IL Magazine: Discover the Best Retirement Haven + 24 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.
“One man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity,” says real estate expert and International Living contributor, Ronan McMahon. “At least, that is the case in two of three beach towns I’m watching closely for 2018, with an eye to potential profits.”
As a part-time expat, I spend my winters in Mexico. And, while I have a home on the central Pacific coast, there’s another part of this vast, varied country that I’m drawn back to visit year after year, thanks to its affordability, beauty, cleanliness, people, and great vibe. It’s the town of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca.
But what’s it like for women over there? That’s a question we often get from women thinking of a retirement abroad. It’s an important question…and one we take seriously. In fact, most are surprised to learn that the majority of countries we talk about rank highly for gender equality and inclusivity.
The crystal-clear emerald surf rolls gently onto the white sandy beach. Combined with the pungent salty air and gentle sea breeze, it's nearly lulling me to sleep on my towel under one of the empty palapas on the oceanfront. Except for a local dog frolicking along the water, I'm the only one on this stretch of beach, as far as I can see. That's not because I'm here in "low" season. The town of Progreso, Mexico, is on the Gulf of Mexico, and it hardly matters when you go to the beach. With a yearly average high temperature of 83 F and average low of 73 F, there are no bad beach days in this paradise.
In the heart of Mexico’s Riviera Maya is the small community of Paamul. It’s a beach resort, residential area, and RV park that is little-known but quite appealing. It’s a white-sand beach gracefully arcing around a small bay.
I moved to David, Panama five years ago and, over that time, I’ve gotten to know it quite well. I’m learning more every day, but I’ve already discovered so many wonderfully unusual aspects to my adopted homeland.
Each morning when I wake up in my three-bedroom home in Toluca, Mexico, I have to stop and pinch myself. Before I make my coffee, before I walk my dog around the neighborhood, before I go shopping for fresh produce for the day, I have to make sure I’m actually awake.
With the New Year comes a new set of resolutions, plans for the year ahead…and the publication of International Living’s latest Annual Global Retirement Index. And this year the top honor goes to Costa Rica.
We all dream of giving up the rat race, packing our belongings, and moving some where warm and sunny, but why wait until you retire? Moving overseas can be a big decision, even bigger when you have children—but the benefits that make living abroad a good thing for adults are similar to those that make it a good thing for kids. A lower cost of living, healthier lifestyle, varied life and cultural experiences…they all benefit your child’s life in some way. Here are some of the best places to retire for families.
The Cayo District in western Belize, is known for its winding rivers, honeycomb caves, dense rainforest jungle, colorful birds, elusive jaguars, and rich Mennonite farmland. It is also the Mundo Maya, the center of the Maya World.