The World’s Best Places to Retire in 2018

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
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Unfortunately, these lists are usually composed by specific business modules geared towards their respective agendas.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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Unfortunately, these lists are usually composed by specific business modules geared towards their respective agendas.

Actually the lists are done by "experts" living in each country who submit regular articles to International Living. There are a number of spreadsheets to complete with a very very long list of questions and quite a lot of detail. I know about it as I did the Dominican Republic and have done for the past few years.

The key issues about the DR are that firstly they just want one answer for each question. So, for example, how much does it cost to rent a 2 bedroom condo? I explained to them that it depended where the condo was - Punta Cana, campo, Santo Domingo, Sosua, middle of the country. Pedernales etc but they just want one place i.e. an expat enclave on the beach.
The second issue is that the additional work and cost in getting residency has meant a worse score on that particular metric. When it comes to the weather, the country gets hit due to hurricanes and earthquakes - I assume there are less of those in the countries higher up the list.

Matilda
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
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I agree that the best way to gauge a living situation is using raw testimony from individual actually residing on the countries in question. One size fit-all wouldn't work as situations change depending on so many factors.

I would argue some of the Asian countries standing in front of the DR on the list.
 

JasonD

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Feb 10, 2018
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Very nice country with lots to offer.

Quito is well developed, beaches aren't as nice as the DR but have many on the Pacific side. Country side and mountains are gorgeous to sigh-seeing.

Manta, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Esmeraldas, Otavalo, all have beauty of their own.

Cost of living is rather low.
 

JayinRD

Member
Apr 18, 2013
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DR gets pretty low marks on visa and residence, climate, health care, cost of living. They put Honduras, Malaysia, and France ahead of DR. No way. Mexico number 2 best retirement place..lol.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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Mexico would give me pause.....

and yet, my mother's doctor retired to there...... from Canada
He thought the health care was good.
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
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DR gets pretty low marks on visa and residence, climate, health care, cost of living. They put Honduras, Malaysia, and France ahead of DR. No way. Mexico number 2 best retirement place..lol.

When I saw Mexico at #2, my first thought was that they have to be talking about the Yucatan and Campeche on the Caribbean side.. Definitely nothing in the interior.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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DR gets pretty low marks on visa and residence, climate, health care, cost of living. They put Honduras, Malaysia, and France ahead of DR. No way. Mexico number 2 best retirement place..lol.

Residence yes is now even more expensive (than say 15 years ago) and as has been discussed ad nauseum is more important to have now and is a pain in the buttocks. Climate have mentioned - didn't help there were two major hurricanes skirting the north coast this year. One of the questions is whether air conditioning is essential - I don't think so at all, but i know a lot do, and of course it depends where you live. Health care I said world class in Santiago and Santo Domingo, not sure is world class in Punta Cana and Sosua but the world class facilities are reachable. Cost of Living the items they have in their basket are not plantains, rice, beans and chicken lol. Fillet steak, asparagus, nice cheese, nice wines etc. so DR doesn't do too well on those either re cheap prices.

International Living does like you to write articles etc as if everything is hunky dory but I try and be honest, especially when it comes to facts as in the Retirement Index. Maybe the person from Mexico was a little less honest? If I remember rightly there were no questions about likelihood of being shot or robbed in your home.

Matilda
 

Naked_Snake

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Sep 2, 2008
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DR gets pretty low marks on visa and residence, climate, health care, cost of living. They put Honduras, Malaysia, and France ahead of DR. No way. Mexico number 2 best retirement place..lol.

Honduras? Lol, you tripping? These people must be out of their ****ing minds to put a place where the only safe locale is the American embassy before this country. Perhaps someone should give them a stroll through San Pedro Sula, and hope they don't get a missing bullet for all their trouble.
 

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
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Honduras? Lol, you tripping? These people must be out of their ****ing minds to put a place where the only safe locale is the American embassy before this country. Perhaps someone should give them a stroll through San Pedro Sula, and hope they don't get a missing bullet for all their trouble.

Remember, they rely on "experts", for their opinions.
 

Olly

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Mar 12, 2007
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Matilda - perhaps it is your perspective that is a bit out - after all you have been shot, you were deeply into the local political process and are not really a "retiree "- you still work and so does your other half. By the way Earthquakes are not weather !

As someone who has retired I am not sure your views really represent retirees. It is easy to shoot the messenger and I would agree about Visas and Residency(59) Benefits (68) on the other hand are quite significant for Retirees - Initial Shipment, No tax on Pensions, Waiver of Property Tax over 65 etc. Some countries let the "retiree" in but won't let them get their money out! . Climate - (69) - the two Hurricanes last year hardly touched the North Coast and the air quality here is pretty pure having come all the way across the Atlantic. Dust in perhaps a problem sometimes but I would rate the climate on the North Coast much better than 69 and certainly up there with Nicaragua (80) and Costa Rica (89)

So perhaps your perspective does not reflect "Retirees" but I don't doubt your sincerity !

Olly and the Team
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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From reading some of the other reports in the Magazine article ,
It seemed that cost of living was a major factor in a retirement decision.... and you speak to that Olly

Earthquakes and hurricanes are sometimes played up by the media more than they should be.
I'm sure I'm not alone to receive worried calls from friends asking about my well being after the hurricanes.
They were certain I had been damaged....
As we all know, very little affected us directly on the north coast and furthermore we know why those hurricanes are steered away in most cases.

Those article and experts are a bit subjective IMO.
But it's articles like that that stimulate thought for those preparing to retire.

Any mention is better than no mention.!!

