Best Places In The World To Retire

There’s a very good bus service here in Cayo. A bus will go every half hour to hour here to Belize City, Belmopan, and everywhere.
 
In addition, there are bus services from town centers to all the villages around here. The regular bus service to Belmopan chains there to either go down south or you go to Belize City.  The cost for the bus to go from San Ignacio to Belmopan (about 20 miles) is about BZ $8 (US $4).
 
In Belmopan itself, there is a good bus...

There’s a very good bus service here in Cayo. A bus will go every half hour to hour here to Belize City, Belmopan, and everywhere.
 
In addition, there are bus services from town centers to all the villages around here. The regular bus service to Belmopan chains there to either go down south or you go to Belize City.  The cost for the bus to go from San Ignacio to Belmopan (about 20 miles) is about BZ $8 (US $4).
 
In Belmopan itself, there is a good bus service around the city.  You can either go south or to Belize City, and most villages have bus service.
 
These are old buses. There are no problems with expats using them; expats use them all time. When my clients come here to buy property and we go to the country, many times, they take the bus.

 

(Katie Couric, visitor to the Cayo District, who said, "Wish I could have taken pics-Mayan pots, skeletons from human sacrifices!!”, pictured.)

Panama officially uses the balbóa as its currency. But, because the balbóa is pegged to the U.S. dollar in value, you will only see U.S. paper money, and often have U.S. coins in change. The exception is the "Martinelli", nicknamed for the current president, a one-balbóa (i.e., one-dollar) coin.

Panama is highly capitalistic, very much on the U.S. model. The country is run by a small junta of plutocrats, who manipulate the government to their own economic...

Panama officially uses the balbóa as its currency. But, because the balbóa is pegged to the U.S. dollar in value, you will only see U.S. paper money, and often have U.S. coins in change. The exception is the "Martinelli", nicknamed for the current president, a one-balbóa (i.e., one-dollar) coin.

Panama is highly capitalistic, very much on the U.S. model. The country is run by a small junta of plutocrats, who manipulate the government to their own economic benefit, while keeping up the pretense of doing good for the common person. In short, it is pretty much the same as the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and so on in this regard.

You can indeed buy or you can create a business in Portugal. If you buy a business or create a business and you create a certain number of jobs, you will also be eligible for the Golden Visa.
 
Businesses in Portugal are transacted regularly. My perception is that small businesses don’t tend to be bought by external investors. Sometimes external investors will make an investment into a business but they wouldn’t tend to buy a small business. Large businesses, however,...

You can indeed buy or you can create a business in Portugal. If you buy a business or create a business and you create a certain number of jobs, you will also be eligible for the Golden Visa.
 
Businesses in Portugal are transacted regularly. My perception is that small businesses don’t tend to be bought by external investors. Sometimes external investors will make an investment into a business but they wouldn’t tend to buy a small business. Large businesses, however, including state-run businesses and utilities, have been increasingly put up in order to obtain foreign investment. We have a lot of Chinese investments into what are essentially state-run businesses and private partnerships in the energy sector, the health sector, the transportation sector, and the power distribution sector. 
 
You can buy businesses here in Portugal. It is very transparent. It is market-lead and you could buy or start a business in many ways in the entire country.

 

(British pub in Portugal, pictured.)

Granada, Nicaragua is located on the edge of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, the ninth largest in the Americas and the 19th largest in the world. There are also several other smaller lakes in the area such as Laguna de Apoyo which is located in the center of an extinct volcanic crater and Lake Managua which is about 45 minutes away in the capitol of Nicaragua.

 

There are no rivers running through or near Granada. 

Granada, Nicaragua is located on the edge of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, the ninth largest in the Americas and the 19th largest in the world. There are also several other smaller lakes in the area such as Laguna de Apoyo which is located in the center of an extinct volcanic crater and Lake Managua which is about 45 minutes away in the capitol of Nicaragua.

 

There are no rivers running through or near Granada. 

You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad. 

 

I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the...

You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad. 

 

I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the local rules. However, it's not a step that I really needed to take because we frequently travel, whether we're going back to the US or going to other countries on a vacation. 

 

 

Guatemala happens to have a very generous tourist visa situation where they give 90 days for Americans. If you want, you can get an extension on 90 days up to 180 days in Guatemala without having to leave, which a bunch of countries have. Panama has an automatic 180-day visa for US citizens. Nicaragua and Costa Rica allow 90 days for US citizens. It's easy to leave the country, stay out of the country for a few days, and come back in.

 

Residency status is certainly not needed. Relinquishing your US citizenship is absolutely not needed. I have some clients who are considering residency and relinquishing their US citizenship for tax reasons, but it could be quite problematic to relinquish your citizenship. There is a lot of paperwork involved. If you have a lot of assets, there is an exit tax associated with giving up your US citizenship that can be quite painful. 

 

Giving up your US citizenship is really not needed for most people and 99.9% of US citizens don't need to do it to live abroad. Depending on the tourist visa situation, you may even need to establish permanent residency status in the local country you're moving to.

 

(People of Mayan descent in a horse race in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala, pictured.)