Retirement Overseas
Where is your retirement overseas
World’s most important retirement Ports
By Laura Sheridan
If your retirement is fast approaching or just something you often find yourself dreaming, you've probably imagined that spending on some remote tropical paradises. But moving to a country they know little about a lot of trouble, right? Probably not worth it time and effort, what you think. In addition, all family and friends are here.
Taking us worthwhile. If you look beyond their own coast you will find that many countries around the world offer much greater benefits and advantages for retirees than those offered at home.
One of the most simple to improve your retirement lifestyle is to choose the retirement destination offering you more than you want the best price. It is a matter of priorities. What is important to you? Cost of living is the number one on their list of priorities?
Maybe for you weather is the primary consideration.
Are essential elements of telecommunications and infrastructure? The proximity to the United States and Canada can also be a factor.
Perhaps you are not not even close to retirement. However, it is important to think and plan for their future. As each phase of his life, will be surprised how fast retirement creeps up on you.
That's why, once a year in our Global Retirement Index, which look closely, in particular, in the best opportunities worldwide retirement living. Where pensioner dollars go further? What country is the safest? Where is the health care better? We give top priority to the things that matter most to anyone planning for retirement, including programs of special benefits for retirees (reductions tax, discounts and freebies, for example, that the various governments utter residents, sometimes specifically to foreign residents in an effort to attract investment and retirement dollars).
We can show you the opportunities and possibilities, the winners of our countries higher pension, but it's up to you to decide what their main priorities are before you find your ideal retreat. The aim of our index is to give you a good starting guide.
Mexico, our new winner
Moving up four places to take our position as a retreat in the world this year is Mexico. Mexico offers the perfect blend of old traditions and contemporary lifestyles. Moving to Mexico means that You can have all the amenities you grew accustomed to north of the border: cable TV, high speed internet and modern appliances. And if Alternatively, when you move to Mexico you can even bring all your favorite things with you without paying import taxes.
Products and services cost less, so you can afford the kind of luxuries only the very wealthy enjoy in the north: a maid, a cook and a gardener, for example. In his retirement here, you have time to volunteer at the local school, time for golf in the morning, time to relax on the beach … time to savor life.
Whether that his vision of the ideal retirement involves shopping, fishing, sunbathing, diving, cycling, climbing, parasailing, collecting crafts, visiting sites archaeological, parties, going to concerts, attending the theater, and restaurants in Mexico, you can participate in these activities, and many more.
How qualifies for our Global Retirement Index
* Real estate. Countries where property prices are low and the purchase of goods estate is relatively easy to get the highest score. We use our own experiences and the reports from our editors and contributors contacts real property throughout the world to rate each country. Weight: 15%
* Leisure, recreation and culture. In this category consider the number of newspapers per 1,000 citizens, the number of museums and cinemas per capita, the number of university students, the literacy rate, and variety of cultural and recreational activities. Weight: 10%
* Cost of living. This score is based on the statistics of the levels of cost living abroad, district subsidies and hardship differentials, published by the Department of State, United States, and the data published by International Business. We also use our firsthand experiences living and traveling in these countries. The lower the score, the greater the cost of living. Weight: 20%
* Security and stability. The measure of instability in each country is based primarily on Interpol data and statistics State Department. It also takes into account the civil liberties and political rights granted by each government. Our own experience and reports of expatriate living in these countries also influence the safety scores. Weight: 5%
* Health Care. Seen in this category are the cost of a typical visit to a general practitioner and the cost and details of health insurance coverage. Weight: 20%
* Weather. Countries with warm weather throughout the year, moderate rain fall, and little risk of natural disasters are leading in this category. We use data representing each country as a whole instead of favoring one region over another. Weight: 5%
* Special benefits. In this category is considered that government provisions that make moving and living in each country easier and more affordable for foreigners. Considered are rights property for foreign residents, the rates of property taxes, tariffs on imports of personal property, foreign exchange controls, restrictions on employment, voting rights, and transportation discounts for seniors. Weight: 20%
* Infrastructure. This section considers the number of cars and telephones per 1,000 residents, length of railroad track in usable condition, the number of airports, the quality of the nation's roads and the network roads, and availability of telecommunications. Weight: 5%
If health care is a concern, you should know that most of Mexico, Health care is first. Clinics and hospitals are staffed by expert physicians (many of them trained in the U.S., Europe or the world itself Mexico, the renowned teaching hospitals) and health care and prescription drugs will cost only a fraction of what you would pay in the States USA. In our index, Mexico scores 79 out of 100 possible points in this category.
