7 Great Retirement Towns You’ve Never Heard Of…
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I moved to Nicaragua 10 years ago and live in an adorable two-bedroom, two-bathroom home on half an acre with a beautiful ocean view. That would never have happened in the U.S. I also retired 11 years early. Back home I'd be working until the day I died.
During high season in Nicaragua, “head for the hills” is the phrase of choice for many expats who live near the beach. Because the beach is where everyone else goes. When the sun is at its hottest, work-weary people from all over the country head for the beautiful waters to refresh, rejuvenate, and party.
If you enjoy fabulous sunsets, the sound of the surf lulling you to sleep, a great choice of international restaurants, a laidback lifestyle and no stress, put San Juan del Sur on your list of places for retirement. Few beach locations are as charming, quirky or as fun as this town on Nicaragua's Pacific coast.
“I wanted to live well with less,” says Judith LaRoue of what drew her to a new life abroad. “I wanted to enjoy the life I love and believed I could do that better here in Nicaragua.” Judith, 70, a retired educator, pastor, counselor, Montessori teacher, and self-professed “jack of all trades,” moved to Nicaragua last year.
I love living in Nicaragua. In fact, after almost 10 years, I constantly thank my lucky stars that I have had this opportunity. You might think I love Nicaragua because I was able to buy a wonderful ocean-view home that I could never afford in the U.S.
Nicaragua opened up a whole new world for Paul, Marisa, their two kids Owen, 11, and Abigail, 8, and their three dogs…not least in slashing their cost of living. “Comparing our expenses in the U.S. with Nicaragua is pretty comical,” says Marisa.
If you've always fancied a retirement home on the beach, with the relaxed and happy lifestyle that goes with it...then it's time to take a look at Nicaragua. With the past financial crises and an uncertain future, the U.S. is looking less and less like a viable retirement opportunity.
“In the U.S. and Canada, people are driven to accumulate things, to work all their lives, to hold on and amass more and more, to own their house before they die. And for what?” says Cheryl Lafond. “All I wanted was a way to live a simple life, to be happy, and enjoy my surroundings,”.
I sat with a friend on the beach in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, marveling at the most spectacular sunset I had ever seen…gold, purple, orange, pink, and blue. I made the decision right then and there to live in this unbelievably beautiful country. And I wasn’t going to wait for retirement.
Monica Sedgwick and her husband, James, wandered into the laidback Nicaraguan beach town of San Juan del Sur about nine years ago. They were immediately hooked on its gorgeous beaches…colorful, yet less stressed lifestyle…fun people…and the fact that it was cheap to live there.