Where to Retire - Mexico Best Place to Retire?

An aspect of retirement planning is deciding where to retire. Here is the latest e-mail about retiring from a woman who read The World's Best Retirement Book which may give you an idea for one of the best places to retire. The woman thinks it's Ajijic, Mexico.

----- Original Message -----
From: Wende M.
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 11:08 AM
Subject: thankyou

Buenos Dias from paradise....

Yesterday morning, my husband and I took a walk along the malecon in Ajijic, on the north shore of Lake Chapala, Mexico. It was one of those days when the temperature was so perfect that you couldn't feel the air on your skin. I held my husband's hand and told him how blessed I felt to live here and just how much I owed to Ernie Zelinski. I wondered how many people actually told you just how you impacted their lives.

In 2006, while reading the Sunday edition of the Edmonton Journal ( Reader section) I stumbled across a review of How To Retire Happy Wild and Free. My husband had groused for years about his belief that retirement was not likely to be an option for us after health issues and financial setbacks had taken their toll on our net worth. I decided your book was a tool to help ease the strain of our future lives, and went to the library the next day and took it out. We lived pretty frugally and there were only a few small ideas that I felt we could incorporate into our lifestyle but.....something did catch my attention. You wrote about a friend of yours who worked seasonally in Edmonton, then hopped a bus for San Miguel de Allende every winter. I googled San Miguel. It was interesting but the climate seemed a bit cold for my health issues. However, along with the info on San Miguel, there popped up a link to other places in Mexico to retire. Ajijic sounded too good to be true.

2006 happened to be our 25th anniversary year and I convinced my husband that even if we had to borrow the money, a holiday was the perfect way to celebrate. I broached the subject of Mexico ( we had never been) and of course, Ajijic, but he said he didn't want to go to the mountains, that he wanted to go to the beach. We compromised with a week in Puerto Vallarta, a week in Ajijic, and a week in Manzanillo. Well - PV was a bust - too hot, too humid, too many people trying to sell you things. We arrived in Ajijic on a Tuesday and on Thursday morning, my husband asked me to cancel the week in Manzanillo . He told me Ajijic felt more like home than any place he'd ever been in his life. Finally - we were in complete agreement about something.

We had to figure out a way to get down here. He wasn't ready to retire - only mid-50's - so he had to find a way to work from here. He was clever enough to convince his company that he could work from home - and in 2007, we came down here for 3 months. That's all it took ! We went back to Edmonton, moved our youngest son into an apt close to GMAC where he was going to school, sold our house with everything in it ! I mean....we left the bedding on the beds, dishes in the cupboards and housecoats on the back of the bedroom door, put what we were taking in the back of our van, and drove away !

We have a vonage phone with an Edmonton number and as long as we have reliable internet, we can live anywhere. We actually took a year from Oct 2009 to Nov 2010 - and travelled all over south and central America, staying for a couple of months at a time in different countries, and his clients and business associates never knew where we were unless they asked or we offered the information. Our kids have us on speed dial on their cel phones and it's not long distance. The cost of living, health care, climate, activities, and people here have combined to give us a quality of life we never dreamed possible .

Thankyou for being the catalyst for a life that we are truly LIVING .

Rob and Wende M.

Here are some retirement quotes to help you find the best places to retire:

"If my [retirement] dreams could all come true paradise/retirement would be - in a little bungalow - somewhere by the sea.
- Anon

"He makes his home where the [retirement] living is best."
- Latin proverb

"No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction."
- Samuel Johnson

Retirement Places, Success, and Self-Publishing

A recent article in a major publication discussed some of the best places to retire outside the United States.

The writer of the article had a note toward the end of the article about how no other country could compare to the United States:

This was the comment that I left:

This a great article with a lot of valuable advice, much better and more than
most people could ever offer.

I must take issue with this statement, however:

"Understand that no other country on earth is as comfortable or as convenient as the United States of America."

There have been many international studies done that don't have the United States as the top place to live. Far from it, in fact.

For instance, International Living Magazine ranked 194 countries to reveal the Best Places to Live in its 2010 Quality of Life Index.

It considered things such as Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate.

International Living Magazine placed the United States as #7 behind Switzerland, Germany, France, Australia, Luxemberg, and New Zealand.

Being #7 is a bit of a distance from being #1, wouldn't you say?

In a different vein, I came across a Squidoo Lens lately that had a few quotations about success on it.

This was my commment:

These inspirational quotations about success are okay:

There is one that is not here which is my favorite success quote of all time, however:

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."
- Christopher Morley

Like you, I have several collections of quotations on several websites

The quotation by Christopher Morley is the one I placed as the #1 of the Top-10 success quotes on my webpage of Sensational Quotations about Success for Smart People Website.

