The Top Places To Retire Abroad In 2024

Forbes

Fed up with high living expenses and toxic politics, more Americans are looking to move abroad. Here are the top 24 countries, and 96 recommended spots, based on costs, amenities, health care, climate risk, language, crime, and whether they welcome U.S. retirees.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2024/07/26/the-best-places-to-retire-abroad-in-2024/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, the best places to retire abroad in 2024.

00:07Colleen Kennedy is a child of Southern California.

00:11Born, raised, and educated there,

00:13she spent most of her professional life as a high school special education teacher in Manhattan Beach,

00:18a tiny enclave wedged between Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean.

00:22She says, quote,

00:24I love Southern California.

00:27So where did the divorced 65-year-old mother of three grown children decide to settle for retirement?

00:33Spain.

00:35Earlier this month, she moved from Los Angeles to Mijas Costa,

00:39along the Costa del Sol west of Marbella,

00:42to a rented apartment just a 10-minute walk from the Mediterranean.

00:46Despite the region's swank reputation,

00:49she figures her basic cost of living there will be a third of what it was in Los Angeles.

00:54In L.A., she rented an apartment in the working-class San Pedro neighborhood near the beach and the port.

01:00It cost about twice as much as her new Spanish digs.

01:03Plus, in the U.S., she paid to keep a car,

01:06which she won't need in Mijas Costa,

01:08thanks to mass transit and stores that are within walking distance.

01:12She'll also be able to make frequent, more affordable trips to other European countries by train.

01:18She says, quote,

01:19My money will go so much further.

01:22Kennedy picked Spain after seven years of methodical research

01:25and a two-month trip to the Iberian Peninsula in 2022 to check it out.

01:30She's learning Spanish via Zoom from another retired teacher who taught the language and has also retired there.

01:37At last count, there were 701,000 U.S. Social Security recipients living abroad,

01:43up 20% over a decade.

01:45Most Americans stay in the U.S. for retirement,

01:48but an impressive 85% of Americans 65 and older have traveled abroad,

01:53and the U.S. dollar is at its strongest level since the 1980s,

01:57making both foreign travel and a foreign retirement more affordable.

02:02Moreover, in today's polarized political atmosphere,

02:05there's lots of talk about moving abroad,

02:07particularly if the perceived wrong side wins the presidential election.

02:12In a recent poll, a record 34% of Americans said they'd leave the U.S. if they could,

02:18with young folks the most likely to pine for a change of country.

02:22Yet even 17% of those 55 and older said they'd like to move abroad,

02:26and they're the ones who are the most able to do so,

02:29since many countries welcome those with enough money to live without taking a local job.

02:34Kennedy, for example, submitted the paperwork for a non-lucrative residence visa,

02:39including proof she had pension income of at least $30,000 a year,

02:43at Spain's Los Angeles consulate, and was approved for it in just 15 days.

02:49It doesn't allow her to work in Spain, but it could lead to permanent residency there in five years.

02:55Whether you're looking for lower costs, attractive scenery,

02:58a change in lifestyle and culture, or a political escape hatch,

03:02moving to another country requires extensive research.

03:06To get you started, Forbes has compiled our list of the best places to retire abroad.

03:11In 2024, we recommend 96 places in 24 different countries on four continents, with five on islands.

03:20It's our first foreign retirement list since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,

03:25and our first that takes into account climate change and natural hazard risk abroad.

03:30This is a consideration that Forbes has been incorporating into our domestic best places list for five years.

03:36Other issues we considered in making our picks include cost of living,

03:40ease of getting permission to stay in a country, taxes, health care quality and costs,

03:46returning to see relatives, which can be a long slog,

03:49crime and political instability, and social isolation,

03:53especially if English isn't widely spoken and you're not fluent in the dominant language.

03:58Our list includes countries from all around the world,

04:01from Albania to Costa Rica, Greece to Indonesia, Portugal to Uruguay.

04:06For full coverage and to see the whole list, check out William P. Barrett's piece on Forbes.com.

04:14This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

04:28Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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