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      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

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      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France
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      • Home
      • Countries

        Top Destinations:

        Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

        • Spain
        • Portugal
        • Panama
        • Belize
        • Colombia
        • Cyprus
        • Mexico
        • France
        • Montenegro
        • Browse All Countries

        Best For:

        • The Best Places To Retire
        • Health Care Abroad
        • Cost Of Living
        • Investing in Real Estate
        • Establishing Residency
        • Gun Laws In The World
        • English-Speaking Countries
        • Safest Places For Retirement
        • Best Places In Latin America
      • Budgets

        How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

        The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

        Super Cheap

        • Chitré, Panama
        • Santa Marta, Colombia
        • Phuket, Thailand
        • Dumaguete, The Philippines

        Cheap

        • Medellin, Colombia
        • Boquete, Panama
        • Kyrenia, Cyprus
        • Hua Hin, Thailand
        • The Algarve, Portugal

        Affordable

        • Valencia, Spain
        • Cascais, Portugal
        • Las Terrenas, The DR
        • Pisa, Italy
        • La Rochelle, France
        • Mazatlán, Mexico

        Luxury

        • Ambergris Caye, Belize
        • Kotor, Montenegro
        • The Panama City Beaches
        • Paris, France
      • Resources

        Global Living

        • Living & Retiring Overseas
        • Raising A Family Abroad
        • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
        • Offshore & Diversification

        Making Money

        • International Real Estate
        • Banking
        • Employment
        • Investing

        Follow Us:

        • Meet Our Experts
      • Real Estate

        Join our Weekly Newsletter
        Overseas Property Alert

        Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






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          Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

          • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

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          International Property Summit

          Caribbean Virtual Conference

          Live and Invest In Spain Conference

          PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

          June 18-20, 2025

          VIRTUAL

          July 17-19, 2025

          Valencia, Spain

          Sep. 17-19, 2025

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          Home Countries Europe

          Broaden Your Horizons

          by Kathleen Peddicord
          May 15, 2024
          in Europe, Montenegro
          0 0
          Valencia Spain Architecture and Orange Tree

          AdobeStock/twindesigner

          The average American aged 65 or older spends $4,818 per month to live in the United States.

          Meantime, the average Social Security check for 2024 is $1,907.

          That’s math that doesn’t work…

          Unless you broaden your horizons.

          Look beyond U.S. borders for your ideal retirement lifestyle and you can make that $1,907 monthly Social Security check stretch much further…

          While trading a typical retirement for a much more exciting, indulgent-feeling lifestyle in an exotic haven overseas.

          Where, specifically, should you consider?

          A common misconception leads many to believe that the only places in the world where you could significantly reduce your cost of living are in Latin America or Asia… and that Europe is out of reach for the typical retiree.

          Au contraire…

          My husband Lief Simon and I spend about half the year in Paris and the other half in Panama.

          You’d think that our cost of living would be lower when we’re in Panama…

          But my accountant husband was shocked when he compared the side-by-side costs for each of our homes.

          We are able to spend less when we’re at home in Paris than when we’re hanging our hats in Panama.

          How can that be?

          In Paris we don’t need a car and we don’t run air conditioning 24/7.

          In Panama we splurge on imported food and wines that are far more affordable in Paris… from where many of those specialty items originate.

          Plus, we dollar-holders continue to enjoy a currency discount, with the euro down about 10% relative to the dollar over the past two years and about 20% lower than long-term trends.

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          Click edit button to change this html

          My team has just released our annual Overseas Retirement Index.

          In it, we document the costs of living for my top picks for retirement in 2024.

          Many of them are in Europe.

          That’s because not only Paris but much of the Old World can be far more accessible than you might imagine.

          Where specifically on the Continent can you enjoy a fully loaded lifestyle—better than where you’re living now—for as much as 61% less than your current monthly budget?

          Here are my top five picks:

          Valencia, Spain: $2,477 Per Month For A Couple

          Once called the “City of Joy,” and nowadays claiming a handful of titles, including City of Oranges, City of Arts and Sciences, World Capital of Design, European Capital of Smart Tourism, Green Capital of the Future, and Gastronomic Mecca, it’s hard to give just one claim to fame to fabulous Valencia…

          To walk its streets is to take in 2,000 years of history, from the medieval Islamic era to futuristic works that look like settings from sci-fi films.

          With sandy, warm Mediterranean beaches available within minutes from the city center, this region gets some of the best weather in the world, with about 2,700 hours of sunshine—300-plus sunny days—per year.

          In addition to all these attributes, Spain is known for being the most affordable region in Western Europe, and even Valencia, a culturally rich, historic city with high-level infrastructure and a high quality of life, is affordable by most standards.

          Braga, Portugal: $2,855 Per Month For A Couple

          Braga is the culturally vibrant capital of Portugal’s northern Minho Province, famous for its lush, green landscapes that produce vinho verde wine.

          An attractive, well-loved city, with narrow lanes and lively plazas hemmed in by historic buildings and elegant baroque churches, Braga’s historic center is a dense, buzzy neighborhood that’s full of cafés, restaurants, boutiques, churches, supermarkets, businesses, hotels, homes, and more…

          Braga is an off-the-radar retirement choice in Portugal, especially compared to the Algarve, Lisbon, and Porto, which means the cost of living here is significantly lower than these more trafficked areas…

          Braga is affordable not only relative to the costs of living in the United States and Canada; it’s also affordable relative to other places in Portugal.

