Best Places In The World To Retire

Over in Quintana Roo, which is a newer state in Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the last five years, most of the buildings built have more of a modern design. One of the projects that we constructed had Mexican colonial style of architecture, which features arches and stone walls. We were influenced quite a bit by the architecture in Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan), which borders Quintana Roo and its neighboring state Campeche.  We brought that style into...

Over in Quintana Roo, which is a newer state in Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the last five years, most of the buildings built have more of a modern design. One of the projects that we constructed had Mexican colonial style of architecture, which features arches and stone walls. We were influenced quite a bit by the architecture in Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan), which borders Quintana Roo and its neighboring state Campeche.  We brought that style into Quintana Roo knowing that there is a high appreciation by Canadians and Americans for this style of architecture. The project was a hit and sold very quickly.

 

Merida is one of the older cities of Mexico, with an architectural style that has a lot of influence from Spain and France. When you go to Merida, you will find a lot of colonial homes and colonial buildings, which is one of the biggest attractions for the expat communities. The Americans who come into Merida, find these older, over 100 year-old buildings that are a bit run down and restore them so that now they are amazing, beautiful colonial homes that respect the original architecture of the building. In many parts of Merida, they have strict building regulations where new owners have to respect the old colonial architecture. 

 

In Tulum, in Quintana Roo, you will find a great appreciation of the regional influence. A lot of buildings have a very chic, Tulum-style construction with thatched roofs combined with regional tree trunks, but with a modern interior. In Tulum, you will see that they are very conscious of the environment. The buildings use the regional stones. They don’t usually cut down trees but rather, they build around the trees and that’s a nice little feature about Tulum. 

 

In Playa del Carmen, also in Quintana Roo, when you go downtown, closer to the beaches, you will also see a lot of European influence. Playa del Carmen is a very multi-cultural little city. They have a very large Italian community, many French, many people from Argentina, Americans, Canadians, and of course, the Mexicans. You will notice that the buildings of the Italians are different from some of the other construction. There is a neighborhood in Playa del Carmen called “Little Italy” in which approximately 35% of the buildings are by Italian developers or entrepreneurs. The Playa del Carmen architectural style has curved walls, thatched roofs, and a nice cream color that is pretty popular right downtown in the condos and the hotels.  

 

(Little Italy, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, pictured.)

Yes, Belize is safe, but it has a bad name due to crime statistics for the country, but that’s all because of a specific part of Belize City where there are gangs. This bad area is on the south side of Belize City, but everywhere else is safe. 

 

In other parts of the country, I don’t see any crimes or I haven’t heard about it. But because of those crimes in Belize City, it gives...

Yes, Belize is safe, but it has a bad name due to crime statistics for the country, but that’s all because of a specific part of Belize City where there are gangs. This bad area is on the south side of Belize City, but everywhere else is safe. 

 

In other parts of the country, I don’t see any crimes or I haven’t heard about it. But because of those crimes in Belize City, it gives the whole country a bad name. It’s safe in the districts (the areas away from Belize City). I have been living here for 30 years and I have never been mugged, assaulted, or robbed. I don’t carry a gun. It’s safe.  

 

Last year we had a Rotary conference in San Ignacio in which we had lots of Rotarians from Honduras and Guatemala who came to see us. One of the guys asked me, “Can we go downtown at night?” and I said, “Of course you can.  Why wouldn’t you?” He said, “We can’t in Tegucigalpa.  Good luck with that one.” And I said, “Everywhere here is safe.” Expats are not targeted here in Belize.