Retirement brings a different pace of life. No more sweating work deadlines, playing office politics or struggling to stay afloat in a city with a soul-crushing commute and a punitive cost of living. The end of your career also raises new questions about where and how to spend your days now that you’re no longer tied to a specific location.
1. States with the Highest and Lowest Cost of Living 2. Tax-Friendly States for Retirees 3. Suitable States for Senior Health 4.States with the Best and Worst Climate
Cost of living: The cost of living in Spain is less than most expect. A couple can live very well on the coast for between $2,200 to $2,400 per month.
Healthcare: Expats are required to carry private health insurance for the first five years of residency.
Cost of living: Malta is by no means the cheapest country in Europe, but it still offers lower prices than the U.S. and Canada.
Healthcare: Unfortunately, expats cannot access Malta’s excellent public healthcare system, but the private insurance options are high-quality and inexpensive.
Cost of living: If you want to live in an upscale neighborhood of Medellín and Bogotá, you can expect to pay around $1,250 per month for a very nice three-bedroom apartment.
Healthcare: Colombia’s public healthcare plan is called Entidades Promotoras de Salud (EPS), which costs about 12.5 percent of your pension income.
Cost of living: A furnished, two-bedroom home in a more expensive region (like Mexico City or Los Cabos) costs about $750 per month, with utilities rarely inching above $30 each.
Healthcare: Unemployed residents can enroll in the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS) healthcare system, which costs about $45 per month for someone in their 60s.
Cost of living: If you avoid the Cote d’Azur and center of Paris, you can often buy or rent French properties for 50 percent less than comparable homes in the U.S.
Healthcare: France’s healthcare system is currently ranked number one by the World Health Organization.
Cost of living: Portugal is one of Western Europe’s most affordable countries. A couple can live comfortably in Lisbon’s residential neighborhoods from about $2,200 a month
Healthcare: Once you obtain your Portuguese ID number and residence permit, you can access the state medical system—copays under this system are extremely low, usually no more than $10 per visit.
Cost of living: A retired couple can live very well in Panama City for less than $3,000 a month, (including rent), while a single person could retire pretty much anywhere in Panama for $1,700 a month.
Healthcare: There are many excellent hospitals and clinics around the country (like Johns Hopkins International-affiliated Hospital Punta Pacifica), and all legal residents are entitled to 20 percent off prescription medications if they’re of pensioner age—55 years for women, 60 for men.