How to Choose the Right Country for Retirement

Retiring abroad is a tempting idea for many, and while browsing pictures of gorgeous foreign locales and envisioning a life of leisure abroad, the draw can become downright irresistible. And this future life can indeed be more than a dream, as evidenced by the fact that the number of US citizens retiring overseas has nearly doubled over the past three years. The appeal is certainly there and the numbers show that it can be doable, but when it comes time to start making concrete decisions, however, things get a little less dreamy.

Choosing your specific destination country can certainly be one of the most exciting parts of the planning process, but it is marked by two distinct phases. First, you’re browsing the internet, ogling those stunning landscapes, checking out local menus and wine lists, and envisioning nothing but idyllic scenarios.

As you start to narrow down choices, however, you realize that there is a LOT to consider. The pleasure of daydreaming gives way to the cold, hard work of fastidious, meticulous planning, and finalizing the country is often the first concrete step in this transition. As such, paralysis by analysis is common at this stage, and many of the best-intentioned foreign retirement plans wither on the vine here.

It’s important to bear in mind that the best country for your retirement may very well be the US, and you should keep it in consideration as you compare different potential retirement country options. There is nothing wrong with researching and looking into retirement abroad, then deciding it’s not the most prudent choice for you.

In this guide, we will answer the following questions:

• How to Choose the Right Country for Retirement
• Sifting through the Massive Amounts of Information
• Assessing Your Retirement Goals and Priorities
• Cost of Living Comparison: Stretching Your Retirement Dollar
• Healthcare Facilities
• Ease of Travel Back to the U.S.
• Climate and Environment: Finding Your Ideal Weather
• Language and Cultural Considerations
• Safety and Political Stability
• Visa and Residency Requirements
• Recreational and Leisure Activities

Sifting through the Massive Amounts of Information

As you plow through the overwhelming number of internet guides on the best countries to retire in, you’ll soon discover that almost all of them are wildly different from one another. The Czech Republic will be #1 overall on one site, and then deemed a dreadful choice on other lists. Similarly, you’ll find that many of the purported facts and data points differ greatly by year and source. One site will claim Finland has the highest quality-of-life index, while a few clicks away is another site claiming that Finland has one of the lowest quality-of-life ratings. What is the difference between a quality-of-life index and a quality-of-life rating? There’s not one, and these figures may be old, use misleading criteria, or simply be biased and/or made up.

Put simply, a lot of the information out there is useful, but not always reliable. It’s also important to keep in mind that a country’s data, such as crime statistics, can be skewed greatly by the impact of a capital city or other part of the country you have no intention to live in. So while a data-driven approach can be beneficial, you need to use the most up-to-date figures and try to cross-check information as much as possible.

To provide the most useful information on how to choose the best country for an overseas retirement, this guide will discuss not only the crucial topics to consider when choosing the best country for retiring abroad, but also try to provide some unique insights into how to analyze each topic as you compare and contrast countries.

Assessing Your Retirement Goals and Priorities

While there is a deluge of conflicting and somewhat impractical information out there, there is one source that you can and should count on at this stage, and that is you. And while you likely already have a general idea of the type of lifestyle you’re looking for and things that are meaningful to you, you’ll still benefit from writing your thoughts and ideas down, either in journal form or on a spreadsheet, and perhaps trying to quantify and measure the foreign retirement experience you are after.

At this point, it is also helpful to talk to other people who’ve retired or are planning to retire abroad and discussing how they chose their country. It would of course be a major boon if they are in a country you’re interested in, but even if they are on the other side of the world, you can still benefit from discussing some of the real-world logistics issues and experiences.

Cost of Living Comparison: Stretching Your Retirement Dollar

If you’re considering retirement abroad, it is likely not a purely economic decision, but just like back home, money has a way of influencing nearly every aspect of your new life. A great deal of the financial burden comes during the transition phase as well, so you want to make sure you’ve prepared thoroughly in order to limit costs.

Even if you’re well off and have significant savings and investments set aside for retirement, you still want to put your dollars to work intelligently. It’s also important to keep in mind that while some countries do have a much lower cost of living on a dollars-per-month basis, you need to look carefully at what exactly you’re getting for your money and what trade-offs you are going to have to make. Yes, the average rent in Country X may be less than $200 per month, but consider what kind of experience and housing you’ll be getting at that price point.

Cost of living calculators tailored for expatriates can offer insights into day-to-day expenses, but it will be helpful to talk to people in-country for the big picture, especially concerning things like local taxes, real estate, and major purchases.

Healthcare Facilities

When comparing healthcare systems for retirement abroad, you need to look beyond the mere presence of advanced medical technology, as nearly every country claims this, and the idea of “state-of-the-art conditions” can be a very subjective measure. Rather than just going by blanket statements proclaiming that a country has excellent facilities, you’ll be better served to look at the specifics of what kind of care you’d be getting with a top-tier insurance plan. These are usually affordable for foreigners retiring abroad, so it is a generally safe guideline to go by the standards for premium-level insurance plans.

It is also important to keep in mind that a country may indeed have world-renowned facilities in its capital city, but much poorer levels of care everywhere else. That includes not only the staff level of training and facilities themselves, but also things like medication availability, appointment wait times, and specialists in the area. If you are considering smaller villages or more remote areas for your retirement, you should look for countries that have useful telemedicine programs in place so that you, or your local healthcare team, can easily communicate with physicians elsewhere if need be.

