Best Places In The World To Retire

If you buy the land, the price to build a house in Coronado, Panama depends on the size of the house, how many bedrooms it has, and the finishings you want. Building a house in Coronado, Panama costs between US $50,000 to $100,000 for a regular house that is 100 square meters (about 1,100 square feet). The cost to build is about $500 to $1,000 per meter ($46 to $92 per square foot) to build a house in Coronado and you still have to buy the land, which can be more expensive than...

If you buy the land, the price to build a house in Coronado, Panama depends on the size of the house, how many bedrooms it has, and the finishings you want. Building a house in Coronado, Panama costs between US $50,000 to $100,000 for a regular house that is 100 square meters (about 1,100 square feet). The cost to build is about $500 to $1,000 per meter ($46 to $92 per square foot) to build a house in Coronado and you still have to buy the land, which can be more expensive than the actual construction.

For example, if you wanted to build a 200 square meter house (2,152 square feet), it would cost between $100,000 to $200,000. The difference in the cost varies depending on the finishings, such as granite counter tops, fixtures, water faucets, lighting, just to name a few. As for the land, the cost depends on how close it is to the beach. On average, lots are about $100,000 per 200 square meters (which is a tiny lot). The beach is a 10-minute walk away.

If you want to build a bigger house that would require a bigger lot, for example, 1,000 square meters, these lots are not on the market on the beachfront. The big houses are already built and the beachfront lots are no longer available. If there are available lots, these are smaller, usually 200 square meters. The biggest lot you can get on the beach is 500 square meters. I am not sure about the price, but it would probably be around $200,000.

There are so many things to be happily surprised by when retiring abroad. It really is subject to the individual person. 

 

When you consider moving abroad, you're likely going to pick a place that you feel matches your personality. There's an interesting Facebook thing going around where you can answer a few questions and based on the personality questions you answered, the Facebook quiz picks the country that most closely fits your personality...

There are so many things to be happily surprised by when retiring abroad. It really is subject to the individual person. 

 

When you consider moving abroad, you're likely going to pick a place that you feel matches your personality. There's an interesting Facebook thing going around where you can answer a few questions and based on the personality questions you answered, the Facebook quiz picks the country that most closely fits your personality type. 

 

You can choose the country, the city, the kind of town, whether it's "hustle-and-bustle", the beach, or quiet mountain living. When you do the research to move abroad, you're picking a place that you think is going to make you happy. 

 

In my case, I moved to Antigua, Guatemala. It's a nice mix. There's a bunch of expats here and lots of great restaurants. The weather is always between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I've got children with asthma, so the weather and avoidance of cold weather was really an important criterion for me. 

 

You get to choose the kind of speed, climate, activity level, and type of people in the community. This is the number one advantage that I can think of being an expat. 

 

The second happy surprise is that, in most places in the world outside of the US, you're going to have a much more affordable lifestyle. This is a big concern, not only for retirees, but also for younger people who are building businesses and want a longer runway on the money that they have at their disposal to put towards their business while they're saving on living costs. The cost of living differential between the US and wherever you may be living is an important factor. 

 

Third is the change of pace. There may be a language and cultural difference. When you move abroad, you're exposed to things that are different, which are intellectually and emotionally stimulating.  

 

(Expats in Antigua, Guatemala, pictured.)

One of the best things to buy in Portugal is the Portuguese wine.  Portuguese wine is not exported as much as in other places, which is a great shame because the wines here are really prize-winning and they are excellent.

 

Pastries are excellent as well. If you like codfish, that’s good here, but most foreigners don’t seem to like codfish. There’s a huge variety of things that you can buy. There’s silver Portugal, which is very...

One of the best things to buy in Portugal is the Portuguese wine.  Portuguese wine is not exported as much as in other places, which is a great shame because the wines here are really prize-winning and they are excellent.

 

Pastries are excellent as well. If you like codfish, that’s good here, but most foreigners don’t seem to like codfish. There’s a huge variety of things that you can buy. There’s silver Portugal, which is very good. The porcelain is very good, as is the crystal, and there’s very good antiques.

 

If you want the “cheap and cheerful” things, there’s plenty of that as well.

 

And then you have what they call “custard tarts” which are in the Pastéis de Belém area (about half way between Lisbon Cascais, which is on the coast), and which is almost like a religion here. These are very good little custard tarts.

 

You really can get everything here in Portugal now and there are many countries that have what they call a “one-shop” where they’ve got mainly South African and British products from England. You’ve got a shop that is a Russian shop. There is an Ikea so the Swedes can get what they are missing from home.  

 

It’s amazing that as small as Portugal is, when you’re down in the Alenteijo, which is an area that is just before the Algarve or even in the Algarve, the food is completely different. The area is different; it’s much more farm land. You have a lot of cork plantations there. As you start going up north, there as well, the food is different. Like any country, the pronunciations are different in the north of Portugal, but you have the same sort of things. You would have perhaps more lamb to eat down in Alenteijo than you would here. But Portugal is a bit of melting pot of everything. So at Christmas time, here they have the codfish on the 24th and then they’ll have turkey or lamb for the 25th and that’s pretty well all over now. 

 

In addition to food, Portugal has arts and crafts. There’s a lot of very, very good pottery and china and porcelain. And, of course, what Portugal is very known for the hand painted tiles, a lot of which are antiques that are extremely expensive.

 

(Portuguese cookbook and tableware made and bought in Portugal, pictured.)