Best Places In The World To Retire

Right next to where I am in Chapala, one of my neighbors pays 2,500 pesos (about US $147) a month for a 2-bedroom apartment, right in the heart of town, where she can walk to everything. In the same area, there are other places with smaller houses in the downtown area where you might pay $200 to $500 a month. A lot of people rent in dollars as opposed to pesos.

 

In Ajijic, you might pay an additional $100 to $200 to live in the village within...

Right next to where I am in Chapala, one of my neighbors pays 2,500 pesos (about US $147) a month for a 2-bedroom apartment, right in the heart of town, where she can walk to everything. In the same area, there are other places with smaller houses in the downtown area where you might pay $200 to $500 a month. A lot of people rent in dollars as opposed to pesos.

 

In Ajijic, you might pay an additional $100 to $200 to live in the village within walking distance of everything. A house in one of the subdivisions in the outskirts that’s bigger with a view and a pool would rent for 8,000 to 12,000 pesos (US $470 to $706).

 

A 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 2,500-foot house in a gated subdivision would cost between 10,000 to 15,000 pesos (US $588 to $882) a month or even a little more. There are lots of gated communities between Ajijic and Jocotepec, especially in the newer areas, and these tend to have smaller homes on them. A home in one of these areas that is less than 2,500 square feet could probably rent for as little as 6,000 to 10,000 pesos (US $353 to $588).

 

I don’t do much work regarding rentals, and the prices I’m quoting is from the clients and as such, may not be representative of the market. These are not the same prices that are advertised on the Internet, which tend to be a little bit high.

 

Relative to food prices, I can give you a comparison.  When I would go grocery shopping in Santa Barbara, California, if I wanted to have barbecue with friends, I would probably spend $50 to buy the meat and vegetables to do the grilling and make the salsa. Here, I can usually walk in to the municipal market with 200 pesos (US $12) and probably get the same or more.  The prices for good here are less than half or perhaps even a third of what they would be in Santa Barbara.

 

Eggs are around 20 pesos (about US $1.17) a dozen. Tortillas, which is the main staple here, are perhaps around 14 or 15 pesos for a kilo (about US 40 cents a pound). 

 

Gasoline is a bit more expensive here than in the US.

 

Overall, the cost of living in Santa Barbara and here is like night and day. Rent, for example, is probably 25% of the rental cost here.  I live in 2 houses; one in Guadalajara (a large, cosmopolitan city about an hour north of Chapala) and one in Chapala. In Santa Barbara, I would have to pay $1,500 to rent a 2-bedroom place in a nice neighborhood.  In Guadalajara, for the same amount of money, I could get a four-bedroom penthouse in a guarded high-rise with a skybar, underground parking, pool, etc. 

 

In order to give you a more complete idea, I used to rent a luxury high-rise apartment in Guadalajara in a nice neighborhood for 18,000 pesos (US $1060) a month.  I was on the 10th floor of a 14-story building.  We had high ceilings, marble floors, a wall of glass looking out of the city, there were security guards, there was a pool, a workout room, and three levels of underground parking.  We had a skybar, as well, on the roof of the building.  The common party areas had sofas, a wet bar, and the rooftop has glass barriers. So if you want to have an event with your friends or even a cookout, you can invite them and be on top of the building with 360-degree views.  We also had an event’s room on the ground floor, where we could also invite friends. If I wanted to invite 50 people, I could invite 50 people instead of having to rent an events place.

 

(Rental in Guadalajara, Mexico, pictured.)

Retirement in Portugal is very good and we have a tremendous amount of new people retiring here.

 

For the Portuguese who are retiring, because we’ve been through a big economic crisis here and they’ve had to cut down pensions, there are a lot of people struggling. The new government has promised that that’s all going to change but then you’ll wonder where they’ll get the money. But certainly for foreigners coming here,...

Retirement in Portugal is very good and we have a tremendous amount of new people retiring here.

 

For the Portuguese who are retiring, because we’ve been through a big economic crisis here and they’ve had to cut down pensions, there are a lot of people struggling. The new government has promised that that’s all going to change but then you’ll wonder where they’ll get the money. But certainly for foreigners coming here, it’s fantastic to retire in Portugal. 

 

There are several reasons its fantastic to retire to Portugal.  Number one, the climate; number two, the wines; number three, the weather; number four, the people who are sympatico to foreigners. The lifestyle is easygoing. I think the weather helps a tremendous amount for people who are golf players or riders. A lot of people go horseback riding and a lot of people have brought their horses here. Portugal has an easy lifestyle.

 

A lot of people will go down to the Algarve, which is completely different to being up in the Lisbon coast area. The Algarve is sort of a permanent holiday atmosphere, almost like an extension of Spain except all of a sudden you’ll hear Portuguese and a lot of English. I’m not a great fan of the Algarve region because I don’t think it has a Portuguese identity. You know, you don’t feel that you’re really in Portugal even though there’s beautiful beaches, there’s beautiful homes, but that’s it, whereas up here you have good theater, you have good concerts, good shows, and you can still do all that—you can ride horses and you can be on the beach.

 

It really is a relaxed kind of life filled with lunch parties and coffee parties. And with the big expat community that you have here, it’s good social life and a lot of people will entertain at home a great deal. 

 

I live in the Lisbon coastal area, about 20 minutes on the train from the center of Lisbon and if you drive, depending on the time of day, of course, it’s about 20 minutes as well if you haven’t got all the traffic. Nothing’s very far here. We’re a little bit inclined to think, when we’re out in Cascais in Estoril, “Oh gosh, I’ve got to go into Lisbon” and vice versa, but it’s really very, very close.  The style of life in Lisbon is more city life than it is along the coast. It’s quite different but I think that it’s mainly because parking is more difficult in Lisbon and there’s a lot more traffic.

 

(Trains from Lisboa to Sintra, Portugal, pictured.)

The best reason to retire to Belize is to take a break and get out of that fast-paced world we are used to in North America. When you come to Belize you can relax, clear your mind, and be warm. Every time you go to town here in Belize is like an adventure. It is a very entertaining place. It makes you think and prepare.

 

There are a lot of great reasons to live here. Just to experience the Belizean culture is so much more fun. Everyone likes each other...

The best reason to retire to Belize is to take a break and get out of that fast-paced world we are used to in North America. When you come to Belize you can relax, clear your mind, and be warm. Every time you go to town here in Belize is like an adventure. It is a very entertaining place. It makes you think and prepare.

 

There are a lot of great reasons to live here. Just to experience the Belizean culture is so much more fun. Everyone likes each other here. They eat together as a family, people stay close to home, and everybody still goes out to be with their mothers. Belize is like what the US used to be a long time ago. It feels like the good old days to me.

 

(Climbing the Mayan pyramids around Orchid Bay, Belize, pictured.)

Personally, we have the Canadian Pension Plans plus we have the Old Age Pension, which are considered income so we still have to file on those.  I believe that the only time you don’t have to file is if you supremely leave Canada; if you renounce your citizenship, etc. 

 

However, we only have to pay income tax when the money is earned in Canada. We’re paying Panamanian taxes on the money we make here, but not Canadian tax. In Canada you...

Personally, we have the Canadian Pension Plans plus we have the Old Age Pension, which are considered income so we still have to file on those.  I believe that the only time you don’t have to file is if you supremely leave Canada; if you renounce your citizenship, etc. 

 

However, we only have to pay income tax when the money is earned in Canada. We’re paying Panamanian taxes on the money we make here, but not Canadian tax. In Canada you only can be taxed once on your income.  

 

(Choosing at lot and home at Tucan Country Club and Resorts, Panama, pictured.)