What's it like to live in Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico? How’s the lifestyle?
Jeff Smith - DocTours
Ajijic, on Lake Chapala is in part a retirement community. Because the Americans and Canadians who live there are embarking on a new life, most are intent upon making friends, so it's easy to strike up a conversation, learn the ropes, and be invited to parties.
Very few expats work. After a lifetime of it, Gringos are here to play. Given the friendliness, perfect weather, and low prices, play is easy. It's like living a vacation full-time. Happily, being carefree fits...
Ajijic, on Lake Chapala is in part a retirement community. Because the Americans and Canadians who live there are embarking on a new life, most are intent upon making friends, so it's easy to strike up a conversation, learn the ropes, and be invited to parties.
Very few expats work. After a lifetime of it, Gringos are here to play. Given the friendliness, perfect weather, and low prices, play is easy. It's like living a vacation full-time. Happily, being carefree fits right into Mexican culture.
Due to low prices, most transplants have a maid and maybe a gardener, which frees up lots of time. A few spend some contemplating what matters. Almost everybody spends lots of time socializing.
Thanks to affordable everything and tasty cuisine, many expats dine out with friends, or sometimes at home, taking time to enjoy the meal. They also participate in clubs:
art classes (loads of creative galleries in town),
garden club (numerous gorgeous lawns),
bridge club,
writers club,
culinary society,
French society (overlapping with the gourmets), etc.
Many meet at the Lake Chapala Society, which is like an embassy for expats.
Thespians enjoy three theaters; one featured a Grammy winner, another streams performances from around the world.
On their own, expats hike the mountain, waterski, kayak the lake, stew in spas, play golf and tennis, ride horses, etc.
Many transplants volunteer to support their new community. Winter sends Canadians and Americans southward November through April. Then the town puts on events like the Northern Lights Festival. Charities hold galas to fundraise for:
orphanages,
student scholarships,
medical care,
abandoned dogs/cats, etc.
The local Mexican residents set a fine example of friendliness. In the street they greet each other and non-shy Gringos. They show respect for elderly people. Sometimes a task might not be accomplished as quickly as an expat wold be used to, but it's part of the relaxed pace.
Need to save money getting well? Come heal on holiday with a world-class doctor or dentist.
(Picture: Ben White of Lake Chapala Society, after interview with Chuck Bolotin, of Best Places in the World to Retire. Click here to read the interview.)
What are the best things to do in and around Granada, Nicaragua?
Carlos Roman Gutierrez Solis - Casa Granada Properties
The best thing to do in and around Granada Nicaragua is to eat, go to a party on the weekend, go shopping with your friends, walk, take some pictures, stay in the plaza and watch the people who are walking and the kids who are running and playing. Granada is a really nice place to have fun. If you want to relax, you can go to La Calzada, you can go to the restaurants, eat out with your friends, have a beer, or wine, etc. 5 PM is the best time to hang around with your friends or...
The best thing to do in and around Granada Nicaragua is to eat, go to a party on the weekend, go shopping with your friends, walk, take some pictures, stay in the plaza and watch the people who are walking and the kids who are running and playing. Granada is a really nice place to have fun. If you want to relax, you can go to La Calzada, you can go to the restaurants, eat out with your friends, have a beer, or wine, etc. 5 PM is the best time to hang around with your friends or family in La Calzada.
There are some places by the lake where there are street parties or dances like Musica Latina (Latin songs) during the weekends, which is fun to attend, too. Granada is a city where you can relax. Sometimes it is noisy like every Latino country but other than that, Granada is a cool place to stay.
Personally, the best things to do in Granada for me, is to eat. I love to eat. Especially now that we have a variety of different restaurants like Mediterranean, Spanish, Greek, Israeli, local dishes, sushi, pizza, etc. There are lots of places to go. If you are tired of being in Granada and you want to have fun but you don’t want to go very far, you can go to Managua, which is only 45 minutes away by car, and then come back. I drive between Granada and Managua every day and it’s really comfortable. I go to Managua if I want a different ambiance. I go to a discotheque or to another restaurant or to the cinema. Granada doesn’t have a good cinema yet.
(Calle La Calzada, Grananda, Nicaragua, pictured.)
Do I need to renounce or relinquish my US citizenship or get a dual citizenship to move or live abroad?
John Ohe - Hola Expat Tax Services
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad.
I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the...
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad.