          Property prices and costs of living haven’t been inflated as much as in places like the Algarve, Lisbon, and Porto. For its rich lifestyle, Braga is a bargain.

          Crete, Greece: $1,865 Per Month For A Couple

          Crete is the perfect place if your interests are lazing on the beach, basking in the sun, archaeology, scuba diving, and indulging in the original Mediterranean diet.

          The fifth-biggest island in the Mediterranean, Crete is home to everything from cities to mountain villages, beaches to snow-capped mountains, and untouched inland wilderness to ancient olive groves and vineyards.

          You’re never far from the glistening and super-clear Mediterranean Sea… and the water here is special: crystal-clear, reflecting back more shades of blue than I can name. It’s not just about beaches, though…

          Crete also has mountains that you can ski on, the record-breaking Samariá Gorge (the longest in Europe), and other unique land formations that create endless outdoor recreation opportunities.

          Being an island, you might expect Crete’s cost of living to be inflated… but it has one of the lowest costs of living in Europe for what is a very high quality of life. The island is big enough to allow for budget flexibility as well.

          Gascony, France: $1,952 Per Month For A Couple

          The picturesque villages of Gascony, many of which have earned the title of Les Plus Belles Villes de France (the prettiest towns of France), resemble those of fairy tales…

          This is a pastoral place, where the traffic on the roads is tractors and livestock… Where farmers run things and the weather or the harvest is the main topic on anyone’s lips…

          Where folks are up well before the sun and drinking red wine by 11 a.m.… Where the food is hearty and fresh from the pasture… Where the village markets are the main social affair of the week and people are in bed by 9 p.m.

          Gascony is yet another destination that proves that life in Europe is not financially out of reach for Americans…

          This part of France can be easily affordable, especially if you live like a local and make use of the local markets, which sell affordable local goods and produce.

          Kotor Bay, Montenegro: $2,658 Per Month For A Couple

          Coming to be known as Europe’s Secret Riviera, Kotor Bay is a hidden gem on the Adriatic, sharing the same coast and overlooking the same stretch of water as southeastern Italy—but at a fraction of the cost.

          Medieval towns and luxe modern developments are set to dramatic backdrops of sparkling coastline and jaw-dropping mountain vistas in every direction here. With the sea in one direction and ski resorts in the other, there’s always something to be enjoyed close at hand here in little Montenegro.

          Despite being a playground for the uber-rich, costs of living are flexible in Kotor Bay, with standard to luxury-level lifestyles available.

          Overall, it’s affordable by most people’s standards, and especially in comparison to neighboring Croatia, which offers much of the same appeal but at much higher prices.

          Wondering which of these five tempting lifestyles might be for you?

          Take a look at my at-a-glance budget comparison of the top places to reduce your cost of living while increasing your quality of life in Europe in 2024:

          City Cost Of Living For Two % Cheaper Than Cost Living In The U.S.
               
          Valencia, Spain $2,477 49%
          Braga, Portugal $2,855 41%
          Crete, Greece $1,865 61%
          Gascony, France $1,952 59%
          Kotor Bay, Montenegro $2,658 45%

          Until next time,

          Kathleen Peddicord signature

          Kathleen Peddicord

          Founding Publisher, Overseas Living Letter

          Tags: 'best places to retire overseas''France'Best place to retire in PortugalOverseas Retirement Indexretire in montenegroRetiring In Greece
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          Kathleen Peddicord

          Kathleen Peddicord

          Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

          Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

          Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

          Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

          Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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                HOME

                Top Countries

                • Spain
                • Portugal
                • Panama
                • Belize
                • Colombia
                • Cyprus
                • Mexico
                • France
                • Montenegro

                Best For:

                • Health Care Abroad
                • Retirement Living
                • Cost Of Living
                • Investing in Real Estate
                • Establishing Residency
                • Gun Ownership
                • English Speakers
                • Safety
                BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

                Budgets

                How Much Will It Cost
                To Live Overseas?

                Super Cheap

                • Chitré, Panama
                • Santa Marta, Colombia
                • Phuket, Thailand
                • Dumaguete, The Philippines

                Cheap

                • Medellin, Colombia
                • Boquete, Panama
                • Kyrenia, Cyprus
                • Hua Hin, Thailand
                • The Algarve, Portugal

                Affordable

                • Valencia, Spain
                • Cascais, Portugal
                • Las Terrenas, The DR
                • Pisa, Italy
                • La Rochelle, France
                • Mazatlán, Mexico

                Luxury

                • Ambergris Caye, Belize
                • Kotor, Montenegro
                • The Panama City Beaches
                • Paris, France

                Resources

                Global Living

                • Living & Retiring Overseas
                • Raising A Family Abroad
                • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
                • Offshore & Diversification

                Making Money

                • International Real Estate
                • Banking
                • Employment
                • Investing
                Meet Our Experts

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                Contact Our Events Team:

                Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
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                From Outside North America:
                1 (443) 599 1221

                Working Hours
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                Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

                Store

                Overseas Havens Reports

                • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

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                • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

                Lahardan Books

                • Titles on living and investing around the world

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                THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

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