Best Places In The World To Retire

The history of Portugal is a very broad question, so I will address it just in summary form.
 
500 years ago, Portugal owned half of the world and 500 years later we are just a little small humble country of Europe, which can tell you quite a bit.  We were, 500 years ago, a very important country, responsible for controlling half of the goods produced of half of the world. Spain had the other half. And then came the Dutch, the English; the explorers, and they took over some...

The history of Portugal is a very broad question, so I will address it just in summary form.
 
500 years ago, Portugal owned half of the world and 500 years later we are just a little small humble country of Europe, which can tell you quite a bit.  We were, 500 years ago, a very important country, responsible for controlling half of the goods produced of half of the world. Spain had the other half. And then came the Dutch, the English; the explorers, and they took over some of the rich countries that we controlled.
 
The colonies we had like Brazil, Mozambique, and Angola, survived for the last 300 to 200 years. But as the world developed, it was no longer allowed for countries to have colonies so we released our last colony in 1999, which was Macau in China. We had various dynasties of kings and queens and mixtures of royalty with other European countries.
 
We’re a country of explorers, very brave and courageous because if you could just imagine, 500 years ago, with no conditions, with little wooden boats discovering and crossing oceans and discovering countries, that can tell us a bit of the Portuguese culture. So yes, it’s a very brave culture, and a very brave country. We discovered half of the world and today we’re just a little civilized country of Europe.  

 

(Duke of Vise, Henry the Navigator of Portugal considered the patron of exploration, pictured.)

In order to work in Panama, you need to officially be a legal resident.
 
You would go about finding a job in Panama just like you would in the US.  However, you need to keep in mind that the salaries in Panama are much less than in the US.
 
To give you a feel for how much people get paid in Panama, the minimum hourly wage is around $2.29 and a receptionist would make between $450 - $500 per month.   Larger companies may pay a receptionist up to $600 per...

In order to work in Panama, you need to officially be a legal resident.
 
You would go about finding a job in Panama just like you would in the US.  However, you need to keep in mind that the salaries in Panama are much less than in the US.
 
To give you a feel for how much people get paid in Panama, the minimum hourly wage is around $2.29 and a receptionist would make between $450 - $500 per month.   Larger companies may pay a receptionist up to $600 per month.  Normally, people just graduating college in Panama could work for $700 - $800 / month.
 
However, you also should please keep in mind that the cost of living is much less in Panama than in the US. 
 

Many of the things that you should be most concerned about in retiring abroad will depend on your age. For example, if you are 65 years old or older and are retiring abroad, then you definitely should be concerned about health care because you’re going to be moving from one health care system to another.
 
It’s common knowledge that Medicare does not apply to procedures or expenses that are incurred outside of the United States, so if you’re going to take...

Many of the things that you should be most concerned about in retiring abroad will depend on your age. For example, if you are 65 years old or older and are retiring abroad, then you definitely should be concerned about health care because you’re going to be moving from one health care system to another.
 
It’s common knowledge that Medicare does not apply to procedures or expenses that are incurred outside of the United States, so if you’re going to take advantage of Medicare, you’re going to have to take a plane back to the United States.
 
On the other hand, most countries, including Costa Rica (where I live), have systems of health care that are just as good as the health care in the United States, but are a lot cheaper. These health care systems include most medical treatments, procedures and pieces of equipment that are not cutting edge.
 
Out of pocket charges abroad are typically a quarter to a third cheaper than they are in the United States. For example, I have a Cuban born and trained doctor where I live here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica who makes house calls for about US $36 (20,000 colón) and he is as good as, if not better, than any doctor I’ve seen in Miami, Florida. Most of the doctors I’ve seen in Miami were also Cuban doctors.
 
I’m paying the charges of seeing a doctor in Tamarindo out-of-pocket, but these out-of-pocket charges are most likely less than what the deductible of my health insurance the United States, and cheaper than most procedures there. This is another thing to be concerned about.
 
In Costa Rica, there is a comprehensive system of health care that you can typically join for about $100 per month. This membership has the same coverage as the Medicare in the United States, and I have seen some people take advantage of this.
 
If you’re retiring while under 65 years old and are not eligible for Medicare, then the positives of the healthcare system here in Costa Rica far outweigh the negatives. This is because here in Costa Rica, you can buy private health insurance policies that will be cheaper than they would cost in the United States, and for good reason, because the out-of-pocket health care costs are much cheaper. For example, my Costa Rican wife of six years had to have a procedure where they fused two discs on her neck. In the United States, this procedure would have cost around $40,000. Here in Costa Rica, hospital charges and top-notch doctor fees with excellent results cost around $12,000 in total. That’s an absolute savings.
 
I don’t bother with private health insurance because I’m over 65 years old, but if I did, I’m sure that the insurance cost would have been much lower than what it is in the States.
 
I know a retired contractor from the United States who developed COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a condition that requires taking medications daily.  One of the main reasons this retired contractor moved to and became a resident of Costa Rica was to join to socialized medicine system here in Costa Rica. Through this socialized medicine system, all his medications cost him only $100 a month. That means he is saving thousands of dollars a month for medicine compared to what he was paying in the United States.
 
For those who are under 65 years old, and for those who are dealing with treatments that are not typically covered by insurance, such as dental procedures that only cost 1/4 - 1/3 of what they would normally cost in the United States, this is very attractive.
 
The need for private health insurance depends on the person’s age. As an example, it doesn’t bother me not having private health insurance because I’m over 65 years old, and it’s only a $300 plane ride from here to Miami, where I’m from, and where I still have all my connections. I’ve got the best of both worlds- I’ve got comprehensive medical care in the United States through Medicare, a Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Plan B, and here in Costa Rica, I’m paying a lot less out of pocket, and I need to see a doctor a lot less than when I was in the United States.
 
Having this kind of freedom with health care provides me with lifestyle benefits- there’s less stress, my blood pressure is not a problem, and if I avoid fast food joints, diet is not a problem for me, either.

 

(The Oaks Tamarindo pool at night, Costa Rica, pictured.)