Best Places In The World To Retire

You can absolutely go horseback riding in Mexico. If you own a piece of land in Riberas del Pilar and Ajijic and build your own stalls, you can keep a horse. If you buy a house with a quarter of an acre land, you can build a stall, have a horse, and then walk through your neighborhood.

 

There is a really great place in La Floresta (just east of Ajijic, in a residential neighborhood) where you can rent horses. La Floresta generally caters more to beginners...

You can absolutely go horseback riding in Mexico. If you own a piece of land in Riberas del Pilar and Ajijic and build your own stalls, you can keep a horse. If you buy a house with a quarter of an acre land, you can build a stall, have a horse, and then walk through your neighborhood.

 

There is a really great place in La Floresta (just east of Ajijic, in a residential neighborhood) where you can rent horses. La Floresta generally caters more to beginners in horseback riding because their horses there are very mellow. If you’re looking for more active horses, on the other hand, or if you’re a little more experienced, La Floresta can also cater to that.

 

In Jalisco (the state where Lake Chapala is located, and also where Guadalajara is located), we have the charreria, which is how they refer to rodeo in Spanish. The charreria takes place in an open arena or a round building where people, especially locals, go on Sundays or whenever there are events.

 

The Escaramuza group, which are competitive female groups who ride sidesaddle and compete through formation, joins competitions here in Chapala and Ajijic. The Escaramuza group is comparable to the gymnastic groups that you find in the United States where participants go all over the state competing.

 

My parents paid for my professional equestrian training. My arena was just down the street from our house, close the cemetery in West Ajijic. From La Cristina, it would take me 20 minutes to ride my horse on the back way down, and if I needed transportation for my horse, the ranch would provide that along with everything else that we needed. I would really recommend going to the Escaramuza because it’s a really fun experience.

 

There are a couple of boarding places in town that I know of. An example is Celina, out by San Nicolas de Ibarra in Ajijic. The guys who trained and took care of my horses in Ajijic are the same guys that rent horses in La Floresta. This is a very large community so you can ask around and definitely find what you’re looking for.
 

The horse culture is still very alive, more so in Mexico than in places like Florida and San Francisco where I spent time in the United States. One of the reasons of course would be that I lived right in the city back in Florida and San Francisco. I did see a horse or two in Victoria Park, Florida, but cops were riding them instead of horseback riding enthusiasts.

 

Back in 1996 or 1997, I bought a big black quarter horse from a local vet for about 7,000 pesos ($365). My mom had the stall welded and spent around 5,000 – 6,000 pesos ($261 - $313). It was hay and water.

 

Sometimes, I would go around town on my horse. I would go to a store and the store owner would say, “Hi, you’re sitting on your horse outside of the store!” I would then say, “Excuse me, I’d like a cerveza (beer; for my older relatives), water, or a soda,” and the staff would just bring what I wanted to buy out to me. I would then pay for it while I’m still sitting on my horse.

 

(Horse and Jet Metier in La Floresta, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)

We have many traditions in Managua. One unique tradition we have is Holy Week. Managua is very empty during Holy Week and everyone waits for this, so they can take a vacation because by law, we have to observe Holy Week four days in a row. So it is the most expected week of the year in Managua. Holy Week is also one of the hottest week of the year, so people either go to the beach or to the mountains.

 

Managua also has a local holiday called Santo...

We have many traditions in Managua. One unique tradition we have is Holy Week. Managua is very empty during Holy Week and everyone waits for this, so they can take a vacation because by law, we have to observe Holy Week four days in a row. So it is the most expected week of the year in Managua. Holy Week is also one of the hottest week of the year, so people either go to the beach or to the mountains.

 

Managua also has a local holiday called Santo Domingo, which is celebrated every 1^st of August. Santo Domingo (pictured) is the local saint of Managua.  During Santo Domingo, we have a huge parade of horses with between 2,500 to 3,000 horses participating. It is a very big event here in Managua.

 

We celebrate La Purisima every 7^th of December. La Purisima is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and it is celebrated across the country of Nicaragua with a very high sense of religiosity. You will see thousands of houses with statues of the Virgin Mary and you will see people with their kids singing for the Virgin Mary from one place to another. In return, house owners give out candies, fruits, juices, water, etc. There are fireworks from noon to midnight inside and outside of Managua, which is very impressive.

There are a variety is issues which could give rise to avoid retiring overseas.  Of those reasons, herein are my “top 3” worst reasons to retire overseas:

 

HEALTHCARE

 

While some jurisdictions may, in fact, have superior healthcare facilities to those in the United States, the healthcare services of many countries are far inferior to those in America.  Consistent access to quality medication at affordable...

There are a variety is issues which could give rise to avoid retiring overseas.  Of those reasons, herein are my “top 3” worst reasons to retire overseas:

 

HEALTHCARE

 

While some jurisdictions may, in fact, have superior healthcare facilities to those in the United States, the healthcare services of many countries are far inferior to those in America.  Consistent access to quality medication at affordable rates can, surprisingly, be more challenging than you may realize.  Also, when you are of retirement age and experience a serious medical challenge, it can be extremely expense, if not life threatening, to travel (or be transported) to a neighboring country which has qualified physicians needed to properly treat your ailment.  While you may do your best to choose a favorable jurisdiction for your golden age, countries which boast low-cost retirement havens often lack proper medical facilities.

 

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 

Assuming you have children, you may find yourself missing out on watching your grandson’s first baseball game or granddaughter’s communion.  Lifelong friends, who are also of retirement age, may not have the resources to come and visit you but once every few years.  Unless you are part of a small community to provide you with the emotional support needed to maintain a healthy emotional state of mind, it is easy to become increasingly depressed living isolated from family and friends.  Are you mentally and emotionally prepared to communicate with your closest of friends and family via video or social media?  When you no longer wish to travel back to the United States, there may be extended periods of time when no comes to visit you either.

