Best Places In The World To Retire

Mountain biking has always been big here in Puerto Vallarta. There are several different companies that offer mountain biking here. Road biking or biking in the city, in general, was terrible when we started out here six years ago but now there are bike lanes and for the first time, there are bike rentals for the day so it is definitely a lot better.

 

I wouldn’t say the biking in Puerto Vallarta is something like what you would see in Chicago but it...

Mountain biking has always been big here in Puerto Vallarta. There are several different companies that offer mountain biking here. Road biking or biking in the city, in general, was terrible when we started out here six years ago but now there are bike lanes and for the first time, there are bike rentals for the day so it is definitely a lot better.

 

I wouldn’t say the biking in Puerto Vallarta is something like what you would see in Chicago but it is definitely in the turn around to that stage. Also, on Sundays here, they close down the main avenue, which is Avenida Mexico, from 9 AM to 3 PM. You can only go on the access roads from that point so the whole middle lane for about 4 miles, is just for biking and walking.

 

The biking culture is definitely on the upswing. Two specialty stores opened in the last couple of years and more and more bike shops are on the way.

 

(Bike lane in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)

In Boquete, you can get by with just English. Many expats who come here have small booklets with basic Spanish words. Before they travel, they know many Spanish words like compra, bano and many other Spanish words. You don’t have to be fluent in Spanish when you are in Boquete because many people here speak English.

 

Spanish is the national language here in Panama, but you will find many English speakers. If you don’t speak Spanish, you are not...

In Boquete, you can get by with just English. Many expats who come here have small booklets with basic Spanish words. Before they travel, they know many Spanish words like compra, bano and many other Spanish words. You don’t have to be fluent in Spanish when you are in Boquete because many people here speak English.

 

Spanish is the national language here in Panama, but you will find many English speakers. If you don’t speak Spanish, you are not going to be lost. It is not like when you go to Swiss Park in Switzerland where people only speak German or Swiss-German. It’s not like that here in Boquete because we have many English speakers here. You are not going to have any problem.

 

But still, I suggest that you try to learn common words like donde (where), como esta (how are you?), hola (hello), bano (bathroom-- that’s important!), comida (meal), adios (goodbye), and gracias (thanks). Expats should learn these basic words before they come to Panama or to go to any Spanish Country.

 

(A history of the Spanish language worldwide, pictured.)

​Corozal isn’t right for everybody. If you want to be able to run 5 minutes up the street to a big mall, Belize is not for you. If shopping for high dollar fashion, appliances and automobiles is important to you, Belize is not going to be a good fit.

 

The standard of living is a little lower than those communities in the States we’re accustomed to, but Belizeans don’t really realize that they are sub-par or below our standard of living...

​Corozal isn’t right for everybody. If you want to be able to run 5 minutes up the street to a big mall, Belize is not for you. If shopping for high dollar fashion, appliances and automobiles is important to you, Belize is not going to be a good fit.

 

The standard of living is a little lower than those communities in the States we’re accustomed to, but Belizeans don’t really realize that they are sub-par or below our standard of living because they’re just so happy, and if you’ve never been exposed to anything different, you don’t know anything different. It’s certainly not a standard of living that we’re accustomed to with respect to health care on demand, and things of that nature. The Belizeans are the ones who are living, while we just exist. The Belizeans are happy; they embrace life. They really do. 

 

In Corozal, we’re gong to have a comfortable home, we’re going to eat well, we’re going to entertain, we’re going to relax and enjoy the weather. And if we see the need to go to the Big Box store, then we’re just going to go across the border to Guatemala.

 

I have photos of my wife with the manager and the assistant manager of the Home Depot in Guatemala. It’s just like here in the States-- everybody’s speaking Spanish. They have Sam’s Club, they have TGI Friday’s, they’ve got Chili’s, they’ve got all the franchises.

 

Here’s an important thing-- there is not one single American franchise restaurant in all of Belize. Not one. No fast food.  No McDonald’s, no Burger King; not one. If you go into a restaurant anywhere in Belize, you are going to be eating at, more than likely, a local, family-owned, family-operated operation. I love it because it’s always different. There’s always something different to sample. You can get a hamburger, but it’s going to be Belizean.  

 

(Home Depot in Chetumal, Mexico less than 20 minutes away from Corozal, Belize, pictured.)

One of the best things to buy in Portugal is the Portuguese wine.  Portuguese wine is not exported as much as in other places, which is a great shame because the wines here are really prize-winning and they are excellent.

 

Pastries are excellent as well. If you like codfish, that’s good here, but most foreigners don’t seem to like codfish. There’s a huge variety of things that you can buy. There’s silver Portugal, which is very...

One of the best things to buy in Portugal is the Portuguese wine.  Portuguese wine is not exported as much as in other places, which is a great shame because the wines here are really prize-winning and they are excellent.

