The 6 Best English-Speaking Countries You Can Retire To - YouTube

(Kathleen) Six best places to go overseas if you  don't want to learn a new language we're going  

to tell you in just a minute. Hi I'm Kathleen  Peddicord. (Lief) I'm Lief Simon. (Kathleen) It's  

a new episode of our Live and Invest Overseas  Podcast. One of the main reasons someone, maybe  

you, could be reluctant to move to a new country  even if they're dying to do it if it's their dream  

of a lifetime is because they're worried they'll  have to learn a new language and afraid they just  

won't be able to or frankly just don't want to  have to. You don't necessarily have to we have  

six places where you could live or retire overseas  comfortably, happily, build a very rich fulfilling  

life, and NOT have to learn a new language. Let's  start with three places, three countries where in  

fact the language is English. (Lief) Right  exactly, and we're not talking about the UK,  

Australia or New Zealand. We're talking about  places where you can get residency, where you  

can actually move - although you can move to the  U.K it's a bit complicated - but the first one is  

Belize and Belize is one of the former British  colonies so English is the official language,  

a lot of people speak Spanish as well because  Belize is surrounded by Spanish speaking countries  

but everything is done in government and legal  wise in English in Belize. (Kathleen) Right,  

so exactly that's something that you may not  have thought about you may just be thinking about  

getting through the day without having to learn  a new language but there's another level to it  

that can be even a little more intimidating  which is the legal aspect. If you're going  

to be signing a contract for even a lease a  rental but certainly if you're going to buy,  

if all the contracts are in Spanish or  French or Portuguese it's a little more  

intimidating. (Lief) Right, so what does Belize  have to offer besides speaking English? Well it's  

a great destination for beaches and weather. It's a Caribbean destination. There are islands  

off of the coast of Belize that would qualify as  Caribbean islands and the downside is hurricanes  

so you do have the potential for hurricanes. They  get them almost every year not in a dramatic way  

but not as bad as the Gulf Coast of the U.S  this year but once every couple of years you  

get a pretty strong storm coming through Belize  which also hits the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico  

which has another destination we'll talk about  in a second. (Kathleen) But for me maybe the  

most compelling reason to look at Belize can be  the people and the society and the culture. It's  

the most diverse, eclectic, and open-minded  and welcoming culture in fact that I know of  

except for the next country we're going to  talk about I would put them on par each with  

the other but they're very different places in  this part of the world though, in the Americas,  

Belize really is the most open-minded. The  Belizeans aren't worried about who you are,  

where you came from or anything about you except  that you're doing your best and you're not causing  

them any problem it's very much live and let  live exactly I'll do my thing you, do yours,  

I'll mind my business, you mind your business  and everybody gets along. (Kathleen) All right,  

the second place which again I think as well as  Belize is very open-minded and open-hearted and  

welcoming culture is Ireland. (Lief) Right totally  different place but before we jump to Ireland we  

didn't mention so Belize for residency is fairly  straightforward. There's the QRP program that has  

it's for retirees if you have two thousand dollars  a month in pension income or social security you  

can qualify or you can just move to Belize and if  you're there for 12 months straight renewing your  

tourist visa you can then apply for permanent  residency. So Belize, has a very easy way  

to live there, is just by showing up and continue  to renew your tourist visa. (Kathleen) Right,  

which is a great thing to point out because you  may have heard of the QRP Program, the Qualified  

Retiree Person Program - I think is what it's  called - and that's been very well promoted  

and it can make a lot of sense for a lot of people  but it requires a minimum monthly income of two  

thousand dollars that might not work for everyone.  But you do have an option that you may not have  

heard about because it just isn't discussed  as often, it requires no proof of income,  

it requires no upfront investment in real  estate or anything else you just you show up.  

