When Richard Detrich and his wife, Nikki Steele, started contemplating where to retire, they went about it methodically. The couple had already agreed to move abroad. Next, they each drew up a list of the 15 most important factors to them and then compared notes. Turned out their lists were pretty similar. The Ventura, California, residents both wanted to live in a place with warm weather and a lower cost of living that was convenient for their adult children to visit. The new home also had to be in a country that had a stable government and economy and whose residents were welcoming to newcomers. After poring over lots of data, the pair settled on Boquete, Panama, a mountain town near the narrow country’s western border with Costa Rica. Fifteen years later, they still live in that same town they selected all those years ago. “It’s worked out,” says Detrich, now 77.
More Americans like Detrich and Steele have been retiring abroad in recent years. The U.S. Social Security Administration, for instance, now sends 700,000 checks a month to foreign addresses, up about 40% over the past decade, with the most checks going to Canada. To compile our recommended roster of hot spots to retire, we considered a variety of factors, some of which were the same as Detrich and Steele. Among them: cost of living; quality and cost of local healthcare; overall safety; political stability; taxes (which in many places can be a burden); local hospitality; weather, food, culture; and how easy it is to get by speaking only English. We also took into account how hard it is to get permission to stay. Generally, a would-be expat retiree has to complete a ton of paperwork and show steady retirement income (of varying amounts) from sources such as Social Security, pensions and retirement accounts. Canada has made it nearly impossible for retirees without relatives there to gain permanent residency, but it remains on our list because it is still popular with retirees who can spend six months a year there.
Below are our picks of favorite spots to consider retiring. We highlighted 25 countries and up to three specific locales in each, for a total of 65 places. One of them is Boquete, Panama, the town that Detrich and Steele chose. You can find more details on Detrich, retiring abroad and this list here. Forbes’ 25 favorite domestic retirement locations are here.