Best Places In The World To Retire

The culture of Chapala and Ajijic is a mix of Mexican and North American culture. It also varies depending on your social circles. The expats tend to stay with the expats, so when you go to their parties or get-togethers, everything tends to be like they are in the US. I have an expat friend who socializes with a lot of the lawyers here and goes to a lot of their functions, so his experience tends to be quite Mexican, and his Spanish is very good. Socially and culturally, he is very...

The culture of Chapala and Ajijic is a mix of Mexican and North American culture. It also varies depending on your social circles. The expats tend to stay with the expats, so when you go to their parties or get-togethers, everything tends to be like they are in the US. I have an expat friend who socializes with a lot of the lawyers here and goes to a lot of their functions, so his experience tends to be quite Mexican, and his Spanish is very good. Socially and culturally, he is very Mexican.
 
In general, you can certainly choose what culture you want to be in. If you want to live in a North American culture you pretty much could. If you want to live in a Mexican culture you can do that as well. If you want to be a little bit of each, it is also possible.

 

(Dr. Santiago Hernandez socializing with other sophisticated locals and expats in Mexico, pictured.)

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The vets in Nicaragua are very good. I know this because I have one dog that I always bring to a vet

 

Most of the vets here in Nicaragua studied at various veterinary schools abroad so many of them are English-speakers.
 
Also, the veterinary service fee here in Nicaragua is affordable. I think it’s around US $20 - $25.

The vets in Nicaragua are very good. I know this because I have one dog that I always bring to a vet

 

Most of the vets here in Nicaragua studied at various veterinary schools abroad so many of them are English-speakers.
 
Also, the veterinary service fee here in Nicaragua is affordable. I think it’s around US $20 - $25.

Under most circumstances, having a dual citizenship is the preferred way to go about when moving abroad because formally renouncing your citizenship is actually a rather complicated process. Dealing with the IRS is never fun and pre-paying future taxes in order to relinquish citizenship is a significant burden vs continuing to file taxes as a US citizen despite living abroad.
 
There are some tax advantages living abroad. Most notably, if you’re out of the country for more...

Under most circumstances, having a dual citizenship is the preferred way to go about when moving abroad because formally renouncing your citizenship is actually a rather complicated process. Dealing with the IRS is never fun and pre-paying future taxes in order to relinquish citizenship is a significant burden vs continuing to file taxes as a US citizen despite living abroad.
 
There are some tax advantages living abroad. Most notably, if you’re out of the country for more than 330 days, you will get a tax exemption called the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. In a nutshell, if you have low income then you are not going to be paying the US taxes. The Foreign Income Exclusion stops a little over $100,000 in earned income for a single US taxpayer. What’s nice about it is that you pay 0% on earnings up to the amount of the exclusion and then that first money earned above that is taxed at a lower rate. This is what I understand but it’s probably something that is best to revisit from a financial perspective especially when you are getting closer to making that decision. You do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship in order to live in another country. Making this decision is not something to be taken lightly as revoking your citizenship is a big deal.  Certainly review all matters tax related since rules definitely change and how your income arrives, w-2 vs. investment, vs foreign payroll are all factors that should be considered and advised by a tax professional.