Best Places In The World To Retire

Historically, Puerto Vallarta was a fishing village. The beach area is one of the largest bays on the continent. Whales come in every winter because it's a birthing area for them. The Bay of Banderas is the eighth largest bay in the world. Fishing villages were around this bay and there were probably five or six villages that merged to form what is now Puerto Vallarta. This area went from being a fishing village to a resort-type, simple village where a few Americans came. ...

Historically, Puerto Vallarta was a fishing village. The beach area is one of the largest bays on the continent. Whales come in every winter because it's a birthing area for them. The Bay of Banderas is the eighth largest bay in the world. Fishing villages were around this bay and there were probably five or six villages that merged to form what is now Puerto Vallarta. This area went from being a fishing village to a resort-type, simple village where a few Americans came. 

 

The movie "The Night of the Iguana" was filmed in Puerto Vallarta with actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and director John Huston. There were a number of films done in this area. This changed the demographics of people coming to visit Puerto Vallarta to more celebrities and more Americans. Many of these tourists eventually built homes in Puerto Vallarta as did Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. John Huston had a couple of homes here. His descendants have had properties here.

 

 

 

Over the last 40 to 50 years, the movie industry catapulted Puerto Vallarta to its current popularity as a tourist and retiree destination because people understood more about it.

 

In the '60s, we could fly from Dallas to Puerto Vallarta needing only a driver's license to get in the country. It wasn't uncommon for us to fly from Dallas to Puerto Vallarta to stay here for three to four days. 

 

I came to Puerto Vallarta in 1969 and paid US $14 for a hotel room at The Rosita, which is a small hotel. There was also the Oceana Hotel, which is in the corner right off the malecon that had $12 to $13 rooms. There was one phone in the lobby. There were always a lot of writers and celebrities in the street-level bars at that time. The rooms were above the bars. In those times, there were no drinking age restrictions and all of us were under age. 

 

I moved to Puerto Vallarta in 1999 and purchased a condo after I retired. In 2003, I started working again in the real estate business, and then opened my offices shortly thereafter. I have an office in Bucerías, which is 45 minutes north and also an office here in Old Town, Puerto Vallarta.

 

Puerto Vallarta has changed a lot since I moved here. The population is obviously bigger. There are more medical facilities. At one time, Puerto Vallarta didn't have Costco and The Home Depot, but it always had grocery stores. Back then, you would go to the markets to buy fruit, vegetables, meats, and whatever you needed. 

 

It was difficult then because there were no real large hardware stores and you would bring back items from The Home Depot in the States like male bolts to hang paintings because you could never find these in Puerto Vallarta. Currently, you still see a lot of mom-and-pop-type businesses in Puerto Vallarta, but now there are Costco, The Home Depot, and large appliance stores. There are beautiful shopping centers that have every brand imaginable. Puerto Vallarta is much more metropolitan now than it was in the late '60s.  

 

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)

You do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship to move or live abroad. However, the laws in some countries are more cumbersome than others. I found a great situation in Panama where as a foreigner coming in, there’s no need for you to pick up a second citizenship. That option is available for you as time goes by, but you don’t need to do it. 

 

What was right for me and my family was the Friendly...

You do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship to move or live abroad. However, the laws in some countries are more cumbersome than others. I found a great situation in Panama where as a foreigner coming in, there’s no need for you to pick up a second citizenship. That option is available for you as time goes by, but you don’t need to do it. 

 

What was right for me and my family was the Friendly Nation’s Visa. We came in to Panama wanting to start a business, which we did, and the corporation came with my Friendly Nation’s Visa. It was a qualification criteria for my Friendly Nation’s Visa, which gives me a Permanent Residency Visa, which means that I have a legal right to be here. Many people don’t choose to even go that far. People come and go on their Tourist Visa in Panama which gives you the right to stay in Panama and drive in the country on your foreign license for 90 days. 

 

On the other hand, the US isn’t going to say, “Hey, you’re living in Panama. You’re no longer a US citizen.” The fact that you live outside of the United States has no bearing or consequence whatsoever on the fact that you are a United States citizen. You have 100% of the rights to vote, and 100% of the rights to all that your citizenship entails as being a citizen of the United States of America.

 

You can still receive your Social Security checks or benefits living in Panama and in other places in the world as an expat. That is one of the primary ways that many of the retirees are able to live here in Panama- through their Social Security benefits. From time to time, there are things that you need to do as a recipient of Social Security that don’t change. An example would be proving that you’re still alive, and those types of things.  The qualifiers are that you worked a certain number of years in the United States and earned a certain level of retirement benefits. It has no bearing whatsoever on where your ZIP Code’s going to be in the future.

 

The US embassy in Panama has great services throughout the country that can walk you through those things that are relevant. As far as renewing your passport, and doing many things that you would do with any consulate is freely done here in Panama.  

 

(John Gilbert with his children in Panama, pictured.)

The national school system in Portugal is not very great and not to be recommended. However, there are some international private schools in Portugal that are among some of the best in Europe. They are for the high school levels and lower and cater to expats living in Portugal. 

 

There is a German school, a French school, and an American school. My granddaughter goes to an international school in the Algarve. There are about three or four international...

The national school system in Portugal is not very great and not to be recommended. However, there are some international private schools in Portugal that are among some of the best in Europe. They are for the high school levels and lower and cater to expats living in Portugal. 

 

There is a German school, a French school, and an American school. My granddaughter goes to an international school in the Algarve. There are about three or four international schools in the Algarve, all of which are very good.

 

However, the private international schools here in Portugal are not cheap. If there is one thing that is expensive in Portugal, it’s a top-rank education.

 

(Carlucci American International School of Lisbon girl's soccer team, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)

The economy is doing very well in Nicaragua. One of the reasons is because of the relationship Nicaragua has with Venezuela relative to oil and that is making a lot of money for everybody. It makes more businesses grow and it opens more job opportunities.  

 

I don’t know what’s happening with Venezuela because I don’t understand that, but I know that Venezuela has oil and oil is coming to Nicaragua.  

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The economy is doing very well in Nicaragua. One of the reasons is because of the relationship Nicaragua has with Venezuela relative to oil and that is making a lot of money for everybody. It makes more businesses grow and it opens more job opportunities.  

 

I don’t know what’s happening with Venezuela because I don’t understand that, but I know that Venezuela has oil and oil is coming to Nicaragua.  

 

In addition to the oil, other sectors of the economy are growing in Nicaragua as well.  Oil one of the most important sectors but tourism is also increasing. Nicaragua was named as one of the safest and one of the best places to live. This was advertised in several magazines, which helped tourism in Nicaragua to grow. There are now a lot of investments in hotels and restaurants and that is helping the economy a lot. Everything that is related to agriculture, such as peanuts, sesame oil, and all these items that are now more important in the world, most especially coffee, also helps the economy to grow. It is a combination of everything.  

 

A lot of people are moving to Nicaragua and a lot more people are doing business here than before. As a result, we now have several new brands in Nicaragua. For example, 10 years ago, we didn’t have any Friday’s or Burger King, but now we have all that and there is more to come. More people are investing in the capital, Managua. There is now a Hilton Hotel, a Holiday Inn, and there is a Windham Hotel that is about to open so businessmen are eyeing Nicaragua as a good place to make money.  

 

If you want to invest in tourism, Nicaragua has a special law that will return your taxes and that makes it very attractive for businessmen. You can come here and invest in a hotel or a restaurant and you don’t have to pay taxes. It is something that Costa Rica has had for a long time and Nicaragua has now also implemented it. 

 

(Nicaraguan coffee traded for Venezuela's crude oil, pictured.)