Best Places In The World To Retire

In Chapala and Ajijic, there are no inspection standards, so it’s possible for you to hire a contractor who's going to do a really terrible job and cause a lot of problems with your house, so buyer beware. 

 

It's all about "Buyer Beware" in Mexico whether you're buying a car or doing a renovation. You always need to do your research to find out who is a good contractor. Don't go with the guy who gives you the best quote because...

In Chapala and Ajijic, there are no inspection standards, so it’s possible for you to hire a contractor who's going to do a really terrible job and cause a lot of problems with your house, so buyer beware. 

 

It's all about "Buyer Beware" in Mexico whether you're buying a car or doing a renovation. You always need to do your research to find out who is a good contractor. Don't go with the guy who gives you the best quote because chances are you are going to get what you paid for. It's not like an inspector will come by and say, "Okay, you passed. We're going to give you the permit." It doesn't work that way. You can hire somebody who's really good at doing a horrible job because he doesn't know what he's doing. It's up to the consumer to make sure he does his research. 

 

(Custom kitchen, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

 

We can mention a few, but most of all, the way you feel about the overall situation, is the most important issue.

 

For example, if you have very close family, especially children and grandchildren that, leaving them behind, would be a tremendous impact on your health, then by all means, never consider this possibility. Once you're established in your new destination, it is difficult to go...

 

We can mention a few, but most of all, the way you feel about the overall situation, is the most important issue.

 

For example, if you have very close family, especially children and grandchildren that, leaving them behind, would be a tremendous impact on your health, then by all means, never consider this possibility. Once you're established in your new destination, it is difficult to go back.

 

Let's take Panamá as an example.

 

With the new modern technology, which Panamá is privileged to have, it is easy to connect with family and friends on a daily basis.  And you can always visit them in your original country.

 

Analyzing some of the reasons why a retiree should consider moving out of their country, what might be in first place is their financial situation.  Some countries are getting so expensive that when a person reaches retirement age it is very difficult to cope with expenses that they are used to having when they worked and had salary income.  Taxes goes up almost every year, and so does health insurance.  These are facts that are important to consider for a retiree, especially if you only have Social Security income.

 

After you consider above mentioned facts, then we can talk about the great benefits Panamá offers as a great destination to retire.

​​(Cultivating corn in Los Santos, Panama, pictured.)

      

    

 

The culture of San Juan del is a little bit of everything. 

 

San Juan del Sur is predominantly a tourist beach town so there are a lot of transient people passing through, which keeps it spicy. We have a synagogue in San Juan. We only have a population of 15,000 or 16,000 people and we have a synagogue for the Jewish community and the Israeli community and Orthodox as well. We have everything from orthodox religious groups to hippie to any type of...

The culture of San Juan del is a little bit of everything. 

 

San Juan del Sur is predominantly a tourist beach town so there are a lot of transient people passing through, which keeps it spicy. We have a synagogue in San Juan. We only have a population of 15,000 or 16,000 people and we have a synagogue for the Jewish community and the Israeli community and Orthodox as well. We have everything from orthodox religious groups to hippie to any type of dogma at all and everything in between—old, young, etc. The culture is hugely varied and provides the opportunity to dip in to anything that you might want to or fancy or try. And yet at the same time it’s still very Nicaraguan. 

 

Most of the restaurants along the beach are Nicaraguan owned and operated and so you have a lot of Nicaraguan food.  There’s no barrier between the Nicaraguans and the beach community, unlike how it’s developed in Costa Rica.  We don’t have high-rises, which are prohibited. So we don’t get a lot of condos along the beach where you would tend to find expats and wealthier tourists congregating, so there’s no separation.  The people and culture is still very integrated in San Juan. Nicaraguans are everywhere. 

 

One of the main reasons I came here is that I did not want to be on a resort behind the gate where I’d be exclusively with other gringos and the only Nicaraguans would be those serving.  

There are different types of fishing in Bocas del Toro. There’s off shore fishing, which is excellent thrice or four times a year. The other times, it is not as excellent.  Tuna is easy to get because they usually run five miles off shore.  As for the marlin and the sailfish, we have to go out 30 miles to get them.

 

Inshore fishing is great all year round. You can catch grouper and red snapper. You can go to the mouths of rivers and catch...

There are different types of fishing in Bocas del Toro. There’s off shore fishing, which is excellent thrice or four times a year. The other times, it is not as excellent.  Tuna is easy to get because they usually run five miles off shore.  As for the marlin and the sailfish, we have to go out 30 miles to get them.

 

Inshore fishing is great all year round. You can catch grouper and red snapper. You can go to the mouths of rivers and catch tarpon, which is a big sports fish in Bocas del Toro. You can also catch snook, which we call rabalo in Bocas del Toro. These are good for eating and great game fish. If you love fishing, you can definitely do different kinds of fishing at different times of the year in Bocas del Toro.

 

(A snook or rabalo found in mangroves and bays, pictured.)

Americans and other expats in the Algarve are treated like kings.

 

From the economic perspective from the time of the discovery of the New World, Portugal has always been outward facing nation. This is reflected in the way that it receives foreign people. Most people who come to or go to Portugal immediately say that they are made to feel so very welcome.

 

As far as how Americans in particular in the Algarve are treated,...

Americans and other expats in the Algarve are treated like kings.

 

From the economic perspective from the time of the discovery of the New World, Portugal has always been outward facing nation. This is reflected in the way that it receives foreign people. Most people who come to or go to Portugal immediately say that they are made to feel so very welcome.

 

As far as how Americans in particular in the Algarve are treated, it’s tough to tell because there are not that many residing here full-time. Generally, Americans are very interesting folk in that sense that Americans are very inquisitive. They love to understand the historical background of the region and they’re very interested in the details. So they pay attention and show interest in a lot of the traditional aspects of the country; the tiles, the road, the balconies, what happened to the river course and what it was used for in the past, whether a castle was inhabited or not—all these kinds of small details typically interest Americans. This attitude helps aid the integration because local people in particular like to talk about their little place in the world. So when they see someone with mutual interest, of course, they like to talk. The first way to break down the barrier is to engage with someone even if there is a slight language barrier.

 

So what you find is that Americans in particular integrate very well in the Algarve because typically Americans come with a very inquisitive mind. The Americans who travel here love Portugal and love the Algarve. They really do love it. I wouldn’t be overstating it by using the word “love.” It’s kind of a love affair that starts with a statement such as, “This is a place that I should’ve been in or I want to be in.” We often get that reaction from Americans.

 

(The George Pub  memorializes fallen British solideris with poppies in Lisboa, Portugal)