Hi Shawn, I'm Bel, the Mexico Correspondent and I'm with you, Mexico has so many beautiful places to choose from. What I would recommend is going to the home page and under the countries tab you'll find Mexico. If you scroll all the way to the bottom there are nearly 40 locations listed. Each one has it's own page so you can get a good feel for the location. It's kind of fun to look at all the places and you'll find a bunch that you may want to visit. Have fun exploring.

Hi Karen3A, I am David Hammond, International Living's correspondent in Uruguay. I am from Washington State and have been living in Uruguay for 19 years. In my opionion: A few cons: While I find Uruguay more affordable than the U.S., it is one of the more expensive countries in Latin America. And it's also a long flight to the U.S. A few pluses: What I like best about Uruguay is its culture of inclusion. There is a bigger middle class in Uruguay than any other country in Latin America. And its recently been ranked as the country with the least amount of public corruption in the Americas by Transparancy International. Here are a couple of articles I wrote that yiou may find intereesting: This article specifically lays out some of the pros and cons of living in Uruguay: https://internationalliving.com/countries/uruguay/ This article explains some of the pluses attracting expats to Uruguay: https://internationalliving.com/why-uruguay-is-the-perfect-post-election-haven-for-expats/ Best regards, David

First of all, there is no obstacle to getting a second citizenship on the American side.The Supreme Court has ruled several times that Americans cannot be forbidden from acquiring other citizenships. So keep that in mind because if you really like a country, it's always best to become a citizen if you want to stay there. There are many countries where you can live and retire indefinitely. For retirees, countries have visas that allow you to remain indefinitely as long as you have sufficient income from pensions and investments. In Europe, they include Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, and several countries in the Balkans. Popular retirement visas in the Western Hemisphere include Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. The key factor for all of these visas is whether you have enough passive income from pension and investments to qualify. The cheapest are in Central America, with Costa Rica and Panama at $1000 a month. Europe is more expensive although Portugal will grant AD7 retirement visa for around $1000 a month income. All the other countries are in the €3000 to €3500 monthly income range. Finally, note that although you often need to renew the visa annually for every two years, this is just a formality to show that you continue to have enough income. Many IL subscribers have lived for years abroad in these countries in this way.

i am curious about the billage she lives in. I livd in lugano swyz gor 11 years and sm very familiar with maggiori

Hi Clarksteller, I live in Uruguay. The immigration requirement, here, is a clean FBI report (from the U.S.) or a clean national police report (if from another country). However, sometimes, a Uruguayan immigration attorney can successfully make a case for why a person should be granted immigration status even if their record isn't spotless. It would probably take an experienced immigration attorney in the country where you want to immigrate to learn the details of your partner's case and give you odds of successfully getting an exception

@KEITHHOCKTON-0 I posted a question above for you. Thank you

I have recently spent time in both Costa Rica and Mexico looking for my Not-in-America home. I love them both, but they are different, and there are so many variables. I am landing in Mexico, but Costa Rica is fine as well. I agree with the other comments, that it would be good to take a long vacation in both before you decide. Happy hunting Annabella

Hello, I am also a new member and will be watching and reading everything here! We just spent 2 months in Spain/Portugal this past Fall as we are considering moving there. I am 73 and had no problem renting a car in Barcelona and driving all over Spain and Portugal for 2 months. Some rental car companies in Europe don't allow driving the car over the borders. We've always used SYXT Rental and we recommend them. As a side note - we were not as thrilled with Portugal as we thought we would be. We like Spain much better.

