Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Isla Mujeres is an island near Cancun in Mexico, but it’s not nearly as developed for tourism, so it’s a lot quieter. It features crystal-clear ocean waters and white-sand beaches, as well as a low cost of living. Condos with a fantastic view will run around $200,000, but if you’d prefer to rent, it’s possible to get a smaller apartment for under $1,000 per month. Total expenses for most couples will be under $3,000 per month, including rent, to live on Isla Mujeres.

The island is known for its nature, so it’s a great place to stay if you love sea life. There are often dolphins offshore as well as sea turtles, and the warm weather makes it the perfect place to just relax and enjoy the views throughout the year. The main mode of transportation on the island is golf carts, not cars, so it’s easy to get from place to place, and you won’t have to worry about getting a car to the island.

Roatan, Honduras

Another gorgeous place to live is Roatan in Honduras. A smaller island, the area doesn’t feature huge resorts or a lot of tourists. There’s a reef nearby that features tons of tropical fish and other animals as well as stunning white-sand beaches. Though it has modern conveniences, it’s not a popular tourist attraction, so it’s possible to live here without spending a ton of money. A two-bedroom home on the beach is less than $175,000, and there’s no need to worry about tourists throughout the year. The cost of living for the area is around $2,500, including rent.

The area is up and coming, so it’s improving consistently and includes a recently opened power plant as well as a hospital with specialist care. It also features a local market, with open-air fruit and vegetable stands, as well as plenty of natural features that have to be seen.

The area is perfect for those who want to just relax in the warm tropical air or take advantage of opportunities to snorkel or dive.

Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

A gorgeous island, it includes both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. On the east side of the island, in the Dominican Republic, Las Terrenas is a fantastic place to live. It includes a low cost of living as well as a stable government, so it’s a perfect place to live. It’s possible to find all of the conveniences of home, including the newest golf course. And, everything is new, as this area didn’t have electricity or much of anything else as little as 30 years ago.

The area is now known for tourism, but it’s not filled with giant hotels. Instead, it features mainly small family-owned hotel chains, and the number is limited. A smaller apartment can be purchased for under $100,000, and it’s possible to live on the island for close to $2,000 per month. With gorgeous beaches, plenty to do, and beautiful weather throughout the year, this could be a fantastic place to retire without worrying about spending too much money every month.

Ambergris Caye, Belize

Ambergris Caye is known as a great place to dive, as it’s right next to the Belize Barrier Reef that supports tons of amazing marine life. The area has seen a ton of new growth in recent years because of this, so the area now has all of the modern conveniences you might need.

Today, golf carts are a popular mode of transportation, even though more cars are now on the road. Water taxis make it easy to visit Mexico for anything you might need that isn’t on the island, or if you just want to take a trip for fun.

Though the area is becoming far more popular, it’s still possible to afford to live there through your retirement. Most couples find they can live comfortably on less than $3,000 per month. If you purchase a home, expenses drop to less than $2,000 per month. With warm weather throughout the year, it’s possible to enjoy the outdoors every day of the year and get to see amazing sights that can’t be seen elsewhere.

Isla Colon, Panama

The last place on the must-consider list is Isla Colon in Panama. It’s close to Costa Rico and is one of a group of nine main islands in Bocas del Toro. Bocas Town is the main area on Isla Colon, and it’s the home base for most people who pass through the area. Though this area is the busiest of the islands, it is easy to get to other, smaller islands for a peaceful and quiet day whenever you want.

In Isla Colon, it’s possible to live a very inexpensive life. There is a lot of property that’s unclaimed here, and it’s possible to rent a small home and live simply but comfortably for less than $17,000 per year. This makes it the perfect location for those looking for a quiet island, yet somewhere that is full of things to do and sights to see. With the minimal cost of living, it’s possible to thoroughly enjoy your retirement without worrying about how much you’re spending each month to live on the island.

Are you ready to set sail? If you’re considering a home in the Caribbean for your retirement, these areas are the best options for tons of fun and relaxation with a low cost of living. Look into the places more today to find out which one might be the perfect option for you.

The post 5 Best Places to Retire in the Caribbean first appeared on 2026 Best Places To Retire.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

If you could retire anywhere in the world, where would you go?

