Best Places In The World To Retire

In general, expats in Chapala and Ajijic are treated the same way they treat the local people. This is really important. The Mexican people are, in general, very polite. They are helpful but it also depends on how they are treated. Some people come down with a feeling that they want cheap help and cheap labor and they treat the local people poorly.

 

When you come here you have to realize that this place has a long history of foreign /local relations and a...

In general, expats in Chapala and Ajijic are treated the same way they treat the local people. This is really important. The Mexican people are, in general, very polite. They are helpful but it also depends on how they are treated. Some people come down with a feeling that they want cheap help and cheap labor and they treat the local people poorly.

 

When you come here you have to realize that this place has a long history of foreign /local relations and a sort of symbiotic relationship has developed here that is somewhat unique. Maids and gardeners often become part of your extended family and that can be a difficult thing for some people, because knowing the ins and outs of that relationship is sometimes difficult. The cultural boundaries of these families are a little difficult sometimes but in general expats are treated very well here.

 

Foreigners have been coming to this region for a long, long time, going back to the 1900s. Local Mexicans from Chapala and Ajijic understand the value and what foreigners bring, not only to the economy but also to the community, as we have tons of non-profit organizations here that do a lot of good work. So in general, expats are treated very well. But of course that depends on the attitudes and behaviors of the foreigners.  

 

(Dancing to The TallBoys Band, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

 

You do not need a second passport if you live or work abroad, but it may be advisable in the future, if you are traveling for safety reasons. Nowadays, I prefer traveling with a Panamanian passport as opposed to an American passport.

 

We have one and a half years to go before we can apply to be a Panamanian citizen and have dual citizenship. You need to be a Panamanian citizen before you can get a Panamanian passport. You have to be here for at least five...

You do not need a second passport if you live or work abroad, but it may be advisable in the future, if you are traveling for safety reasons. Nowadays, I prefer traveling with a Panamanian passport as opposed to an American passport.

 

We have one and a half years to go before we can apply to be a Panamanian citizen and have dual citizenship. You need to be a Panamanian citizen before you can get a Panamanian passport. You have to be here for at least five years, you have to pass some tests, and prove that you live here in Panama 99% of the time.

I don't know what the worse reasons are to retire to Belize because I think that eventually everything works out.

 

Maybe one of the things about Belize that some people don’t like is that a lot of people that retire still want to be able to go to their local Wal-Mart and big grocery stores, which we don’t have.  Belize City has a couple of them, but the towns away from the city don't really have these massive stores where you can have...

I don't know what the worse reasons are to retire to Belize because I think that eventually everything works out.

 

Maybe one of the things about Belize that some people don’t like is that a lot of people that retire still want to be able to go to their local Wal-Mart and big grocery stores, which we don’t have.  Belize City has a couple of them, but the towns away from the city don't really have these massive stores where you can have everything and anything you want. I suspect that that is a downfall mostly for the women, not for the men. I think the men don't really care. But for the women, it's a real negative.

 

Now where we live, in Consejo Shores, in Corozal, we're kind of lucky because we live close to the city of Chetumal, Mexico, which does have Wal-Mart and a Home Depot. But you still have to get what you bought across the border and you've got to pay duties on it. And there are a lot of things that are restricted because you can buy them in Belize.  For one example, you can't bring beer from certain countries into Belize, because Belize makes its own beer. You can't bring Mexican beer in to Belize and you can't bring Guatemalan beer into Belize because they are border countries. However, you can buy European beer in Belize and you can buy American beer in Belize because they’re not bordering areas, but you have to pay a lot of money for it because the duties here are very high.

 

(Made in Belize, Lighthouse Lager, pictured. )

The Portuguese government introduced the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme in 2009, which has only really taken off since 2011. It is designed to attract retirees from other countries to come and retire in Portugal.  Under this scheme, for 10 years retirees from other countries will not have to pay any Portuguese income tax on their pension. If one’s pension is tax-free in the country from where it is sourced if the retiree lives abroad, then a retiree can move to Portugal and...

The Portuguese government introduced the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme in 2009, which has only really taken off since 2011. It is designed to attract retirees from other countries to come and retire in Portugal.  Under this scheme, for 10 years retirees from other countries will not have to pay any Portuguese income tax on their pension. If one’s pension is tax-free in the country from where it is sourced if the retiree lives abroad, then a retiree can move to Portugal and pay no tax on his pension, either here in Portugal or in their home country, for a period of 10 years. 

 

That is the only retirement program here in Portugal. If you live here in Portugal, you work here, and then you retire, you get no pension relief at all. Pensions are taxed just like salaries here in Portugal. If you are not qualified under the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme then you don’t get any tax benefit at all. 

 

To qualify for the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme, one has to move here to Portugal and be a tax resident by renting or buying a property. Then he can apply to benefit from this program. For example, you are from the UK and you move to Portugal, you qualify as a tax resident of Portugal for the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme. The UK will no longer tax your pension because you are already living in Portugal and under the Non-Habitual Resident Scheme, Portugal will not tax your pension either for a period of 10 years. However, this rule doesn’t apply if you are on a civil servant pension because that continues to be taxable in the UK. The Non-Habitual Resident Scheme applies to private pensions.  

 

(In the town of  São João Arga de, Portugal, pictured.)