How's the weather in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc? What's the average temperature in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc?
Paulina Almeida - Tao Real Estate
The average temperature in the Yucatán is about 28 – 30 degrees Celsius (82 – 86 Fahrenheit). The weather in the Yucatán is amazing. The perfect time of the year is between November and December. The temperature in the state of Quintana Roo (includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and here in Akumal is in the 24-26 degrees Celsius (75 – 79 Fahrenheit).
The weather in Quintana Roo is not that humid. You can actually wear...
The average temperature in the Yucatán is about 28 – 30 degrees Celsius (82 – 86 Fahrenheit). The weather in the Yucatán is amazing. The perfect time of the year is between November and December. The temperature in the state of Quintana Roo (includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and here in Akumal is in the 24-26 degrees Celsius (75 – 79 Fahrenheit).
The weather in Quintana Roo is not that humid. You can actually wear a little sweatshirt and not feel hot. The weather at night is a little cold, but it’s perfect during the day. The weather in Quintana Roo is amazing because of the breeze from the ocean which cools it down a little bit.
The hottest time of the year is between May – September. From May –September, it gets hot (95 – 100 Fahrenheit) but there’s a lot of humidity which is what affects the weather.
(One of the pools at Tao Inspired Living, Akumal, Mexico, pictured.)
Can I use my Medicare outside the US, and if not, what are my alternatives?
John Ohe - Hola Expat Tax Services
For the most part, Medicare cannot be used outside the US by permanent expats. There is some travel coverage with the Medicare policy, but it is not a significant coverage level. As far as US expats are concerned, Medicare is really designed for coverage when you go back to the US and have routine checkups or you have a condition that you want to be treated for in the US. Medicare is not designed for coverage in another country.
For expats who live...
For the most part, Medicare cannot be used outside the US by permanent expats. There is some travel coverage with the Medicare policy, but it is not a significant coverage level. As far as US expats are concerned, Medicare is really designed for coverage when you go back to the US and have routine checkups or you have a condition that you want to be treated for in the US. Medicare is not designed for coverage in another country.
For expats who live abroad, the basic options are: 1) pay out of pocket; 2) pick up a health insurance policy that is local in nature and get into the "nitty-gritty" of what that coverage would be locally; 3) get international health plans that are out there with a few vendors like Cigna, Bupa, and a couple other smaller companies, but these policies tend to be very expensive; or, 4) evacuation insurance, which will only cover a US expat to get back to the US.
I have clients who rarely go back to the US. They have cancelled their Medicare coverage. However, Medicare is not that expensive. If you can afford the physician coverage, I would recommend keeping it. Part A is the hospital coverage. Part B is the physician coverage. Now there's also Part D, which is the pharmacy coverage. Drug costs are much lower outside the US. The fourth part of Medicare is the Medicare Supplemental, which fills in the gaps that Medicare has and that you buy from a private medical insurance company.
I would maintain the hospital and basic physician coverage on Medicare even if you live outside of the United States. Let's say you are a young retiree living abroad for a decade. Anything could happen. You might need to go back to the US. Healthcare costs are so expensive in the US. If you think about what you pay in premium for Medicare versus the benefits, it is a highly-subsidized insurance coverage provided by the US government, so why not take advantage of it?
Sometimes the standard of living depends on your level of education because you cannot compare a lawyer with a worker, since they have different mindsets. The same is true in Boquete. We have a minimum salary here in Panama, which is regulated by the law. Generally, you will live fairly well in Panama.
The rentals in Boquete are higher compared to other places. Food is a little expensive in Boquete, too,...
Sometimes the standard of living depends on your level of education because you cannot compare a lawyer with a worker, since they have different mindsets. The same is true in Boquete. We have a minimum salary here in Panama, which is regulated by the law. Generally, you will live fairly well in Panama.
The rentals in Boquete are higher compared to other places. Food is a little expensive in Boquete, too, compared with the rest of Panama. Most of the people in Boquete are locals. They own their own homes because these properties have been in their family for generations. As a result, they don’t worry about the rent and other things like that. They only have to worry about the cost of food, their electric bill and other regular bills that everyone else gets.