(Lief) It does require that you to show that you  can take care of yourself while you're there,  

but you know you don't need 2 000 a month to  live in Belize. Ireland on the other hand,  

has decided that they don't really want retirees  and so they changed their immigration law a few  

years ago now, - I think it is now pushing more  than five years or six years - to create a new  

what they call Stamp Zero. So you know different  immigration stamps have a number depending on what  

you're applying for. Stamp Zero is for persons  of means which includes retirees but it requires  

fifty thousand euros of income proven fifty  thousand euros of income per person per year  

which is a high threshold especially for a  retiree, it doesn't have to be pension or social  

security income, it could be dividends or rental  income or whatever but you have to show

that  level. But if you do have that level then  Ireland is a great place to spend time, the Irish  

are friendly and talkative and from a retirees  perspective, Ireland couldn't be a better place  

to live other than the weather. (Kathleen)  Right, so we as you may know we lived in  

Ireland for seven years when our children  were young when Lief and I were first married  

and we found the experience kind of maddening  at the time because we were there as kind of  

young people with a new family trying  to launch a business, grow a business,  

and we found the Irish approach to business  frustrating because they don't prioritize it.  

They prioritize life and living and crack - as  they refer to it - just having a good time and  

at retirement of course that can be exactly what  you're looking for. (Lief) So stopping in the  

middle of the day in the middle of the road to  have a 20-minute conversation is not something  

you're looking for when when you're rushing to get  to the office when you're running a business.

But for retirees it's perfect. (Kathleen) All right,  number three on our list of countries where in  

fact the language is English so no language study  required would be Malta. (Lief) Right, and Malta  

actually has two official languages English -  again it was a former British colony - and Maltese  

but all legal documents are in English as well as  Maltese so you can get by in English no problem.  

The downside for Malta is that gaining residency  isn't as easy as in Belize, but they have four  

different programs in Malta that you can look at  for getting residency. The other thing is that  

some people we know who have been to Malta aren't  happy about is in the Summer time it can be hot  

so you know above 95 above 100 degrees during the  Summer but that's because of its location, it's in  

the middle of the Mediterranean as the crossroads  between Southern Europe and North Africa. So from  

a scene, the region perspective, Malta is in a  very excellent position. (Kathleen) As a base  

for travel it's really ideal. (Lief) And it has  huge history, you know the Knights Templar and  

all the crusade stuff that went  on there lots of architecture  

and buildings to look at as well. (Kathleen)  Okay now those three countries speak English,  

everybody is going to speak English they may  speak something else as well Spanish in Belize,  

Maltese and Malta but they all speak English.  (Lief) Right, but the official language is  

English. (Kathleen) Here are three countries  where the language is not officially English,  

but there are pockets of these countries or of  these specific locations we want to highlight,  

where English would be spoken by most everyone you  would interact. (Lief) You could get by without  

learning the local language if you didn't want to.  (Kathleen) Okay number one on this list we've put  

Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Lief) Right, so there's  lots of places in Mexico that are tourist spots,  

Playa del Carmen is one of them. Playa del Carmen  has been a tourist spot for so long with the local  

Mexicans to get jobs in the tourist industry  they're learning English from birth basically,  

so there's a lot of English speakers in the  Playa del Carmen area. This is a beach area  

so lots of tourist amenities as far as restaurants  go and other outdoor activities plus in the  

Yucatan Peninsula where Playa del Carmen is  located you have a lot of Mayan history so you  

have Mayan ruins to visit, fishing off the coast,  and any kind of water activity that you can think  

of. (Kathleen) Right, so it's an ideal Caribbean  spot, if your retirement dream is the Caribbean  

and you don't want to learn another language I  would put Playa del Carmen at the top of the list  

alongside Ambergris Caye, Belize for example. One  point I would make about Playa del Carmen, as we  

suggested it's very touristy it's a  big and growing tourist destination  

which could be a big plus for you or a big minus.  So with tourists comes all of the infrastructure,  

the amenities, the services that tourists want and  that can be great. The restaurants, the shopping,  

the nightlife, and activities you know all kinds  of water sports and all of that would be so easy,  

accessible, and affordable in Playa del Carmen.  But at the same time you're going to have the  

souvenir shops and the tourist touts and people  approaching you to see if you want your picture  

taken on the feet. (Lief) It's not the real Mexico.  If you want the Mexico culture and to to be living  

in Mexico it's not Playa del Carmen. Playa del  Carmen is just an extension of Florida, from a  

beach resort kind of perspective. (Kathleen) Okay,  we're staying in Mexico with a second pick for a  

place where the language isn't officially English  but you wouldn't need to learn another one,  

on the other side of Mexico: Puerto Vallarta.  (Lief) Right, in Puerto Vallarta, the same thing,  

you know 30-40 years of tourism, lots of  locals learning English from a young age,  

lots of tourists, lots of retirees as well in  Puerto Vallarta and lots of options in Puerto  

