This time last week I began reflecting on where we are and how we got here.
Now, with but a few days remaining on our 2025 calendar, let’s focus on where we’re going.
Live And Invest Overseas editors have been working overtime to answer this critical question:
Where should we direct your attention in 2026?
As this is Live And Invest Overseas, we address the question in two contexts.
First, where should you best consider living or retiring overseas in 2026?
Senior Editor Victoria Harmer took the lead identifying our response to that question, spearheading our 2026 Retire Overseas Index.
After weeks of number-crunching, curating, culling, quantifying, and qualifying, as well as interviews with expats on the ground and days and days of collective review by our senior editors across the globe, Victoria has named the 12 best places to retire overseas in 2026.
I won’t steal her thunder.
That is, I won’t divulge the winners or details of the list now.
I will, though, be live online to reveal our 2026 Retire Overseas Index rankings on Thursday, Jan. 8, and I invite you to join me.
This special virtual event is free for Live And Invest Overseas readers.
Joining me live will be Lief Simon, Lee Harrison, Kat Kalashian, and Victoria herself.
This will be your chance to hear in detail about the world’s 12 best places to be in 2026… including some surprises.
The second part of the answer to the question where should you focus your attention in 2026 has to do with making money.
Our preferred investment target is real estate, so we are forever on the trail of property markets worldwide holding out the greatest potential for profit.
Our recommendations for the best places to invest in property in 2026 come courtesy of resident global property investing pros Lief Simon and Sophia Titley.
Their guide to making money by buying real estate overseas in 2026 is featured in the December issue of our Global Property Advisor subscription service. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, you can get on board here now to access your blueprint to property profits in the New Year.
I don’t want to scoop Lief and Sophia’s picks, but I can’t resist shining a spotlight on their top market.
I’m talking about Panama.
We’ve been banging the drum for Panama for a long time but are more bullish on this country in 2026 than ever.
It also continues to provide impressive ROIs and serious upside potential… if you buy right.
Which gets to the point.
Lief and Sophia detail six specific Panama property plays… including one of the most successful investment opportunities in our history.
This deal has already paid out millions of dollars in profits to Live And Invest Overseas readers. That’s money in hand, earned from one of the most straightforward strategies we’ve ever known, tapping into Panama’s exploding market for affordable housing.
The second and more recent Panama opportunity to make Lief and Sophia’s short list for 2026 is a luxury alpine-style resort in Boquete, this country’s most established expat and retiree market.
We’ve followed Boquete for more than two decades. For years, one thing was missing—new, resort-grade housing that matched demand.
This project has changed that. When we first released it, pricing began at $305,765, with fully furnished units and developer financing available. Demand was immediate. The first phase is now nearly sold out, with just three units remaining, priced now from $558,250.
The good news is that a second phase has been released, offering a new lower entry point.
In Panama City, we’ve identified a particularly tempting short-term rental opportunity. This is a sophisticated, competitive market, meaning you’ve got to thin slice your options. The fundamentals for the project Lief and Sophia spotlight are solid: short-term rental licensing in place, professional on-site management, and a refurbishment model to reduce risk.
That’s just a sampler. Lief and Sophia direct their readers’ attention to other specific Panama plays… as well as the best current opportunities to profit in Mexico, Portugal, Northern Cyprus, and beyond.
Again, if you’re not yet a Global Property Advisor subscriber, you can fix that right here right now in time to read Lief and Sophia’s bumper year-end issue.
Until next time,
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
