Best Country to Retire To

I wouldn’t retire to any of the countries in OP’s link. I’d retire to the Lake Louise/ Banff area in Alberta, Ca, or Az, Ut, Co, Wy, Sd, Nd, Mt, or Id in the Us
 
I’ve been to enough countries to know the good ol’ USA is the best place to live. We love Pennsylvania as home, visits to the Jersey Shore and winters in Florida,
 
Onda said:
I prefer the idea of a temporary expat. That is, airbnb 3–6 months in several locations and spend the rest in the USA.
I would not choose either location based on cost but on quality of life. Spain and Portugal would be very high on my list.
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Yep - agree - just haven't done it yet! But we will.
 
Gumby said:
Everyone knows it's Connecticut. Anywhere else in New England is a close second.
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That's why we retired to coastal CT and love it! I'm surrounded by so much awesome fishing my head is spinning! Good restaurants, great pizza and excellent healthcare. I'm trying to plan our travels during off months for fishing...wife is not exactly in agreement..lol
 
I can’t imagine why anyone would move to a foreign country to retire and live unless they speak the language, have a cultural affinity, and can deal with the local bureaucracy and judicial system. Even more so if one has family here in the US.

We have family or close friends living in each if the top 5 countries on the list in the OP link. DW’s sister lives in Portugal and her brother in Spain. If I had to, I could live in any of the top 5 but would choose only Portugal. I think Panama and Spain don’t deserve the ranking in that list, as they are very hot, central air conditioning is not common and electricity is very expensive.
 
aja8888 said:
Texas is a good choice, but it's almost full, and one would have to learn the language and wear cowboy boots. :)
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I agree Texas is as foreign as one can get, especially lately, unfortunately I do not speak the language, even after working there for a few years, so it is out for us, and I do not have enough protection.
 
MichaelB said:
I can’t imagine why anyone would move to a foreign country to retire and live unless they speak the language, have a cultural affinity, and can deal with the local bureaucracy and judicial system. Even more so if one has family here in the US.
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I certainly agree with this. The big question in my mind on articles like this is WHY would a person want to pick up and move to another country in retirement? Sure, there are good points about many places, but what is the big, overriding reason for going there on a permanent basis? And does it really outweigh all the minor accommodations in living style you would have to make?
 
There is no best. There might be a 'best for you'

We have spent a fair bit of time in Costa Rica and in Mexico. Both were at the top of our list of places we looked at to buy a snowbird home. In the end we did not buy one anywhere.

If we were looking to emigrate, which we are not, Australia would be at the top of our list.

The majority of US expats that we met in Costa Rica all gave us their top 2 reasons for Costa Rica. COL and/or healthcare costs. At one point we stayed in a B&B in the San Jose suburbs. We were surprised to learn that many guests of that B&B came down for medical tourism-hospital procedures, etc.

Our friends lived and operated a business in Boquete, Panama for 25 years. Their comments about expats were the same as above...about half of those who moved down to retire returned home within 2-3 years.

On one CR trip we rented a condo for a month. Our approach, if we were considering re-locating would be a one or two month rental in various areas over two winters or so. Along with a thorough understanding of the tax implications.
 
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I retired to Thailand in 2017. I’m still here typing this from Bangkok. Moving overseas is not for everyone. There are plenty of pros & cons. Just like retirement is not like vacation, moving overseas is not like vacation travel.
 
Another vote for USA.
After the all the hassle of medicals, examinations etc. before being allowed into USA in 1965, then having traveled around the world for a several years, this is it. Traveled all the contiguos states and lived for several years in NY, NJ, MD, AK. None that I would move back to. Currently in Southwest PA outside of a small picturesque, bit of a tourist town is good.
Is it the best? Don't know. 'been here over 15 years and at 76 not too inlined to move.
 
braumeister said:
I certainly agree with this. The big question in my mind on articles like this is WHY would a person want to pick up and move to another country in retirement? Sure, there are good points about many places, but what is the big, overriding reason for going there on a permanent basis? And does it really outweigh all the minor accommodations in living style you would have to make?
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Sixty years in the US was enough for me. It was time for something different. I visit the US for a couple of weeks each year to see friends & family. I fell in love with the culture, the weather, the food, and the people. It is affordable living, superior health care in many ways, modern in the city, great infrastructure, and safe. I’m fine with living in a country with a different language and, after 7 years, I speak well enough and there are other expats here, from all over the world, that speak English. I moved to Thailand in 2017 and plan to stay here.
 
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I enjoy traveling to another country but I can’t imagine moving somewhere where I don’t know the language, etc. I have moved 30 times and it’s a lot of work to develop close friendships and to find your tribe.

