselves. And in the winter, you’ll find shopping centers absolutely jammed packed because people have got to do something. They’re not people who will stay at home all day long. They’ve got to always be doing something. 

 

Personally, I like the Portuguese lifestyle very much. I was recently in England and whenever I go back, I enjoy being in England. I like London very much mainly for the theatre and because I have several friends there and I often go to the country, which is also beautiful. The English countryside is hard to beat. But London is terribly expensive. I find that it’s an easier, more relaxed life here. Bureaucracy in Portugal is a little bit frustrating at times, but it’s improved a great deal.

 

There are lots of golf courses here in Portugal.  On the golf course you hear a lot of Swedish because of the new permits that foreigners have to live here now. They’re all on the golf course. The French are all in there restaurants. So you hear French and Swedish all the time here now. For everyone, it’s a nice lifestyle in Portugal.

 

And at the moment, certainly, it’s been difficult because, financially, Portugal has been struggling. They’ve just changed the government and we have to see how that’s going to go now. A lot of the Portuguese were distressed because a lot have had their pensions cut almost by half and subsidies as well. There’s always the good and the bad. When the Portuguese hear about foreigners coming here and they don’t have to pay as high of tax then they get a little bit annoyed. Many young Portuguese have left Portugal because it’s very difficult to find jobs now. 

 

The Swiss absolutely love it here.  They want to be out of their countries now for 183 days because of the law, which provides them with tax advantages. So they all stay in their country for the summer and they’re here in the winter. The Swiss can’t believe the great weather here, so they’re on the golf course all the time. They love the restaurants, and they love the wine. They say the Portuguese people are kind to them. And of course, if you are working here, you can still work if you are a foreigner and the percentage of tax that you would pay here is less than half of what you would pay in France or in Sweden, for example, which is very welcoming. Also, if you’ve retired you don’t pay any tax on your private pensions.  

 

(Pictured: Cascais, Portugal ocean view.)