IL Magazine: Discover the Best Retirement Haven + 24 More SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 35% about subscribing to International Living Magazine Healthcare is one of the most important factors potential expats consider before moving abroad and often one of the hardest to plan for in the U.S.
Anyone looking to retire overseas is concerned with the quality of the healthcare that will be on offer in their new overseas country. How can I gauge the calibre of the healthcare I could receive? Is it possible to get medical treatment as good as what’s available in the U.S. and Canada? The answer…a resounding yes. Sometimes it’s even better than what’s on offer at home, and at a more affordable price too.
Measuring the quality of healthcare is difficult, and it’s hard to put a number on it. We can, however, put a number on the price of medical procedures, the range of medical facilities and their world rankings.
In fact, many of the countries we speak about are leaders in the medical field, scoring high in the World Health Organisations ranking of healthcare systems. France, Colombia, Portugal, Spain, Costa Rica are just some of our favorite overseas retirement havens that score higher than both Canada and the U.S.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The United Nations has also ranked Costa Rica’s public health system within the top 20 worldwide and the number one in Latin America.
From dental work, to joint reconstruction, to regular doctor’s visits, healthcare abroad doesn’t have to be a pain. With low barriers to entry, ease of use and flexibility, it’s no small wonder more people are turning their backs on the high healthcare costs in the U.S. for more accessible healthcare abroad.
Discover where to find the best quality, most affordable healthcare in the world from our expert expats, who share their overseas healthcare experiences. Our extensive library of articles below will give you new ideas about places where healthcare is both affordable and high quality.
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I’ve been living in Panama full-time since 2005, and one of the best things about life here is the medical care. I’m not the only one who thinks so, either. Over the years I’ve met dozens upon dozens of...
Time and again, we hear back from readers looking for a healthier lifestyle overseas. So in this year’s Annual Global Retirement Index, we’ve added a Healthy Lifestyle category. Finding a healthier retirement abroad is a key consideration for many expats. And while many countries on our beat scored strongly in this regard, Costa Rica earned top marks.
There’s so much to love about island life in Penang, Malaysia, that it’s hard to know where to start. The cost of living has gone down due to the strength of the U.S. dollar and the falling Malaysian dollar, which is great for expats living here. For example, a 2,000-square-foot apartment with sea views that cost $900 a month to rent two years ago is now just $700.
I’m enjoying a cappuccino at a sidewalk cafe. The tree providing shade is a century old, the church across the way much older. The neighborhood is historic, with restored buildings lining narrow streets for a dozen blocks in any direction. I’m in Merida, Mexico, the third-largest Spanish colonial district in the world, after Havana and Mexico City, surrounded by centuries-old colonial homes, churches, and grand buildings.
An argument with a girlfriend was how I ended up in Spain. Having set sail on a cruise ship from Genoa, Italy, and following a tour of the Canary Islands, we were on our way home, and docked in Spain's southern port city of Malaga. In a moment of stubbornness, and after being told there was no other berth for me to move in to, I packed up all my worldly belongings and walked off the boat. My Spanish life had begun...and it was probably the best decision of my life.
When I decided to get away from the cold winters of Colorado, Panama attracted me with its warmer climate, low cost of living, and first-rate infrastructure. That alone was worth moving for…but as a retiree here, it gets even better. One of the national laws of Panama can make the already low cost of living even lower. Law #6 entitles any resident of the country who is a female over 55 or male over 60 to receive a discount on specific services.
Along with being a low-cost and tropical retirement haven, Thailand has long been an international destination for medical tourism. Why? Because healthcare is low cost and excellent quality. I should know. I’m a retired Canadian schoolteacher living in the northern city of Chiang Mai, with personal experience of two hospitals here—one public and one private. In both I felt welcomed and unrushed. And in general I’ve found the health professionals in this city maintain a high quality of empathy and caring for all their patients.
"In the U.S., you're always going, going, going...it's so easy to lose sight of where you're headed. Life got too fast-moving for us", explains Ray Granade. "We always needed to be somewhere, quickly, then somewhere else. It seemed like we were spending an extraordinary amount of time sitting in traffic. Now the longest we wait in the car is usually for a herd of cattle to cross the road," he adds, saying he and his wife Kim, both 63, also wanted to escape the consumerism in the U.S.
Not long ago I found myself suffering a major sinus infection. My head was pounding and I had a cough that kept me (and my husband) awake all night...I was exhausted. Nothing I was taking over-the-counter was helping. I needed to see a doctor. Unfortunately, I was visiting the States. At the doctor’s office in Omaha, I got right in. I did the interview with the nurse about my prior health history and what my symptoms were.
When I think about my old life in Branson, Missouri, so many things go through my mind… but mostly, I don’t miss it at all. Life in the U.S. is so fast paced…no one has time for one another anymore, most people don’t even know their neighbors. Now that my wife Laurie and I live in Ecuador, everything in our lives is much slower…and a lot less stressful. Our typical day starts with coffee in the backyard by the pool, followed by pottering about in the garden and then an hour or so of relaxing. Later in the day, we may take a stroll along the nearby crescent-shaped beach that never gets overcrowded, or we’ll make time to visit the local mercado and stock up on fruit and veggies. Several times a month, we’ll get together with other expats for dinner and to catch up.