The last time I did that was 27 years ago when I moved across the country for my career and didn’t know anyone. My oldest son and his wife also live here and I love it. Also countries that are fine when you move can end up unstable. It’s definitely not for me.
 
MichaelB said:
I can’t imagine why anyone would move to a foreign country to retire and live unless they speak the language, have a cultural affinity, and can deal with the local bureaucracy and judicial system. Even more so if one has family here in the US.
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+1 We thought about a foreign country many years ago after a trip to New Zealand. A few years later we concluded that we have been living a retirement life where we already were. I moved here 57 years ago and my wife 15 years longer. Nothing like a laid back lifestyle in the sun at a low population density beach. The more we watch the cold and snow reports every winter the happier we are with our choice so our choice has been the US but with qualifications on the location.
 
If we were to choose another country it would be Mexico. We love the people, culture, food and excellent affordable healthcare. For us there is only one reason to leave the USA, it is the ever-increasing violent crime.
 
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flyingaway said:
We were in Playa del Carmen two weeks ago and felt very safe. However, good restaurants are expensive, cheap restaurants selling local foods are not very good and certainly are not for long time living.
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You eventually find the gems in the food world there. Local favorites are kept "secret" to keep it affordable. Once they get known, the prices rise. It has definitely been affected by world inflation, but there are plenty of places if you venture away from 5th Ave. Also, there is locals' pricing (or discounts) that are widely unknown.

We spent our last few nights in Playa just to hit up our favorite restaurants and try a couple of new ones. A great falafel place was <$10 for 2 for lunch...

We don't care for the crowd of Playa anymore, but still go for the food.
 
FiveDriver said:
What is the Tax Structure in some of these countries, like Costa Rica, Bahamas, or any of the smaller Carib Islands ?

Would I have to give up my American citizenship ? Dual Citizen ? Pay taxes to both countries ?

The Political Climate in these places would be an important factor to consider also.
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braumeister said:
I certainly agree with this. The big question in my mind on articles like this is WHY would a person want to pick up and move to another country in retirement? Sure, there are good points about many places, but what is the big, overriding reason for going there on a permanent basis? And does it really outweigh all the minor accommodations in living style you would have to make?
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There's "why are the articles written" and then "why would a person actually move" :)

I think there's the impression that you can "live like a king" and maybe even escape paying so much in taxes if you move. So there's a big market for articles that dance around the fact that neither of those are easily attained.

The fact that so many people give up on their retirement abroad plan indicates they realize what Jon Kabat Zinn is famous for saying "Wherever You Go, There You Are." You are distracted by the alternative lifestyle of a new place, but when that wears off, you find you are still the you that you might have been trying to leave behind. But now you have to wait 3 weeks for the cable repair man.
 
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sengsational said:
I think there's the impression that you can "live like a king" and maybe even escape paying so much in taxes if you move. So there's a big market for articles that dance around the fact that neither of those are easily attained.
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Good point. I don't believe there is a country in the world where, as a US Citizen, you can move to and not pay US taxes, as the USA taxes its citizens no matter where they live, so living abroad doesn't mean you stop filing a tax return with the IRS and possibly the State where you used to live.
 
Onda said:
That is funny because morder rate in Mexico is 5+ times higher than in USA.
EU countries have very low murder rate but so do places like most of New England.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
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We never experienced crime in Mexico, personally. Much is centered on the northern states and Mexico City. Crime is a very local thing as here in the states, imo. I would not visit most downtown cities @ night in the states but used to walk our dog @ night in Mexico with little fear.
 
Alan said:
Good point. I don't believe there is a country in the world where, as a US Citizen, you can move to and not pay US taxes, as the USA taxes its citizens no matter where they live, so living abroad doesn't mean you stop filing a tax return with the IRS and possibly the State where you used to live.
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I have been living in Thailand since 2017. Yes you have to pay US federal taxes. No you don’t have to pay state taxes if you are not living there and have no assets or income in the state. That would also be true if you moved to another state in the US. I paid California taxes the first two years to make sure I was going to stay in Thailand indefinitely. I no longer pay taxes in CA.

You have to research your tax liability whether you move to another state in the US or overseas. It varies by country as it also varies by state.
 
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I am going to stay near my family and friends. Cheap and exotic locations are great to visit, but I would rather watch the grands grow up.


Actually, I would like to do both. Travel and visit other locations, and watch the grands grow up.

I thought y about buying a retirement place in some exotic location such as Hawaii, but then I remember how hard it was to visit my parents for even a few days, when they lived a plane flight away. And that flight was only 3 hours. I don’t want to lay that on my kids.
 
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