International Living's Top 30 Countries To Retire In 2009

[Birdman]

Kiribati

[hawthorne]

There are some very nice places listed there LP. Food for thought for retirees.

Some rather violent ones too. South Africa?

I have so many S. Africans in my compound and none of them want to return. I hear horror stories every day about the crime in all areas. South America on the other hand is becoming more popular among north americans. Cheaper to travel between the home for grandchildren. I can do without the Catholic Church though.

[a2396]

Mexico No.2? They've got to be joking. OK if you don't mind the drug war shootings & kidnappings. Even the Mexicans are sick of it.

[a2396]

Maybe they need to read the recent news from Mexico.

Baja_California_developments_boom_to_bust.rtf

[neverdie]

“No place scores a perfect 100,” stresses Sheridan. “Even Ecuador, our number one retirement destination, earns a score of only 79. The best, but not perfect. If you’re trying to pick a place to retire, keep that in mind. There will be good points and bad, no matter where you go. Realizing that ahead of time will help eliminate disappointments later.”

Was that the disclaimer?

[witold]

It's just a silly article written by some English major who has never been to any of these places. I wouldn't stress too much about what some random publication I've never heard of has to say.

A lot of times, what happens is that costs are really a matter of requirements and taste. If you want to live by US and EU standards, you will find such a place in almost every 3rd world country where the rich people live. Usually, it ain't going to be cheap and the 'average' statistics for those countries don't apply to these rich areas... It will be cheaper, but often times not cheap at all and some of these enclaves can be much more expensive to live in than in the US/EU. (Especially in Africa, where security and education can be costly.)

As such, Bangkok is still pretty decent value in this respect. The city is now fairly international and offers the sorts of things that premiere cities around the world offer. You may not have as many choices, but you can find the same things or decent substitutes. Life in BKK is still cheaper, at least for those with no families... It's not dirt cheap by any means but BKK is pretty good value. Pattaya/Phuket/etc seem the same way.

As for other non-beach parts of Thailand they are nothing special. They are perfectly fine places to live, but similar sorts of environments are a dime a dozen in other developing countries - cheap everything and local women will love you and your wallet there as well.

[Soutpeel]

I have so many S. Africans in my compound and none of them want to return. I hear horror stories every day about the crime in all areas.

I am going to take a wild guess here and say they all have come from around the Jo'berg area or Northern areas of the country.

Cape Town on the other hand seems to going through a renassiance and a lot of people are buying holiday property and tourism is on the increase, they seem to be getting to grips with things there.

[witold]

Mexico No.2? They've got to be joking. OK if you don't mind the drug war shootings & kidnappings. Even the Mexicans are sick of it.

If one stays out of Mexico City and shady border towns like Tijuana, then what you say is simply not true. Mexico is indeed very safe and very friendly.

[PeaceBlondie]

Mexico No.2? They've got to be joking. OK if you don't mind the drug war shootings & kidnappings. Even the Mexicans are sick of it.

If one stays out of Mexico City and shady border towns like Tijuana, then what you say is simply not true. Mexico is indeed very safe and very friendly.

This was true in 2001; maybe still true.