Mexico is a nation so diverse that everyone can find exactly what they want. You do not have to choose between water or mountains, here you can have both. And because of geographic diversity, you can also choose the climate to enjoy during Mexico's retirement: from hot and dry in the north, hot and humid in the south, spring temperatures throughout the year in the colonial highlands.
Also can own their dream home in Mexico, much less than it would cost you anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. The real estate market offers endless possibilities for retirement. Mexico receives a high score of 84 in our Real Estate category. Despite what you may have heard, it's not too late to buy real estate here.
You can own beachfront-not just ocean view property in Mexico for less than $ 100,000.
Once you decide to move to Mexico is difficult to know where to go-is a big country. Below are the 10 places we think it makes more sense for expatriates living in this country, based on criteria such as health care, climate, infrastructure, housing costs. These are places our husband and wife in Mexico, Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins, personally I have explored and personally recommend above other options in this country so great. They are: Rosarito Beach, Puerto Vallarta, Quer? Ro, Mazatlan, M? Da, La Paz, Campeche, Playa del Carmen / Riviera Maya, Ajijic / Chapala, and Sayulita / San Pancho (San Francisco). Of course, we are not forgetting San Miguel de Allende, one of Dan's favorite places in Mexico and Suzan. Suzan recently reported of this town: "San Miguel is one of the villages beautiful in all Mexico. Entering the Centro San Miguel is like stepping back in time … but with all the modern comforts of today. "
Second …
Ecuador
Ecuador always does well in our Retirement Index, but this year moves from 10th position last year to second this year. If you retire in Ecuador, every cliché you've heard about living large with little money, about settling in her lap Luxury in the budget, including a pensioner, it is true. Ecuador receives 85 points in our Cost of Living category, making it one of the cheapest places in the world to live. Take $ 250 of the ATM Monday morning and your expenses are covered by the week. In fact, we ranked Ecuador as a place of retreat the best in the world in 1999, after having passed the previous economic problems, political and natural in the last two years, and came to thrive.
Of course, low prices alone do not make it ideal for retirement or investment destination. There are plenty of places worldwide where you can buy cheap land, but in which no would like to live, not in Ecuador.
It is difficult to identify the best reason for retiring to Ecuador, but one thing is certain: it is affordable retirement destination and beautiful. Ecuador also offers a high quality of life. This is not an isolated backwater. It is a land of opportunity where a middle class is forming. After waking from a long economic slumber, Ecuador is preparing to join the global economy.
Retirees age 65 or older have an extra incentive to consider Ecuador: airfares to North America and Europe are half price on several airlines, all cost transport within the country are 50% lower, and deep discounts are applied to a variety of other expenses such as taxes, utilities and entertainment.
And remember: Ecuador is a place where the U.S. dollar is not losing value, which makes it a particularly attractive Ecuadorian Retirement. After the default of the late 1990 "Debt, Ecuador decided to adopt the U.S. dollar as official currency, eliminating exchange rate risk. Inflation is less than 3%, and most economic indicators are positive.
Top of Europe
Italy ranks third in the Index this year with high scores on the Board. It is difficult to ascertain the fate of Italy you picture yourself living there, probably more beauty per square mile than any other corner of Europe. It is a matter simple for finding the ideal location, even if you know for sure who prefer big city life to the peaceful countryside. At present, International Living recommends two Places: Umbria in central Italy, Calabria, located at the tip of Italy.
"The green heart of Italy", Umbria is as attractive as its most famous next-door neighbor, Tuscany. With the search for expatriate farms and other rural properties, prices are catching up fast. Although Umbria, it has no coastline, where you'll look rumpled hills crowned with fortified towns and villages higgledly-piggledly. From certain points of view, you can see several hill towns at a time.
Many parts of the province are within an hour's drive from Florence or Siena. Cities such as Assisi, Todi, Spoleto, Orvieto, and Norcia are so beautiful and as historic as any small town in Tuscany.
To give you an idea of the prices of properties in the region, in Monteleone d'Orvieto, there is a 968-square-foot apartment in need of restoration. Retail $ 85,000, has two bedrooms and a bathroom, plus a vegetable garden ready. There is another apartment in the same city that is habitable: 807 square meters, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Price: $ 100,000.
The Calabrian coast is washed by the Tyrrhenian Sea the west and the Ionian Sea in the east. What about property prices here? In the coastal town of Scalea Calabria, an attractive second-floor apartment of 430 meters square is sold for $ 50,000.
