Best Places In The World To Retire

If you are working abroad and are receiving income from the United States, you are allowed a certain amount of income that you can exclude from US income tax. I don’t keep up with the exact number, but I think it’s up to in the range of US $90,000 or more these days; I’m not sure. However, this is for people who are employed overseas or who have earned income overseas, as opposed to income made from a sale of a house or the sale of stock.
 
Earned income can be...

If you are working abroad and are receiving income from the United States, you are allowed a certain amount of income that you can exclude from US income tax. I don’t keep up with the exact number, but I think it’s up to in the range of US $90,000 or more these days; I’m not sure. However, this is for people who are employed overseas or who have earned income overseas, as opposed to income made from a sale of a house or the sale of stock.
 
Earned income can be free of taxation at a state and federal level, but only to a certain limit.   That’s one primary difference relative to US income tax liabilities between living overseas and living in the US. It’s a big difference if you have earned income. It does not affect any taxes that might be due though on the sale of assets or social security if you’re getting it and you need to pay taxes for one reason or another.
 
If you earn money overseas under normal circumstances and you have a record of any taxes paid there, you typically can deduct those taxes paid overseas from the taxes you have to pay in the United States, but you always have to check with a professional as it may be different in some nations. Many countries have treaties with the US on this but it’s a accepted practice that people do not pay taxes twice. Once to another nation and again to the US without recognizing the other tax. They make an allowance for that. 

Most of the expats who live in Pedasi are about 50 years old and up and are retirees from North America. Most of them are married. Younger people come to Pedasi on holiday; they don’t live here.

Most of the expats who live in Pedasi are about 50 years old and up and are retirees from North America. Most of them are married. Younger people come to Pedasi on holiday; they don’t live here.

My guess would be that around 5% of the population of Granada, Nicaragua are expats but I am not completely sure about that. When you go to Granada, you see a lot of international people. You would see them walking. Some of the owners of restaurants and hotels in Granada are from Spain and most of the people who invest in Granada are foreign.
 
A large proportion of the local population in Granada is middle to lower class, and live in certain neighborhoods around Granada. The...

My guess would be that around 5% of the population of Granada, Nicaragua are expats but I am not completely sure about that. When you go to Granada, you see a lot of international people. You would see them walking. Some of the owners of restaurants and hotels in Granada are from Spain and most of the people who invest in Granada are foreign.
 
A large proportion of the local population in Granada is middle to lower class, and live in certain neighborhoods around Granada. The foreign people tend to live in the other areas, which are the more touristic areas. The center of Granada is the more touristic or foreign area and that’s where you will see most of the foreigners but around the outskirts it will be mainly Nicaraguans.
 
The expats that you would see in Granada are a combination of Americans, Latin, Canadians, and Europeans, so there is a combination of cultures here.  As you move towards the center, Granada becomes more and more of an international city.
 
Pictured: Granada, Nicaragua, central, more touristic area

We have one doctor in Placencia, Dr. Alexis Caballero.  Our doctor is from Cuba.  He fell in love with a lady from Placencia and married her.  So now, after all the paperwork, he is our full time doctor.
 
Dr. Caballero is one of the best. He even helped me with the mild cancer that I had. I love my doctor in Placencia. I can call him any time I want even if I am here in Belize City. He is very good to me. He came to Placencia two years after me and is still very...

We have one doctor in Placencia, Dr. Alexis Caballero.  Our doctor is from Cuba.  He fell in love with a lady from Placencia and married her.  So now, after all the paperwork, he is our full time doctor.
 
Dr. Caballero is one of the best. He even helped me with the mild cancer that I had. I love my doctor in Placencia. I can call him any time I want even if I am here in Belize City. He is very good to me. He came to Placencia two years after me and is still very involved with the village.
 
One doctor is enough for the entire village because Placencia is a small village. If you need a specialist, then you have to go to Belize City, Dangriga, or Independence. Doctor Alexis saved a lot of lives in our village. 
 
Since Placencia is just a small village, you only go to the family doctor. If you want to see a gynecologist or any other specialist then you have to go to a bigger city.
 
If you experience a heart attack in Placencia, I’ll be honest; it will be hard because going to Belize City from Placencia is around 40 minutes by plane. If you drive, it’s about 3 hours. In those kinds of emergencies, we call a helicopter. Depending on the medical situation, they will take you to Dangriga, Belmopan, or Belize City.
 
To put this in perspective, the healthcare in Placencia is better than in some of the villages in France. It’s now 2015 and I can tell you that some small villages in France do not have any way of getting proper medical care. If you have a stroke in one of these villages, it will be difficult. I guess this is the risk of being in Placencia because there is no hospital because Placencia has such a small population.  

 

(Pictured: View from balcony of Placencia condo)