Best Places In The World To Retire

Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
 
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because...

Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
 
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because the unemployment rate in Portugal at the moment is 18%. So a lot of people, the unemployed, when they cannot find jobs, they apply for either taking care of children or elder people, so it’s actually quite easy to find that sort of help. You get people who would really take care, bathe the elder people, cook them a proper meal, all of this. But if the elder gets sick or has a stroke or something, they would not be prepared to help them medically. They would have to call 112, which is our version of 911. 
 
You can hire more sophisticated help such as nurses, but then the price increases a lot. You can have an average healthcare worker with no medical experience full-time working for you for €700 to €800 (US $780 to $890) a month. A live- in person would cost around $1,000 a month.  If it’s a person with medical expertise and a degree, it will cost you triple.
 

 

(Portuguese women at work, pictured.)

You should absolutely keep your US bank, brokerage, investment, IRA, or retirement account when you move overseas. 
 
Opening financial accounts abroad exposes you to additional risks and a lot of reporting. This is paperwork not only for your tax return, but you may need to complete the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report). The FBAR is not exclusive to just bank accounts, but also applies to life insurance policies with a savings component, mutual funds, brokerage accounts,...

You should absolutely keep your US bank, brokerage, investment, IRA, or retirement account when you move overseas. 
 
Opening financial accounts abroad exposes you to additional risks and a lot of reporting. This is paperwork not only for your tax return, but you may need to complete the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report). The FBAR is not exclusive to just bank accounts, but also applies to life insurance policies with a savings component, mutual funds, brokerage accounts, etc. 
 
Assuming you're not a retiree, your tax return will be much more subject to scrutiny if you have a lot of assets abroad. With FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the US government will have access to foreign bank account balance and income information of US citizens living abroad. 
 
Therefore, working expats are now much more on the radar screen than they were before. There are also reporting requirements. Given the fact that the Treasury Department and the IRS now have more access and could get greater information on a foreign bank account than they do a US bank account, in some respects, expats need to file their tax returns even more accurately.
 
For example, I have a client who stayed in Mexico who forgot about US $15 worth of interest income on a bank. He got a letter from the US government saying that he forgot to report that $15, which is amazing. Gone are the days when people actually had to look at papers. Now, the computers are doing all the reconciliation. 
 
Foreign banks and foreign financial institutions are sending account information to the US Treasury Department. They are now able to reconcile that with the tax return and the FBAR. Expats filing their income tax returns must be much more accurate. 
 
There are all kinds of risks of investing abroad such as country risks, political risks, and "know-how" risks. You may be subjected to scams. You can easily invest in foreign markets through US accounts. I would do this. 
 
Leave accounts in the local country for liquidity purposes. For example, I would need funds in a bank account to keep a small amount in the money market or a CD (certificate of deposit) because I need an account to earn interest while I spend the money down. 
 
For the most part, I would maintain most of my assets in the US. 
 
I have a client who has been living in Guatemala for a long time. She has let go of all connections in the US, including her US bank accounts. The US has the PATRIOT Act. She has severed her ties to the US completely, not just for residence purposes, but also for financial account purposes. Now that she wanted to open a US bank account for another reason, she is having a ton of difficulty even though she is a US citizen because there is no recent record of her.  

 

(Map data 2016 copyright Google INEGI)

What is retirement like in  Granada, Nicaragua?  Some could say I wouldn't know because I am not actually retired nor plan to be. I plan to work 'til I drop!  Like the rest of the "Real World".

 

But I am one of the few. There are more retirees than expats working businesses and staying busy outside the retirement daily regimen.  But I know a lot of retirees and I see, hear, and listen to all that goes on in their lives and it seems...

What is retirement like in  Granada, Nicaragua?  Some could say I wouldn't know because I am not actually retired nor plan to be. I plan to work 'til I drop!  Like the rest of the "Real World".

 

But I am one of the few. There are more retirees than expats working businesses and staying busy outside the retirement daily regimen.  But I know a lot of retirees and I see, hear, and listen to all that goes on in their lives and it seems like they are having a lot fun!

 

Doing business is a challenging adventure. Never a dull moment and and retirement isn't much different.  It's just a matter of scale.  You have to deal with the bureaucracy of paying your electric, water, cable, and the idiosyncrasies of dealing with your handyman, maid and gardener.  Each of those tasks are often a task onto themselves and often go along with a funny story or anecdote, like this one: 

 

Our maid of 3 years didn't come to work one day.  She had taken care of our home, our son and us, to a certain extent. We trained her, we helped her and we loved her.

 

On the day she didn't  come to work... and sent her cousin in her place, a woman we never met. A woman who didn't know how to turn on the washing machine. A woman who hadn't ever stepped foot in a home with glass windows and a tile floor.  Our maid thought she was doing us a favor.  It was fun!

 

As retirees and expats, we are constantly comparing notes and, as the line goes in the Christmas song Jingle bells: laughing all the way, Ha Ha Ha!

 

If one word describes what I see in all the retirees here in Granada it is "leisure."  Everything is done at a leisurely pace. And if you try to rush it, North American Style, roadblocks go up and frustration sets in.  So  enjoy the slower pace and the even slower speed that things get accomplished  here in Central America, and Relax!

 

 

 

 

Panama is divided into nine provinces: 

 

Bocas del Toro:  Located on the Caribbean, close to Costa Rica

 

Chiriqui: Located on the Pacific, close to Costa Rica

 

Cocle': Southwest of Panama City

 

Colon: North of Panama City on the Atlantic

 

Darien: Huge province east of Panama City - runs all the way to Colombia between both oceans

 

Herrera: Capital...

Panama is divided into nine provinces: 

 

Bocas del Toro:  Located on the Caribbean, close to Costa Rica

 

Chiriqui: Located on the Pacific, close to Costa Rica

 

Cocle': Southwest of Panama City

 

Colon: North of Panama City on the Atlantic

 

Darien: Huge province east of Panama City - runs all the way to Colombia between both oceans

 

Herrera: Capital city is Chitre'

 

Los Santos: On the Azuera Peninsula

 

Panama: Includes Panama City

 

Veraguas: Capital city is Santiago

 

​There are also three Indigenous Regions in Panama more commonly known as Comarcas:

 

- Embera

 

- Kuna Yala

 

- Ngobe-Bugle'

 

All of these regions are unique unto themselves and have a tremendous amount to offer!