Live and Invest Overseas
The Best Places To Retire In 2025 Report
FREE REPORT: THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
  • 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

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Argentina Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

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

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
  • 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

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Argentina Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

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

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE Report

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

The Best Places To Retire In 2025 Report

Simply sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report… absolutely FREE

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
Home Lifestyle

Safety Overseas vs. Safety In The U.S.: The Truth

Paris, France

iStock/StockByM

I got an email from a reader recently that I’ve been thinking a lot about.

I want to address it here. Because this reader probably isn’t the only one with this opinion.

It was a very short—but very revealing—email…

“I had my eye on France but now it is very dangerous with upheaval everywhere. Too scary!”

If you haven’t followed the news from France… on June 27, 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

The police alleged Merzouk was trying to run over an officer when the fatal shooting happened… but video contradicted this account.

Protests—and riots—began across France as a result… protests against the police killing, against racism (Merzouk was of Moroccan and Algerian descent), against inequality.

So, yes, there has been some upheaval in France.

Here’s What You’re Missing

But here’s what this reader… and I think a lot of other people… are missing.

To take one event that happens in any country (and that happens to make it onto the American news)—and let that event change your opinion of the entire country—is just crazy. It’s really missing the forest for the trees.

France is a big country. It’s got 70 million people and it’s twice the size of Colorado.

I love France. Kathleen and I spend part of every year in Paris. Our daughter and son-in-law live there year round. We have many friends there.

So, I know what I’m talking about.

And here’s the truth: The vast, vast majority of people and places in France right now are totally unaffected by the headlines making the international news. Our relatives and friends are going about their daily routines just as they always do…

Just like… you probably remember… in the United States in 2020, when George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin, it ignited protests against police killings, against racism and inequality… and there were riots and violence and looting…

But across the vast majority of the United States, most people were just living their lives as they always had, going about their routines, doing their thing.

The truth is—we’re all biased towards what we know.

And so, you might think of your life in the United States as “safe”… and expat life in a foreign land like France as “scary”… even though, statistically, you are far more likely to be a victim of violence in the United States than in France.

The United States is now one of the most violent places on earth (thanks to mass shootings and gang warfare, and plain old regular family feuds and domestic violence)… it ranks 131 out of 163 countries in the latest Global Peace Index. More violent than Angola, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti. More unsafe than every single country in Europe… except Ukraine, where there’s a war going on.

My point—as I’ve said—is that we think of things close to home as “safe” and foreign lands as “unsafe,” even though the reverse may actually be true.

Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In 2025.
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

So, Don’t Let The News From France Put You Off Going To France

Protests happen from time to time in a large democracy like France—just like they do in the U.S. or Canada. Like I say, you’ll remember the BLM protests or the 2022 truckers’ blockade in Canada… sometimes these events make international headlines…

I stopped counting the number of times people asked me whether Kathleen and the kids were safe when we lived in Paris, and now that our daughter and son-in-law are living there… and I didn’t even know there were protests or riots going on.

I’m back in the States right now taking care of some family business.

When I arrived a few weeks ago, a friend of my mom’s asked if the family was OK in Paris… and I didn’t even know there were riots. Because I hadn’t watched the U.S. news covering them. And my daughter and son-in-law hadn’t thought to mention it because for them life in Paris was just going on completely as normal. There were no protests in their part of town.

The fact that this reader who wrote to us has written off France because of one week’s new cycle is just an indication of how ignorant most people are… and definitely most Americans.

But in a way, you can’t blame them. Because they’re fed this misleading message constantly.

I even received an email in my inbox from one of our colleagues in the offshore space… I won’t name them… trying to capitalize on events in France with a completely bogus portrayal.

The email warned that the supposed “birthplace of freedom and democracy” (France) was “axing social media to put out dissent.”

First off—France is the “birthplace of freedom and democracy”? I must have missed that day in history class.

As I recall, there was democracy in ancient Athens more than two millennia before the French Revolution. And in any case, freedom and democracy aren’t the same thing… and democracy doesn’t necessarily equal freedom (at least not for everyone; just ask the slaves in the Athenian democracy).