I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the local rules. However, it's not a step that I really needed to take because we frequently travel, whether we're going back to the US or going to other countries on a vacation.
Guatemala happens to have a very generous tourist visa situation where they give 90 days for Americans. If you want, you can get an extension on 90 days up to 180 days in Guatemala without having to leave, which a bunch of countries have. Panama has an automatic 180-day visa for US citizens. Nicaragua and Costa Rica allow 90 days for US citizens. It's easy to leave the country, stay out of the country for a few days, and come back in.
Residency status is certainly not needed. Relinquishing your US citizenship is absolutely not needed. I have some clients who are considering residency and relinquishing their US citizenship for tax reasons, but it could be quite problematic to relinquish your citizenship. There is a lot of paperwork involved. If you have a lot of assets, there is an exit tax associated with giving up your US citizenship that can be quite painful.
Giving up your US citizenship is really not needed for most people and 99.9% of US citizens don't need to do it to live abroad. Depending on the tourist visa situation, you may even need to establish permanent residency status in the local country you're moving to.
(People of Mayan descent in a horse race in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala, pictured.)
How does the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion work if I live in Belize?
Walter T. (Tom) Fisher - Corozal Belize Properties
While the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion does exempt you from Income Tax, it does not exclude you from the Self Employment Tax portion of your tax calculation, if you are self employed, such as I am. There are documents that exist on the internet, sponsored by the IRS that you should avail yourself of if you are a resident of a foreign country. TurboTax does an excellent job, but you'd need the business version if you in fact have a business in a foreign country. In...
While the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion does exempt you from Income Tax, it does not exclude you from the Self Employment Tax portion of your tax calculation, if you are self employed, such as I am. There are documents that exist on the internet, sponsored by the IRS that you should avail yourself of if you are a resident of a foreign country. TurboTax does an excellent job, but you'd need the business version if you in fact have a business in a foreign country. In Belize, there are a few accountants that specialize in Ex-pat tax law, situations, etc.
If you own a business or are a sole proprietor in a foreign country, you are generally in effect "self employed". (Unless you are a corporation, LLC, etc, but then, the tax laws are different, but still need to be understood.) I would guess there are many people not in compliance with tax code, at their own peril I would say, because they have incomplete info or just haven't done the research necessary to understand the tax code as it relates to their situation. Or worse, they think the US Government can't know or won't find out. I would strongly urge anyone considering relocation to a foreign country or living in one to understand their tax situation. There are a number of IRS rules to establish foreign residency first off, and regardless of your income, you still have to file and disclose it. With FACTA coming on line, and by all accounts the US Government looking more and more at US Nationals living abroad, I strongly urge anyone considering moving abroad or living there to have a full understanding of their tax situation. Good news is, full time foreign residency does in most cases qualify you for an exemption from the US Affordable Healthcare Act.
(TurboTax headquarters in San Diego, CA, pictured.)
How bad are the mosquitoes and other bugs and insects in Boquete, Panama?
Paul McBride - Inside Panama Real Estate
Living in the tropics can mean paradise for many people but even paradise comes with a price. One of these costs is learning to live with insects. Although a bug scientist would say there are thousands of different insect species (and I’m sure they’re correct), I categorize bugs in two broad groups – flying bugs and creepy crawly bugs.
Flying bugs include all sorts of irritating pests including mosquitoes, flies, bees, wasps...
Living in the tropics can mean paradise for many people but even paradise comes with a price. One of these costs is learning to live with insects. Although a bug scientist would say there are thousands of different insect species (and I’m sure they’re correct), I categorize bugs in two broad groups – flying bugs and creepy crawly bugs.
Flying bugs include all sorts of irritating pests including mosquitoes, flies, bees, wasps etc. Creepy crawlies include spiders (my personal phobia), beetles, ants, centipedes and an occasional scorpion.
At our house we have a strategy for both these categories and have been very successful in keeping unwanted guests from coming into our house.
We have a local extermination service spray the exterior of our home twice a year – once at the end of the dry season and once at the end of the wet season. Experience has shown that during these transition periods the bugs are on the move either looking for ways to get out of the water or looking for a source of water. Spraying the perimeter of our house has virtually eliminated any bugs in our household. Now, the second part of our strategy involves keeping the doors closed and only opening windows that have screens. You’d be surprised at how many people in Boquete keep their doors wide open with no screens and then complain that they have bugs in their homes.
