Retire Overseas Articles
Articles
“Pase al frente”… “Go to the front.” That’s the phrase I hear most when I’m with my Dad, who is 75 years young. When I was a kid in Oregon, I don’t remember there being a particular emphasis on respect or special courtesies for our elders. Now we live in Panama, where I’ve discovered that locals have very specific notions about how to treat mature citizens.
The Manuel Antonio area on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific coast has been a long-time favorite of visitors. Just two hours from the capital San Jose on a well-maintained modern highway, Manuel Antonio is the site of the country’s most popular national park. In 2011, Forbes magazine named it one of the world’s best.At 4,000 acres, it’s a relatively small refuge and one of the smallest national parks
Those looking for a beautiful, unspoiled beachfront setting, as well as a sizeable community of expats, should find living in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica to be a good match.Playa Flamingo is located on the northern Pacific Coast, in the heart of what is known as the Gold Coast.
Louise Orr finds it hard to stay in. Though she retired early at the age of 53, she doesn’t have much free time. “There are days when I say, thank God I don’t have to be anywhere,” she says. “Days when I can just work in the yard, or read a book.” It’s not that Louise is tied down to a business or a job…it’s just that there are so many fun and worthwhile things to do.
Exotic tropical islands, temperate mountain valleys, miles of deserted beaches, First-World cities packed with ultra-modern amenities, and ancient vineyard-shrouded hill towns… Among the top retirement spots in the world this year, you’ll find great variety in the cultural offerings, climates and lifestyles.
Accurately scoring the world’s top retirement locations is a complex process. So, we’ve broken down each of our categories to give you a “behind the curtain” look at how we put the Index together.
At home, prices are rising. It costs more to put gas in the car, buy groceries, and pay for health insurance. At the same time, retirement savings eroded in the market downturn. And with interest rates at near-zero today, it’s difficult to rebuild.
I’ve traveled in 92 countries, lived in Thailand and the Middle East, climbed the Pyramids, gone dog-sledding in Finland, trekked in Mali, seen the “gorillas in the mist” in Rwanda, and gone hot-air ballooning over the desert in Australia.
I first went to Uruguay by ferry in 2003 and it was love at first landing. I was living in Argentina, which meant I could make the hour-long crossing of the River Plate from Buenos Aires to historic Colonia.
In our Retirement Index this year, we’ve changed how we do things, narrowing down the countries we focus on to the top 19, and considering each across eight crucial categories: real estate, special retirement benefits, cost of living, ease of integration, entertainment and amenities, health care, retirement infrastructure and climate.
Look at the right places beyond our borders today, and you’ll find you have more good choices than ever for a comfortable – even a pampered – retirement. In any one of our top 19 havens for 2012, a lifestyle well beyond your reach in the States could be yours for pennies on the dollar. In this, our annual Global Retirement Index, we bring you the top choices available on the planet today.
I’m sipping rich coffee—just poured from a French press—when it happens. A white horse ambles by, no rider or groom in sight. Behind him, there appears another… his chestnut brother. Single file they clippety-clop into focus and I make a mental note: Favorite image of the day.
I am relaxing on our front porch at our home in Uruguay, about two miles from downtown Punta del Este. Another cloudless November morning, the crystal-clear sunshine and gentle sea breeze promise another comfortable spring day. Punta del Este has been a perennially solid place to invest, with a high-performing rental market.
Look at the right places beyond our borders today, and you’ll find you have more good choices than ever for a comfortable – even a pampered – retirement. In any one of our top 19 havens for 2012, a lifestyle well beyond your reach in the States could be yours for pennies on the dollar. In this, our annual Global Retirement Index, we bring you the top choices available on the planet today.
Expat Juliette Cunliffe gets up at sunrise to enjoy the view from her bedroom. With a home perched high on a ridge above Lake Phewa Tal, she can gaze out at the snow-capped Annapurna mountains, look down at the town of Pokhara along the lakeshore, and plan her day in the lush foothills of the Nepalese Himalayas. Sixty-one-year-old Juliette was a successful author in England before packing up her belongings and opening a guesthouse and restaurant in Nepal.
Day-glow sunrises and sunsets over the River Seine, fresh breakfast croissants on your private balcony overlooking Notre Dame Cathedral, public transportation practically at your doorstep. Try retirement in Paris, France; it’s as romantic and magical as you imagine, and it’s easier than you think.
The only sounds are waves lapping against the hull and the occasional fl ap of a sail as it captures the gentle breeze. Gliding through the turquoise waters of the Aegean aboard our yacht Destiny, we’re leaving the Greek island of Milos and heading west into the southern Ionian Sea. Our next destination is Elafonisos, one of the largest inhabited islands in the Peloponnese, known for its sandy beaches.
Choosing a destination that’s easy to retire in can often mean missing out on the wonder, awe and adventure of a new land and a new beginning.
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