Best Places In The World To Retire

The shopping in the Yucatan Peninsula is great. When you go to Cancun (in the state of Quintana Roo), you will find everything that you want. There are high end boutiques there such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, etc. They have whatever you desire. They have Luxury Avenue and specialty malls. 
 
You also have the regular, middle of the road stores and franchises where you could get whatever you want. In Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan), the shopping is...

The shopping in the Yucatan Peninsula is great. When you go to Cancun (in the state of Quintana Roo), you will find everything that you want. There are high end boutiques there such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, etc. They have whatever you desire. They have Luxury Avenue and specialty malls. 
 
You also have the regular, middle of the road stores and franchises where you could get whatever you want. In Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan), the shopping is about the same. We are not into the high end shopping but we have very nice malls and national department stores, which are very well known. You will be impressed with the shopping malls in Merida because it is just like shopping in the US. You walk inside the malls in Merida and it is just like walking inside a mall in the US; there is not a difference.
 
One of the advantages of living in the beach areas around Merida, like in Progreso, Sisal, all the way down to Celestún, is that all of them are within an hour of the major metropolitan area of Merida, where you have First World shopping in US-style malls. You have the First World at an arm’s reach but you can still live in a quiet place. I had some people who come to me and say that they find living in Sisal a bit isolated and they had to go to Merida often, but as time goes by, they go to Merida less and less. They stay in Sisal, where it is tranquil and calm, and they only go to Merida once in a while to do some shopping. They get used to the quiet and the easiness of living in an area that is not crowded.  

 

(Luxury Avenue, Cancun, Mexico, pictured.)

If you are moving your things to Portugal, it is best not to bring your electrical appliances because we have a different voltage here in Portugal than in the US. We use 220 voltage here, which is the same as in England.
 
You don’t really have to bring a lot of your stuff here because you can purchase everything here in the Lisbon area. You can find nice furniture, wonderful linen, wonderful china, etc. so you don’t need anything else. The same is true for the whole...

If you are moving your things to Portugal, it is best not to bring your electrical appliances because we have a different voltage here in Portugal than in the US. We use 220 voltage here, which is the same as in England.
 
You don’t really have to bring a lot of your stuff here because you can purchase everything here in the Lisbon area. You can find nice furniture, wonderful linen, wonderful china, etc. so you don’t need anything else. The same is true for the whole country of Portugal.
 
It costs pretty much the same in Portugal as in England to buy things. England is a bigger country so it has a lot more variety and a lot more competition. Here in Portugal, the Swedish have opened up a new chain for us called IKEA. They are here now and everybody shops in IKEA. The prices are pretty much competitive here.
 
If you want to buy some Portuguese furniture, you will find it a bit more expensive but it is because it is of higher quality and of good craftsmanship. When I moved back here from England, I didn’t bring my stuff over. I sold them in England and just bought everything new here in Portugal.

 

(Roof patio, Tavira, Portugal, pictured.)

I live in Managua as well and we get blackouts maybe once a month for an average of about 45 minutes. It is best to get a generator and have lanterns and candles handy for this reason. But it is nothing to get worried about. 

I live in Managua as well and we get blackouts maybe once a month for an average of about 45 minutes. It is best to get a generator and have lanterns and candles handy for this reason. But it is nothing to get worried about. 

Do you remember the Biblical story of the Exodus? The Israelites managed to escape Egypt, its bureaucracy and crime and unpleasantness -- and through the forty years of wandering in the wilderness they whined and complained for ever having left, and, when they got to the Promised Land, they proceeded to set up a country with a king, bureaucracy, crime, and unpleasantness.

There's a moral in this story for expats moving to Panamá or any other foreign country. Don't expect it...

Do you remember the Biblical story of the Exodus? The Israelites managed to escape Egypt, its bureaucracy and crime and unpleasantness -- and through the forty years of wandering in the wilderness they whined and complained for ever having left, and, when they got to the Promised Land, they proceeded to set up a country with a king, bureaucracy, crime, and unpleasantness.

There's a moral in this story for expats moving to Panamá or any other foreign country. Don't expect it to be your home country. Think of yourself as a guest, and respect the way things are done here. You will certainly conclude that some things might be done better; but, if you keep your mind open, you will realize that some things are, in fact, done better in your new country. Don't rush to judgment, and don't sneer or criticize your new neighbors. Don't leave the United States (or wherever) for various reasons (high costs, political turmoil, psychological tension, crime, etc.) and then demand the same kinds of services here in Panamá that lead to the same factors!

 

The community of Boquete, for example, is about half "gringo" by now, with the proportion constantly increasing. As an inevitable result, the cost of living is higher there than in other parts of the Tierras Altas - and crime is more common, government is more irritating, and the pace of life is far less tranquil. The gringos there, sadly, have been creating a new "Egypt" in imitation of the one they couldn't wait to get away from.

 

My advice is come with few preconceptions - and come with few physical possessions. You can buy what you need when you get here. Start fresh!

Do your homework. If you rely on Social Security or Medicare, get solid information on their availability to you. If you have medical needs, consider proximity to a good hospital. (There is a top-notch facility in the capital city of this Chiriquí province, and a new hospital is about to open in Volcán. Don't rely on other gringos for information; I have lost track of the completely erroneous un-facts given to me by gringos living here.

 

Above all, be gracious. On my first day here I began the practice of walking about my new neighborhood - for exercise, and to get to know my neighbors. My Spanish was at the time execrable, but by this means I quickly improved, and speak it fluently now; I find it abhorrent that some gringos expect everyone here to speak English, and start angrily shouting at Panamanians as if that will somehow improve their ability to understand English. By walking about, I also became known to my neighbors, such that they looked out for me as good neighbors do.
 

Become used to how things are here. The electric power and internet services often quit for a few minutes or an hour -- that's life here, so don't whine about it. Panamanian homes often don't have hot showers; if that's how it is for you, enjoy it (I find it's better than coffee in the morning). Shops and services often make promises and are rather flexible about when they keep them or whether they will keep them at all; don't let this get you angry; it's just how it is here. You do better to ask someone knowledgeable for a recommendation of a good service provider.