As we find ourselves at the start of a brand-new year, that’s a question worth asking yourself, because we also find ourselves in a time when it’s not only possible but easier than you might ever imagine to launch the retirement adventure of your fondest day dreams almost anywhere on earth that appeals to you.

Last week, I provided five suggestions for the world’s top retirement havens for 2013. Now, here are five more beautiful, welcoming, and affordable places to consider this New Year:

2013 Top Retirement Haven #6: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Monthly budget: US$2,000
Monthly rent: US$700

Mexico is a big place with a bad reputation. The reputation isn’t altogether undeserved, as drug cartels do control parts of this country but not all of it, and some of the most appealing regions for both living and investing sit outside the war zones. Mexico offers two long coasts, mountain towns and colonial cities, plus Mayan ruins, jungle, rain forest, rivers and lakes. It’s also the most accessible “overseas” haven from the United States. You could drive back and forth if you wanted.

For all these reasons, Mexico is home to the biggest established populations of American expats in the world, making it a great choice if you seek adventure with the comforts of home. Mexico is no longer a super-cheap option, but it is my top pick for enjoying a luxury coastal lifestyle on a budget, in Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is more expensive than other places where you might consider living or retiring overseas, but in Puerto Vallarta that’s not the point. This isn’t developing-world living. This stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coastline has already been developed to a high level.

Life here can be not only comfortable but easy and fully appointed, with world-class golf courses, marinas, restaurants, and shopping. This is a lifestyle that is available only on a limited basis worldwide, a lifestyle that is truly (not metaphorically) comparable to the best you could enjoy in southern California if you could afford it. Here you can afford it even on an average budget.

2013 Top Retirement Haven #7: County Kerry, Ireland

Monthly budget: US$2,200
Monthly rent: US$600

When I moved to Ireland some 15 years ago, I arrived on the Emerald Isle with my family and my business expecting to plug into the kind of infrastructure I was used to back in the States. That didn’t happen because the kind of infrastructure that we Americans take for granted in the States (transportation, telecommunications, banking, credit, etc.) didn’t and still doesn’t exist in Ireland. But that doesn’t have to be the point.

I lived in this country during the apex of the Celtic Tiger, which generated great amounts of wealth, more money than this island had ever known. As a result, the Irish were distracted from what was right in front of them. They were busy covering their ancient green land with suburban track homes, shopping malls and fast-food franchises. I watched as pubs were replaced by nightclubs and as car dealerships eventually kept Saturday business hours and banks finally remained open through lunch. Ireland wanted so badly to compete on the global business stage. In that regard, it failed completely.

But now, when I think of my family’s time in Waterford, the things that come to mind have nothing to do with business. I remember the owner of the corner shop across the street from our office and how he and his wife sent us a small gift when Jack was born and inquired after both Jack and his big sister Kaitlin every time we saw them. I remember the cabinet-maker who helped to restore our big old Georgian house to its original glories, shutter by shutter, wood plank by wood plank. I think of the castles and the gardens we explored on weekends. I think of the few times we braved the beaches at Tramore, sitting on the sand in sweaters, shivering and shaking our heads, while, out in the cold Irish Sea, the Irish swam and surfed. I think of cows blocking the roads and of sheep dotting the green fields. These are the pictures of Ireland I carry with me now.

By the time we left, Ireland had gotten very expensive. Today it’s more affordable than it has been in more than a decade, its property market on par, more or less, with where it stood when we arrived 15 years ago. As a result, this country makes more sense as a place to think about living and investing than it has in a long time.

The surest bets for real estate purchase are the tourist trails — the Ring of Kerry, the southwest coast, Galway and Dublin. Pay attention to proximity to amenities that are important to you — the ocean, a nearby airport so you can hop around Europe or a town so you can walk where you want to go rather than driving (remember they drive on the left).

2013 Top Retirement Haven #8: Granada, Nicaragua

Monthly budget: US$1,300
Monthly rent: US$500

Geographically, Nicaragua is blessed, with two long coastlines and two big lakes, plus volcanoes, highlands, rain forest and rivers. In this regard, it’s got everything Costa Rica and Panama have got, all less discovered and developed and available for the adventurer and eco-traveler at bargain rates. Architecturally, too, Nicaragua is notable. Its two sister colonial cities, Granada and Leon, vie for the title of Oldest City in the Americas. Whichever story you believe (that the Spanish conquistadores settled first on the shores of Lake Nicaragua at Granada or, perhaps, a few months earlier in Old Leon), Nicaragua is the big winner, with impressive colonial-era churches, public buildings and parks to her credit.

