Best Places In The World To Retire

You can get by in Belize just speaking English because everyone here speaks English. Even here in Corozal, next to the Mexican border, it’s predominantly Spanish speaking but everybody speaks English also. They’re more comfortable here in Corozal speaking in Spanish only because it’s their primary language. We have a big influence of Guatemalans, of Mexicans, Hondurans, and Mestizos in Corozal.
 
Sometimes it’s a little harder to understand them because of...

You can get by in Belize just speaking English because everyone here speaks English. Even here in Corozal, next to the Mexican border, it’s predominantly Spanish speaking but everybody speaks English also. They’re more comfortable here in Corozal speaking in Spanish only because it’s their primary language. We have a big influence of Guatemalans, of Mexicans, Hondurans, and Mestizos in Corozal.
 
Sometimes it’s a little harder to understand them because of their accents but you know they pretty much all understand English, and if somebody doesn’t, their children all speak English because they’re going to school here. In this case, they’ll go to their child and say, “Hey, come translate for me,” and so you don’t need any other language
 
Having pretty much everyone speak English is one of the things that caused us to decide to retire here.  It helps the retirees. In the alternative, if I were to retire, let’s say for example, somewhere in Ecuador, you really need Spanish because you will need to talk to the local people and in case of an emergency or whatever it may be, I would need to know that language. Here, you don’t have that issue. All medical personnel speak English, all police and firemen speak English, and English is the main language here.

You will find lots of beautiful plants and trees in the Algarve. One example is the carob, which is the same fruit that exists in the Caribbean.  (The name of the region “Caribbean” comes from the word “carob”.) The carob bean in the Caribbean is longer and flatter, so the carob bean in Portugal is a shorter version of the Caribbean version of the carob. It’s kind of a scimitar-shaped bean around 15 centimeters long. Most of it is green and when it...

You will find lots of beautiful plants and trees in the Algarve. One example is the carob, which is the same fruit that exists in the Caribbean.  (The name of the region “Caribbean” comes from the word “carob”.) The carob bean in the Caribbean is longer and flatter, so the carob bean in Portugal is a shorter version of the Caribbean version of the carob. It’s kind of a scimitar-shaped bean around 15 centimeters long. Most of it is green and when it ripens it becomes brownish or dark reddish. It’s a very interesting product because it can be used in a number of things. It has an enzyme that is used in the pharmaceutical industry and as an additive for the drinks industry. It is also used as a substitute for chocolate in producing a sort of cocoa-tasting product used in the making cakes. Portugal is the third largest European and North African producer and exporter of the carob plant. There is quite a lot of tradition in Portugal linking back to the land.

 

The best time of the year to come and see flowering plants in Algarve is just after the rains, around autumn and again in the spring. We have a flowering area in the western Algarve called the Costa Vicentina, which is a natural reserve of many square kilometers with very little construction. Costa Vicentina has millions of very pretty wild flowers. You will see myriad colors. It is a wonderful place to go to for walkers, cyclists, ramblers, or even if you are just driving through.

 

In the mountains, in traditional areas like Alte, Salir, and Monchique, these are places that because of their height, elevation, and humidity tend to get a lot of flowering plants. Algarve is generally quite consistent with the rest of Portugal but it has a very dry climate. We don’t have much rain or cloudy days. The type of shrubs that exist here are small-leaved plants because these plants tend to do well in less humidity because the evaporation from the leave surface is lower, so they tend to survive better in dry climates. Many of these shrubs are very pretty. Portugal also has the olive tree, which blooms and is fantastic. We also have the almond tree, which is very famous. Probably Japan is the most famous for its almond and orange blossoms but Portugal has beautiful pink, lilac, and white almonds. We also have citrus trees like the orange trees, and a range of other flowering plants, which are very pretty.

 

Among the most famous local plants in the Algarve are the carob plant, the orange, almond, olive, and the fig tree. These are the traditional fruits of the Algarve and they all flower in a different way, which is very pretty. I have all these trees in my own garden.

 

(Carob plant, pictured.)

COST OF LIVING INFO July 27, 2014

 

This is a picture of Panama's  new presidente, Varela. One of Varela's campaign promises was to stabilize and in certain cases reduce the cost of the 22 items included in Panama's basic food basket. Here are the control prices for the first 11 items of Panama's basic food basket.  It is interesting to note that the names for some of the meats and the diamonte vegetable are Panamanian words that do not Google...

COST OF LIVING INFO July 27, 2014

 

This is a picture of Panama's  new presidente, Varela. One of Varela's campaign promises was to stabilize and in certain cases reduce the cost of the 22 items included in Panama's basic food basket. Here are the control prices for the first 11 items of Panama's basic food basket.  It is interesting to note that the names for some of the meats and the diamonte vegetable are Panamanian words that do not Google translate from Spanish to English.

                                                                                          POUND             KILO

1.  Meat Babilla                                                                    $2.87                $6.33

2.  Bistec = Beef Steak                                                           $2.45              $5.40

3.  Carne Molida = Ground Beef                                               $2.00              $4.41

4.  Meat Jarrete                                                                      $2.30              $5.07

5.  Meat Pecho                                                                        75 cents        $1,66

6.  Pollo Entero = Whole Chicken                                             $1.18             $2.60

7.  Chuleta = Pork                                                                   $1.90             $4.19

8.  Arroz = Rice                                                                         40 cents      88 cents

9.  Cebolla = Onions                                                                   60 cents       $1.32.  

10. Vegetales Diamonte                                                              35 cents      77 cents

11. Papa Nacional = Potatoes                                                     60 cents      $1,32

 

To see what Babilla, Jarrete, Pecho and Diamonte look like please visit our Marketplace Listing under the "What's New" tab to see a video I did on the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

The short answer is no, you cannot use Medicare here in Colombia. The long answer is beyond the scope of a response. International health care policies are a good option, but, as always, the fine print is your friend. For instance, many international policies will not insure you within a certain number of miles of your 'home address,' so don't let that codicil bite you. In our case, with a home address (for now) in Ohio, we can't use our policy within 100 miles of Columbus, so we...

The short answer is no, you cannot use Medicare here in Colombia. The long answer is beyond the scope of a response. International health care policies are a good option, but, as always, the fine print is your friend. For instance, many international policies will not insure you within a certain number of miles of your 'home address,' so don't let that codicil bite you. In our case, with a home address (for now) in Ohio, we can't use our policy within 100 miles of Columbus, so we must acquire an additional policy within that range (I know, it's nuts) or risk going uninsured.

 

The really good news about all this is that many health care systems abroad are much, much cheaper than that found in the U.S., for example, while retaining the quality found there--or exceeding it. My wife needed a full panel dental x-ray when we arrived in Medellin, and she received it in one hour, with no appointment, for about $6.00 US. (You read that right, no need to wipe your glasses.) No co-pay. No insurance interaction.

 

So one answer to the question is to acquire emergency or major medical coverage only, and pay out of pocket for the rest. Not exactly an answer to the original question about Medicare use, but an elaboration on options. Another item to consider is Tricare, if the retiree is eligible for military retirement bennies. Tricare can be used (I'm told) by paying for the expenses, then submitting paperwork to Tricare for reimbursement. Disclosure: I've not gone this route. I've only been told it's possible, so good luck.

 

(Photo: Medellin River, Christmas 2004.  Credit: By Aliman5040 - taken by Alejandra Zapata (my cousin), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia.)