How reliable is the water supply in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc? Are there water disruptions?
Gary De Spiegelaere - Celestun Properties
If you plan your home properly, you should not have a problem with water here in Yucatan. In the small village of Celestún (in the state of Yucatan, with about 7,500 people) where I live, I have a 35,000-liter cistern and so therefore I don’t have problems with water supply, but I built a cistern for that reason. If the pump goes out or if something wrong happens to the pump for the water here, it is possible to not have water supply for half a day. Personally, I can go...
If you plan your home properly, you should not have a problem with water here in Yucatan. In the small village of Celestún (in the state of Yucatan, with about 7,500 people) where I live, I have a 35,000-liter cistern and so therefore I don’t have problems with water supply, but I built a cistern for that reason. If the pump goes out or if something wrong happens to the pump for the water here, it is possible to not have water supply for half a day. Personally, I can go for a week here in Celestún without water supply because I have planned for it. When I build homes here, I build quite large water cisterns intentionally.
The water here in Celestún is not drinkable but you can make it drinkable. It is not that difficult. I have a water softener, an ultraviolet light, and a reverse osmosis system. In my kitchen I have a tap that has drinkable water and that is the same water that I use to make ice in my refrigerator. All these are not expensive to build. You can get a reverse osmosis system for US $300 that will make the water coming out of your tap drinkable.
In places like Merida and Cancun, being that they are main centers and touristy areas in the Yucatan Peninsula, it is very unlikely to have a water disruption because they have many more backup systems for water supply. Smaller communities like Celestún do not have these backup systems so it is better to have one yourself.
The water cistern in my house is a large one. The typical houses here would have smaller cisterns that would cost about $500 to build.
(Jars on the roof to catch rainwater in a home in Mexico, pictured.)
What are the worst reasons to retire to Nicaragua?
Barry Oliver - Surfing Nahua
One of the worst reasons to retire in Nicaragua is the fact that things are slightly slower at times. There are times when the process works in your favor. There are also times when the process can work more quickly than what you’re used to. For example, getting building permits in Nicaragua can take only a few days or months. Other things may take longer than usual, and if you’re not patient, you’re not going to make it. That’s one of the main reasons...
One of the worst reasons to retire in Nicaragua is the fact that things are slightly slower at times. There are times when the process works in your favor. There are also times when the process can work more quickly than what you’re used to. For example, getting building permits in Nicaragua can take only a few days or months. Other things may take longer than usual, and if you’re not patient, you’re not going to make it. That’s one of the main reasons people leave Nicaragua.
People think there’s a lot of crime in Nicaragua, and they come to Nicaragua to find that there are some really honest and hardworking people, and there’s not much crime going on. This surprises people.
In Nicaragua, you have to be patient and be on top of everything. For example. building costs can sometimes get out of hand if you’re not on top of it.
People don’t think it’s as much of a struggle to learn the language here in Nicaragua, but the truth is that things like building costs and can rise than they would be if you knew the language. Northern Nicaragua is a great place to be but is new. There aren’t as many language schools in northern Nicaragua as they have in southern Nicaragua.
(Las Sevillanas rental home in Norther Nicaragua, pictured.)
Carol Bartlett Ribeiro - Carol Bartlett Ribeiro, Property Consultant
Portugal has come a very, very long way in the past 40 years (this seems a long time, but in fact from then to now it is so different).
Women are well respected here and as there are several entrepreneurs who are exceedingly successful in the private sector and in the public sector. Women have shown their expertise in so many ways here and are indeed considered excellent achievers.
Needless to say years ago it was a macho...
Portugal has come a very, very long way in the past 40 years (this seems a long time, but in fact from then to now it is so different).
Women are well respected here and as there are several entrepreneurs who are exceedingly successful in the private sector and in the public sector. Women have shown their expertise in so many ways here and are indeed considered excellent achievers.
Needless to say years ago it was a macho society (like many countries in the world), but now there is less and less of that in the new generation. I find that women in the work place are looked up to and their opinions and in-put accepted on the same level as men.
