Food in France
In France, food is sacred. When preparing a dish, the freshest, best quality ingredients one can afford are chosen. Before anyone eats a bite, the table is laid with care, even if it’s just a simple lunch...
Best Places
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.
The Best Places to Retire in 2020
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.
Best Places Archives
5 of the Best Tropical Islands for Retirees
In this article, we outline the best five tropical island paradises for retirees. These places meet all the criteria needed to make them perfect retirement havens. As well as looking the part, all five of these islands—spread throughout the world—are becoming easier to get to as more and more flights open up to and from North America. Many tropical getaways have been consumed by commercialism, leaving them beyond every reasonable budget. But the islands on our list remain affordable, as attested by our expat experts on the ground. On some, it’s possible to live for as little as $1,500 a month including rent.
The Best Time to Visit Bali
Bali, the Island of the Gods, is an Indonesian island sandwiched between Java and Lombok. There really isn’t a “wrong” time to visit the island; it just depends on what you’re after.
3 Beaches Overseas Poised to Boom in 2018
“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.”
Why Puerto Escondido Draws Me Back Every Year
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.
Thinking of Mexico? Check Out Progreso
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.
The White-Sand Beach of Paamul, on Mexico’s Riviera Maya
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.
7 Things You Didn’t Know About Panama
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.
I Can Work From Anywhere…So I Chose Low-Cost Mexico
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.
Costa Rica: The World’s Best Retirement Haven 2018
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.