If you have a pre-existing condition, you are likely already considering special treatments and medications you know you’ll need, but you also need to research their local availability and cost, as well as the availability of generic drugs. This type of research is not as glamorous as looking at the different coastlines and spots for an evening cocktail around the world, but it is crucial when choosing your destination country.

Ease of Travel Back to the U.S.

A retirement abroad is indeed a big getaway from your old life and will be the start of a new adventure, but you will almost certainly want to make regular trips back home, and likely want friends and family to come visit you in your new country. This metric can be measured relatively easily using factors like overall travel time, cost of flights, etc. for planned trips, but make sure to consider costs for emergency trips as well. On that note, while you may have no issue driving several hours to get to a major airport every now and then, that ride will feel quite long when you’re pressed for time and rushing to get back.

If you are looking forward to hosting friends and family abroad, you also need to consider the level of difficulty in obtaining a tourist visa, the overall level of safety in the country for first-timers, and special considerations for the elderly or young children. Making a start in a new land is a wonderful experience, but it is enhanced even more by maintaining solid connections with the US and everyone back home.

Climate and Environment: Finding Your Ideal Weather

While those stunning beach vistas get everyone’s attention, finding your ideal retirement climate requires a bit more contemplation and research than just picking the whitest sands and clearest waters. Those very same beaches may be gorgeous for most of the year, then battered by a rainy season or even hurricanes at other times.

Looking at international weather data is useful here, as temperatures and amounts of rain are not so subjective, but it’s still important to analyze the topic holistically. Are you planning to be outdoors a great deal? Could the weather potentially affect your health? Even if you’re indoors most of the time, a country’s climate and environment will have a significant effect on your retirement.

Language and Cultural Considerations

Even if you opt to live in an English-speaking country, you’re still in for some significant cultural differences that need to be understood, respected, and navigated. If you’re looking into a country that speaks another language, consider not just the difficulty of learning that language, but the resources available to do so both in-person and online. Also consider how much English is spoken by locals there, and if you’ll be able to get by in regards to things like health care and transportation before you become more adept at using your new language.

Another important consideration is local attitudes towards foreigners. While this of course varies greatly by country and person to person, in some countries it is simply not common to carry on with foreigners beyond polite pleasantries. It’s also important to consider the presence of an expat community when retiring in a foreign country, as well as if you desire to move within a circle of foreigners or are looking to meet more locals.

Safety and Political Stability

This is a hard one to get a feel for strictly online, as many country’s tourism boards actively push to improve their online reputations. On the other hand, many countries with poor reputations are actually victims of infamy from prior eras and can provide excellent opportunities for foreign retirees.

While online research is a must in regard to personal safety and the political atmosphere, it’s also nearly impossible to truly understand a country’s safe and no-go zones without having spent considerable time there. This is a topic for which personal accounts and statistics are less reliable and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Sometimes isolated incidents have tarnished a country’s reputation, while in other situations the potential dangers are very much understated. Far too many online resources are written by well-meaning tourists who spent a few nights at a resort and therefore claim the country to be safe.

The US State Department provides resources that can be very useful, but nothing beats actual in-country experiences, preferably for extended amounts of time. If you’re considering retiring to a country sight unseen, you’re in for a world of unpleasant surprises and potential problems.

Visa and Residency Requirements

Researching this is a necessary evil and the process can vary by country from time-consuming but doable to absolutely maddening. Some countries welcome retirees with open arms, providing special tax incentives, investment opportunities, and more. Others are a bit more reticent, and can make the amount of bureaucratic red tape and associated costs prohibitive to all but the most determined retiree.

In general terms, almost every country is possible, though some will require significantly more money, time, and possibly legal counsel just to get your foot in the door, so to speak. This is essentially out of your hands, and the only things you can really control here are the amount of research you do and your levels of patience.

Recreational and Leisure Activities

While it can be exciting to show off windsurfing brochures and imagine yourself skiing through the Swiss Alps, you also need to be realistic in what you envision your future self doing. A foreign retirement is indeed an excellent opportunity to try new things, but be honest about what you are interested in and know you enjoy.

Recreation and leisure encompass much more than special activities, and you should look at what you’ll do in each country on a day-to-day basis to unwind and explore. Are there safe parks and open spaces to enjoy? Are there cultural events, local festivals, or community gatherings that you’d be interested in?

Many foreign retirees choose to spend their time traveling, and having a new foreign homebase opens the doors to a new world of destination. For each prospective location, consider the ease of travel to neighboring towns and countries, including the costs, modes of transportation, road safety, etc.

Conclusion: Making an Informed Decision

Choosing which country you are going to retire to is one of the first in a series of exciting, but challenging decisions. Dreaming gives way to strategizing here, and while it can be bittersweet to have to reject possibilities you’d once envisioned, take heart in the fact that this is the stage where a dream can start to become a dream come true.

Financial aspects will influence nearly every decision, so looking at the overall cost of living is a good place to start when comparing countries, but also make sure to do a healthy dose of self-reflection and consider which country is right for you as a person. From there, you can analyze the major topics like healthcare, activities, and cultural considerations as you narrow down the list to find the retirement country of your dreams.

In future articles, we’ll discuss the next steps to take when planning your foreign retirement, and take a look at the important topic of Cultural and Social Integration when Retiring Abroad.