France was relatively late to the democracy game, in 1792, well after Britain, the U.S., and some smaller states in Europe had “modern” democracies.

And as for the idea that France is banning social media…

The truth is that French President Emmanuel Macron made a stupid comment suggesting social media could be “cut off” to stop the riots—but, of course, no cutting off of social media ever happened.

Too many people in the offshore world don’t have boots on the ground in the right places and speak based on theories, rather than first-hand experience.

As my son-in-law in Paris put it: “The real story is the French president is an idiot, like so many politicians, so never rely on them.”

And if you want an example of a real Western country where social media is being banned… look no further than the United States, and specifically the state of Montana, which recently banned TikTok, supposedly because of the app’s links to the Chinese government. (Although why exactly the Chinese government cares about the dance videos you’re watching on TikTok… no one has yet explained.)

Look… the world’s not perfect. Stuff happens. Violence happens. Protests happen.

But if you let one week’s news cycle from one country stop you from discovering your perfect place overseas… that’s on you.

Most protests are short-lived anywhere in the world and then life goes back to normal. Sometimes that’s a few days or a few weeks, but rarely does it upend an entire civilization… especially the birthplace of freedom and democracy… or, er, a democracy with a long tradition, like France.

And indeed, sometimes when it’s in the news for the wrong reasons—it can be precisely the best time to visit a country… because all the tourist lines are gone.

If you took to heart all the stories in the mainstream media, you’d probably never leave your bedroom—never mind go overseas.

And what a poorer life that would be.

Stay diversified,

Lief Simon signature

Lief Simon

Editor, Offshore Living Letter

Share84Tweet52
Lief Simon

Lief Simon

Lief Simon has lived and worked in 7 countries on 5 continents and traveled to more than 75 countries. His real estate investment career began with a $5,000 down payment on a three-flat building in Chicago. Less than three years later, Lief sold the building for a leveraged return of 3,000%—$150,000 in profit after closing costs and commissions.

From there, he turned his attention overseas and has bought property in 24 countries including France, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Belize, Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Romania, and beyond. Thanks to his decades-long career as a global property investor, Lief has built a multi-million-dollar portfolio that includes rental properties, significant land holdings, and 7 personal residences.

Lief has established residency in 3 countries and acquired a second passport from Ireland.

In 2008 Lief and wife Kathleen Peddicord made the most important investment of their lives—a 215-acre oceanside finca, known as Los Islotes. There, on Panama’s largely undiscovered Veraguas coast, they’ve installed underground electricity, water, and internet and built a forever family home that sits at the heart of their ultimate vision: a gold standard private residential community for those in search of a true safe haven escape.

Lief’s latest book, “Cowboy Millionaire—The New American Pioneer,” collects all the wisdom he has learned in three decades of living and investing outside America.

He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches. For real estate investment opportunities, check out his monthly Global Property Advisor service.

If you’d like to meet Lief in person, join him for one of our upcoming in-country conferences. You’ll find further details here.

Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on The 10 Best Places To Retire In 2025.

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
Our Expertise Unlocks The World

quick links

  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

LIOS Resources

  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs
the 10 best places to retire in 2025
Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2025

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

As seen in

US Media Logos

© 2008 – Live and Invest Overseas™ – All Rights Reserved.

About Us / Contact Us / Privacy Policy / Terms / Unsubscribe
Facebook-f X-twitter Youtube Linkedin-in Instagram
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

Real Estate

Overseas Property Alert 

 

How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

VISIT SITE

Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

 

Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

READ MORE

Explore Our Latest Posts

 

Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

EXPLORE

Conferences

Live and Invest In Spain Conference

VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
Learn More About This Event

Offshore Wealth Summit

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER

Argentina Workshop

VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER
MORE EVENTS

Contact Our Events Team:

Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
1 (888) 627 8834

From Outside North America:
1 (443) 599 1221

Working Hours
Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

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

Store

Overseas Havens Reports

  • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

Conference Kits

  • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

Services

  • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
  • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
  • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
VISIT OUR STORE

Free Report

THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

LIBRARY

Follow Us:

© 2008 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.