Best Country to Retire

Panama is so uncertain in their new immigration reform proposals, especially armed immigration police force proposal, that we want to widen our search for a place to retire in our 50's.

You're not alone in your concerns regarding Panama as a retirement destination…

After enjoying the #1 spot on International Living's Retirement Index for the past 6 years, it fell to #4 for 2007, with Mexico again taking #1. You can find some excellent reference material, including info on countries with special retiree benefits on the IL website: www.internationalliving.com but be prepared to weed out some hype…

If you want to see where the majority of US retiree's are heading, go to the US Social Security office website at: www.socialsecurity.gov and search for the 2006 version of their "Annual Statistical Supplement". Page 335 of the .pdf report ranks by country the number of beneficiaries living in foreign countries.

Click profile picture to read through some relevant Y! Answers I've previously posted for more info on obtaining mortgages, title insurance, tax considerations, etc… and other International buyer resources may be found at cabinquest.com under Buyer Services > International Buyers.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

I respect my elders, and do not mean to offend. I do not see any hope for this country though.

I am a boomer, and while it is asked awkwardly, you have a good point. As we get older, our kids get out of the house, and we stop spending like teenagers, the economy (which has been boomer driven for 40 years) will slow down and contract. That is happening now, on top of the fannie/freddie, sub-prime, tanking investments fiascoes we see.
And then add to all that, the social security tab for the younger to pay for the older's social security will be out-of-the-ball-park-outrageous, but I've been telling everyone THAT for 20 years and was reminded constantly that conservatives just want gramma to eat dog food, and that I'm a fascist to boot!
Demographics are the future. It explains why our politicians ignore us when we tell them to stop the immigration mess. They know we can't survive without the extra "contributions" to our tax base. As self-indulgent as we boomers have proven ourselves to be, I don't envy your position. On the other hand, I have always known the lies behind social security, and have always known I would never be able to afford to retire.

speaks english,

Several come to mind. The best match for the criteria "English-speaking, safe, and cheap" are most likely the following:

1. Malta
2. New Zealand (unfortunately exceedingly difficult to get into)
3. some parts of India (I suggest the Bangalore area and Goa)
4. Namibia, for the most part
5. Within the US: rural Arizona and New Mexico (but medical tretament in US is astronomical - reserve option to get treatment in Mexico instead)
6. In Canada: The Maritimes Provinces and Saskatchewan (cold though!)
7. Many parts of Australia are still cheap and safe, but at least as hard to get access to as new Zealand

An alternative might be to choose a country with an expatriate population large enough to make language issues irrelevant. You will find that there are huge communities of Eglish speakers in the following countries, which are cheap to live in when you take into consideraton the socialized medicine and low rents:

-Spain, especially Costa del Sol, Costa Brava, and Mallorca, Gran Canaria
-Italy, especially Tuscany around Pisa/ Siena

And then there is the phenomenon of the countries whose second language is English to the extent that you can get by on it with anyone:

- Sweden (high food prices, but socialized medicine and very low real estate prices evens it out)
- Uruguay (quiet, clean, nice and European, very different from what you might expect)

I hope that helped.