Hello, You can use this website for car values: https://serviciosnet.hacienda.go.cr/autohacienda/ As for other goods, will you be shipping on a container or buying abroad and sending to Costa Rica? I suggest talking with a lawyer if you plan on picking things up from customs here in Costa Rica. I love to share my lawyer's contact info: https://themislegalcr.com/ or you can send a WhatsApp here: Rosa +506 8831 2261 Are you a resident? If you are getting your residency, do you know about his Law? Costa Rica's Law 9996 allows qualified residents to import up to two vehicles duty-free for personal or family use and a one-time exemption for importing used household goods and personal effects. It's only in effect for another 2 years I think, so might be something important to consider if you want to bring a car and goods into the country. -Bekah Bottone, IL Costa Rica Correspondent

Hello. There are so much variety here in Costa Rica, so you will need to figure out what your needs are -- get specific and think about things such as climate, location, and healthcare. I suggest spending a month and staying in different places to really get a feel for them and check out the vibe for yourself. I recently visited Atenas and Grecia in the Central Valley and you might want to check them out if being close to health is necessary The best healthcare is in the Central Valley, so keep that in mind. The best equipped hostpitals and most specialists are there. Often times, a specialist will visit a clinic in Guanacaste once a month. So it isn't as conveninet. I met a wonderful woman in Grecia, who specializes in real estate in these areas. I suggest contacting her on WhatsApp: Brooke Bishop +506 8311 5336 In the Central Valley, you will find the country's biggest cities and many bigger towns. That doesn't mean it's all urban. There are plenty of quiet countryside locations, little mountain villages, bustling market towns — you can also get away from it all in the Central Valley. I suggest checking out some other areas, maybe Escazu, Alajuela, Santa Ana, Pavas, Tres Rios, and Cartago. If you stay in San Jose, you might want to stay at the Grano de Oro or the Gran Hilton Hotel. And we hold our yearly conference at the InterContinental Escazu. Another important factor to consider is the weather. What temperatures do you prefer? It rains everywhere, yet some places have more rain than others. The beaches- Hot and humid, and I love them! Guanacaste is the driest part of Costa Rica. The Central Pacific receives more rain. Lake Arenal- Cooler (temperature) than the beach. Nuevo Arenal gets about 50% more rain than Tronadora, located just across the lake. Tronadora is much windier. La Fortuna and the surrounding towns like Chachagua are drier and warmer. The Central Valley- Cooler temperatures - especially from the variety of elevations available. I always recommmend reaching out to FB groups and asking questions. I use those groups to learn about differnt areas and connect with new people all of the time. FB groups are very active here and worth using as a resource. These FB pages might be a good start: Arenal https://www.facebook.com/groups/712758082803982 https://www.facebook.com/groups/270122543035935 Guanacaste https://www.facebook.com/groups/297720547030161 https://www.facebook.com/groups/3442610169117243 Jaco https://www.facebook.com/groups/290260966853843 https://www.facebook.com/groups/711552235579574 There are lots of expat groups too: search 'Expats in... ' As for budget, the best thing in my opinion is to talk with peopel currently living in the area. You can find expat meetups in FB groups. For example, this group posts about a women's would be a great place to get insider info. https://www.facebook.com/groups/663758784658197 Many people find staying in an Airbnb a good way to check out a community, more so than a hotel. I talked with Nick when in Nuevo Arenal and he rent out an Airbnb. https://internationalliving.com/from-deaths-door-to-thriving-in-lake-arenal-costa-rica/ (https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/40036748?source_impression_id=p3_1719933875_P3ic3CyJiPWB-oYF) Let me know if you have any more questions and if you head to the Tamarindo area. Once you narrow down your search, send me an update here so I can share more info. Happy New Year! -Bekah, IL Costa Rica Correspondent

Hi Lisa, Nice to meet you! If you're still thinking of France, feel free to send me any questions you may have: france@internationalliving.com The plus for France (besides all the great food!) is that it's fairly easy to obtain a visa to stay long-term, and the healthcare system is excellent. Best of luck and please let me know if I can be of help. Tuula, IL France Correspondent

I'm a lifetime member and love IL. It's full of great info about life, love and the pursuit of happiness around the world. As for the reports, you can find them in your library https://members.internationalliving.com/