 

FINANCES AND EXCHANGE RATES

 

Lack of finances ranks among the primary causes of tremendous stress.  Unless you have reasonably substantial savings for your retirement, you may find yourself in an extremely uncomfortable position overseas.  Adding insult to injury, if you wished to work part-time to generate some additional income, most retirement visa’s do not allow for any formal work to be undertaken by a retiree as it places unnecessary burdens on the local community whom often struggle with finding work for their families.  Additionally, currencies and exchange rate are subject to slow degradations as well as massive swings.  Meaning, you may have moved to a country wherein you enjoyed a favorable exchange rate when you arrived but find yourself getting far less ‘bang for your buck’ as time moves on.

Chinese restaurants are prevalent in Corozal. Here in the village, there’s a Chinese restaurant, and then we have a couple of little stands that are run by Belizeans where you can get rice and beans with stewed chicken, which is the staple of Belize. For breakfast, you can have what they call Johnny cakes (flour and dough; much like a biscuit) here, as well as tacos and sabutes (fried corn tortilla with chicken and tomato and cabbage).

 

Three chicken...

Chinese restaurants are prevalent in Corozal. Here in the village, there’s a Chinese restaurant, and then we have a couple of little stands that are run by Belizeans where you can get rice and beans with stewed chicken, which is the staple of Belize. For breakfast, you can have what they call Johnny cakes (flour and dough; much like a biscuit) here, as well as tacos and sabutes (fried corn tortilla with chicken and tomato and cabbage).

 

Three chicken tacos cost BZ $1 (US 50 cents), and fried chicken, fried rice and French fries at the Chinese places cost anywhere between BZ $5-$7 Belize (US $2.50-US $3.00). 

 

My friend Mark has a restaurant at Cerros Sands, which Francesca, his wife, runs. I’ve read good reviews about his restaurant, but I haven’t eaten there. I’m sure that the menu at Mark’s restaurant would vary greatly based on the food that you’re ordering. Sometimes I see their ads, and can concur that their menu is geared towards American and European cuisine.

 

(Sabutes platter, Belize, pictured.)

The cost of rent a home in Algarve varies based on what kind of home you are renting, how many bedrooms it has, whether it is an apartment or a villa, and so on. It also varies depending on the length of time that you intend to stay.

 

There are two types of rentals in the Algarve.  One is the summer, short-term rentals similar to the ones they have in Florida, California, or anywhere that is a holiday spot. In the summer, a two-bedroom apartment, which...

The cost of rent a home in Algarve varies based on what kind of home you are renting, how many bedrooms it has, whether it is an apartment or a villa, and so on. It also varies depending on the length of time that you intend to stay.

 

There are two types of rentals in the Algarve.  One is the summer, short-term rentals similar to the ones they have in Florida, California, or anywhere that is a holiday spot. In the summer, a two-bedroom apartment, which is probably the most common type of apartment to rent, would start between €500 (US $550 or £360) a week to about €1,250 (US $1,375 or £900) a week, depending if you have the views and other amenities. A three-bedroom villa would start you at about €750 (US $825 or £540) a week to around €3,000 (US $3,300 or £2,175) a week. The price depends on where the villa is located, the views, and the amenities. The price range is very large because there is a huge range of real estate products here in Algarve.

 

The second category of rental is the winter, long-term stay or permanent rentals. The average rule for this type of rental is that one week of summer rental would be slightly less than one month of winter rental. That is the rule of thumb that we use all the time and it works very well. A two-bedroom apartment in the winter, per month costs around €500 (US $550 or £360) to €900 (US $990 or £650) and a villa in the winter would cost you €1,200 (US $1320 or £870) to €2,000 (US $2,200 or £1,450). The reason why it is lower than the high end in the summer is because many of the very expensive villas in the summer would not be target market for winter rentals because they would be too large or too expensive for most of the winter lets.

 

The winter rental is slightly different than the 12-month rental. A winter rental is a rental for people who would be looking to stay in a warmer place like the Algarve during the coldest months in places like Canada, the US, England, Sweden, and Germany. They would typically stay here between October and November and maybe around March to May. Those would be your typical winter months. We are getting an increasing number of people who are looking for these winter months because of recently approved legislation called the non-habitual resident status, which allows pensioners from abroad, newly-arriving and resident pensioners to receive their pension tax free in Portugal. To do so, they have to remain in the country for 183 days or more. Of course, most people do not want to be in the cold countries during winter so they spend their winters abroad with a tax advantage and they come over to Portugal to rent for 6 to 8 months. This way, they get their tax benefit and spend their winters in the sun.

 

The year-long resident with a12-month contract would typically pay more than the winter let rate because the rate would include the very expensive summer months, and so the monthly rental price would be higher than the monthly price for winter let. Using the same example as above, on a year round basis, a two-bedroom apartment would cost between €1,000 (US $1,100 or £725) and €1,500 ($1,650 or £1,088). For a two-bedroom villa, it would cost around easily €1,500 (US $1,650 or £1,088) to €3,000 ($3,300 or £2,175) a month. These rentals are located in the nicer areas of Algarve with the top end being in the nicest areas. There is enough nice quality stock of rentals in the Algarve so that no one needs to feel as though they were living in a very basic, bare bones location. Even our cheapest stock, which is a one-bedroom apartment and costs around €350 (US $385 or £254) a month in the winter, are fully furnished and within walking distance to shops, restaurants, and sometimes even to the beach. Not all rentals are like that but there is no lack of quality, fortunately, in the Algarve.

 

(Rental a Algarve Senior Living, Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)