Best Places In The World To Retire

Buses in Puerto Vallarta go everywhere, even in places where I didn't think a bus could go. They go through some of the smallest subdivisions and back areas because people live there and they need to get home. There are buses on the main avenues and everywhere else you could think of. 
 
Once you figure out the bus system in Puerto Vallarta, it's a very convenient and inexpensive mode of transportation. A bus ride around town costs 8 pesos (about US $0.50). If you're...

Buses in Puerto Vallarta go everywhere, even in places where I didn't think a bus could go. They go through some of the smallest subdivisions and back areas because people live there and they need to get home. There are buses on the main avenues and everywhere else you could think of. 
 
Once you figure out the bus system in Puerto Vallarta, it's a very convenient and inexpensive mode of transportation. A bus ride around town costs 8 pesos (about US $0.50). If you're taking a bus to Guadalajara or somewhere else, the cost is 800 pesos to 1,000 pesos ($45 to $56) round trip. If you're 60 years old or older, your bus fare around town or going to Guadalajara is half the normal price.

 

 

 

(Bus going to Guadalajara, Mexico, pictured. )

The things that you will be most happily surprised about when moving abroad is understanding that there is a lot of ways to organize your daily life. Most of the time, people get into a rhythm that they inherited from their parents, their community, their job, or their coworkers, and all of a sudden when that is gone, there is an opportunity to reinvent your day and organize based on your interests, or on what is happening in this new location in which you’re living. That is a...

The things that you will be most happily surprised about when moving abroad is understanding that there is a lot of ways to organize your daily life. Most of the time, people get into a rhythm that they inherited from their parents, their community, their job, or their coworkers, and all of a sudden when that is gone, there is an opportunity to reinvent your day and organize based on your interests, or on what is happening in this new location in which you’re living. That is a rebirth process that I think people might find refreshing.
 
As an example, once you move abroad, all of a sudden your day might revolve around a morning exercise because it is one of the times where it is cooler outside. So you might find yourself getting up earlier and taking advantage of that cool, fresh air, and really enjoying that time of your day, followed by maybe going to a little market and buying fresh produce. There might also be some volunteer opportunity at a primary school or a local community center, or there might be a language practice activity for a couple of hours.
 
If you live in a tropical zone, the middle of the day is quite hot, especially if you are on the ocean or the beach where there is not elevation. And if that’s the case, you might find yourself taking a nap in the middle of the day and then having the rest of your day organized after the weather cooled off a little bit. Who would have thought that they would decide to take naps for two or three hours a day? That is something that people gets to reinvent when they move abroad. They reinvent how they want to spend their day.
 
I think retirement is all about making choices about how you would want to live your life now that you have some freedom. You have a new cultural backdrop and you have all this time. It is very important to really reflect and experiment with what routine feels good for you.

 

(Picture: fresh fruit in the Tropics.)

Everybody here on Ambergris Caye chooses to be here, so I think, for the most part, they are very happy and if they are not, they have been here too long and they need to go. Ambergris Caye is a beautiful place. Whether you are working here or you are here to retire or you are just here on vacation, when you wake up in the morning, no matter where you live, you will be looking out to the most beautiful views you will see in the world.
 
Someone who decided to expatriate has...

Everybody here on Ambergris Caye chooses to be here, so I think, for the most part, they are very happy and if they are not, they have been here too long and they need to go. Ambergris Caye is a beautiful place. Whether you are working here or you are here to retire or you are just here on vacation, when you wake up in the morning, no matter where you live, you will be looking out to the most beautiful views you will see in the world.
 
Someone who decided to expatriate has definitely looked outside of the box. In my own personal experience, I came here because my partner got tired of commuting every day and we looked at retiring early. So I think the expats here are people who wanted to get out of the rat race a little bit. They are adventurous people, but you don’t have to be super adventurous to move to Ambergris Caye.
 
To me, Ambergris Caye is a safe place. Your family can come and see you. You are not moving to the other side of the world. It won’t be difficult for you to see your family and you can definitely afford go come back and forth, especially if you are from the US. Ambergris Caye is really for people who do want to expatriate, but do not want to go too many miles to do so. Everything is quite accessible from Ambergris Caye. It is a different way of life but it is still familiar with what you are used to. ,

My favourite restaurants

 

​Mango          *****

Big Daddys   ****

​The Rock      ****

Panamonte   ****

​Baru             ***

My favourite restaurants

 

​Mango          *****

Big Daddys   ****

​The Rock      ****

Panamonte   ****

​Baru             ***

The public doctors in Portugal are not very good because the public health system here is almost the same as the rest of Europe. You have to wait a month to get an appointment with a doctor and once you get one, the checkup is all done very quickly and is not very thorough. They give you lots of medicines because they want to get rid of you quickly. If you need tests done, you have to go to the National Health System and the queue is very long. You have to wait a week to get an...

The public doctors in Portugal are not very good because the public health system here is almost the same as the rest of Europe. You have to wait a month to get an appointment with a doctor and once you get one, the checkup is all done very quickly and is not very thorough. They give you lots of medicines because they want to get rid of you quickly. If you need tests done, you have to go to the National Health System and the queue is very long. You have to wait a week to get an appointment for the test. Then you wait another week to get the results and you have to wait another month to book an appointment with the doctor to show your results. It’s a long process. If you need an operation, you have to wait for almost a year in order to get the operation through the public health systems.  This doesn’t only happen in Portugal. It is the same thing for the rest of Europe.
 
State doctors are state doctors, but private clinics are good. People who have private health insurance go to a private clinic that is covered by their insurance and they are very good. Anything private in Portugal works efficiently and well. I deal with a lot foreigners here in Portugal and most of them are pretty amazed by the service that they get from private doctors here. Even those foreigners who travel here and only stay for 6 weeks, prefer to be treated here than in England because medical care is cheaper and is of better quality here in Portugal.  

 

(Mater Dei, maternity hospital, Portugal, pictured.)