Best Places In The World To Retire

I’ve got a story about the construction standards in Yucatan, Mexico. I’m an industrial designer by education and I’ve done a lot of construction in my life as well. So when I got down here, I decided that I was going to do my own drawings and do my own general contracting for the property I purchased. So I asked my lawyer what I needed for building permit.
 
 He said, “Don’t worry about it.”
 
So I didn’t worry about it....

I’ve got a story about the construction standards in Yucatan, Mexico. I’m an industrial designer by education and I’ve done a lot of construction in my life as well. So when I got down here, I decided that I was going to do my own drawings and do my own general contracting for the property I purchased. So I asked my lawyer what I needed for building permit.
 
 He said, “Don’t worry about it.”
 
So I didn’t worry about it. Almost exactly one year later, we were still doing heavy construction (you can see everything going on from the street) and somebody from city hall showed up and said, “Where’s your building permit?” 
 
I panicked. I called my attorney again and explained what happened and he said, “Don’t worry about it.” 
 
The next day I had permit that was good for a year. My attorney is an ex-mayor and one of the reasons why he’s an attorney is because he knows how city hall works. If I had gone down to city hall and tried to do whatever I had to do, I would probably have been three days in various lines until I got to the right line.
 
This was 10 years ago. I think they may have tried to upgrade the system, but I never had a building inspector come and say, “Okay, that’s not the code,” or anything like that.
 
Both engineers and architects here typically supervise.  They not only do the drawings and design, they also act as general manager of the construction. There are half a dozen who I know that they’re really ethical and they try to deliver the best job possible, both from the design standpoint and the execution standpoint. 
 
Because of my background I felt that I could do it myself.  I worked with the plumbers, electricians and masons.
 
While designing a second floor on the house, the mason said, “We have to make this a little fatter here to support everything.” It was very informal way of doing it. It was all done by his experience rather than by calculations. 
 
In Merida and in Cancun, they’re trying to be a little bit more professional, particularly in Cancun, which is very vulnerable to hurricanes, so they are attempting to make their construction standards more rigorous. I don’t think everybody’s first thoughts are “let’s make this very good,” that is, until another hurricane comes in and knocks down stuff that is substandard.
 
Basically, everything here in the Yucatan is constructed with concrete block. You cross the border into Belize and everything is wood, which I don’t understand. I can almost count on my one hand the wooden structures I know in northern Yucatan.  The Belizeans and the English came and took all the good wood in Yucatan,. That’s a part of Yucatan history with the Caste War and the British supplying guns from Belize to the Mayans in exchange for hardwood. The Caste War was, in very general terms, the last uprising of the Mayans against the Hispanics. A lot of the furniture that ended up in England in Victorian times either was from Belize or southern Yucatan.

 

(Picture: Casa Hamaca Guesthouse, Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico.)

Hola!

 

I have been in Boquete for 4 years and I do feel very grateful for the peaceful feeling here! Boquete has many things to offer for retired people or young people. There are good places to go hiking, bird watching, horse back ridding, white water rafting, take coffee tours, etc.,but the nicest thing is how easy going it is here and if you don't remember what day it is after a little while being here it is because you are in Panama :)

  ...

Hola!

 

I have been in Boquete for 4 years and I do feel very grateful for the peaceful feeling here! Boquete has many things to offer for retired people or young people. There are good places to go hiking, bird watching, horse back ridding, white water rafting, take coffee tours, etc.,but the nicest thing is how easy going it is here and if you don't remember what day it is after a little while being here it is because you are in Panama :)

 

Restaurants are very good for such a small town.  Of course not all of them are great but you can have different options and styles.

 

Living in Boquete in less words is like when you can just BE! and enjoy simple things in life :)

 

The picture to the right is of a waterfall hike in the mountains of Boquete.
 

Property taxes in Belize are very low.

 

Belize property taxes are usually assessed at 1% of the value of the property in rural areas and, in the towns and cities, these are assessed at around 7% of the value per year.  However, the assessed value is generally MUCH lower than what you would expect to pay. 

 

For example, we have lots for sale priced at $21,000 USD, so you would expect the property tax of 1% to be $210 USD.  However,...

Property taxes in Belize are very low.

 

Belize property taxes are usually assessed at 1% of the value of the property in rural areas and, in the towns and cities, these are assessed at around 7% of the value per year.  However, the assessed value is generally MUCH lower than what you would expect to pay. 

 

For example, we have lots for sale priced at $21,000 USD, so you would expect the property tax of 1% to be $210 USD.  However, the annual property taxes on these lots are $7.50 USD per year which is not even 1/3 of .1% of the value of the property. Owners can opt to pay many years in advance, if they so choose. In the city we have a lot for $50,000 USD and property taxes are only $300 USD per year (.6%).

The Portuguese Constitution assures the principle of private ownership of assets regardless of the nationality of the owner. Thus there is no risk of confiscation by the Government authorities. Please note that the Constitution prevails over any law that exists in the country and can only be changed with a qualified majority in the Parliament which is hard to obtain and will (based on the last 40 years of democracy) always require the two main parties (which are both moderate parties) to...

The Portuguese Constitution assures the principle of private ownership of assets regardless of the nationality of the owner. Thus there is no risk of confiscation by the Government authorities. Please note that the Constitution prevails over any law that exists in the country and can only be changed with a qualified majority in the Parliament which is hard to obtain and will (based on the last 40 years of democracy) always require the two main parties (which are both moderate parties) to approve it.
 
Besides the protection afforded by the Portuguese Constitution, there is also the European Union rules and the European Union Courts that would also stop this from occurring, as it violates all rules and principles that are in place.
 
This is not a risk in Portugal as it would mean a complete revolution in the political scenario and in the population’s mentality as there is a tradition of private ownership in Portugal since the day of its foundation back in the year of 1143.
 
The only legal and possible reason for the Government to assume the ownership of private assets in Portugal is in cases of expropriation for public interest (for example, private land that is required to be transferred to the government for the construction of a highway) in which case the expropriation law would be applied which will allow the owner to receive a fair compensation for its assets calculated on market value prices and supervised by a court judge.
 
Regarding banks, there were banks that failed during this crisis as in most of other European countries.  Nevertheless, the process of bailout made by the Portuguese Government and the European Union did not affect the deposits that existed in those banks.

 

(The Couros River near Guimarães, a town that precedes the settlement of  Portugal, pictured.) 

Car insurance premiums depend on what car you have but the price ranges from US $200 up to $700 per year for full coverage. That includes liability and collision. Full coverage for a small car or a sedan is around $200 per year and $700 per year for trucks such as Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser. You don't need full coverage in order to drive here in Nicaragua. You only need the mandatory coverage which is only about $15 to $30 per year.

Car insurance premiums depend on what car you have but the price ranges from US $200 up to $700 per year for full coverage. That includes liability and collision. Full coverage for a small car or a sedan is around $200 per year and $700 per year for trucks such as Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser. You don't need full coverage in order to drive here in Nicaragua. You only need the mandatory coverage which is only about $15 to $30 per year.