Property values have fallen significantly in this country over the past several years, thanks to the re-election of Sandinista President Daniel Ortega and the global recession, which has hit this country hard. As a result, you can buy a house on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast for less than US$100,000.

2013 Top Retirement Haven #9: Medellin, Colombia

Monthly budget: US$1,800
Monthly rent: US$500

Years ago, I sat around a table in a just-opened restaurant in a little-known mountain town in Panama called Boquete with a group of investors and businesspeople, in the country, just as I was, to scout opportunity. “I believe that the potential in this place for retirees is enormous,” one of the gentlemen in the group (the one who had just invested in opening the restaurant where we were having dinner) theorized. “Right now, the opportunity here is for the investor and the speculator. Property prices are so under-valued. Apartments in Panama City are a screaming bargain on a global scale. Pacific beachfront, Caribbean, farmland, river-front, this country has it all, and it’s all cheap.

“Panama is still misunderstood, suffering from a lingering case of bad press,” my host for the evening continued. “When you say ‘Panama’ to an American today, he thinks: Noriega…drug cartels…CIA intrigue. It won’t be too many years before those perceptions are flipped on their head. I predict that, five, seven years from now, when you say ‘Panama’ to the average American, he’ll think: retirement. Because that’s what this country is gearing up to offer—a very appealing retirement option.”

That was 1999. In August 2010, the AARP named Boquete, Panama, one of the top five places in the world to retire.

In 2011, I sat around a table in a just-opened restaurant in a little-known mountain town in Colombia called Medellin with a group of investors and businesspeople, in the country, just as I was, to explore current opportunity.

“Property values in this city are so under-valued,” one of the gentlemen having dinner with me remarked. “I believe that apartment costs here are the lowest for any cosmopolitan city in the world on a per-square-meter basis. This is because Colombia, including Medellin, is still misunderstood. When you say ‘Medellin’ to the average American, he thinks: Drugs…gangs…Pablo Escobar. It’s such a misperception. The current reality of this city is so far removed from all that.”

As in Panama years ago, the opportunity today in Medellin is for the investor and the speculator. Prices are an absolute, global bargain. Right now, in this city, you could buy almost anything and feel comfortable that you could make money from the purchase.

The coming opportunity in Medellin is for the retiree. I predict that, five, seven years from now, when you say ‘Medellin’ to the average American, he’ll think: retirement. Because that’s what this City of Flowers and Eternal Springtime is on track to offer — a very appealing and competitive retirement option. Medellin is a city with strong Euro-undertones, meaning it’s a chance to embrace a sophisticated, cosmopolitan retirement lifestyle on a very modest budget.

2013 Top Retirement Haven #10: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Monthly budget: US$1,250
Monthly rent: US$500

Showing the bias of my perspective, I refer to Malaysia as Asia’s Panama. That is to say, this country is a regional and a global hub, for trade, for business and for culture. The cost of living is affordable, though elsewhere in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, China) can be cheaper. Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia’s capital, is clean, efficient, and well-functioning, with shopping, restaurants and all the other trappings of a modern metropolis. It’s also (again like Panama) an expat melting pot with big numbers of expats both from all over Asia and, to a lesser extent, the West. Malaysia is more welcoming of foreigners than any other country in Asia. Its My Second Home program makes retiree residency easy to obtain, meaning you don’t have to worry about regular “border runs,” as many expats in this part of the world do. Because it is a former British colony, English is widely spoken, so you don’t have to worry about trying to learn to speak Malay either.

Kuala Lumpur, located in the heart of the Malaysian peninsula, is a city of contrasts. The shining stainless steel Petronas Towers, two of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, anchor a startlingly beautiful and unique skyline. Modern, air-conditioned malls flourish, selling everything from batik clothing to genuine Rolex watches and Tiffany jewelry. In the shadows of these ultra-modern buildings, the ancient Malay village of Kampung Baru still thrives, with free-roaming roosters and a slow pace of life generally found in rural villages. Less than a 20-minute walk from the city center, you can find yourself in the company of monkeys.

Kathleen Peddicord

Live and Invest Overseas

The post The Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2013, Part 2 first appeared on 2026 Best Places To Retire.