Best Places In The World To Retire

The food in the markets in Puerto Vallarta is incredible. Produce in Mexico, in general, is more organic than it is in the US. I can’t say entirely but there is a lot more small-scale farming. You go to your local markets and it wouldn’t be unusual to see tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce, all grown locally by someone with a plot of land a couple of miles out from the beach.

 

You buy your eggs at the local market as well....

The food in the markets in Puerto Vallarta is incredible. Produce in Mexico, in general, is more organic than it is in the US. I can’t say entirely but there is a lot more small-scale farming. You go to your local markets and it wouldn’t be unusual to see tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce, all grown locally by someone with a plot of land a couple of miles out from the beach.

 

You buy your eggs at the local market as well. Often, they are either free range or at the very least cage free. The yolks are a magnificent deep yellow which tells you the chicken that laid it is happy.   You can tell the chicken has a proper diet as opposed to the massed produced, anemic looking pale yellow eggs that we get up north.  Generally, things are fresher, better and better for you in Mexico.

 

Speaking to the freshness, a lot of times produce might be a little bit dirtier, coming right from the earth, and not having been sprayed, processed, bleached or waxed. So when you would bring your fruits and vegetables home you might have to give it a better scrubbing and a rinse in anti-microbial solution than you would in the US or elsewhere. 

 

The cost for food in Puerto Vallarta is much less expensive.  I went to the market the other day and purchased 10 bananas, 5 cucumbers, a dozen beautiful ripe, perfectly red tomatoes, a few apples, some celery, a loaf of artisanal, sourdough bread and it all cost about 100 pesos (US $7). In New York, it would have been $30 for the same items.  We have a great bounty at a terrific price here.

 

(Field of cucumbers, Mexico, pictured.)

In Belize, healthcare workers and the government work to maintain open cooperation.  There is also some significant crossover between private and public sectors.

 

For example, if a private facility needs some particular equipment it does not have, in certain circumstances they will be allowed to use government facilities.

 

About 14% of Belize's health care workers provide services in both private and public sectors. ...

In Belize, healthcare workers and the government work to maintain open cooperation.  There is also some significant crossover between private and public sectors.

 

For example, if a private facility needs some particular equipment it does not have, in certain circumstances they will be allowed to use government facilities.

 

About 14% of Belize's health care workers provide services in both private and public sectors.  It is not unusual for those working at a public healthcare facility during the day to provide private services outside normal business hours.

Nicaragua is still a very poor country and there are numerous opportunities to contribute—medically, sponsoring, education, veterinary, animals, schooling, English teaching or helping with English; so many opportunities to help and contribute.  Nobody would have a problem leveraging their own skills.

 

I was involved in helping get started a women’s cooperative for making jams, jellies, and preserves called Condimentos del Carirzal...

Nicaragua is still a very poor country and there are numerous opportunities to contribute—medically, sponsoring, education, veterinary, animals, schooling, English teaching or helping with English; so many opportunities to help and contribute.  Nobody would have a problem leveraging their own skills.

 

I was involved in helping get started a women’s cooperative for making jams, jellies, and preserves called Condimentos del Carirzal that’s done so well that now they don’t need us.  It was sponsored by the Rotary Club. We have a Rotary club now in San Juan del Sur that made connections with other Rotary clubs elsewhere in the world and in North America predominantly. Through Rotary there are a number of projects they sponsored.  I was involved in getting one going with the Rotary club in Guelph South (where I used to live in Canada) that was superbly supportive and raised money to help these ladies get going with their business. They haven’t needed any help for the last 2 or 3 years and they’re making gourmet jams and selling them to tourists. They’re doing very, very well. It’s a huge success that most people in San Juan are aware of. The ladies there are lifting themselves out of poverty and helping to put their kids through higher education. It’s a great story. There are lots of opportunities for that kind of thing. 

 

That group of wonderful people in Guelph raised US $15,000 to support the construction of the ladies’ kitchen. The ladies got to the point where they were really good and consistent with their recipes.  They received help from Marilyn Rootham in Guelph, of Rootham’s Gourmet Preserves. She was excellent. She came down to Nicaragua and taught these ladies how to make gourmet jams and jellies. Marilyn Rootham sells product all across Canada and into the US.  She was supremely helpful along with the Guelph staff.  After 5 years of support they raised I think $12,500 and we added a bit more, which was enough money to build them an industrial kitchen with the equipment and supplies to get them the health certificate they needed from the ministry so that they can continue to grow and export their jams and jellies. They’re doing really, really well.  

 

(Condimentos del Carrizal, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.) 

Yes, absolutely; gays and lesbians and others in the LGBT community are accepted in Portugal. In Portugal you can have gay marriages and they have just passed a law to say that gays can adopt children as well. 

 

The attitude towards gays and Lesbians has changed a tremendous amount. Perhaps 30 or 40 years ago, not, and maybe not even 20 years ago, but now they really are, not just legally, but culturally as well.

Yes, absolutely; gays and lesbians and others in the LGBT community are accepted in Portugal. In Portugal you can have gay marriages and they have just passed a law to say that gays can adopt children as well. 

 

The attitude towards gays and Lesbians has changed a tremendous amount. Perhaps 30 or 40 years ago, not, and maybe not even 20 years ago, but now they really are, not just legally, but culturally as well.