Retire To Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Or Panama
Top Retire Overseas Options Rated And Ranked
Oct. 6, 2009
Panama City, Panama
PLUS:
- "We Were Told We Need To Be De-gringoized...We Look Forward To It!"...
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Open For Business!
From Third World Hub of the Americas to pivotal First-World center of commerce, travel, banking, and tourism...
New President Ricardo Martinelli has big plans for transforming this little country...and he's pushing ahead quick!
Panama is a land of opportunity, and Martinelli's Plan is about realizing as much of it as quick as possible.
We're benefiting every day from the many advantages of living and doing business in this land of peace, prosperity, and growth.
Here's how you can, too!
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Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
"My wife and I want to retire somewhere warm and sunny. Our list of possible overseas retirement havens includes Panama, Costa Rica, and maybe Belize. Do you have a chart or a list of the pluses and minuses for these countries?"
-- Steve D., Canada
Let's create one. In addition to Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize, I'd suggest you also might want to consider Nicaragua and Ecuador.
Here's how I'd rate and rank these warm and sunny
options.
In Belize, they speak English, but you have to hunker down every hurricane season. The country is small, friendly, and welcoming, but the infrastructure, including the health care, is seriously under-developed. Foreign residents typically travel across the border north into Mexico for any serious medical concern. There just isn't enough population to support real-world services and products. On the plus side, this is one of the easiest places in the world to establish foreign residency, and, as a foreign resident, you can organize your affairs to live tax-free.
The weather in the mountains of Costa Rica, around San Jose, is far better than that in Panama City. That's the only advantage to Costa Rica I can think of. The infrastructure has not kept pace with the cost of living, and you get the impression these days that the Ticos just aren't that interested in more gringo neighbors. They've pulled up their welcome mat. That said, friend and Costa Rica Correspondent David Stubbs had good reasons for choosing Costa Rica over Panama when he was looking to relocate his family to this part of the world four years ago. He shares them here.
Ecuador is the cheapest retirement option in the Americas. The living in this country is also more Third World than in the other countries on this list, including Nicaragua. The infrastructure is limited for the size of the country, and real-world services are limited given the size of the population. This is the most densely populated country in South America, and much of that population is indigenous, meaning that retiring in Ecuador is very much a Go Local experience.
Nicaragua has recently enacted new foreign retiree legislation, making it a more competitive option from the point of view of establishing foreign residency. (Details
here.) Daniel Ortega's re-election to the presidency in 2006 scared away most investors and retirees from this country, meaning the property market is depressed (and local sellers are hungrier than they've been in a decade to make a deal). We're dispatching Editor Rebecca Tyre to take a firsthand look at the current possibilities later this week.
The big downside to Panama is the weather, at least in Panama City, where it's hot and humid year-round. Panama offers 14 foreign residency visa options and boasts the Gold Standard program of special benefits for retirees. Also boasts the best medical facilities and infrastructure in the region. Plus, this country is a tax, banking, and business haven. Cost of living is greater than that in Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. The How To Retire Overseas book I've just written for Penguin makes these kinds of comparisons for the world's top 18 overseas retirement havens right now. The book is due out in bookstores March 2010 but available pre-release here.
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"We're back home in the North Country, Kathleen, after our two weeks in Panama. We were welcomed back with a cold rain. Maximum temperature today will be 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Big change from Panama City.
"Mucho thanks for all your help during our visit. Your Panama Circle support team was outstanding. Thanks to you, Kathleen, Lief, the staff, and especially Marion, who helped with hotel suggestions, transportation, restaurant reservations, and many other things. We now affectionately call Marion "The Taxi Tiger" for her efforts to keep those Panama City taxi drivers in line!
"Rainelda Mata-Kelly and the staff in her law office helped us to file for our pensionado visas, so that's all taken care of. We spent four hours per day for a week in Spanish classes while the visa applications were being processed.
"Then it was on to El Valle for four days for a look around. The bus ride from Albrook to and from El Valle was quite an experience, but it all worked out well. And the hotel Marion recommended (the Anton Valley Hotel) was excellent. They're right in the middle of El Valle, with about 10 rooms. The one meal they serve each day, an al a carte desayuno, was fabulous. Breakfast by Earl and Rosa. But the highlight of the visit was the ox parade (also called the farmer's celebration) on Saturday.
"Then back to Panama City for a few more days. We tried a great Italian restaurant owned by an Italian (with photos of new President Martinelli and himself on the wall). Heard some good ad-lib jazz music at Bar La Platea in Casco Viejo (music starts at 10:30 p.m.; www.scenaplatea.com). Had a look around Multiplaza and Albrook Mall, visited the artisans' market next to the original city where the old tower still stands, and took a ride over the newly opened southside causeway.
"Then back to Gringoland.
"We hope to have a chance to meet again next time with an acquaintance we made on this trip. She suggested we need to be de-gringoized if we intend a long-term stay. We're looking forward to it!
"Also thanks to Miguel at Inside Panama Transport for the fine airport transportation service."
See ya'll next time!
-- Elmore S., Panama Circle Member, United States
"P.S. Read your note the other day, Kathleen, about the Itsmo Brew Pub. We visited ourselves a number of times for beer and cigars out on the patio. One night I counted passing cars out front. In an hour period, one-half of the vehicles passing were taxis. Good place to keep in mind if you need to find a cab!"
Editor's Note: You have four days remaining to become a Panama Circle Member for US$250. For the first time ever, we're extending this limited-time opportunity to become a New Member in full standing and pay for your membership in installments over 18 months. Full details here. |