 

Pastries are excellent as well. If you like codfish, that’s good here, but most foreigners don’t seem to like codfish. There’s a huge variety of things that you can buy. There’s silver Portugal, which is very good. The porcelain is very good, as is the crystal, and there’s very good antiques.

 

If you want the “cheap and cheerful” things, there’s plenty of that as well.

 

And then you have what they call “custard tarts” which are in the Pastéis de Belém area (about half way between Lisbon Cascais, which is on the coast), and which is almost like a religion here. These are very good little custard tarts.

 

You really can get everything here in Portugal now and there are many countries that have what they call a “one-shop” where they’ve got mainly South African and British products from England. You’ve got a shop that is a Russian shop. There is an Ikea so the Swedes can get what they are missing from home.  

 

It’s amazing that as small as Portugal is, when you’re down in the Alenteijo, which is an area that is just before the Algarve or even in the Algarve, the food is completely different. The area is different; it’s much more farm land. You have a lot of cork plantations there. As you start going up north, there as well, the food is different. Like any country, the pronunciations are different in the north of Portugal, but you have the same sort of things. You would have perhaps more lamb to eat down in Alenteijo than you would here. But Portugal is a bit of melting pot of everything. So at Christmas time, here they have the codfish on the 24th and then they’ll have turkey or lamb for the 25th and that’s pretty well all over now. 

 

In addition to food, Portugal has arts and crafts. There’s a lot of very, very good pottery and china and porcelain. And, of course, what Portugal is very known for the hand painted tiles, a lot of which are antiques that are extremely expensive.

 

(Portuguese cookbook and tableware made and bought in Portugal, pictured.)

I love living in San Juan del Sur. I love working in San Juan del Sur. As soon as I leave my office, I can just go for a walk on the beach and later watch the beautiful sunset every day. My kids can go to the beach every afternoon. It’s safe and I just love it.

The main thing people enjoy in San Juan del Sur is the beach, the surfing and the activities. There’s a canopy tour, there’s jet skiing, there’s fishing; there’s a lot of things that...

I love living in San Juan del Sur. I love working in San Juan del Sur. As soon as I leave my office, I can just go for a walk on the beach and later watch the beautiful sunset every day. My kids can go to the beach every afternoon. It’s safe and I just love it.

The main thing people enjoy in San Juan del Sur is the beach, the surfing and the activities. There’s a canopy tour, there’s jet skiing, there’s fishing; there’s a lot of things that you can do that can keep you entertained.

 

(Dark sand beaches of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)

There is no need for you to renounce or relinquish you US citizenship if you move abroad. The same is true for Canadians and citizens from anywhere else in the world. You can live in Costa Rica either as a perpetual tourist or a permanent resident.

 

Being a perpetual tourist means that you need to leave the country every ninety days, which should not be an inconvenience for someone who is a traveler anyways.

 

For someone who...

There is no need for you to renounce or relinquish you US citizenship if you move abroad. The same is true for Canadians and citizens from anywhere else in the world. You can live in Costa Rica either as a perpetual tourist or a permanent resident.

 

Being a perpetual tourist means that you need to leave the country every ninety days, which should not be an inconvenience for someone who is a traveler anyways.

 

For someone who lives where I do, however, in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, which is about 2.5 hours from the Nicaraguan border, being a perpetual tourist means a simple drive up to the border once every three months, where he can simply walk across the border, get your papers stamped, walk back across the border, get your paper stamped, and be home again on the same day.

 

The process a perpetual tourist has to endure every 90 days takes about 6 hours – 2 ½ hours up, 2 ½ hours back and hour across the border. You can stay in Costa Rica as a perpetual tourist because by doing so, you are fundamentally invisible to the Costa Rican government, except for the fact that you get your passport stamped. A lot of people do that.

 

Permanent residency in Costa Rica is extremely simple. You can apply for permanent residency in Costa Rica on the basis of being a recipient of a pension of around US $1,500 a month. You can also apply for permanent residency on the basis of being an investor with an investment amount of $200,000.

 

If you marry a Costa Rican, then you can get a residency on the basis of family. The bureaucracy in Costa Rica is slow moving and inefficient, but one of the big advantages you’ll get from that is you don’t have to actually get the residency to enjoy the benefits of it; you simply have to apply for it. Once you’ve applied for your residency, you get a piece of paper saying that you’ve applied for it. While your residency application is pending, which may take about a year, the government of Costa Rica treats you as if you are already a resident, so you don’t have to leave the country.

 

There is also an option to apply for a citizenship after a few years, or sooner if you marry a Costa Rican. You do not have to renounce your US citizenship; I’ve never heard of that as being an issue. 

 

(Map showing the location of The Oaks Tamarindo Condominiums, Costa Rica, pictured.)