Best Places In The World To Retire

The water supply in Puerto Vallarta is very reliable. We really don’t have water disruptions here in Puerto Vallarta, so that’s not an issue here. Most of the condos and buildings in Puerto Vallarta have holding tanks for water called “tinacos.” Tinacos make sure that even if there is a water disruption, you will still have enough water supply until a repair is done. 

 

I have been living in Puerto Vallarta for 8 years and have...

The water supply in Puerto Vallarta is very reliable. We really don’t have water disruptions here in Puerto Vallarta, so that’s not an issue here. Most of the condos and buildings in Puerto Vallarta have holding tanks for water called “tinacos.” Tinacos make sure that even if there is a water disruption, you will still have enough water supply until a repair is done. 

 

I have been living in Puerto Vallarta for 8 years and have never had issues with having no water. In our condominium we have a holding tank where water sits, and then it’s drawn into the condos based on the use in each unit. There have been times when maybe the pressure was not full, but I’ve never had an issue where I did not have any water whatsoever. 

 

In the event of a water interruption, like when the line running from the water company to the holding tank in our property is cut, damaged, or leaks, the water supply is then cut off, we have enough water in the holding tank to service the needs of the building. The holding tank is obviously large enough that there haven’t been any periods of time where we didn’t have access to water. Also, we’re always alerted when there are any issues and told not to have excessive showers. I could count on my hand the number of times that that has happened in 8 years- it really hasn’t been an issue. 

 

Most of the condominiums and smaller buildings here in Puerto Vallarta have holding tanks for water up on the roof of the building, so that the water is pumped in and there’s always a reserve.

 

(Installing tinacos on the roof, Mexico, pictured.)

Whether or not you will need a four wheel drive in Nicaragua depends on where you will be driving and what time of year you will be there.
 
There are a lot of good quality highways connecting the main cities in Nicaragua. These roads are like rural highways in the US.  There are several new highways that were just constructed in recent years [2010 - 2014].
 
If you are going to stay in the main cities like Managua, Leon, Granada, or Masaya, then you are...

Whether or not you will need a four wheel drive in Nicaragua depends on where you will be driving and what time of year you will be there.
 
There are a lot of good quality highways connecting the main cities in Nicaragua. These roads are like rural highways in the US.  There are several new highways that were just constructed in recent years [2010 - 2014].
 
If you are going to stay in the main cities like Managua, Leon, Granada, or Masaya, then you are probably ok in just a regular car.  Although, it is almost impossible to avoid dirt roads in Nicaragua.  They are often not graded or kept up, so they can have high ridges and deep dips, even in the dry season.  However, the road situation is improving every day.  If you are thinking to venture off the beaten path, then you will need a higher car.  If you will be there during the rainy season [May - November] then you will need a 4x4.
 
This is a picture of the roads in El Transito, Nicaragua during the rainy season.  El Transito is a rural town that connects all the major beaches on the Pacific coast in Nagarote, near Leon.  There are many great surfing beaches in that area.  It can get quite muddy if there are several days of hard rain in a row.

I have an international medical insurance policy that follows me anywhere in the world that I use for emergencies. I pay out of pocket for everything else because the costs are usually so much lower.

 

You can't use your Medicare outside the US because Medicare will not pay any healthcare facility that's not in the US. What some people do (because it’s relatively inexpensive) is to maintain Medicare part A in the US if they ever need to use it so...

I have an international medical insurance policy that follows me anywhere in the world that I use for emergencies. I pay out of pocket for everything else because the costs are usually so much lower.

 

You can't use your Medicare outside the US because Medicare will not pay any healthcare facility that's not in the US. What some people do (because it’s relatively inexpensive) is to maintain Medicare part A in the US if they ever need to use it so they can always come back to the US.

 

It's important to be covered anywhere you are. Any type of basic insurance you can have when you're in US is definitely ideal to have. I have never had a problem. I always had good experiences with medical facilities in different countries. I injured myself once in Czech Republic. No one spoke English in the hospital but the care was good and it all worked out and I got my insurance to cover it.

 

I've been to medical facilities and hospitals in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Canada, Thailand, Australia, and probably a few other places. If you don't have anything that's an expensive, ongoing serious condition, you’re in overall good health and you just need to go for a checkup, it's generally pretty affordable to pay out of pocket. My insurance has a multi-country travel and medical insurance option. It’s only US $300 to $400 a year. It includes my baggage, emergencies like life flighting, death or dismemberment. 

 

I ended up having to go to the emergency room in Costa Rica twice in a week. I had to get an IV and it cost around $1,000. In the end, because I had to get so many things done in two different days I had my insurance cover it. If I just wanted to go to a normal checkup, it would cost way less. A dental cleaning can be $20 -$50 in most places outside of the US. I was in North Carolina recently and was told that it would cost $500 for a dental cleaning. When you’re overseas, you can definitely pay out-of-pocket for anything like that.

 

When I was in Nicaragua I had an ear infection, so I went to the public clinic. I had to pay for my prescription for my infection.  However, the actual cost of going to the clinic (and they gave an itemized receipt), was the equivalent price in US dollars of around one penny.  I was there for a couple of hours. Pretty much anything that you need to get done, even if you go to the hospital when you need to see a doctor for something specific, is not usually not going be more than $40 or $50. It's usually cheaper to pay out-of-pocket and you can go to a private doctor, a private hospital, or a private clinic in places like Panama, compared to paying for some really expensive insurance that's going to cost more than going to the doctor, anyway.  

 

(Kristin Wilson, traveling for The World Series of Poker, pictured.)

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is...

Generally, it is heavily legislated that if you are going to build something, you have to build to a certain standard and that standard tends to be good. There are no modern methods of building here. In other words, there is no steel frame, no wooden frame, or that kind of thing. We build using bricks and mortar. The structure is still reinforced with concrete on the structural load bearing parts of the building, villa, or apartment. You would also have a slab on each layer. If it is a two-story house, you would layer a concrete slab across and then you would in fill with brick. You would lay and run the services and utilities by literally breaking the brick and creating a little tunnel for the electric, the sewerage, and all the plumbing.

 

Generally, construction here in Algarve is very solid.  This is not California in terms of earthquake risk but Portugal is not far away from a meeting of two of the tectonic plates in the Atlantic. The last major earthquake was quite some time ago, in 1755, it was very destructive so most of the modern buildings here are built to earthquake standards or close to it. From a physical construction perspective, you would find very solidly built properties. You will not be knocking on drywall and wooden structures here. 

 

In terms of the quality and finishing perspective, the structures here in Algarve are very good, especially the modern builds. There is a proliferation of marble in Portugal so you will see a lot of buildings or homes that were finished with marble and with big tiles, which are very modern and clean. There is a very modern look to the inside of the house. The bathrooms are modern as well, with suspended sinks and a lot of glass.

 

An average-sized property is 1/3 bigger in Portugal than it is in Spain. Sometimes the size is reflected on the price and sometimes it is not. The pricing depends on the area. We find that people remark that the residential construction here has more space than they would have expected. A typical two-bedroom apartment, for example, would be in the region of 80 to 100 square meters (860 square feet to 1,077 square feet), whereas in Spain, the average is about 60 to 80 square meters (646 square feet to 860 square feet).

 

( Modern Portuguese home, pictured.)