The Top 10 Countries for Americans to Retire Overseas

Broadcast Retirement Network's Jeffrey Snyder discusses what you need to know when living abroad in retirement with Live and Invest Overseas' Kathleen Peddicord.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Here we go. Three, two, one. Kathleen, so great to see you.

Thanks for joining us on the program this morning.

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

My pleasure. Really happy to be here.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, thanks so much again. What makes a country an attractive place for someone to retire?

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

I think in retirement, people are generally looking for good weather. One main motivator for a lot of people, no matter where in the world you're coming from and thinking about retiring too, is you want no more winter, no more snow, no more scraping ice. So you want sunshine and clear skies.

Number two, of course, is cost of living. And that practical reason is really the primary motivating factor for a lot of Americans at this point.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

So when you look at the top 10 countries and you put together a great list, what are, say, the top five countries that come to mind so for Americans thinking about retiring abroad?

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

Panama is number one. In our 2026 Retire Overseas Index, Bopete, Panama specifically, which is a town in the mountains of Panama, it comes in number one. I've been recommending Panama to Americans as a place to retire for 28 years or so.

Back then, it was crazy. Nobody really paid any attention and I was considered kind of nutty. Today, this idea is increasingly mainstream.

The AARP, in fact, publishes its own list every year of best places to retire overseas. And I don't think you get more mainstream American retirement conversation than AARP. Panama is at the top of our list and it has been for so many years because it checks all the boxes that a retiree could be looking for.

It's nearby and accessible. Has great weather. It's summertime all year round.

The difference between what they call summer and their winter is the level of humidity in the air, but you never have cold weather. Great health care, excellent health care. There's a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital in Panama City.

They use the U.S. dollar, so no currency exchange risk. You don't have to worry about the currency moving against you if you're on a fixed retirement income. They have a great retiree residency program, making it easy and affordable to retire there full-time, live there full-time if you want.

And the cost of living is very manageable. The interesting thing about Panama is in Panama City, you can actually live a bona fide luxury level lifestyle, like penthouse living, like best of Miami lifestyle. And that comes at a higher price tag.

In the rest of the country, you can live for $2,000 a month or less and live a very rich, full life at the beach. Panama has loads and loads of beach options.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

In terms of things to think about, I mean, Panama City sounds great to me. And I tend to be a person that maybe jumps before or leaves before he looks sometimes. But what are some of the things that a retiree needs to think about?

You mentioned the cost of living. You mentioned healthcare. They're top of mind on my list.

But what are some of the things you really need to think hard about if you're going to live abroad?

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

Are you up for it? It isn't for everyone. That's the truth.

It's a big adventure. I think it expands your life and your perspective enormously. And you will have the adventure of your lifetime.

But you have to decide, number one, if you're really up for the challenges because it comes with big upsides, but also it's work. There are challenges and there's work involved. You're building a whole new life from nothing, from scratch, in another language, in a place where you don't have the built-in supports and safety nets you have where you're living now, family, friends, infrastructure, et cetera.

So are you up for it? And then if you decide, yeah, I want to give this a try, then the next question is, how local do you want to go? Which means in any of these countries we talk about, from Panama to Portugal, Mexico to France, et cetera, you can retire very locally.

You can move to a neighborhood where your neighbors are going to be all locals. Here in Panama, your neighbors would all be Panamanian, which means they speak Spanish and they live differently than we do in the United States. Panama can be a very expat, retiree-friendly place where you'll feel comfortable and familiar, but still, it's a very different culture, very different country.

So if you're going to go fully local, you need to be ready for that. On the other hand, in Panama, lots of places we talk about, Belize, lots of places, there are expat communities, big established communities of foreign retirees from the United States, Canada, and Europe who have decided they want to embrace this adventure. They want the upsides, the reduced cost of living, the better weather, the higher levels of safety, whatever you're looking for, but they weren't ready to go local.

They didn't want to learn a new language and they didn't want their life to be dramatically more exotic than they'd had been. You know, they didn't want to be too far outside their comfort zone. So they've established communities where developers are building to their specs.

So you can buy condos, houses that will be very familiar just like what you might buy in Miami, Florida, for example. So you have to make that choice. How local are you willing to go?

How exotic? How much outside your comfort zone? And there's no right or wrong answer.

It's just a matter of being honest with yourself, kind of taking that self-check. And I think that's the most important starting point.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

In terms of doing research, I mean, you said a lot of things and you can do Mr. Google and try to find things, but how do you find the best resources? And does a city like Panama, you mentioned some of the abilities for expats and communities for expats, but is there almost like an onboarding program or a way to help you transition from say living in Baltimore, Maryland, which is where I was born and raised, now I'm in Charlotte, but are there ways to kind of do your research? Cause I feel like that's probably pretty important as well.

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

It is really important. And I have to say, I'm from Baltimore too, born and raised. And that's where I lived until I moved to Ireland almost 30 years ago.

Unfortunately, there is no onboarding program. This has become an industry. When I was first talking about this 30, 40 years ago, even 20 years ago, this was a fringy idea, but today there is an industry surrounding the idea of American retirees moving overseas to Latin America and to Europe primarily, which means there are many more resources.

There is lots of infrastructure to tap into, but there's no kind of turnkey onboarding program. Unfortunately, you go to Google and you will find loads of resources. The trouble is you might be overwhelmed by the number of options you'll be presented with for how to help you make this move.

Some of them are more trustworthy than others. Some of them are speaking from more personal experience than others. So you definitely have to filter them.

That's a big part of what we do. We publish a lot of resources, books. I've written loads of books on the topic, subscription services, and we do conferences.

We do 10 conferences a year. I will say one of the most important things to do, if you're interested in this idea and it's got your attention, start reading, start researching, but get on a plane. Once you've made your short list of countries that are interesting to you, that appeal to you on paper, you need to go and put your boots on the ground.

You need to go walk around that place and you'll have a gut reaction. Some people will land in Panama City and say, oh my gosh, who could live here? Why does anyone think this is a good place to be?

And other people will land there and fall in love. And I think more than anything, you have to pay attention to that instinctive response.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, very well said. Well, Kathleen, I've really enjoyed the conversation. Of course, we didn't have a full hour.

I would love to talk to you for a full hour. We've got about a minute left. I wonder if you might summarize some of the key takeaways from our conversation this morning.

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

I would say that there are huge advantages, especially in the current climate to moving overseas in retirement. You can move to a place that is separate, apart, where the tensions and conflicts that we might feel in our day-to-day life right now, you can walk away from them. You really can.

You can live a life that's more peaceful, that's more separate, and that's definitely cheaper, that has better weather, and that where you make your own life, where you can imagine, this is what I want my retirement to look like, and you can build that. On the other hand, this isn't for everyone. So you need to do some soul searching, you need to do some researching and reading, and then you need to buy a plane ticket and go walk around the places that are interesting to you, and then let the whole process play out organically, step-by-step.

The idea of walking away from the United States, everyone you know, everything you own, sell your house, sell your car, walk away, move to another country, on your own, learn a new language, and never looking back, that's scary, right? And that's not what this has to be. This isn't all or nothing.

It's not jumping off a cliff. Take it step-by-step. If you're interested in the idea, take a first step and see where that goes.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Very well said. Kathleen, it's great talking with you, really informative. And look, we look forward to having you back on the program again so very soon.

Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest Overseas

I would love that. Thank you very much. Great to speak with you.