The standard of living for an attorney, for example, is different because we have to work hard in order to be able to afford nice things. I am single and I do not have kids, which means I have less to worry about, so it’s easier for me.
The expats who live in Boquete have different standards of living as well. Some of them have a very good standard of living while others do not. Some expats who live here moved here in Panama because, as far as I understand, they are retired and their retiree income is not enough for them to live a nice life in the States. They moved to Panama because it is cheaper here for them. They can live very fairly well here in Boquete with a $1,000 monthly pension. In David or in Boquete, you could find a rental for $300 or $400 a month. The rest of the money would go to food and bills. So with $1,000, they could live okay. If you have $2,000, you would live a better life. It would not be a very great standard of living, but if you don’t have any medical issues, you would live comfortably in Panama on $2,000 per month. Anything more than $2,000 per month would enable you to live a very good life in Boquete.
A lot of the expats in Placencia are retirees or they have second homes, so they split half their time in the States and half their time in Placencia. Most of the retirees in Placencia are age 45 and up. They are part of the older, retiring, or second-home expat crowd.
In general, the retirees in Placencia are very nice people. Belize attracts friendly, warm, and open personalities. This is part of the Belizean culture, so like-minded people just gravitate towards that. ...
A lot of the expats in Placencia are retirees or they have second homes, so they split half their time in the States and half their time in Placencia. Most of the retirees in Placencia are age 45 and up. They are part of the older, retiring, or second-home expat crowd.
In general, the retirees in Placencia are very nice people. Belize attracts friendly, warm, and open personalities. This is part of the Belizean culture, so like-minded people just gravitate towards that.
The retirees in Placencia are mostly Americans and Canadians, probably a result of them being able to access direct flights from the US or Canada into Belize, the British-based legal system and that Belize is English speaking. So for them, it’s much more convenient to get a second home in Placencia or retire.
(Expats picnicking on the beach in Placencia, Belize, pictured.)
Your neighbors in the Algarve would be a mix depending on where you live. If you live in a town they would more likely be Portuguese. The bigger the town the more likely it would be to have Portuguese neighbors. Further out it is more likely there would be a mixed bag of people. There are certainly municipalities where six or seven nationalities could surround you, a little bit like Florida.
When I lived just north of Miami, I had neighbors from three or...
Your neighbors in the Algarve would be a mix depending on where you live. If you live in a town they would more likely be Portuguese. The bigger the town the more likely it would be to have Portuguese neighbors. Further out it is more likely there would be a mixed bag of people. There are certainly municipalities where six or seven nationalities could surround you, a little bit like Florida.
When I lived just north of Miami, I had neighbors from three or four nationalities who were very transient. The Algarve doesn’t have quite the same transient society that I felt in Southern Florida, but certainly from a heterogeneous perspective, there are a variety of nationalities that reside in the Algarve. It’s fairly likely that your neighbors will be Portuguese, English, Dutch, or German because of the number of people from those countries who have settled in the Algarve.
Most of the people who move to the Algarve would tend to be wealthy by Portuguese standards and comfortably middle class or wealthy by international standards. Most people who have made the decision to come here so they do so because they are financially able to afford to do so. This is a pensioner’s paradise. These are people who have their pensions intact and can afford a good living in the Algarve, where you could easily live on a lot less than you would if you were living in London, New York, Stockholm, Helsinki or Paris. And so, what we find is that people here who come from abroad and in particular the pensioners have a much higher quality of life and spending power, than the average across Portugal and from whence they came.
(Jose Mourinho, Portuguese football manager, pictured.)
How are the stores and shops in Granada, Nicaragua? How's the shopping in Granada, Nicaragua?
David Smith - Farmland Assets
The shopping in Granada, Nicaragua has gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. There are a wide variety of restaurants, clothing stores and art galleries. I’d say most of the major grocery stores from Managua are located here in Granada.
