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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.

    • Spain
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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
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
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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

    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

    Greece 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
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Home Countries Belize

Finding The Best Places To Live In Latin America

Mexico, Belize, Panama, And The Dominican Republic—How To Choose

by Kat Kalashian
Jun 09, 2022
in Belize, Dominican Republic, Lifestyle, Mexico, Panama, Retirement/Living
0 0
A grid with several Latin American countries

This August, we’re hosting our first-ever Live And Invest In Latin America Virtual Conference to help you get acquainted with this giant part of the world.

In the 10 countries we’ll be covering in depth, you’ll find some of the world’s best opportunities for luxury living on a budget, world-class health care that’s affordable out of pocket, the world’s cheapest residency programs that come loaded with benefits, and fantastic real estate bargains…

Not to mention the killer lifestyles…

Vineyards in Argentina… Caribbean beaches in the Dominican Republic… off-grid, self-sufficient living in Belize… beach towns in Mexico… and mountain villages of Ecuador…

From hippie towns to cosmopolitan cities and from historic Spanish-colonial architecture to some of the most modern construction in the world… you can find whatever lifestyle you’re imagining for your new life overseas here in Latin America…

Keeping It Close In North America

-Mexico

Playa del Carmen beach in Riviera Maya
Adobe Stock/Evgeni

Mexico is still North America… and it can be helpful to remind ourselves of this fact when we think about the big picture of Latin America.

What this means in practice is that this country is as close as you can get to being “overseas” while remaining very near the United States and Canada. You can even drive from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to several of our favorite spots in Mexico.

This is a big plus for retirees who want to make regular trips back home to see grandkids.

The geographic proximity also means that, culturally speaking, Mexico feels familiar. Roads and highway signage look the same. You’ll recognize the franchise and chain stores, too, from Walmart to The Home Depot, and you’ll find familiar brands on the shelves.

For these reasons and many more like them, Mexico can be a good way to dip your toe into this whole living overseas thing.

Mexico offers lots of options and opportunity for expats. This is a big, extraordinarily diverse country with two long coastlines, mountains, and colonial cities… not to mention Mayan ruins, jungle, rain forest, rivers, and lakes.

It’s estimated that a million Americans and 500,000 Canadians live in Mexico, part- or full-time… and with good reason. The Americanized culture is only one of the attractions.

Plus, Mexico has what qualifies as the world’s easiest residency application process. And, if you prefer to avoid the residency process altogether, you could even live in this country for up to six months of the year without formalizing your status.

And while you should learn some Spanish, especially if you won’t be basing yourself in a big city or major tourist destination, you can get by in English pretty easily here.

Mexico is like a halfway house for expats. It’s an easy way to give it a try and see if living overseas might be for you.

Broadening Horizons To Central America And The Caribbean

Between Mexico and Colombia, the skinny little trail leading south and known as Central America is bordered by the Pacific and the Caribbean.

Our top havens in this part of the world are Belize, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (DR)… and each offers a completely different lifestyle.

-Panama

A view of Cinta Costera in Panama City, Panama
Adobe Stock/Sylwia Brataniec

In Panama, Americanized culture is prevalent. Thanks to the big American presence since the Canal was dug in the early 1900s, there is no shortage of Americana. U.S. chains and restaurants are well-established. As in Mexico, you’ll see plenty of familiar brands on the shelves when you go grocery shopping and all the same clothing stores in the malls.

But the similarities in general are fewer in Panama than they are in Mexico, and it’s easy to find more authentically Panamanian parts of the country to settle in. Once you’re outside Panama City, for example, you’ll need to speak Spanish.

On top of its lifestyle benefits, though, Panama also offers a host of what we call “offshore benefits.” In fact, Panama could arguably be called the world’s best offshore haven. It’s a bona fide tax haven, taxing income on a jurisdictional basis, and it uses the U.S. dollar, meaning no currency exchange risk.

Panama’s Specific Countries visa program can lead to a work permit, which is a big plus, and its economy is one of the strongest and fastest growing in the world. That all adds up to Panama being a top choice for entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and the self-employed.

Panama’s is the best infrastructure in Central America, and the country is super accessible, with many direct flights daily to and from North America and Europe. The health care is high quality and affordable.

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-Belize

Palms and beach at Caye Caulker island, Belize
Adobe Stock/Matyas Rehak

At the other end of the familiarity spectrum is Belize.

Not a chain store in sight in this country. The language of Belize is English, but the similarities to life back home end there. When you shop, very little will be recognizable to you, from the exotic fruits and meats to the way they sell hardware supplies. Cans of paint, for example, may be sold half or quarter full (the price can be prorated, if you ask).

Infrastructure is not Belize’s strong suit. The country has but three highways… and they’re two-way streets. Secondary roads are as likely to be dirt or gravel as paved, and until 2020 there wasn’t a single stoplight in the entire country. Wi-Fi and cell service can be spotty, depending on where you are.

Legal residency is easy to obtain through the country’s Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) program, and foreign residents pay no tax in Belize on non-Belize income. Thus, if you are British, German, Australian, or Irish, for example, you could become a QRP and reduce your overall tax burden to virtually nothing.

The income needed to live well here is low. Belize can be a great option for someone looking to retire on Social Security income alone. And the country is close enough to the States that you could drive down.

-The Dominican Republic

Aerial drone view of the paradise beach with palm trees and blue water of Atlantic ocean at sunset, Las Terrenas, Samana, Dominican Republic
Adobe Stock/

Just offshore in the Caribbean Sea is the DR. This island nation is famous for its picture-perfect beaches and laid-back lifestyle, but what sets this country apart, especially from other Caribbean options, is its more sophisticated lifestyle. The way of life in beach-town Las Terrenas, for example, is more European than Caribbean.

In this “St. Tropez of the Caribbean,” you’ll be welcomed by locals and expats alike, and you’ll enjoy access to a wide range of products from patisserie-baked pain au chocolat to German salami to Swiss cheese thanks to the diverse and multicultural local community.

Santo Domingo, the oldest permanent settlement in the New World, boasts impressive colonial architecture, along with modern shopping options, theaters, museums, and stadiums (béisbol is a national obsession). It’s the best of island living with the opportunity to take in an opera, go to the game, get in a round of golf, or indulge in some retail therapy.

Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone In South America

Once you cross the little bridge of Central America, things can become markedly more unfamiliar.

The way things are done in South America is unique and can take some getting used to, depending, of course, on the country you choose.

Our top picks on this massive continent are Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile…

I’ll pick up the conversation here next time.

Stay tuned.

Kat Kalashian
Editor, LIOS Confidential

Tags: 'Belize''Dominican Republic''South America'Latin Americalife in latin americalive in latin americaMexico'Panamaretire in latin america
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Kat Kalashian

Kat Kalashian

Kat Kalashian has grown up around the world, living in the United States, Ireland, France, and Panama, and has traveled extensively in her few years. Growing up as a young expat she is familiar with the trials and tribulations of an overseas move and the adjustments that must be made in every new destination. After living in Panama for seven years, she and her husband relocated back to Paris, France, in 2018 where they now live full-time with their American-born cat, Panamanian-born dog, and two French-born daughters. She's now been living in Paris for over 10 cumulative years, and enjoys being able to explore France and the rest of Europe at every opportunity. As head of Live And Invest Overseas’ European Division, she is Editorial Director of Europe Uncovered, a monthly subscription service, MCs the Europe based Live And Invest Conferences, and scouts out new locations for coverage on the Continent.

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Top Countries

  • Spain
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  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
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  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
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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

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