If you want a real case study - think back to Buster Blowhard's decision making.
It was considered so non DR related it got scrubbed from this forum.

He looked at many of those countries only to arrive here.
Actually , I don't think he considered RD initially......

Anyway..... visibility is what the Tourism people look for.... and we seem to get it
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
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The DR made position # 22 among the best 24 places to retire in 2018. Article is posted at international living, link is below.

https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/

These lists will give you an idea of places that are better than others to retire to however there are so many factors involved in moving to a foreign country to live. You have as many options as your financial position allows. Health issues could have a big impact on your decision. Your language skills or lack thereof may make a difference. I wouldn't consider this list conclusive but you can probably use it as a guide.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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As someone who has retired I am not sure your views really represent retirees. It is easy to shoot the messenger and I would agree about Visas and Residency(59) Benefits (68) on the other hand are quite significant for Retirees - Initial Shipment, No tax on Pensions, Waiver of Property Tax over 65 etc. Some countries let the "retiree" in but won't let them get their money out! .

Olly and the Team

These were the questions on retiree benefits. Of course I mentioned the Initial benefits received when you arrive and take retirement residency. This is the full list of questions and each need answering with a yes or no plus explanation when needed. Once the DR has a free bus pass system for pensioners then am sure the ranking will increase!

Special Retirement Benefits—as a Retiree… Can you get discounts on healthcare? Can you get discounts on prescription medication? Can you import goods duty free? Can you get discounts on entertainment? Can you get discounts on restaurants? Can you get discounts on hotel stays? Can you get discounts on airfare? Can you get discounts on non-airfare travel? Can you get discounts on utilities (electricity, phone, etc.)? Can you avail of a retirement visa? If so, how easy is it to get on a scale of 1 to 10 – 10 being extremely easy. Can you import a vehicle tax free OR get a tax free purchase of a local vehicle? Do you pay less income tax, sales tax etc. as a retiree than everyone else? What other benefits are there? If there are any, give details.


Matilda
 

Russell

Well-known member
Jun 17, 2017
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Every Country likes to think ,as a whole, that they are the best place to live and retire. I may have missed it ,but this is the first time I have heard of RD being on the list. Maybe I only saw the top ten.
.
I have been subscribing to International Living for several years and virtually take it as an initial guideline only.
As with all articles of such nature, they are exceedingly subjective in content and facts.

AS for the RD I did not use any previously written articles to come to my relocation conclusion. But made several trips to the Caribbean Economic Zone and looked for ''beauty,People,weather, health care options,Crime, Law or lack there of.Justice or lack there of, economic growth, Tourism and rum!

Most important of all I use my instincts and gut feeling.
Within two years I shall retire from all my work.
Where shall I retire ?
I have a family here in RD. Didn't even have to go through birth pains; ready made.

I understand that if you have $1,500 usd in a government pension you can gain residency in RD.
I am not sure how one could live in RD on such a low income.
It is not as cheap here as one may think; all depending where one locates though. We all have our druthers.

I can live cheaper in Nova Scotia than I can here.
AS a consequence I have finally chosen to retire in Nova Scotia.
Then we can take vacations to other World Destination places... maybe even return to RD for Family visits.

When we Maritimers escape to the Caribbean it is mainly due to rid ourselves from cold, damp snow.
The RD is an excellent vacation destination and relatively quick to come here.
I believe it is more as to ''Why a person chooses to escape from our roots '' than where we are going. And that is another really good subject to follow up on if everyone is honest.
"Why did I choose to come to the RD to retire or just loose myself in the crowd?''
Better stop here before I stray too far off topic.
Russell
 

Olly

Bronze
Mar 12, 2007
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Matilda to answer your questions and perhaps put a bit more retirement perspective on it . I have set out your list below :


This is the full list of questions and each need answering with a yes or no plus explanation when needed. Once the DR has a free bus pass system for pensioners then am sure the ranking will increase!

Special Retirement Benefits—as a Retiree…

Can you get discounts on healthcare? Yes in a way. Some Insurers allow you to stay in a scheme past 75 and some continue coverage to the end Most health Insurers elsewhere cut you off at 75.

Can you get discounts on prescription medication? No unless you use the Government Pharmacies

Can you import goods duty free? No – only on the initial entry .

Can you get discounts on entertainment? As a resident retiree – Yes

Can you get discounts on restaurants? Sometimes

Can you get discounts on hotel stays? Sometimes depending on how you book

Can you get discounts on airfare? Depends on the airline

Can you get discounts on non-airfare travel? No Not in DR

Can you get discounts on utilities (electricity, phone, etc.)? No

Can you avail of a retirement visa? If so, how easy is it to get on a scale of 1 to 10 – 10 being extremely easy. It is as easier than Investment Visa. But taking the whole process which is difficult , retirement Visa easier at 7

Can you import a vehicle tax free OR get a tax free purchase of a local vehicle? Only on initial shipment but it is hard to get.

Do you pay less income tax, Yes - As you only have pension income from abroad you pay no tax at all.

sales tax etc. as a retiree than everyone else? No


What other benefits are there? If there are any, give details. Exemption from annual property tax if over 65 and the IPP Threashold This can amount to USD 1000 to USD2000 per year. Property Taxes are not mentioned in your list.


Having looked through the list and made comparisons with other countries I would put DR at about 80.25 – in between Cambodia and Belize The items I would change based on comparison with other countries are : Benefits 80, Climate 90 , Healthy lifestyle 80 leaving the others unchanged. Clearly Visa/Residency drags it down at 59 .

This would put the DR at about 16th in the list !

Olly and the Team