You can buy pretty much whatever you need on Granada. For more significant shopping and variety, you would go to Managua, which is a little more than a half hour away by car.
In Managua, you have the two...
The shopping in Granada, Nicaragua has gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. There are a wide variety of restaurants, clothing stores and art galleries. I’d say most of the major grocery stores from Managua are located here in Granada.
You can buy pretty much whatever you need on Granada. For more significant shopping and variety, you would go to Managua, which is a little more than a half hour away by car.
In Managua, you have the two major shopping malls. The picture above is of Multicentro Las Americas in Managua. Compared to the United States, they’re just OK, but there’s really no comparison. The malls in Managua might have 30 or 40 stores at the most.
The shopping in all of Nicaragua is very limited, regardless of if you’re in Managua, Granada, or San Juan del Sur. You can buy the basics, you can buy most of the electronics that you need, but we don’t have a wide variety specialty stores like furniture stores. There may be two or three, but you simply can’t compare that to the United States at all.
In the part of the year she is not in Colorado, Anne-Michelle Wand experiences her continued romance with the warm Caribbean and the idyllic beaches that dot the shores of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Anne-Michelle tells Jet Metier how lovely it is to boat on placid waters, camp on a deserted island and other reasons to pack your surfer jams and sexy, black maillot to see for yourself.
Sometimes when you read about a country, many times you only find the "tourist" attractions. But I want to introduce a little bit of history about Panamá that is not mentioned in many books or tour guides.
Recently, in a popular newspaper in Panamá, the "La Estrella de Panamá" there was an article about a very particular history that was, until now, little known, but nonetheless, is a magnificent piece of a glorious past.
In Panama City, there is one place that is not normally included in general city tours; the Presidential Palace (located in Casco Viejo), a recently renovated, beautiful old building that offers every visitor a significant part of history. A unique place to visit, totally free. All you have to do is send a note in advance, with names and passport numbers (for security reasons), and request a specific date. They will reply with confirmation, or...
The average temperature in the Yucatán is about 28 – 30 degrees Celsius (82 – 86 Fahrenheit). The weather in the Yucatán is amazing. The perfect time of the year is between November and December. The temperature in the state of Quintana Roo (includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and here in Akumal is in the 24-26 degrees Celsius (75 – 79 Fahrenheit). 
For the most part, Medicare cannot be used outside the US by permanent expats. There is some travel coverage with the Medicare policy, but it is not a significant coverage level. As far as US expats are concerned, Medicare is really designed for coverage when you go back to the US and have routine checkups or you have a condition that you want to be treated for in the US. Medicare is not designed for coverage in another country. 
Sometimes the standard of living depends on your level of education because you cannot compare a lawyer with a worker, since they have different mindsets. The same is true in Boquete. We have a minimum salary here in Panama, which is regulated by the law. Generally, you will live fairly well in Panama. 
A lot of the expats in Placencia are retirees or they have second homes, so they split half their time in the States and half their time in Placencia. Most of the retirees in Placencia are age 45 and up. They are part of the older, retiring, or second-home expat crowd.
Your neighbors in the Algarve would be a mix depending on where you live. If you live in a town they would more likely be Portuguese. The bigger the town the more likely it would be to have Portuguese neighbors. Further out it is more likely there would be a mixed bag of people. There are certainly municipalities where six or seven nationalities could surround you, a little bit like Florida. 
gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. There are a wide variety of restaurants, clothing stores and art galleries. I’d say most of the major grocery stores from Managua are located here in Granada..jpg)
Sometimes when you read about a country, many times you only find the "tourist" attractions. But I want to introduce a little bit of history about Panamá that is not mentioned in many books or tour guides.
not normally included in general city tours; the Presidential Palace (located in Casco Viejo), a recently renovated, beautiful old building that offers every visitor a significant part of history. A unique place to visit, totally free. All you have to do is send a note in advance, with names and passport numbers (for security reasons), and request a specific date. They will reply with confirmation, or...