Vallarta. The town is relatively small but the  whole area has expanded in lots of

development from resorts but also the gated  communities. The gated communities for retirees  

and for expats. So, Puerto Vallarta is not  terribly dissimilar from a weather perspective to  

Southern California which is why a lot of people  like it again on the Pacific Coast you don't have  

the storms as much although Puerto Vallarta can be  hit by Pacific typhoons that kick back in and come  

that way - there was one earlier this year - not  a lot of damage but a lot of rain. (Kathleen) So,  

Puerto Vallarta I would say would be  the most developed choice on the Pacific  

Cast. If you're looking for Pacific Coast  living you might be looking down that coast  

Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, those are all options you might  

be considering for a Pacific Coast lifestyle with  the kind of crashing surf and surf beaches, etc.  

For the most part your options in say Nicaragua  for sure but even in Costa Rica and Panama are  

going to be less developed. Puerto Vallarta,  there's a Walmart in Puerto Vallarta. (Lief)  

Shopping in Puerto Vallarta is not not unlike  shopping in the U.S, if that's what you're  

looking for. And then Mexico in general has  easy residency options and easy access from  

the U.S as does Belize, so lots of flights going  in and out of Cancun to access Playa del Carmen  

and lots of direct flights into the Puerto  Vallarta airport as well. (Kathleen) All right  

pick number six for where to think about living  or retiring overseas if you don't want to learn  

a new language is Algarve, Portugal which you may  not be surprised to hear us include. (Lief) Right,  

we've talked a lot about Algarve is a great  destination for retiring and English being  

spoken is one reason why. They have a close  relationship - Portugal does - with the U.K  

and a lot of British retirees and expats have  moved to The Algarve and over in over the years  

the Portuguese in that area in particular have  learned English so it's you're going to have  

to pick up some Portuguese probably but you  can get by with English for the most part and  

don't have to be become fluent in Portuguese to  live in The Algarve. (Kathleen) And why Algarve  

in general take a step back beyond language and  beautiful beaches, long coastline, great weather  

although there is a winter but it's very mild and  because there is a winter there is seasonality so  

one thing to consider when shopping The Algarve  coast, there are many towns in this part of  

Portugal and each one has its own charm and flavor  and cultural appeals but look at which ones are  

more affected by seasonality some of them become  very quiet in the winter. (Lief) Right, in some of  

the smaller towns all the restaurants will close  so if you like to go to restaurants you want a  

town that is big enough to support restaurants  in the winter so that you can partake in that or  

be willing to drive to the next town over but  the seasonality there can be an issue in the  

winter time. (Kathleen) and then again we'll make  the point about residency which is very easy to  

establish in Portugal. You have a number of good  options depending on your situation. (Lief) Right,  

two basic options The Golden Visa option which is  buying property in Portugal but if your plan is to  

live there full-time the easier option is just  the Self-Sufficiency one where you can show  

enough income to support yourself and you can  get residency in Portugal and that threshold is  

is around 1200 euros a month is what  our attorney there recommends although  

the official threshold is lower. It's at the  discretion of whoever's reviewing the residency  

application. (Kathleen) And 1200 euros a month  is less than the average social security check so  

it's an example of a place where with the average  social security check right now is about 1500 a  

month so this is a place where if you're receiving  you know the average amount in social security and  

that's all the income you have you could still be  looking at Algarve, it's still realistic. Alright,  

I hope we've given you reason to take lack  of language skills off your list of reasons  

not to think about living or retiring overseas.  Thank you for listening we'll be again in touch  

next week with a new episode of the Live and  Invest Overseas Podcast, thanks! (Lief) Bye  

everyone! (Kathleen) Thank you for listening  we hope you enjoyed this episode of our Live  

and Invest Overseas Podcast. For more please  visit liveandinvestoverseas.com/podcast where  

you'll find lots more information and resources  to help you live better and retire well overseas.