Best Places In The World To Retire

Driving in San Juan del Sur is like driving in any small town.  The streets are narrow, the speed limit is "slow" and the stop signs sometimes mean just slow down before entering the intersection.

 

There is the main road leading into San Juan del Sur, followed by 4 streets going North and South.  There are no traffic signals; just stop signs and "no turn" signs.

 

When driving in San Juan del Sur, just be slow...

Driving in San Juan del Sur is like driving in any small town.  The streets are narrow, the speed limit is "slow" and the stop signs sometimes mean just slow down before entering the intersection.

 

There is the main road leading into San Juan del Sur, followed by 4 streets going North and South.  There are no traffic signals; just stop signs and "no turn" signs.

 

When driving in San Juan del Sur, just be slow and stay alert.  Sometimes, cars will be stopped in the middle of the street with the driver carrying on a conversation with someone.  A little bump on the horn will get them moving.  Drive safely by all means and be polite.  Lock your car when you park.

 

Above is a picture of one of the markers of the street just across from the main church and town park.  There are names for the streets but most people will just direct you to a street with reference to the beach or the service station as you enter San Juan del Sur.  Don't be afraid as you won't get lost driving in San Juan del Sur.  Just so you know, the building above is the visitor center.  The picture is of Sandenno, a National hero.

There are many nice places in Belize to live and retire. The first one on my list would be Corozal, which is in the northern part of Belize. Corozal is small but it’s very nice. We have shops, markets, and nice parks where children can go to and play. People in Corozal are very kind and friendly. You can retire at Consejo in Corozal, where you can find houses right in front of the beach. They have beautiful shores. The price of the houses in Consejo would depend on the quality...

There are many nice places in Belize to live and retire. The first one on my list would be Corozal, which is in the northern part of Belize. Corozal is small but it’s very nice. We have shops, markets, and nice parks where children can go to and play. People in Corozal are very kind and friendly. You can retire at Consejo in Corozal, where you can find houses right in front of the beach. They have beautiful shores. The price of the houses in Consejo would depend on the quality of the house that you want. We also have Tony’s Inn here in Corozal. Tony’s Inn has a hotel and a nice restaurant and they are located right in front of the beach. It’s a very nice place to go. 

 

 

Another nice place to live is Orange Walk. It is similar to Corozal because they also have nice shops, markets, parks, etc. You could also find Lamanai in Orange Walk, which is a Mayan ruin site. Orange Walk is also on the sea but it is very small. They have a small boulevard. 

 

Belize also has several islands. The biggest and most popular island is Ambergris Caye, which is close to the Corozal District. You can take a plane or a boat from Corozal to Ambergris Caye.

 

Next to Orange Walk is Belize City. You will find the zoo in Belize City. There are more stores and shops in Belize City because it is a bigger place. You will see more Garifuna people in Belize City. Majority of the people in Belize City are Garifuna, unlike in other places such as Corozal and Orange Walk, where you will see more mixed people such as the Spanish, and others. Belize City has by far has the largest population of any area in Belize.

 

We also have San Ignacio in the Cayo District. San Ignacio has the second largest population in Belize. You will also find a lot of expats and tourists there. There are several Mayan ruins there such has the Xunantunich and the Nim Li Punit. There are also a lot of activities that you can do in San Ignacio like cave tubing. They have different caves, one of which is the Rio Frio Caves. It is a very touristy place.

 

The next place in Stann Creek, where you will find the town of Dangriga. Orange farms and banana farms are located in Dangriga. These oranges and bananas are export products of Belize. Hopkins and Placencia are also located in Stann Creek. Placencia has a lot of high-end and relatively expensive areas and a lot of expats. Placencia is a peninsula attached to the mainland.

 

The next district of Belize is Toledo. Toledo is the last district in the south, close to the Guatemalan border. Not many people live in Toledo.

 

(Tony's Inn and Resort on the beach in Corozal, Belize, pictured.)

No, you don't need a second passport if you retire, work, or live abroad. There is a misconception people have that they need to either give up their US passport or US citizenship but no, you don’t need to. You can have your US passport. 
 
As Americans, we're lucky that we come from a country where we don't really need to apply for even a visa to visit most countries. We can go with our passport. We can usually stay in countries anywhere from 1 to 6 months,...

No, you don't need a second passport if you retire, work, or live abroad. There is a misconception people have that they need to either give up their US passport or US citizenship but no, you don’t need to. You can have your US passport. 
 
As Americans, we're lucky that we come from a country where we don't really need to apply for even a visa to visit most countries. We can go with our passport. We can usually stay in countries anywhere from 1 to 6 months, depending on the regulations of each country. In Mexico, for example, we can stay up to 180 days with a US passport. 
 
A lot of people who move abroad still want to go home once or twice a year and visit their family. You might be living in Nicaragua and stay 90 days before re-entering, because, without a visa, you have to leave and come back in. If you live in Nicaragua, maybe you want to go to Costa Rica or take a flight to Colombia. That’s basically what people do. They leave once or twice a year. They either travel around or go back to the US. You can do that all with your US passport. There's no need to make any changes. Just make sure that your passport is valid for a long time so that you don't have to go get a new one. Even if you lose your passport or you need to get a new passport, you usually can do so at the consulate in that country. It's not a big deal.  Also, if you're planning on traveling a lot, you can order passports now that have extra pages that should last you a long time or you can get pages added to them about $80. 
 
You can choose to continue doing this indefinitely in many countries. What you decide to do depends on the situation and the residency attorney could tell you about that. It could be expensive to get residency. It just depends on the country.  For example, the cost of getting residency in Nicaragua is a fraction of the cost of getting a residency in the UK or in some places in the Caribbean where it can cost over a million dollars. In some countries, it costs a few hundred thousand. In Nicaragua, in Mexico or generally in Latin America, it's always going to be a lot lower, for the most part under $10,000. That might be the route that you take but even if you do that, that doesn’t mean you're going to get a passport from the country that you have residency in. You'll still be traveling on your US passport. 
 
If, for example, you travel to Nicaragua on your US passport and then you want to get a permanent residency or temporary residency in Nicaragua, it could be up to 5 years. You'll still use your US passport to travel. The only time you would need to actually get a second passport would be if you obtain citizenship in that country, which can take 10 to 20 years. You won't really need your second passport under most any circumstances especially if you have a US passport. I can't think of any reason why you would need a second passport.  It would be a luxury to have a second one but it's not a requirement by any means.

 

(Kristen Wilson, relocation export, working on Mexico beach, pictured.)