This quotation more than any other reflects my philosophy that I write about and which has helped my becoming a successful international best-selling author, published in 28 countries, with 650,000 copies of my books sold worldwide.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Author of The World's Best Retirement Planning Book
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

In still another vein, several people on a LinkedIn discussion group have suggested that self-publishing should be banned.

This was my response:

My guess is that the people who are against self-publishing are people who themselves are too lazy or too inept to make self-publishing work for themselves.

Many books such at Mutant Message Down Under and Rich Dad, Poor Dad were first self-published. When the books proved themselves by selling hundreds of thousands of copies, major publishers gave big advances to take them books over. If these great books that sold millions had not been self-published, they would never have been published.

At the same time major publishers have published tens of thousands of books that, according to their success in the marketplace, shouldn't haven't been published in the first place.

These two quotes apply:

It's not creative unless it sells.
— David Ogilvy

A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.
— Henry Ford

In the end, it is the book buyers who will decide which books should have been published and which shouldn't have been published.

That is the way it should be — it's the book buyers' money. The book buyers should be the ones who have final say on what succeeds and what doesn't.

Ernie J. Zelinski, Living Smart in a Crazy World
Author of Book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

Here is some of the latest news regarding retirement:

FOUR out of 10 British people approaching retirement are considering moving abroad, a survey showed this week.

Around 42 per cent of people aged over 55 said they were thinking of relocating overseas, with 38 per cent considering doing so within the next five years, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

10 American States Which Are the Best Places to Retire Happy Because They Don't Tax Retirement Income (Federal Pensions):
Alabama
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
New York
Pennsylvania
See U.S. News Online Tool to Find the Best Places to Retire

Low Balances In Retirement Funds

No doubt many people today are counting on The Retirement Plan for Stupid People so that they can enjoy retirement happiness after midlife.

Only about half the U.S. workforce is covered by some type of employer-sponsored retirement plan. And most of those are 401(k) plans, which usually require employees to contribute and make investment decisions. Of course, without a pension, people's retirement income will be compromised.

Even before the financial crisis, the average balance in 401(k)s for workers nearing retirement was just $78,000. After the market plunged, that average was reduced to about $56,000. That's just not enough for a comfortable retirement, says Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, the financial services company that offers retirement plans for employees in the academic, medical and nonprofit fields.

"Many families, at this stage, are short $250,000 from what they're going to need," Ferguson says.

Check out these latest retirement resources:

Letters about The Joy of Not Working

Retirement Quotes

Canadian Federal Pensions Are a Time Bomb

Below is a link to an interesting article about how Canadian Federal Pensions are a time bomb and which relates to what I have been saying all along.

It defies logic that people can retire from the government at 55 and live another 30 or 40 years collecting an inflation-indexed pension of 65 percent or 70 percent of their salary.

I like this statement in the article:

To cover the real costs of federal pensions, C.D. Howe president Bill Robson, who co-authored the report, said public servants should be contributing 34 per cent of their pay to the plan every year -- and the RCMP and military would have to fork over 41 per cent of pay.

Federal PS pensions a $58B debt time bomb, think tank says

Here are few new retirement resources:

Best Places to Retire Happy on The How to Retire Website

Retirement Cake Sayings and Party Ideas

Health in Retirement

Fun Things to Do in Retirement

Chinese Women Want Same Retirement Age as Men

Cover of the Chinese Edition (traditional Characters) of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (The World's Best Retirement Book)

The following is exerpted from an article about 5 years ago.

A Chinese policy established decades ago in a bid to protect female workers is now being questioned by increasing numbers of Chinese women who want to keep their jobs longer.

Men retire five years later than women under the regulation. The retiring age for female staff is 50, and 55 for men. While women cadres leave their posts at 55, it's 60 for men of the same status. The intention of the policy was to protect women's health and lawful rights, said officials with the State Ministry of Personnel.

Statistics show that the average life expectancy for Chinese women is 71 while 69 for men. In some well-off areas like Shanghai,the figure is nearly 80 for women.

Sociologists cite the toughness of the current job market as one reason for women retiring early. In some badly-run factories and companies, women staff are required to leave their jobs at 45 and get an even lower pension.

I would imagine that Chinese women are even more irritated by this policy given that China's ecomony is about to tank.

The New Retirement for Baby Boomers Means a Gruesome Retirement

Up until a few months ago, a lot was being written about how the baby boomers were so cool and how they would be creating a new retirement. Although I am a baby boomer myself, I have always found baby boomers thinking of themselves as so special and so cool as pathetic — quite revolting as a matter of fact!

So, now I actually get a great deal of pleasure when I read the latest headlines regarding retirement, particularly those relating to baby boomers and how many of them have to delay retirement — or may never be able to retire. Here are some of the headlines I received on Google Alert in the last week: (My favorites are in bold.)

