Best Country to Retire

Close to US incase Med emergency,Need to know Real Estate market,Buy and rent.Is citizenship needed,dual citizenship?How does that work?Pros and cons of living out of country.Any info would be GREAT

Close to the US you have only two real choices, Canada and Mexico. Unless you are willing to live on an island.

Here you are in the Europe part of the site, so most people here live in, or like, Europe.
I think you will find that health care in most European countries is at least as good as what you would get in the US for the same money.

In England you would not need to learn a new language, in Spain you would find whole towns geared to elderly people from England and other northern European countries who live there because of the warm winters, (a bit like Florida) with health care given in English.

If you want to live in a country where your money will go a long way you will find that you need to learn a language that is not related to English, like the Slavic languages, if you want the language to be easy to learn, or English, your money will be worth less than in the US.

If you move in as pensioner, and are over 65, most people do not bother to get local citizenship, as the biggest need for it, work permits, is not needed.
If you bring enough money you are welcome to live in almost all countries, on a residency visa, without bothering with integrating or getting citizenship.
And if you want to be able to return to the US in case of need, medical or other, having an other nationality makes it much harder.

If you are able to retire at a much younger age, you will need to prove that you have a lot of money, or a good pension plan, so that the country you choose to go to knows that you will not be a burden on the country in the future.

Search your prefered countries and visa, or go to the site of the embassy of consulate of the country you are thinking about.
Each country has info.

But remember that in Europe your dollar is worth less than in the US, at least in western Europe.

He has looked into Belize and Costa Rico but those counties are too 'civilized' for him. He wants a bit of a challenge, maybe in starting a small tourist business. And what Spanish DVD's are best for learning the language? Is "Rocket Spanish " any good? Rosetta Stone?
Wasn't Daniel Ortega a dictator and drug czar? Maybe he's cleaned up his image?

I, for one, am too young to be retired but can be a big help. I am a Nicaraguan citizen (born and raised); i live in the capital, Managua. I work in the Nicaraguan government alongside many tourism-related businesses. Don't let people who have never stepped foot in this country give you ANY advise whatsoever.

To start off, Nicaragua has been statistically rated as the Safest country in Central America for many years now. If you at any moment doubt this google "safest country in Central America" and see what country pops up. We are home to the two largest lakes in Central America (one of which is the 2nd largest in Latin America), the only sweetwater sharks on the planet, the largest volcanic island in a freshwater lake n the world and the largest rainforest North of the Amazon in Brazil.

There are many expats here in Nicaragua, the majority of them head either to Granada or San Juan del Sur, only those involved in international matters stay in Managua. Managua, the caital in which i live, has a devastating history. 90% of the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1972 (December 23rd) and the aid money which was sent in to help us was smuggled by our then- U.S. backed and supported dictator (which had dictated for over three generations). Thankfully the revolution, Daniel Ortega (our current president) and the FSLN took care of those matters long ago.

Many of the people I work with in the tourism-related field are expats who have taken advantage of our Law 306, which has great benefits (take a look at the links i provide below for more info, hope it helps). I have met many expats from China, Taiwan, the U.S. and many European countries tell me how much they love Nicaragua. Now, as for prices and living standards, you're pretty well off here. For the price of a regular home in Costa Rica you can own a beachfront property with all luxuries and then have money left over for other things.

Everything you buy in the U.S. you will easily find here, food, toys, phones, ect. Wi-fi is available virtually everywhere now, and internet cafes in Managua don't charge any higher than 30 cordobas (about $1.25) an hour. We have most food chains from the U.S. (Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Subway, Fridays, ect) and we have international restaurants from all regions of the world. You will most certainly not feel too home sick in Nicaragua. The safest, low prices, and friendly people will convince you this is the best place to live.

What he should do is come visit for a week; there are tons of things to see, places to visit, shows to attend, ect. I assure you once hr gets here you'll be at the immigration office trying to get citizenship =)

if any one wants to split costs and get out of the rate race let me know– south east asia retirement — steven

I'm not telling. If I do the place will get over-run like Costa Rica was twenty years ago.
Sorry
I'll give you a hint though, It's not Burma, lol

Would like to be located close to conveniences where a car is not a necessity. But, am open to any and all serious replies…

Chandler, AZ (For retirees, I would recommend the Sun Lakes community.)
Chandler is a town SE of Phoenix. Not too big, not too small, mostly conservative. Lots of things for people of all ages to do. Low crime, still some rural areas available. Far enough from but easily accessible to major freeways, that is if you want to go to Phoenix, Tucson, Palm Springs, Las Vegas.
Plus,the housing market is cooling off big time…
We've been here 2 years; I'm from TX and lived in NM previously. Best community I've ever lived in.

Go to
http://www.ziprealty.com/
and tell Joe C. that Monica sent you. (He's a great retiree! Love dealing with him!)

Best of luck, hope to see you soon!
Mon

EDIT: Based on monkey's response, yes, there is a state income tax. Just filed yesterday.