IL Magazine: Discover the Greatest Retirement Town +6 More SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 35% about subscribing to International Living Magazine For over 30 years, International Living has searched around the world for retirement destinations that are right for you. We have explored all manner of dream locales, assessing how well they can provide for all your retirement needs—including cost of living, retiree benefits, climate, healthcare, and much more. The result is a comprehensive resource of essential information to help you find your dream retirement overseas.
Where can you find the best quality of life in the world…the best places to live…the best climate…the healthiest places to live…the cheapest? Which countries make it into the lists as the perfect destinations for your retirement…and why? We have all the answers.
From bustling beach towns to small fishing communities, stunning stretches of sand to lush rainforests teeming with life, there’s a huge variety of choice on offer for expats. In all of the destinations we speak about, you can enjoy a relaxed lifestyle, with established expat communities, friendly, welcoming natives, good healthcare, and an ideal climate.
Each destination is desirable in its own way, but they all offer something increasingly hard to come by at home: A good quality of life for a reasonable price.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and dive into our selection of articles to learn more about the best places in the world to retire.
In terms of numbers, Mexico is the most popular expat destination for North Americans in the world. And it’s no wonder why. With over 5,800 miles of coastline on the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific, there are no shortage of postcard worthy...
In a country advertised as the place to see sloths, go ziplining, and surfing—cuisine is typically overlooked when considering Costa Rica as a destination. Sure, this magically diverse country is known for its world-class coffee, yet many people cannot even recall a dish for which Costa Rica is famous...
Peru has long been a popular tourist destination thanks to the popularity of the ancient mountaintop citadel of Machu Picchu, and its other fascinating archaeological sites. The growing reputation of its diverse cuisine is also attracting foodies from around the globe to sample a wide variety of ingredients from the sea, jungle, and mountains...
My sister, Laura, and I are speeding down a hill in Baños, Ecuador at 30 mph on our bicycles, when we miss the tunnel bypass and fly into the 650-meter underpass where cars honk, and city buses blow past us...
Imagine living a high-quality lifestyle with indulgences like a housekeeper, a private chef to prepare gourmet meals for $50 per week, and even top-quality healthcare where the cost of living is so affordable you can pay-out-of-pocket. Well, it’s possible.
Cambodia’s second largest city is a lot smaller than the capital city of Phnom Penh, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, one of the attractions of Battambang is that it’s not a sprawling metropolis and so provides travelers with a very different Cambodian experience. Battambang feels more like a chilled-out town with an air of colonial charm and this makes it a much more relaxed place to visit...
For a lot of people, the idea of living in a remote, quiet, off-the-beaten track paradise overseas is a great one...but for people who prefer amenities like fine dining, top-quality healthcare, and good shopping on their doorsteps, city living just can’t be beat...
Almost half of Portugal’s population of 10,300,000 is concentrated between two major metropolitan areas: the capital of Lisbon, and Porto in the north.
For just over a quarter of a century, International Living has ranked, rated, and named the best retirement destinations in the world. Each year we’ve refined and improved the process, bringing new categories and considerations into play.
I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, where seniors flock to retire because they can lounge in the warm weather, drink pina coladas under the shade of palm trees, and not have to pay state income taxes. So why would I leave my seaside home by one of the best beaches in the U.S.? Well, Florida’s not so cheap anymore…and it’s hot. I have worked hard all of my life and had good jobs,