Why Panama fell from glory?
Panama won our retirement Index six years in a row. But that has fallen from first place in 2007 and is now in fourth place. Why? Panama still has the same great benefits of retirees … This has not changed since last year (see box on retiree benefits on page xx). However, unless you have a verifiable pension or pockets deep enough to afford a $ 40,000 investment in a forestry project or an investment of $ 200,000 in real estate or a government bank CD, it can be difficult to obtain a resident visa in Panama. Since the government of Panama recently put a limit of 30 days of his tourist visa, it has become harder for anyone looking to rent a house or apartment and stay in the country for any period of time.
And it is true that the popularity of this country has pushed up real estate prices. Once plentiful real estate deals-from $ 100,000 apartments in Panama City to $ 40,000 lots in Boquete, are increasingly difficult to find.
Panama still has much to offer, however. Whether you're tempted by the friendly people, or tropical climate, Panama is a great retirement destination (remember, it's still in our Top 5).
We have no space here to discuss printing Each country in our index, but can access the information in all countries listed here in our title = "International Living" target = "_blank"> website. In the search engine, type the name of the country of interest for more information.
SHOULD KNOW
Countries with the special retirement benefits
Mexico
If you've considered retiring to Mexico, you now have another good reason-foreigners who hold a valid residence visa for Mexico can now participate in the program for the elderly in Mexico "the benefits.
The program for adults over 60 years, offers discounts on a wide range of services. These include discounts on health services (hospitals, medical consultations, laboratory tests, medical devices, pharmacies, and dental work), and cultural activities like theater tickets and tickets to museums and archaeological sites, costs associated with travel, including air tickets, buses, Car rental and purchase, and lodging. Discounts can vary up to 50% of the total price of the good or service. Non-Mexicans who wish to participate in the program must address a INAPAM local office (National Institute of Older Persons) to request a membership card. See for more http://www.inapam.gob.mx/DirecINAPAM07.pdf information (in Spanish).
Malaysia
Three years ago, the Government of Malaysia introduced "Malaysia-My second home" (MM2H), replacing the former "Silver Hair", the program introduced in 1987. MM2H provides incentives for foreigners, particularly retirees, to live permanently in this country. Successful candidates will initially receive what is, in effect, a period of five years with unlimited entry visa privileges to leave. There is no minimum annual residence requirement. After the first five years can apply for permanent residence. Although not guaranteed to be granted, you can expect automatic renewal of your original visa if they continue to meet its conditions. Within six months of approval, MM2H residents may bring household tax-free, and import or purchase of a vehicle locally, tax free. Savings on auto taxes can amount to thousands of dollars on expensive models. Other benefits include exemption from income tax in Malaysia on pensions and other income remitted into the country rather than in the interest of any fixed deposit made in under the MM2H program (a savings of approximately 29%).
In addition, residents can purchase up to two properties with a value of not less than $ 40,000 each. Banks may advance up to 60%. For more information on cost of living and many other useful topics, including domestic help, see target = "_blank"> www.mm2h.com. Registration at that website will also bring you updates on MM2H.
Panama
If you can document a minimum monthly pension of $ 500 (plus another tax exemption of $ 100 per dependent), is eligible for a long list of benefits in Panama such as exemption from import duties on household goods, to import a new car every two years, 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country (movies, theaters, concerts, sporting events), 30% discount on the country bus, boat and train fares, 25% off tickets plane of the countries, 50% off hotel stays Monday through Thursday, 15% discount on hospital bills (if no insurance applies), 10% discount on prescription drugs, 20% discount on medical consultations, 50% reduction in closing costs for mortgage loans, 25% discount on utility bills … and many more.
Ireland
If Ireland is your choice as a retreat, you can take advantage of the many retirement incentives this country has to offer, including free medical care, free public transport, subsidized fuel and significant discounts on hotel and electricity bills. You're even allowed to vote in local elections.
Belize
Expatriates can apply for the status of qualified retired (QRP), and to this state can avoid income tax in Belize, and also the import of their household goods tax-free up to a total exemption amount of $ 15,000. It can also lead to a vehicle (a, car aircraft, or boat) free of tax. In fact, every five years, you can import a new vehicle, tax free.
About the Author
Laura Sheridan is the managing editor of International Living. She has traveled extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Europe. She has a BA honors degree in journalism and has worked for International Living for the past four years.