I, as a woman, living in Portugal, feel perfectly at ease when having to go out alone at night. As in most countries one has to be aware, but I certainly cannot say that it is at an anxiety level for women to feel nervous by going out at night or during the day.
Portuguese mothers will always be extremely protective of their children, from the day they are born until they are 99. It is part of their role and they are very inclined to spoil their children. However, children are more independent nowadays and do not always take on the mother/child instructions.
Women here can be the dominant figures even with their partners. I don't know what that tells you - confidence, bossiness!! But women certainly play a very important role in the Portuguese society. Perhaps not so much the older female generation who were certainly not allowed to voice their thoughts and particularly if contrary to male thinking.
There is certainly no need for concern with regard to being a female in Portugal. Respect and consideration are in the forefront and of course if visa versa.
What do I need to know about living overseas and retiring abroad?
By Edgington
My wife and I have lived in two of the most publicized retirement locations, Panama and Colombia. One of the most important things we've learned about the culture, and this applies to both countries, is that we're wealthy gringos. That seems obvious, but there have been interesting, sometimes disheartening implications in this. Compared to the average Colombian, for example, we are fabulously wealthy. In the top 1%, without question. These folks' average monthly income is...
My wife and I have lived in two of the most publicized retirement locations, Panama and Colombia. One of the most important things we've learned about the culture, and this applies to both countries, is that we're wealthy gringos. That seems obvious, but there have been interesting, sometimes disheartening implications in this. Compared to the average Colombian, for example, we are fabulously wealthy. In the top 1%, without question. These folks' average monthly income is currently $239.00 US. (That isn't a typo.) Our combined monthly income is, let's just say, roughly 23 times as much. Colombians work very, very hard for that wage, often seven days a week. Our $$ rolls in every month, no labor required. All we have to do is keep breathing.
Are we ashamed or ambivalent about having this wealth? No, we earned it, after a fashion, in the good old USA, and we are, in fact, entitled to it. But having it demands a certain amount of discretion here in Colombia. It also presents a different perspective, an education in the disparity that exists between us and folks we live among.
Here's a recent example: When we signed for our apartment in Laureles, a reasonably well off barrio of Medellin, I asked about the deposit. 'No deposit,' I was told. Wha..? No deposit, I asked? 'What protection does the landlord have?' My wife and I are landlords, too, having owned rental properties in Ohio, and still having one. We know what can happen if a tenant has paid no deposit. In any case, my question was what happens here in Colombia with no deposit? The answer was that no owner can demand a deposit, because local folks can't afford to pay one. And if a deposit is required, the property will not find a tenant.
Here's another example. It's common in Medellin for store clerks, grocery cashiers, restaurant waiters to ask, when paying with a credit card, how many payments we'd like to make toward our bill? At first, this question confounded us. We'd like to pay it all, of course. The basis for the question is, again, for any amount above about $30.00, it's not uncommon for Colombians to need two or three months to meet it. Considering the monthly wage of $239.00, its easy to see why $30.00 would be a stretch.
In any case, we have had to assimilate that fundamental reality into our daily interaction with folks. Compared to us, and likely most expats, these people are poor. Not poor in cultural heritage, relationships, family and social wealth poor, but cash/financial latitude/discretionary income poor. It's hard to conceive of an inability to cough up $30.00 at one time, but it's their reality. It's hard to learn that lesson, but I believe we expats must make the effort.
What's the dress code in Placencia, Belize? What clothes do they wear in Placencia, Belize?
Veronique McKenzie - CTTBeliZe
You can wear whatever you want in Placencia. You can even walk barefoot in Placencia.
Placencia is a beach town that is long but very narrow, so you are at the beach every day. People in Placencia wear a t-shirt or shorts every day and some flip-flops. It is easy to dress every morning, even for the kids. Even if you were the type of person who likes to be in fashion, you would still wind up just wearing very simple clothes.
...
You can wear whatever you want in Placencia. You can even walk barefoot in Placencia.
