Cuenca hit the top spot in International Living’s Retirement Index in February this year. To anyone familiar with the city, it didn’t come as a surprise. Cuenca combines perfect weather, and a low cost of living, in an artistic and cultural center. Best of all, property prices are highly affordable. If you want a colonial home…a comfy redbrick condo with mountain views…or your own farm…for a fraction of what you’d pay back home: read on.

With an elevation of 8300 feet, Cuenca sits in a fertile valley in Ecuador’s southern highlands, washed by four rivers and surrounded by mountain peaks. Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys spring-like weather all year, with warm sunny days and cool evenings.

It’s possible for a couple to live well here on $1500 a month, including rent, utilities, running a car, and having a twice-weekly maid. Eating out costs less here, too. A delicious lunch of organic salad, quiche, a large glass of fresh juice and brownie and ice-cream dessert, came to just under $8. Lunches averaged $5 a head, and dinner never cost me more than $15 a head.

more retire cheap in Ecuador

by Maria Lopez

In the past, buyers of second homes gravitated toward ski chalets in Vail, hip condos in New York, and even the occasional Tuscan villa. But today, savvy investors are looking to second homes in Central America to get the most value for their money.

Now, thanks to technology, it’s no longer intimidating to purchase foreign property. Using the Internet, buyers in the market for second homes in Central America can research the communities and properties they desire without even leaving home.

The appeal of these exotic locations is great for many reasons, including:

1. Proximity to the United States – Central America countries like Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama are all convenient to air travel. In fact, many regions now boast new or improved airports and more frequent direct flights from major U.S. and European cities.

2. Uncrowded Beaches and Ocean View Properties – The combination of great value and natural beauty are becoming increasingly difficult to find in the U.S, but places like Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica offer these qualities in abundance.

3. Good Opportunity for Investing – For people looking to diversify their investments using money garnered from stocks, inheritances, business profits, and home equity, a second home in an area where appreciation potential is significant makes great sense.

4. Vacation Getaways – A second home in Central America offers the opportunity to easily escape from the stresses of everyday life, relax and have fun.

5. Tropical Weather All Year – Countries like Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica offer temperate climates and abundant sunshine year round.

6. More Value for the Dollar – The rising prices of places like Arizona and Florida have made many people who want to purchase a second residence look elsewhere. A vacation home in Central America can cost less than one half what a comparable home would cost in the U.S.

7. Retiring Abroad Is More Affordable -The inexpensive prices of homes combined with a low cost of living, makes Central America an effective way to stretch retirement dollars and live a luxury lifestyle on less income.

8. Properties Offer Full Amenity Packages – Major developers are now building upscale, master-planned residential developments that offer everything anyone could want in a second home including resort-style pools, access to beaches, world-class golf courses, fine dining restaurants, upscale retailers and personalized concierge services.

9. Welcoming Attitude Toward Foreigners – In an effort to attract foreign investors, many Central America countries now offer special incentives to foreigners who retire there. For example, Panama offers retirees discounts of 10%-50% on utility bills, doctor visits, airline tickets and sporting events. In Costa Rica, there is no capital gains tax.

10. It’s Safe to Buy Abroad – As countries like Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica open their doors to foreign buyers, more rules and regulations are being established to help protect buyers. For example, title insurance, once a rarity in less-developed locations, is becoming standard. And in these countries, foreigners are entitled to the same property ownership rights as native citizens.

About the Author

Maria Lopez is a sales agent with Central America Second Homes, a real estate brokerage specializing in the sale of vacation, investment and retirement property in Central America. The firm offers luxury condos and homes at preconstruction prices in Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico. Visit
http://www.CentralAmericaSecondHomes.com for property listings and to request a FREE copy of the Central America Second Homes Report, a guide to buying abroad.

by Cecelia Yap

Are you looking for top places to retire overseas?

To relocate overseas can be quite challenging. Before you plunge into it, you should live in the intended-place for a while, to get a first hand feel of what it’s like becoming a local and to make sure the intended-place is “right” for you.

I’m giving you 5 destinations abroad, which are considered as top places to retire, in terms of cost of living, climate, culture, infrastructure, real estate, safety and special benefits (like discounts) for retirees.

1. Panama City, Panama

I would say Panama City is a retirement haven that combines big-city feel with sandy beaches and warm winters and you fork out less for more of it.

It has good infrastructure. Its most developed parts look like Miami, with high-rises, malls and shopping center.

You would benefit living here as the pension program offers a bevy of perks to retirees if you can show evidence of a monthly income of at least $500 ($600 for a couple), received from some forms of government pensions (e.g. Social Security) or from some private pension programs.

You’re also entitled for these perks:

• Exempted from import duty on new car every 2 years
• Attractive discounts, e.g. tickets to movies, concerts, theatres & sports events; bus, train & boat fares; restaurant bills; hotel accommodation……

If you’re keen on buying property here, you get markdowns too from one percentage point less on mortgage rates to 25% off closing costs.

The weather, however, could be your concern because it gets hot in the summer. And language could be a problem too if you don’t speak Spanish (though some residents do speak English).

2. Malta

It’s a land rich in history and cultural heritage, offering you an “old world” charm. Each year, from October to May, you can catch a theater, opera or ballet production at the Manoel Theater in the capital of Malta (touted the second-oldest theater in Europe).

As Malta is an island, you got to brace with the fact of island living where you might not have all the conveniences and product choices you’re used to having in the US.

You would like the mild climate all year round and a low 15% tax for permanent foreign residents and no property tax.

3. New Zealand

New Zealand is famed for its raw natural beauty and picturesque mountains.

It also offers some of the best real estate bargains around, with the average house price hovering at $190,000 and you don’t need to pay capital gains tax.

Its capital Auckland offers you big-city life, shopping and entertainment on an extremely affordable budget.

The bad bargain is that you may not be able to live there all year-round given that New Zealand’s immigration policy favors more toward young immigrants; hence retirees might find it difficult to qualify for full residency.

You could however, spend 6 months out of the year there and 6 months in the U.S. or another country. It could fit you as the seasons in New Zealand are reverse of those in the US – when it’s winter in the US, it’s summer over there in New Zealand and vice versa.

You’ll like the low cost of living too.

4. Uruguay

Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, has a European feel with its architecture, entertainment and culture and you’ve all the things a city can offer – galleries, theatres, shopping malls, restaurants and entertainment hangouts, all at incredibly low prices.

Housing cost is low; with a budget of $30,000, you can easily get a small but decent apartment in this capital city. If you yearn for beautiful, sandy beaches, go to the seaside resorts where your dollars will go further than most resorts elsewhere.

5. Mexico

Mexico is a retirement haven as far as many Americans are concerned because it’s near to the US; you can drive there. And it’s easily accessible. Cost of living is low in many parts of Mexico. You can live on a low budget yet still can get the most out of it.

It’s rich in history and culture. The Spanish culture is deep and rooted here, as a result of the Spanish colonization of Mexico, which lasted for over 300 years.

It’s also a food haven with a great varieties of food from its rich culture background. Mexican cuisine is famous for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and herbs.

Mexicans are gifted cooks as well and seem to know how to give a dish that extra “flavor” to make it tasty.

Due to her strong yearning to retire early in life, Cecelia Yap has been researching on the subject of retirement. She has found the most “viral” way to grow her retirement nest egg and you too can do what she does, here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html

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