For flying bugs, our strategy of using screens on our windows keeps them to minimum while we’re in our home. But what about when we’re outside? Well, as we are so often told, flying insects, particularly mosquitoes, are generally most active during the early morning and early evening hours. With this in mind, using bug spray or wearing long pants and shirts with long sleeves is your best strategy.
Having lived in Alaska for twelve years as a young man, I can honestly say that bugs were a bigger problem there than what I have experienced in Panama. Of course, if you’re planning to take a hike out in the jungle that’s a very different story. But, living in community like Boquete, bugs are a part of the environment but they are not something that can’t be managed. I think that most people coming to Boquete will surprised that bugs are less of problem than they may have imagined.
What type of government does Portugal have, and is the government in Portugal stable?
Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living
The government of Portugal is very stable. Portugal has had the longest period to form a government of any government post the revolution in 1974. We currently have a slightly left of center socialist government, which took over from a slightly conservative government.
The government of Portugal is generally stable, although it may change partly left or slightly right of center. The politics as such doesn’t change significantly. There is still very...
The government of Portugal is very stable. Portugal has had the longest period to form a government of any government post the revolution in 1974. We currently have a slightly left of center socialist government, which took over from a slightly conservative government.
The government of Portugal is generally stable, although it may change partly left or slightly right of center. The politics as such doesn’t change significantly. There is still very much a central block of political view, opinion, and political management. We have had a lot of strikes but they do not tend to impact the economy much. The number of political parties has remained reasonably stable for the last 40 years. For the first time in many years, we have a new political party in parliament with one seat. Generally, politics is characterized by boring political stability.
Writer's forward: Why people in places such as Mexico, Panama, Belize and Nicaragua are willing to work for expats for less than if they were located in the US or Canada is the subject of another article. Suffice it to say that those of us fortunate enough to be from Western industrialized nations have hit the “Where You’re From Jackpot” through no particular virtue of our own. We were just lucky to be born in the US, Canada, etc., and to be able to use US or...
"Come sit next to me", said Sheyla. I followed her, wondering if it would calm my anxiety. Immediately I knew that we were going to be good friends. Our families were in countries far away, and this tropical land, its language and people was all we had. I was 12, did not speak any Spanish, but I knew this experience would change me forever.
Before arriving to Venezuela, I had studied in Jewish schools, and for the first time I was surrounded by students from all over the world. I...
These places would seem to the native inhabitants to be neglected lands of unruly bushes and trees with views that were pretty, but where one did not linger while on one’s way to somewhere else. But to Mike Cobb, these were places to turn into communities with a network of pathways close to the cool porches of neighbors one would regularly visit.
In this interview, Jet Metier learns that though not a builder by training or a developer by plan, Mike Cobb...
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Ajijic, on Lake Chapala is in part a retirement community. Because the Americans and Canadians who live there are embarking on a new life, most are intent upon making friends, so it's easy to strike up a conversation, learn the ropes, and be invited to parties. 
The best thing to do in and around Granada Nicaragua is to eat, go to a party on the weekend, go shopping with your friends, walk, take some pictures, stay in the plaza and watch the people who are walking and the kids who are running and playing. Granada is a really nice place to have fun. If you want to relax, you can go to La Calzada, you can go to the restaurants, eat out with your friends, have a beer, or wine, etc. 5 PM is the best time to hang around with your friends or...
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad. 
The government of Portugal is very stable. Portugal has had the longest period to form a government of any government post the revolution in 1974. We currently have a slightly left of center socialist government, which took over from a slightly conservative government. 
Writer's forward: Why people in places such as Mexico, Panama, Belize and Nicaragua are willing to work for expats for less than if they were located in the US or Canada is the subject of another article. Suffice it to say that those of us fortunate enough to be from Western industrialized nations have hit the “Where You’re From Jackpot” through no particular virtue of our own. We were just lucky to be born in the US, Canada, etc., and to be able to use US or...
"Come sit next to me", said Sheyla. I followed her, wondering if it would calm my anxiety. Immediately I knew that we were going to be good friends. Our families were in countries far away, and this tropical land, its language and people was all we had. I was 12, did not speak any Spanish, but I knew this experience would change me forever.
These places would seem to the native inhabitants to be neglected lands of unruly bushes and trees with views that were pretty, but where one did not linger while on one’s way to somewhere else. But to Mike Cobb, these were places to turn into communities with a network of pathways close to the cool porches of neighbors one would regularly visit.