Best Places In The World To Retire

How's the hiking and camping in and around Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc.?

Alfonso Galindo - I Go Yucatan

Traditional Mayal House, Cozumel, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

There are no official government campgrounds in the Yucatan. There are some hotels that let you use their parking lots for RV spaces. There are no real public spaces for camping but many families and friends will go back home, to their small villages or to their ranches, and they might have an old hacienda on the grounds but they’ll do their camping there on their own property.

There’s a huge culture of camping in Mexico and there are a...

There are no official government campgrounds in the Yucatan. There are some hotels that let you use their parking lots for RV spaces. There are no real public spaces for camping but many families and friends will go back home, to their small villages or to their ranches, and they might have an old hacienda on the grounds but they’ll do their camping there on their own property.

There’s a huge culture of camping in Mexico and there are a lot of parks, federal and state, throughout Mexico that promote camping. It’s just that the Yucatan Peninsula hasn’t caught up with those public areas for overnight stays, offering the amenities where people can get their tent and do some overnight camping. It’s not that prevalent. Can you stay at one of the beaches here? Sure, you can stay on one of the beaches. People are starting to come down in their RVs, so that’s becoming a little more prevalent, there’s not a public space.

There are a lot of private ejidos (communal property owned by the village), and there are several tourist projects going on sponsored by these villages that do allow you to come, and the ejido is usually tied to a cenote (natural sinkhole for which Yucatan is famous). So they’ll allow you to rent one of their cabins or use your tent as an eco-tourism experience where you can spend the night in the tent or in an old Mayan home and during the day go diving in the cenote.

There are several caverns known here in Yucatan, and you can hike through these underground cavern systems. The majority of the Yucatan Peninsula is flat. If you head toward the south you start getting some hilly areas but there’s no real mountain hiking in the peninsula. If you want to do some jungle hiking, you can go through a jungle, including areas where you would need a machetes. You can also follow several of the old Mayan highways that they’ve cleared.

(Traditional Mayan house, Cozumel, Mexico, pictured.)

Do I need to renounce or relinquish my US citizenship or get a dual citizenship to move or live abroad?

Robert Irvin - The Oaks Tamarindo Condominiums-- Costa Rica

Map showing the location of The Oaks Tamarindo Condominium, Costa Rica – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

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.)

If I want to live in Panama, do I have to become a permanent resident?

Bill Hamilton - Bill Hamilton

You have to be in Panama for six months before you have to apply for a residency visa. It is three months before you get a driver’s license. You can get an extension as well.

The first time you come to Panama, you can be on a Visitor Visa. It lasts 60 days or 90 days. I’m not sure which nationality it applies to.

In order to get an extension, you can just apply here. It is a bit of a process. What a...

How's the golf in and around Corozal?

Tony and Beth McClure

Pro golfer Brendan Steele ambassador for Kanantik Belize Golf Course, Belize – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

There’s a little nine-hole course up in Consejo Shores and there’s a driving range at Cerros Sands but for a real golf course, you’re going to have to drive about an hour down to Kanantik Belize Residential Resort and Golf, which is a big development back down south toward Belize City.

I’m not going to pay a lot of attention to golfing when I get down to Corozal. I realize it takes a lot of capital, but if I can raise enough...

What are the sports and games in and around Portugal?

Juan Matias - BLUE Boutique Hostel & SUITES

Poster for The Ibercup, an international youth soccer tournament, Portugal – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

The number one sport in Portugal is soccer. Then I would say, all these basketball, handball, and all these other sports with balls, that tend to be second and third steps. But basically it’s soccer, which here in Portugal, we call soccer.

In Portugal, everyone plays soccer in school as a child and it’s crazy. Everyone plays. And have you heard of Ronaldo? Cristiano Ronaldo the soccer player? He’s the best player in the world. He was nominated the best world...

How much is it to build a house in Granada, Nicaragua?

Paul Daemen - Aurora Granada

What are the prices to purchase a condo and homes in Granada? Los Balcones spec home – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

This is not a simple question, since it varies by location, type of finish, square feet, renovated, age, historical district, for sale by owner. So if you take into consideration all these variables its basically telling you to shop around and analyze. Take note that the real estate market is not transparent as it is in such countries as USA, Canada and others that have a MLS (multi listing...

What are the prices to purchase a condo and homes in Granada? Los Balcones spec home – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

This is not a simple question, since it varies by location, type of finish, square feet, renovated, age, historical district, for sale by owner. So if you take into consideration all these variables its basically telling you to shop around and analyze. Take note that the real estate market is not transparent as it is in such countries as USA, Canada and others that have a MLS (multi listing service) system.

As you notice in some of the posts, people talk about prices but do not provide square foot or size of lot. All that must be taken into consideration, as well as HOA fees and what the fees entail and who holds the money!

The picture is of a new spec home being built in Los Balcones, outside of Granada. We are using an architect to design and build, and we are using ADA standard to have wider doors, no steps, and easy access to bathroom. The cost of this approximately 1,650 square foot home with all the upgrades is slightly over US$100 per square foot, which also includes the 6% real estate commission and the lot price of US $40,000. As you can see this is a concrete block home. We will be adding a steel roof structure and roof tiles. There are no HOA fees at Los Balcones.

On this 1,650 square foot home, as is the norm here you calculate all the area that's under the roof as the square feer. In some properties, they even add the square feet of the garage or storage, or patio.

When we shopped for our home we noticed that the value of homes in Granada were very high relative to what we could buy outside of town with similar square feet and finish. I would say the difference was close to 30-50%, depending on land and home condition.

As you can see, I am not going to place a price point but advising you to check and ask around when you are looking for a property. If you see a price on a home on the agent's website, make sure you confirm with agent prior does the price include the sales commission, which can be anywhere from 5 to 10%. On top of that add another 4-6% for closing costs (attorney fees, registration and taxes) depending on value of home.

Land prices are also all over the place and will all depend where you are going to buy and if the property has access to utilities and views of property and if land is in a development like Club Vista Lagos where lots on the rim can be as high as US $80,000 for a quarter acre lot to inside lots go for US $40,000 for a 2 acre lot, Los Balcones where lots are $40,000 for an acre, or you can go to the Mombacho area and pay in the neighborhood of US $30,000 per acre, or you come out to the farm community and you can pay around from US $12,000 to US $30,000 per manzana which is equal to 1.75 acres.

Club Vista Lagos' HOA is approximately US $40 per year for security, road maintenance, access to lake and club house (under construction)

One item to consider when buying on Laguna De Apoyo is can you get a permit to build. Make sure you have this confirmed prior to buying, prior to signing a purchase contract. Do not listen to seller or his attorney. Get it in writing that a home can be built. In developments such as Vista Lagos you can build with no issues, but don't assume you can build around the rim or on the laguna, it's not that simple.

Best advice we can provide is ask and verify in writing!

Recently Answered Questions

How's the hiking and camping in and around Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc.?

Do I need to renounce or relinquish my US citizenship or get a dual citizenship to move or live abroad?

If I want to live in Panama, do I have to become a permanent resident?

How's the golf in and around Corozal?

What are the sports and games in and around Portugal?

How much is it to build a house in Granada, Nicaragua?

Recently Posted Expat Stories

Cordoba to Puebla, Mexico: Soaring Mountains and Lots of Gastronomy

The Cumbersome Legal System in a Nutshell

Towers and Bells in Panamá

Best Places In The World To Retire