Best Places In The World To Retire

In Baja California skilled manual labor (that which does not require supervision or continued guidance) will cost 500 pesos for a 10 hour day.  Tipping is not customary but providing bottled water or a snack is greatly appreciated.  Carry the one... I know, it works out to $2.50 per hour which is (at the time of this writing) five times the minimum wage in Mexico.

 

 

Become accustomed to Mexican employment law before you begin employing staff on...

In Baja California skilled manual labor (that which does not require supervision or continued guidance) will cost 500 pesos for a 10 hour day.  Tipping is not customary but providing bottled water or a snack is greatly appreciated.  Carry the one... I know, it works out to $2.50 per hour which is (at the time of this writing) five times the minimum wage in Mexico.

 

 

Become accustomed to Mexican employment law before you begin employing staff on more than an occasional basis.  Be fair and they will be grateful and have your back and people will go out of their way to help; take advantage and you will be well known for that by all.  

 

 

 

 

If I were to guess, my estimate would be that there are over a thousand Americans, Canadian, and other expats living in the Cayo District, Belize.  You see them all the time.
 
If you walk the streets, if you go to restaurants, you go to the bank and to the post office, you will definitely run into some type of expat, whether they’re Canadian, from the US or European--you'll definitely see that. And these are the ones who actually live here.  In addition to...

If I were to guess, my estimate would be that there are over a thousand Americans, Canadian, and other expats living in the Cayo District, Belize.  You see them all the time.
 
If you walk the streets, if you go to restaurants, you go to the bank and to the post office, you will definitely run into some type of expat, whether they’re Canadian, from the US or European--you'll definitely see that. And these are the ones who actually live here.  In addition to that, there are all the tourists.
 
A lot of the people visit here who are astounded by how many foreigners actually see here. This is not common in other countries in Central America. I've been to Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and you only see foreigners if the area is touristy.  If you went to Tikal, of course, in Guatemala, you will see foreigners there. But here in Cayo, it's different; you'll expats and tourists practically everywhere.  You’ll see them in Belmopan, San Ignacio, Santa Elena, Spanish Lookout, and along Hummingbird Highway.
 
Most of the expats don't live in towns. Rather, they live in areas around the towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, in places like Bullet Tree, Santa Familia, Billy White, Cristo Rey, along Hummingbird Highway, United Ville; anywhere along the highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan, you'll find them. 

 

(Tubing down the Mopan River along Bullet Tree, Belize, pictured.)  

If you are working abroad and are receiving income from the United States, you are allowed a certain amount of income that you can exclude from US income tax. I don’t keep up with the exact number, but I think it’s up to in the range of US $90,000 or more these days; I’m not sure. However, this is for people who are employed overseas or who have earned income overseas, as opposed to income made from a sale of a house or the sale of stock.
 
Earned income can be...

If you are working abroad and are receiving income from the United States, you are allowed a certain amount of income that you can exclude from US income tax. I don’t keep up with the exact number, but I think it’s up to in the range of US $90,000 or more these days; I’m not sure. However, this is for people who are employed overseas or who have earned income overseas, as opposed to income made from a sale of a house or the sale of stock.
 
Earned income can be free of taxation at a state and federal level, but only to a certain limit.   That’s one primary difference relative to US income tax liabilities between living overseas and living in the US. It’s a big difference if you have earned income. It does not affect any taxes that might be due though on the sale of assets or social security if you’re getting it and you need to pay taxes for one reason or another.
 
If you earn money overseas under normal circumstances and you have a record of any taxes paid there, you typically can deduct those taxes paid overseas from the taxes you have to pay in the United States, but you always have to check with a professional as it may be different in some nations. Many countries have treaties with the US on this but it’s a accepted practice that people do not pay taxes twice. Once to another nation and again to the US without recognizing the other tax. They make an allowance for that. 

First of all, when you are buying a new home or a condo in a new housing development in Panama, you need to know who is behind the development. As always, there are people that have better experience and reputation in Panama and are serious about how they deliver and develop their projects, so as a result, they have very few or no complaints from home buyers. Then there are people who are less serious and think they can be developers who fail, which happens in most countries. So the first...

First of all, when you are buying a new home or a condo in a new housing development in Panama, you need to know who is behind the development. As always, there are people that have better experience and reputation in Panama and are serious about how they deliver and develop their projects, so as a result, they have very few or no complaints from home buyers. Then there are people who are less serious and think they can be developers who fail, which happens in most countries. So the first thing I’m going to do is usually know the developer and check their experience and reputation.
 
It is also important to know where the development is located, because there are areas that have higher expectations of appreciation than others. It’s always recommendable if you can find one or two real estate brokers who can provide an objective opinion, because it’s always difficult to come from the outside and get the information on what area or what city has a higher possibility of appreciation. So get recommendations.

 

(Condos available at Cubita Villas and Condos, Chitre, Panama, pictured.)