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Know you want to retire abroad but don’t where? Looking for help finding your personal paradise? International Living has over 30 years of on-the-ground experience in the countries that we think are the best places around the world for retiring, investing, and reinventing yourself right now. We've done the research...you've done the dreaming. With IL correspondents around the globe, we'll help you make those dreams a reality.
So, what makes for the perfect retirement location? That is of course entirely subjective. But, what we do know is, climate, affordability, good healthcare, and a healthy lifestyle are the cornerstones of a happy and fulfilling retirement. In fact, all of the countries we cover in our Annual Retirement Index score highly in these categories.
With IL correspondents living in Central America, South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe, we have you covered when it comes to finding your perfect retirement overseas. If you have ever dreamed of an idyllic life in Tuscany, a cosmopolitan lifestyle in Panama, a slice of paradise in Thailand, or a sun kissed beach adventure in Mexico, we have the experts who have been there…and are still doing that.
Having moved overseas and immersed themselves in the destinations where they live and learned their lessons the hard way, our experts are ideally placed to compare, contrast, and bring nuanced insight to the most appealing retirement destinations in the world.
This on the ground experience means we know the do’s and don’ts of moving abroad and can highlight the best way to make sure this transition is easy for you.
You can get all the tips, tricks, advice, and recommendations you need to make an informed decision. Our extensive library of articles below will give you new ideas about places to visit, invest, or live where you can find your perfect retirement.
Cosmopolitan cities, glorious sunshine, delicious cuisine, and low costs—as a retirement or second-home destination, Spain is hard to beat. The southern province of Andalucia, particularly the area around the Costa del Sol, is the epitome of good-value, romantic Spanish living. It has everything: long sandy beaches perfect for strolling on…romantic, white-washed hill towns cling to the Andalusian hillsides...
Just a few months after getting settled into life in Guayaquil, Ecuador, back in 2013, I discovered one of my new favorite pastimes—going on viaje (a short vacation).
By choosing to retire in one of the world’s best bang-for-your-buck destinations, Rob enjoys a lifestyle well beyond his reach if he had stayed in the U.S. Every day he can choose to relax on the beaches around his home in the town of Sihanoukville, on the Cambodian coast, dine on fresh French croissants…rent a sailboat or go fishing on an offshore charter…
If you drop by Dan and Mary Elizabeth Crofts home in Corozal, Belize, you might find Dan indulging in one of his favorite new pastimes…feeding the local iguanas. Mary Elizabeth explains, “We have a family of three that we have named: Greta, Gary, and their son, Genghis. They love bananas and we have a video of Dan feeding them”.
When my husband Dave and I first visited Belize we were blown away by the island lifestyle and culture. We loved seeing swaying palm trees and white-sand beaches everywhere we looked. We loved seeing people actually enjoying their day, walking to get their groceries, the lack of materialism, and the fact that we could be outside 12 months a year.
I’m looking out over the deep blue Pacific. Fisherman with nets wade out into the shallows, flinging them periodically to catch bait fish. There’s not a cloud in the sky, and the water, with the high midday sun, glitters with light.
A few years ago, my wife Diane and I packed our lives into six suitcases, Diane tucked our beloved Chihuahua, Carmine, under her arm and we set off to build a new life in a small coastal village on Ecuador’s northern coast, a country we had never visited.
I was tired of working 40, sometimes 50 hours a week as a designer for an international furniture manufacturer. Working on commission only, I often worked on my days off to facilitate clients, and meeting my required goals had become increasingly difficult. Continually declining markets, escalating real estate taxes, and the rising cost of electricity and heating oil were other factors that made me decide it was time for a change.
In a place where even the picket fences sprout leaves, you just know the soil has to be good. Known as Panama's fertile valley, the tiny town of El Valle is a world of green.
Earl and Gail Johnson have lived in the Corozal District, a retirement haven in northern Belize, for eight years. Corozal is a small town, set on the vast Corozal Bay and just nine miles from the Mexican border. It has a close-knit expat community, with plenty of clubs and social activities.