• The middle class can expect big retirement troubles
• Slow economy forces seniors out of retirement
• Study Warns 'Near Retirees' of Need for Frugality
• Middle Class? Dreaming of retirement? Forget it!
• Baby Boomers: retirement may be a mirage!
• Baby Boomers Face Longer Lives with Fewer Assets
• Retirees Could Face Final Years in Poverty
• Study: Retirees should live frugally
• Longer lives, not enough savings
• Your retirement isn't looking so good, according to a new study from Ernst & Young. ...
• Most Americans Struggling to Afford Retirement
• Most Florida retirees must lower standard of living, study says
• Americans Dipping into Retirement Funds Early
• Americans Tapping In to Retirement Worries Idaho Senator
• Workers Raid Retirement Funds During Tight Times
• More Raiding Retirement Funds Amid Economic Woes
• Returnment — the new retirement
• The middle class can expect big retirement troubles
• Study: Retirees should live frugally
• The Worst News Yet for Your Retirement

It appears that the new retirement for baby boomers means a gruesome retirement. Fact is, if most baby boomers weren't so spoiled and so irresponsibile human beings, they wouldn't have a problem with their retirement. In other words, if you are a baby boomer, it's all your fault can't retire at 55 or 60. Don't blame the government or the economy or anyone or anything else.

I semi-retired when I was 35 and had a net worth of minus $30,000. Even though I have worked less than half of my adult life and have never made a penny in house appreciation (simply because I rented for all these years), I can remain semi-retired quite comfortably.

If you would like to be able to do the same, I recommend this well-titled book for which I have adapted a short review from two other reviews:




You're Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead, by Larry Winget. The author is a no nonsense guy and a master of tough love. This book will tear down every excuse you can think of and show you that it's your choices that are making you broke. Warning: You have to quit blaming all of your financial problems on outside forces and circumstances. The author is harsh. So if you get upset about that, maybe you should pass on this one, continue to blame your problems on someone else, and end up broke in retirement — like a lot of baby boomers are likely to be.

To be sure, there's no sweet talk in Winget's advice, who summarizes money management to these points: Get off your duff and start doing the hard work necessary to make financial success happen. His advice includes: Give up cable TV. Get a cheaper car. Move to a more-affordable home. Live on what you earn. This guy pulls no punches, and points his finger right where it belongs — at YOU — the person who created your financial mess.


Another reason that I was able to semi-retire at an early age is that I have followed the financial philosophy that I advocate in my books How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and The Joy of Not Working.




Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com

Best Places to Retire - What to Look For!

What to Look for When Choosing The Best Places to Retire in the World

According to International Living, "Once you allow yourself to look beyond U.S. shores for a place to retire, the choices get downright exciting. Mexico, sure. But how about Panama? Or France? Or Romania? The right spot can allow you to live the life you'd only dreamed of: crashing surf, mountain air, bustling cities. You can comb beaches to your heart's content, or you can find a place to learn. You can relax, or you can find new opportunities."

If you are thinking of relocating to one of the best places to retire in the world, but don't know where, the question that arises is, "Where to Retire? What makes a good place to retire?" You must examine your priorities: What type of climate do you want to live in? What activities do you like, and are they available in your list of possible cities or countries to relocate to? Do you care more about a low cost of living or health care? What about safety?

The following checklist for the best places to retire in the world may provide some help.

10 of the Top-22 Things to Look For When Choosing Where to Retire:

* The climate is exactly what you are looking for.
* The people are friendly - warm smiles and hometown hospitality have never gone out of style.
* Whether it's the hills, rocky outcrops, thick forests, breathtaking mountains, pristine lakes, or raging rivers, the beautiful scenery beckons you to reside there.
* Regardless of whether you intend to rent or buy, the housing is affordable.
* There are a variety of housing options to suit your needs - from a stately house to a smart new apartment, a townhouse, or a gracious bungalow with the right-sized garden to look after.
* Many cultural amenities - such as museums, theaters, and concerts - are available either locally or in a nearby city.
* Just out your back door - either a short drive or a healthy walk from your home - you can participate in outdoor activities such as skiing, tennis, golf, fly-fishing, and hiking.
* You can depend on excellent transportation facilities, including a modern transit system.* Neighborhoods are peaceful and the crime rate is low.
* A variety of clubs and non-profit organizations welcome your participation and talents. You can eventually be part of a community of friends with similar interests.

Note: For the last 12 items on this list of The Top 22 Things to Look For and Enjoy in the Best Places to Retire that will help you choose where to retire, see Chapter 8: Relocate to Where Retirement Living Is Best in the bestselling retirement book on Amazon.com called How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.