Placencia is a beach town that is long but very narrow, so you are at the beach every day. People in Placencia wear a t-shirt or shorts every day and some flip-flops. It is easy to dress every morning, even for the kids. Even if you were the type of person who likes to be in fashion, you would still wind up just wearing very simple clothes.
There are many tourists who go for the beach look. They wear gorgeous dresses that are transparent enough to see the bathing suit. You can be who you are and what you want to look like in Placencia. No one will go after you. Be who you want to be in Placencia and in Belize in general.
(Pictured: typical fashion statement in Placencia.)
How's the economy in the Panama City, Panama area of Casco Viejo?
Reginald Flagg - Magnolia Inn
With the road construction the old town, Casco Viejo seems to be strangled in traffic but the businesses are doing well. Most restaurants in the section of Panama City, Panama, are well populated most nights the hotels are on average 70 -80% full. When we first came here the area didn't have enough people to sustain the restaurants or shops but now it is thriving.
With the road construction the old town, Casco Viejo seems to be strangled in traffic but the businesses are doing well. Most restaurants in the section of Panama City, Panama, are well populated most nights the hotels are on average 70 -80% full. When we first came here the area didn't have enough people to sustain the restaurants or shops but now it is thriving.
Driving south on Highway 1 from after it intersects Highway 5 is fairly uneventful, if by “uneventful” you mean "the hundreds of times when you’re confronted with the fact that even a slight miscalculation on your steering wheel will result in certain death." A half inch to the left, and you’ll crash head-on into a semi barreling towards you at 60 miles per hour. A half inch to the right, and you’ll go over the roughly 12-inch shoulder to plunge either into...
We wanted very much to visit the towns just to the north and south of Lo de Marcos, in the state of Nayarit. How could we not? Lo de Marcos was beautiful, exotic and interesting, the people were friendly, the food was great, and we had never been anywhere else in the area. We had only eight days in which to explore before our deadline to leave for the Central Mexican Highlands.
From side to side, Lo de Marcos is only about a half a mile wide,...
I first walked across the border from Costa Rica to Panama in Sixaola with (my now ex) wife. We had some money in our pockets, were vegetarians and vegetarian chefs and wanted to open – you guessed it – a veggie restaurant. It was a risky venture and we were one of the first in Panama and definitely the first in the Bocas province and islands.
So I found 2 shacks connected by an outhouse over the water on Carenero (facing Isla Colon). I signed a 2-year rental...
If you plan your home properly, you should not have a problem with water here in Yucatan. In the small village of Celestún (in the state of Yucatan, with about 7,500 people) where I live, I have a 35,000-liter cistern and so therefore I don’t have problems with water supply, but I built a cistern for that reason. If the pump goes out or if something wrong happens to the pump for the water here, it is possible to not have water supply for half a day. Personally, I can go...
One of the worst reasons to retire in Nicaragua is the fact that things are slightly slower at times. There are times when the process works in your favor. There are also times when the process can work more quickly than what you’re used to. For example, getting building permits in Nicaragua can take only a few days or months. Other things may take longer than usual, and if you’re not patient, you’re not going to make it. That’s one of the main reasons...
Portugal has come a very, very long way in the past 40 years (this seems a long time, but in fact from then to now it is so different). 
My wife and I have lived in two of the most publicized retirement locations, Panama and Colombia. One of the most important things we've learned about the culture, and this applies to both countries, is that we're wealthy gringos. That seems obvious, but there have been interesting, sometimes disheartening implications in this. Compared to the average Colombian, for example, we are fabulously wealthy. In the top 1%, without question. These folks' average monthly income is...
You can wear whatever you want in Placencia. You can even walk barefoot in Placencia. 
Driving south on Highway 1 from after it intersects Highway 5 is fairly uneventful, if by “uneventful” you mean "the hundreds of times when you’re confronted with the fact that even a slight miscalculation on your steering wheel will result in certain death." A half inch to the left, and you’ll crash head-on into a semi barreling towards you at 60 miles per hour. A half inch to the right, and you’ll go over the roughly 12-inch shoulder to plunge either into...
We wanted very much to visit the towns just to the north and south of .jpg)
ross the border from Costa Rica to Panama in