I have to admit that I may be more excited about the release of this year’s Retirement Index than any other we’ve produced…
As we enter this New Year, it seems that more people than ever before are seriously considering moving abroad.
According to a recent poll, 34% of Americans would like to move out of the United States. This means that 113.8 million—a mind-boggling number—are now onboard with an idea that, just a few years ago, was considered fringe, niche, and unusual, if not completely contrarian.
If you’ve been reading Overseas Living Letter or following Live And Invest Overseas for a while, you know that we’ve long championed the idea that the best opportunities to live better for less are found beyond the borders of the U.S. and Canada.
In fact, everything we do is founded on that principle.
Providing information for people considering moving overseas is our identity, and we’ve been doing this for a long time.
Now this idea has gone mainstream, and it’s gratifying to see so many people embracing it.
There’s a newfound enthusiasm surrounding this topic in the media, too. You can scarcely scan the news without seeing a handful of headlines dedicated to so-and-so’s overseas relocation story or see a “best of” list published by any number of outlets.
I realize the irony of pointing that out as I write to you today about our “best of” list for 2025… The Overseas Retirement Index. But I do it intentionally because I want to take a moment to address how our particular “best of” list stands out…
First, our editorial team is made up of real-life expats, so we have first-hand experience with this whole moving abroad thing. We’ve all been lucky enough to explore the world and immerse ourselves in different cultures…
We’ve packed up our homes, said goodbye to neighbors and friends, and hopped on planes…
We’ve experienced culture shock and made fools of ourselves while navigating new languages… We’ve applied for residency, filed taxes, and had health care needs taken care of abroad.
The point is that we’ve been where you are right now as you consider the realities of launching life in a new country.
We’ve asked ourselves the same questions you’re asking yourself and sought answers the same way: by consulting trusted sources and then going out and doing the thing in question… often figuring it out as we go but learning a lot along the way.
That leads me to the second way that our Overseas Retirement Index stands out: It features specific towns, cities, or regions rather than entire countries because specificity is crucial when considering your options abroad.
Imagine Joe Blow stating that he’s going to “retire to the United States” but not specifying whether he’s talking about New York City or Little Rock, Arkansas.
The lifestyles in these two cities could not be more different, so the preparation to move to either must also be different.
We apply the same thinking in our discussion of the best places to retire. We thin-slice our selection to specific havens rather than talking about “retiring to Panama” or “retiring to Portugal” because we think this gives you the most authentic overview of each place possible.
The third way that our Overseas Retirement Index stands out is that it prioritizes what’s realistic.
So many of the “best of” lists that are flooding the internet right now feature countries like New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore… All amazing locations, but they’re not realistic options for the average person because it’s near impossible to gain residency in any one of them.
Assuming you’re moving abroad for retirement and lifestyle benefits (in other words, you’re not applying for a work or student visa and don’t have ancestral,
familial, or marital ties to another country), you’ll likely apply for an independent means, retiree, or investor’s visa to gain the legal right to live there long-term.
In the countries featured in many “best of” lists right now, the financial thresholds you need to meet to qualify for some of these visas are so prohibitively high, they’re out of reach for the average person.
Take New Zealand as an example. To qualify for its Active Investor Plus Visa, you’d need to invest at least NZD $15 million in an approved category. That’s about $8.8 million dollars, which is simply not feasible for most people.
The Overseas Retirement Index features countries that welcome prospective expats with open arms.
They set low financial thresholds to qualify for residency and, in some cases, even offer perks and incentives for establishing residency because they want to attract you.
That’s ultimately what moving abroad is all about… upgrading your lifestyle by relocating to a country that welcomes you and that offers something that you value—better weather, more affordable health care, a slower pace of life, a vibrant new culture, or a lower cost of living…
Choosing any of the 14 havens featured in this year’s index can open the door to a richer, more fulfilling chapter of your life… It’s exciting to know that more people than ever before are open to the possibilities.
Sincerely,
Sophia Titley
Editor, Overseas Living Letter
